Roy House has joined the field of candidates for Justice of the Peace in Precinct 1. Roy graduated from Liberty High School in 1965 and furthered his education at Lee College and the University of Houston. Roy served a 2 1/2 year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in France where he was closely associated in leadership positions with Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Following his mission he worked locally in family businesses (aviation, construction and ranching) until joining the Houston Police Department in 1973. He served in the US Army National Guard 143rd Infantry, 71st Airborne Brigade receiving an honorable discharge in 1975 after six years of service. Roy retired from Houston PD in 1996 where he served most of his career as a detective and later as a detective sergeant. He was recognized with the coveted "Houston Police Officer of the Year" Award in 1991 for his work against organized crime having been nominated by the Harris County DA's office. Roy received many other awards during his career and was interviewed regarding cases locally and nationally many times including a two part segment on Dateline (NBC) regarding his ground breaking work in sting operations against con artists.
Roy says, "I am a life long conservative. I was conservative in Liberty way 'before it was cool' and favored the Republican Party early on. I used to get razzed a lot at school but it was usually in good fun". He ran unsuccessfully in the Republican Primary for Sheriff in the 2000 primary. "I learned a lot. I was outworked. I spent too much time working my regular job which took me out of the county a great deal. It was not the right time for me to run."
Following retirement Roy House worked as a certified officer in the fraud unit of Texas Department of Insurance. His main boss was John Cornyn who later became a US Senator from Texas. Roy also obtained a private investigator license and later investigated many cases involving fraud. He worked as a contract investigator for the civil division of the US Department of Justice on superfund clean-up investigations. Along with that he did deportee escort duties for US Immigration Service flying with stowaways from the Port of Houston to the illegal immigrants' home countries. "That ended in 2001 after the Twin Towers tragedy, but even before that happened we were taking some people back home I would suspect were potential jihadists. The rest were just people trying to beat the system."
In early 2005 Ken Defoor was asked to serve as municipal judge in Kenefick. Mr. Defoor politely declined due to his many commitments and recommended Roy House for the position. "Ken told me his recommendation to the city was to appoint a well qualified person from outside the city on the theory that an outsider was less likely to be influenced by kinships or friendships in adjudicating cases of a small town. Mine was the name he suggested and after screening and appointment I have served until now. The great thing about it was I had to get the same training all non-lawyer judges receive and then a lot of courtroom time clearing a huge back log. The people in Kenefick are great and I love serving as judge."
Judge House states, "My philosophy is taken from the US Constitution. 'All men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights...' The 'class c courts' are the highest volume courts by a huge margin. This is the court most people have dealings with as a defendant or complainant. It is in the first line of defense of society against minor crimes and infractions and when it is administered and conducted properly it greatly increases public trust and confidence in local communities."
Roy is married to Jan House. They have five children and seven grandchildren. He is an active member of the Liberty Lion's Club and serves as scoutmaster for Liberty Troop 356 which is chartered by the Mormon Church.
"I am running because I have the background and experience to do a good job in replacing Judge Rader. I am running because I believe in justice tempered with mercy. I am running because I am a hard worker and this is a hard job."
6 comments:
I am glad to see someone of the character and with the qualifications of Roy House running for our JP.
I was worried about getting someone in this position that we would know for sure would do a good job - Mr. House you have calmed my concerns!
LD - Has Roy ever ran for this JP position before?
Thanks for the comments! To answer the question about running for JP before, yes I did in the 1981 democrat primary, losing a very close one (by about a dozen votes as I recall) to the late Sonny Loftin.
That might beg the question why would I run in the democrat primary back then. Thirty years ago the democrat party was dominating the elections. There were no republican office holders. Fortunately that has changed. I am a life-long conservative and have always favored republican candidates, but back in the day if a candidate had the proper principles and values and was a democrat I would have voted for him or her rather than a republican who did not. Now that the democrat party platform and values have become so leftist- to the point of threating our founder's ideals and our way of life I couldn't vote for any candidate under the democrat banner.
I took a risk to run in the JP race long ago because it meant quitting a job I loved with the Houston PD to run here. My family pressured me after a close call on the job and because I had a young family to support the JP job seemed a possible alternative. Losing the race worked out great because the family relented and I returned to HPD and had a fulfilling career for which I am grateful.
Thanks again for the question and thanks to the LD for a great forum. Roy House
After reading both articles you have posted, your political career does not add up. Forgot you ran for JP and ran for sheriff two years in a row. Makes me wonder!
To repeat I ran once for JP in 1981once for Sheriff in 2001, both were primary races. There wqs a run-off in the JP primary race. There were four candidates in that race and it came down to Mr. Loftin and me after a recount. Apparently you were misinformed.
Races are public record and my memory is just fine. There was a twenty year gap and a 10 year gap between my runs, not two years in a row.
The LD is a great forum because in most, if not every local race there is always rumor and misinformation going around. It is great to have the oportunity to set the record straight. Best wishes to you and I hope you will vote for me. Roy House
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