The choice in November

On November 3, Bastrop County Precinct 1 elects its justice of the peace for the next four-year term.

Judge Cindy Allen is the incumbent Republican. She first won this seat in 2018, took office in 2019, and was re-elected in 2022 with 58 percent of the vote. Her opponent on the general-election ballot is Tamera Peterson McIntyre, the Democratic nominee.

A justice of the peace is not an abstract office. It is the court that hears fine-only criminal cases, civil claims up to $20,000, evictions, and the magistrate work that starts so many other cases. Precinct 1 should keep a judge who has already learned that docket the long way — by holding it.