BEAUMONT – In a race that drew hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions, the candidate who received the least amount of money will be the next judge of the 172nd District Court.
On Nov. 6, Mitch Templeton, a partner at Templeton & Brinkley, collected 51 percent of the vote to edge out his Democratic rival, Melody Chappell, a Wells Peyton Greenberg & Hunt attorney.
The current judge of 172nd District Court, Donald Floyd, is retiring because of age restrictions.
Although Chappell held the financial edge going into the election, raising more $152,000 in contributions, Templeton was able to somewhat keep pace, hauling in more than $95,000 in contributions.
Before being defeated by Chappell in the May runoff, Tina Bradley, a plaintiff’s attorney, raised more than $253,000 – most of which was supplied by her fellow trial lawyers.
Templeton ran on a platform of ramping up the duties of the 172nd District Court, promising to hear both criminal and civil cases.