Waurika News Democrat

Local News

June 25, 2008

Concern about home area fuels Simmons’ run

By Jeff Kaley

WAURIKA — He is 59 years old and owns one of the more successful construction companies in the region.

He and Connie, his wife of 39 years, have raised three of their four children and sent them out into the world, and the last of the bunch graduates from high school in two years.

There are four grandchildren to dote upon, and to some people, it might seem like a good time for Jim Simmons to slow down his life a little and start enjoying some fruits of his labors.

Instead, the life-long Waurika resident is hoping to start a new career, one that definitely won’t be a “slow down.”

Making an entry into the political realm for the first time, Simmons is one of three candidates vying for the job of Jefferson County Sheriff, in the July 29 Democratic primary.

“I’ve lived here all my life, and I know what it was like as a kid growing up here. Waurika was a town with good people and a lot of businesses, and nobody went to Lawton or Duncan to shop,” Simmons said. “There are still good people here, but the town has been shrinking and we have a surplus of drugs and drug-related theft and other crime.

“All of my kids still live in the community and so do my grandkids, and that’s the sense of urgency I get about wanting to do something about our problems. I want the community to be a great place and a safe place to live.

“I don’t see anybody running who will change things.”

Admitting he has no law enforcement or legal background, Simmons nonetheless feels he’s had practical experience in some of the duties of the sheriff’s job. He hasn’t pursued or arrested criminals, but he does understand such job-related tasks as budgeting, meeting federal and state requirements and mandates, organizing staff and public relations.

“I deal with budgeting every day in my work,” he noted. “I do construction jobs all over the United States, and I know how to construct a budget and make bids and that type of thing. And I’ve also had to keep up with government requirements.

“One thing I would do is not designate those paperwork tasks to deputies. I’d have someone in the office to handle that and not tie up deputies with those things.”

“I also feel I have good people skills,” Simmons added. “I constantly deal with people, from homeowners and residents to city officials and state and local officials, and I feel like I know how to treat people.

“I’d like to run an open-door policy in the sheriff’s office; let people know that the department is here to help them.”

Simmons is a 1968 graduate of Waurika High School, who has attended Murray State College and Cameron University.

The Simmons have four children, including 16-year-old daughter Cheyenne, a junior at Waurika High. Son Cody and daughter Tara Gunter teach in Waurika, while daughter Christy Sellers has worked as a pharmaceutical drug sales person.

“I have no ties with any special interest groups,” Simmons, a member of First United Methodist Church in Waurika, said. “I promise voters to have a sheriff’s office they can be proud of.”

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