Stumping for her husband

Charlotte Thomas is looking at a 12-hour day on the sidewalk of Pleasant Valley Elementary School. She is holding a sign for her husband, Brian, who is a candidate for Potter County sheriff.

She got there at 7:15 a.m., and with the exception of a lunch break, will be there until 7 p.m. The Pleasant Valley precinct in their neighborhood. They live near the Dumas Highway and St. Francis Road.

"This is my community," said Thomas, who has lived in Potter County all of her 48 years. "These are the people I know and love."

Thomas, a corporal in the Amarillo Police Department, has supervised Amarillo's Crimestoppers for the last several years. He is the Republican candidate. He is running to succeed Mike Shumate, who was convicted earlier this year on two felony charges.

"He's doing this for the people of the department," Thomas said of her husband, "so they can work together, so the guys on the street can do their job and protect the community and be a unified force. He's doing this because they know he'll stand by them and do what's right."