Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce Chairman of the Board Brenda Vickrey Johnson has put a big smelly fish on the political table of San Antonio for 2007. Friends, pull a chair up to the table because this is going to get good. I predict this new push for expanded term limits could help unite a fascinating collaboration of San Antonio political factions who will defeat it one more time. Let’s start from the beginning: 

 “Brenda Vickrey Johnson leads The Chamber into ‘07”

Greater San Antonio Information Source:  click here

“Chamber Chairman Brenda Vickrey Johnson’s Annual Banquet remarks, in which she noted that ‘The Chamber’s challenge is to connect businesses with one another for the betterment of our entire community. And to provide an environment that keeps good jobs here and incentivizes [sic] the growth of many more. We must dream big and work hard.’

. . . .As we begin 2007, here are Chairman Johnson’s top priorities for the year ahead:”

“Term Limit Reform”

“Partner with business and community organizations, the Mayor and Council to make local government more effective by addressing the issue of extending term limits.”

[See below for a translation of this statement.]

Click here for other priorities:

Commentary: This evening in San Antonio WOAI TV ran an investigative report about Councilman Roger Flores using his “Official City Business” parking permit to park his personal auto close to his place of business. He claimed that he was on city business when he using his permit, but city council records show no appointments during these days. At a recent Christmas party, Councilman Flores made jokes about his inability to find a parking spot outside the restaurant. He was trying to be cute about the first part of this investigative report focusing of his misuse of a taxpayer funded parking permit.

What’s my point?

Many San Antonio politicians become arrogant, self-righteous and indifferent to their constituency when they are in office too long. Yes, it is something in the water. There are some sitting in jail right for city council-related crimes. Look at Roger Flores and his actions.  What is the message? “I’m the councilman and I can park wherever I want to without paying for parking.” As a city, do we need a new generation of professional politicians like Roger Flores who cannot understand what the big deal is? Does this make sense to you? (The people who voted Henry Bonilla out of office know what I am talking about. Act like a leader or we will throw you out.)

My friends at the Chamber have too much faith in government solving all of our problems.

I get the impression that the average citizen in San Antonio feels differently. They privately think, “Give them a total of 4 years and let’s get some new blood in there.” Brenda Vickrey Johnson will tell us that these politicians need more time to “learn and grow” if they are given a total of 8 years in the helm. Let me translate that: “They will learn how to work city government if they are in there long enough.”

Friends, this smelly fish is back on the buffet. I suspect the grassroots will defeat this effort one more time. Why? They instinctively know better. You can feel it.   

The San Antonio Express-News will lecture us with their high-minded editorials. The voters will read these pious statements and go the other way.  Didn’t the Express-News endorse Bonilla?

Citizen leadership is not about making government more significant in our lives. It is not about one more bond issue so government can expand. We do not need professional politicians redesigning city parks for their posterity and issuing paybacks for the Roman Catholic vote.

This is what we want: Fix our streets, police the streets and balance our budget. Go home.

This is so clear to the voters of this city.

Brenda Vickrey Johnson, you just don’t get it.

Just let us be.
 

95% of the current city council is made up of Democrats. It has been this way for years. Why on earth do we need to elect liberals to serve a total of 8 years to sit on the San Antonio City Council? This permanent professional class of politicians is not what this city needs. We need servant leaders who want to do the right thing for the city and go back home or their small businesses. 

Expect San Antonio Toll Party, C.A. Stubbs, Eastside activists, certain Democrats, independent voters, Conservatives (you) and Homeowner Taxpayer Association grassroots activists to unite on this one. When Henry Cisneros starts making his fiery speeches on this theme we will be off to the races. Does he fire up the base or what? God Bless him.
 

“Partner with business and community organizations, the Mayor and Council to make local government more effective by addressing the issue of extending term limits.”

This commentary is provided so you can understand what is really being said:

“Partner [Pressure local business leaders with private meetings and arm twisting. “How is that city contract coming along? When is it up?”] with business [Big corporations in San Antonio who have the ability to donate $5,000 to $25,000 to fund a new political action committee. We will hire Trish DeBerry –Mejia, President and Partner, Guerra DeBerry Coody who will help us coordinate a PR budget of $400,000 for media buys. Let us not worry about the small business owners in this city. Those pesky people never vote or get out of their retail stores or shops] and community organizations [“How is that city funding allocation we gave you coming along? When is it up?  COPS/METRO Alliance: Did you say you needed more funds for QUEST next year? Let’s take a look”], the Mayor and Council [Willing and ready accomplices. No sweat here.] to make local government more effective [How can we cultivate a new class of professional politicians who will take our phone calls and return our e-mails when our projects are in front of the council? How can we help make sure we have these people beholden to us for giving them 8 years of free reign? They will be oblivious to the average voter since they really work for us.] by addressing the issue of extending term limits. [These strict terms limits drive the ruling class of San Antonio nutty. Don’t you miss the old PATRON system in Colonial Spain?  They knew how to get things done.]”
 

“There are a number of very important issues facing the Congress and the nation, and it’s my hope that both parties can work together in a bipartisan manner on our common goals. In particular, Congress must work to maintain the strong economic growth that has been created in the last several years. This includes making the President’s tax relief permanent, reforming mandatory spending and changing the way Congress spends the people’s money.

“In doing so, I believe we should make the process as transparent as possible so the American people can better see how their money is being spent and how the government is working on their behalf.  I’ve long sought to bring more Texas sunshine to Washington. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and I intend to pursue open government legislation, to improve public disclosure and make the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) more effective.

“We must repair our broken immigration system and restore respect for our laws. In a post-9/11 world, we need to know who is coming into our country and why. This broken system is affecting our economy, families, and eroding traditional respect for the rule of law. This situation will only deteriorate if Congress fails to act.

“Finally, bipartisanship must include Iraq and the war on terror. Protecting the American people is our first responsibility. We all want the troops home as soon as possible, but our military strategy in Iraq must be based on clear national security considerations. We owe it to all Americans to establish a strategy for victory, and to support it—with one voice.”
 

The Comptroller's office expenditures down to pencils are shown in a Listing of Expenditures

http://www.cpa.state.tx.us/comptrol/expendlist/

A message from Comptroller Susan Combs

To My Fellow Texans:

It’s a new year, a new day and an amazing time to be a Texan. I am honored to serve you and our great state as your Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. The future starts today, and I couldn’t be more energized and excited about the opportunities ahead.

Public service requires a solemn oath to offer your very best. I am committed to an agenda that places the public interest at the center of every task, every day. The Comptroller’s Office must always be accountable and responsive to the people of Texas. You can count on this; it is my pledge to you.

I know that behind every taxpayer dollar is a hardworking person whose valuable contribution is reflected in every cent. Your money counts. That is why we will work tirelessly to find new ways to save taxpayer dollars and insist on accountability in the collection and expenditure of them. We will do this in a spirit of teamwork with every office in state government and by embracing new ways to increase efficiency through information technology, innovation and cooperation.

We will also empower local governments and communities with the information they need to encourage, create and support economic development and jobs for Texans.

Texans have always been pioneers. We not only greet the future with enthusiasm, we set out to meet it head-on. The Comptroller’s Office will look beyond the immediate horizon to meet challenges and opportunities. This Office will be committed to harnessing the river of data flowing before us to fuel and inform today’s actions for tomorrow’s success. We will provide critical information to our state’s lawmakers to make critical decisions.

I look forward to the year ahead as we immediately get to work.

Sincerely,

Susan Combs

Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
 

Biography of Christopher J. Milam
Source: www.milamforsheriff.com

Sergeant,

Texas Attorney General

Criminal Investigation Division

Money Laundering Unit

Christopher J. Milam holds a Master Peace officer License in the State of Texas with 28 years of Law Enforcement experience. In 1978- 1982 he was a Security Policeman with the United States Air Force. After leaving active duty military service, Christopher worked for the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office in San Antonio Texas, retiring as a Sergeant in the Patrol Division. Sgt. Milam also has 5 years of experience, as an International Police officer beginning with the United Nations International Police Force, as a “Police Instructor” in the Bosnia Mission. Additional assignments include Kosovo, Southern Serbia and Belgrade as an (Senior International Police) Instructor, seconded by the U.S. State Department.

Sergeant Milam holds a Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice from Wayland Baptist University and a Masters Degree in Management from the National Graduate School.

Sergeant Milam is currently working for the Texas Attorney Generals office, Criminal Investigation Division, assigned to the Money Laundering Unit. His current duty station is with (HIDTA), High Intensity Drug Task Area in San Antonio Texas.

Contact Information:

 Christopher J Milam for Sheriff

5804 Babcock Rd. #126

San Antonio, TX  78240

Phone Number:

 210-315-2696
 

Dear Friend,

Greetings! I have been called by God to run for the position of Mayor of San Antonio. I am humbled by this call and want to do everything I can to honor the experience as an opportunity to glorify God. My guide is the Word of God. My strength and direction will come through prayer.  These are the values by which I live my life. Together, let’s glorify God in San Antonio!

You are cordially invited to attend a fundraiser dinner Thursday, January 25, at 6:30 PM, at my restaurant, Joseph’s Storehouse Restaurant and Bakery at 3420 N. St. Mary’s.  Music will be provided and we will enjoy a fun time together! Please contact Ms. Jean Yates at 674-5400 today! Space is limited, so you will want to be sure to RSVP for this very important event before January 22!

God bless you! We look forward to hearing from you today!!!!

Patrick J. McCurdy    

Mayoral Candidate                      (please cut along dotted line and return lower portion)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

____ Yes, I will attend. I would like to purchase a total of _____ dinners at $30 each.

____ No, I will not be attending. However, I would like to contribute to your campaign. Enclosed is my best gift at this time for $_________________.

Note: The price of dinners purchased is considered a political contribution. Donors must be U.S. citizens. Mayoral candidates may not accept more than $1,000 per donor (but not per household), nor may cash donations exceed $100 per donor during the election cycle. Corporate checks are prohibited. (per San Antonio Campaign Finance Laws)

San Antonio Municipal Ethics Commission requires the following for all political contributions:

______________________________      ______________________________________

Name                                                 Employer

______________________________      ______________________________________

Street address                                    Occupation

_______________________    _____      _____________     ______________________

City                                     State        Zip Code              Phone Number

Please mail checks payable to:  McCurdy Campaign
                                                   9707 Five Forks
                                                   San Antonio TX 78254
Pol Adv pd by Patrick McCurdy

3420 N. St Mary’s  ▪  San Antonio TX  78212  ▪  (210) 638-8453  ▪  www.mccurdyformayor.org/
 

By John Merrifield,
Professor of Economics
Director, Entrepreneurial Conservatism Institute
January 8, 2007

The most important thing to understand about the poor is that it is a constantly changing set of people. This is really good news; the right way to start the new year. Only a fraction of the people in the bottom 20% of the income range now will be there for more than a few years. Most of those in the bottom twenty percent of income earners are also in the top twenty percent at some other time in their careers. Not more than 3% of the population work hard all of their working lives and stay in the bottom 20%!!!  The chronic poor are only 3% of the population.

That’s they way it is in our land of opportunity. The income mobility implicit in the facts just described is the way it should be. No matter where you find yourself, you can improve your productivity and achieve prosperity, even wealth. But you can make mistakes, or just stand still, and fall to the bottom 20%. Which of those do you suppose is the more likely effect of the government programs enacted in the name of helping the poor? Trade restrictions, mandates like the minimum wage, and taxing the successful to transfer money to others (the ‘welfare’ rolls made from your dough), reduces income mobility by creating barriers, or making the hard work to get ahead less attractive.

The minimum wage is a labor market barrier for folks whose only path to prosperity is a low skill, entry-level job. By the way, the claim that people can’t live on a wage that low is a poorly motivated distraction for the many people that know better. Know better about what? First of all, very few people seeking low skill, entry level jobs are supporting themselves on that income. The vast majority have other sources of income, like parents, spouse, or pension. Many of the remainder have the unenviable, but real choice between a very low wage, and no wage. For the least skilled, making the low wage illegal denies them work now, and the opportunity to become more productive in the long-run. Second, there are other ways to help the working poor make ends meet. But it takes leadership to offer them as a substitute for the seeming free lunch of a minimum wage hike.

Free enterprise guided by the market price system, plus rule of law, is the engine of income mobility and economic growth. Rule of law means clear, stable, impersonal rules protecting private property. A system of market-determined prices signals where additional resources generate the most value. The political process can improve on that process only by recognizing its limitations and getting out of the way. Perhaps the most important aspect of leadership is recognizing the inherent limitations of the political process. Price controls like the minimum wage have a long history of being a disaster.
 

Susan Howard-Chrane, who played one of the characters in the popular nighttime drama Dallas is coming to New Braunfels to speak at the January meeting of the New Braunfels Republican Women. 

Ms. Howard-Chrane was born and raised in Texas. After attending the University of Texas for two years she moved to Los Angeles to further her acting career. She is best known for her role as Donna Culver Krebbs on the soap opera Dallas. She was also Maggie Petrocelli on the television show Petrocelli. She is best known to Star Trek fans for her role as the first female Klingon. Ms. Howard-Chrane received Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for her television roles. Ms. Howard-Chrane is a member of the Writers Guild of America and continues to write for television.

Today, Ms. Howard-Chrane spends much of her time supporting conservative causes. She is currently the Finance Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas and is active in the NRA. 

Ms. Howard-Chrane will be the guest speaker at the New Braunfels Republican Women’s meeting on January 15, 2007 at 6:00 p.m. at Seekatz Opera House, 265 W. San Antonio Street. The public is welcome to attend. Dinner will be available, however, it must be ordered prior to the meeting by contacting Gayna Wommack at 830/629-5922 or jwommack@satx.rr.com. 
 

I have the honor of serving as the Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property of the House Judiciary Committee.

The IP Subcommittee is an important one for my district, many of whom are employed directly or indirectly by the technology industry.

The economic growth of the high tech industry is mirrored in my district where companies that were unknown twenty years ago, like Dell and Apple, are household names today.

As former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan once noted, the majority of America’s recent economic growth has come about due to the efficiency brought by the high tech economy.

There was a time not that long ago when intellectual property was a quiet field of law which elicited little interest, even from think tanks like CATO. Now intellectual property cases such as the Grokster copyright case and the eBay patent case are heard before the Supreme Court and everyone pays attention to it.

Just as the attention paid to intellectual property has changed, so have the laws. Many of these changes are due to the updates of existing law that must be made in order to address digital era concerns. Let me give you two examples.

In 1994, an MIT student was indicted for running one of the largest software piracy cases of its time using MIT computers. Because the copyright law authors did not anticipate that people would distribute stolen software without charge, the student could not be prosecuted under the copyright law of that time.

The federal judge eventually threw out the case brought under another law noting the lack of an adequate copyright law to address the issues raised by the case.

A few years later, the No Electronic Theft Act, the NET Act, was passed to ensure that those who distributed stolen intellectual property, even without making money from it, could be prosecuted.

The DMCA is a second example of a law being updated for the digital age. As an increasing number of pirated files became available for downloading, copyright owners realized that the federal government would only be able to pursue the worst of the pirates.

The need for self-help measures became clear. However, self-help measures did not make sense if tools to circumvent these self-help measures were readily available.

In the analog world, we put locks on our doors to safeguard our possessions, and penalize those who possess burglary tools.

A digital equivalent of laws to penalize those with burglary tools was needed. It was also necessary to align United States law with our international treaty obligations.

Congress then enacted the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the DMCA, in 1998 to penalize digital versions of burglary tools. I think the law has been a success. Our digital economy has exploded in size, making digital content available to everyone with a computer.

However, it seems that the DMCA has been blamed for everything under the sun. This is unfortunate since the DMCA is the foundation of our nation’s digital economy.

I don’t think anyone disagrees that e-commerce has blossomed over the past decade. Apple sells millions of iPods a month and just two months ago announced that it had sold its one-billionth song, less than three years after the first song was sold on iTunes.

Its digital rights management system, called FairPlay, limits consumer uses of the music to prevent mass piracy, but clearly in a way that few consumers mind. If iTunes DRM was overbearing, consumers would not have bought a million songs, much less one billion.

However, without FairPlay. iTunes simply wouldn’t have the music available on its service.

Copyright owners want to ensure that their music won’t be pirated easily and DRM systems like FairPlay ensure that won’t happen.

There are other DRM systems that consumers like more, and some they like less. But these are marketplace decisions in which consumers vote with their wallets.

The DMCA simply makes capitalism work efficiently in the digital marketplace. If people feel that the DMCA has prevented a fair outcome, a process also exists in which interested groups can try to make their case before a triennial Copyright Office rulemaking. That process is now underway. This country is about consumer choice. If we don’t like a product’s terms, conditions or price, we don’t buy it. If enough consumers agree with us, the company with declining sales will get the message or got out of business. If not enough consumers agree with us, perhaps our concerns are mislaid. Regardless, it’s our choice where we spend our money.

I recognize that some have wrongly attempted to use the DMCA as a club in litigation in a manner for which the DMCA was not written. Courts have struck down such efforts, just as they have struck down other efforts to misuse other laws.

The fact that some lawyer has misused the DMCA is not a reason to repeal the DMCA. It’s time to back litigation reform and impose sanctions on lawyers who bring frivolous lawsuits.

Last March, I re-introduced the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act to require such sanctions. My legislation has already passed the House twice, but still awaits Senate action.

Other legislation dealing with music licensing, patent reform, and orphan works will be considered in the months to come.

Also, the Department of Justice is seeking additional authorities for intellectual property enforcement. We will have a hearing on that legislation in the near future.

As the release date of the Supreme Court’s decision in the eBay case gets closer, it is my hope that patent groups will see the light on reaching a consensus to reforming our nation’s patent laws. Bad patents harm the whole system, no matter what their cause.

However, my primary goal is to provide for an efficient intellectual property system. In the copyright system this means that theft is treated as theft and those who distribute burglary tools are penalized under our nation’s laws.

I appreciate the opportunity to speak to you this morning and know this conference will be a success.
 

Business, government leaders join in effort

By Jim Forsyth

WOAI Radio

Thursday, January 4, 2007

A powerful coalition of north side businessmen, led by auto dealer Ernesto Ancira and Tetco Chairman Tom Turner, Jr. is leading a new push to get all plans for new toll lanes on Highway 281 eliminated, 1200 WOAI news reported Thursday.

It's part of a multi-faceted effort to fight back against efforts by the Metropolitan Planning Organization in Bexar County and by the Perry Administration in Austin to turn to toll roads to alleviate the state's transportation crunch.

In separate letters to the MPO, Ancira and Turner urged the Organization to remove all consideration of tolls from its long-term plan for 281.

"We own five convenience store locations along the proposed tollway," Turner wrote. "Each one of those stores is worth $2 million to $3 million apiece. The addition of toll roads along this stretch of 281 has the great potential to have a catastrophic impact over each one of these convenience stores. We would definitely not have chosen these locations had we known of the possible existence of a toll road."

Ancira's letter is even more strongly worded.

"The addition of toll roads to this stretch of 281 has the potential to have a long term negative impact on my business," Ancira wrote, pointing out that he has invested millions in his Chrysler-Jeep dealership on 281 outside Loop 1604 'with the understanding that 281 would remain a freeway.'

Bexar County Commissioner and toll road opponent Lyle Larson says the message he gets from businesses large and small along 281 is the same, and it proves that the county and state should never add tolled lanes to existing highways, highways where businesses currently exist.

"We made those investments based on the fact that it was a freeway," Larson quoted businesses owners as telling him. "You build tollways, and essentially your traffic is cut in half. This sentiment goes all the way up that corridor and down the other, the business people are against it."

A plan to build additional tolled lanes on U.S. 281 between Loop 1604 and the Comal County line was ordered to begin in 2006, but has been temporarily halted due to environmental concerns.

Larson says it's time for the MPO and the Perry administration to put a halt to all toll road construction in Bexar County. He says if the money which has been looted from the state highway construction and maintenance fund by greedy lawmakers and moved to other projects over the past two decades was returned, there would be no need for toll roads.

"You stop the diversions, and then you back pay the $9.3 billion, you fix a lot of the issues statewide, and you fix all of the issues in Bexar County, without having to build toll lanes."

Larson says legislation will be introduced in the upcoming session to stop diversions of money from what is called "Fund Six," the state gasoline tax fund. Larson says over the years, gasoline tax money, which is supposed to be used to build and repair public highways, has been used to pay for the operations of the State Department of Mental Health Mental Retardation, to build new cemeteries, on auto theft prevention efforts, and even to fund a bureaucrat's dream called the "State Office of Administrative Hearings."

Larson pointed out that estimates are that the state will have a surplus of up to $15 billion in the coming session, and the first place that money should go is to fund highways and replenish the gas tax money which has been looted.

"If you look at the basic structure of government, I think infrastructure should be one of the primary focuses, before you start using discretionary allocations for things I don't think the state government should be involved in," Larson said.

He said the 'next six months' will be critical in efforts to kill toll road plans in Bexar County.
 

Just a week into the New Year and we receive word that Judge Tom Rickoff’s sons Franz & Fritz are poor maligned pillars of the community based on recent reports in the San Antonio Express-News. Their late 2006 arrest for speed racing was nothing more that an attempt by a police officer to smear the reputation of the Judge in the mist of a hotly contested judicial race according to defense attorneys.

Here are two short excerpts from our friend at the San Antonio Lightning, R.G. Griffing who ran the following this past week.

“Judge Tom Rickhoff's puppies dodged the hook late last week when it was ‘determined’ that a drug bust following an alleged street-racing incident was not the fruit of ‘probable cause,’ and was therefore, tossed in the trash.”

Griffing went on to quote a respected police officer on the incident and then said, Rickhoff attorneys claimed the cop was a partisan supporter of a Rickhoff opponent, Barbara Scharf-Zeldes.

“The incident happened at a touchy moment, as Rickhoff was then running to keep his seat on the probate bench. He won, and his ample credentials remain snuggly placed in his well-worn chair.”

How many times did I write about Rickoff’s sons last year? I said back then nothing would come of it and they would in essence drop the case. Who knew?

Since my last column came out on New Year’s Day, the buzz is heavy as to how I am privy to so much gossip from both sides. To tell you the truth, my contact sources have doubled in stature in the last couple of months. It seems that everyone from elected officials to party activists, political insiders and political hopefuls are dropping juicy tidbits on the Republicrat.

Republicans and Democrats are all talking and those gems of rumor, innuendo and trash talking make it to me in strange ways, to articulate and put their perspective into print.

Some of the information is obviously vendetta, some of it is strictly observation, and some is political perspective. Various people pass it on to me to edit it and put it out. Technically the Republicrat is expanding to include a combination of a number of insiders wanting to get out their version of a story out as they see it.

In other words, the Republicrat is now more than one person. In fact, many are now contributing to the Republicrat. Granted some of them do not realize they are contributing, but when did that stop us?

Let’s do an official name change and call it the Republicrat Plus. We will have more on that later.

Turning to the Bexar County Democratic Party Chair Carla Vela for a moment, a number of Judges who were sworn in to office on New Year’s Day complained that Carla was noticeably absent for their swearing in ceremonies.

I attended two of the lady judges’ ceremonies in the afternoon and looked around for her, but did not see her. I didn’t see her Executive Director either.

Since she has claimed the Party is responsible for the six judges success, you would have thought she would be there basking in their victories. Apparently, she was a no-show. How odd.

Word is out that she will be bringing in three Democratic State Senators to the Bexar County Women’s meeting in two weeks to talk about the recent success in the November elections. If she can’t support the winning judges now, how will she do bringing in three State Senators?

Tomorrow the state legislature will swear in the State Reps and the State Senators. Question is will the current Speaker of the House Tom Craddick still be the House Speaker or will Jim Pitts take over?

As a Democrat, I would certainly hope Craddick goes down. That man is a sorry excuse for a leader. He learned all his dirty tricks from his good cohort in crime, Tom Delay.  The question is has former Congressman Tom Delay been indicted yet?

Not much else is happening this early in the year. We have city council elections coming up. Maybe that will give us some juicy gossip about the candidates, Republican and Democrat.

I certainly hope so since the Republicrat thrives on high-quality gossip, juicy inside information, innuendo and trash talking. Here is to my new conspirators in publishing everything you wanted to know about local politics and then some. If you have some good juicy insider information and want to see it in print, send it to Editor Joe Solis and I am sure he will pass it on to me.

And that’s the moderate view; I AM the Republicrat PLUS.
 

Amazing group of words and phrases….Is this a political commentary from a supposed moderate or a gossip column? Actually it really reminds me of the National Enquirer and is on par with that rag.

Who is complaining? What Democratic organization? What money is being hidden?

I know of one case where a volunteer had seen a large check put in the donation jar during the campaign and said she didn’t see that check being deposited. What she didn’t realize is that that check was in a deposit with other monies, but correctly listed on the deposit receipt. I showed it to her along with the copy of the specific check which Fernando keeps. That’s how rumors start. If there is a problem come to the person you perceive as a problem and verify or discredit the problem; and, if there is a problem try to work it out.

Yes, I have taken over operation of party headquarters. That is the job of the Executive Director. But that is not the party. The party is run by the CEC and Carla. All I do is see to it the office is open and that the day to day operations are taken care of.

Run off what volunteers? There was only one volunteer when I got here and she went to work on Ciro’s campaign. I sent out a call for help this week on Monday evening. I had 2 volunteers on Tuesday afternoon, 6 on both Wednesday and Thursday and 3 on Friday. Additionally I had other folks who said they couldn’t help this time, but please let them know in the future.

Only the Republicrat seems to being having a problem. This is a man with an agenda and that agenda is to discredit the Bexar County Democratic Party Chair and the Bexar County Democratic Party.

Carla has been, is and will be an excellent representative of our party. She puts in long hours, both at the headquarters and attending all the functions expected of the party chair. She does this while working her regular fulltime job and without remuneration. And in case someone isn’t aware of it, I am also a fulltime volunteer. I do not receive any money and I told Carla right from the start that I will not accept any pay in the future even if it is available. In that case we will hire a staff person, not pay me.

Lastly, if Diane Stallings wants to take over control of the party why did she just resign as Deputy Chair and from her committees? If she indeed was plotting like he says, she would hang in there no matter what else was going on in her life.

Maybe its time for the Republicrat to go back into the woodwork where he belongs or to start volunteering for the party and doing something positive for a change. Some people take pleasure from gossiping and complaining, but don’t do anything constructive to try to change the supposed problems. Usually these are people who never really do any of the “work” of the party. They just get off attending all the functions and having their picture taken with local celebrities.

You need to get your facts straight Republicrat. Try coming to our Braggin’ Breakfast next Saturday and see the party at work. We will be honoring 12 living and 2 deceased party activists who have proven their loyalty and hard work for 30+ years each. Two of them have given more than 60 years each.

 Peace, Love and Serenity,

Madeleine Dewar