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Newsletter: Candidates for Bexar County Sheriff Reach Out for Support   Unedited letters  sent to Joe Solis/South Texas Republicans     Source for all pictures: Walker Report Blog   An Open Letter from the Friends of Chris Milam On March 4th we Republicans have a chance for real change in Bexar County politics. By selecting the right Republican candidate in the Sheriff's race, we can take a county wide seat from the Democrats in November. But first we need to select the right Republican candidate.   Democratic Sherriff Ralph Lopez resigned in disgrace this summer.  His number 2 deputy, his former jail administrator, is running as a Republican for Sheriff of Bexar County. The other Republican candidate for Sheriff, Chris Milam, a man of integrity, leadership, honor and faith.   After retiring from the Bexar County Sheriff's Office, Chris represented the United States as an International Police Senior Law Enforcement Instructor in Bosnia, Kosovo & Serbia. His job was to conduct police training in liaison with the chief law officers of these countries; often this would involve ambassadors, heads of state and even presidents.  This international experience gives Chris the broad experience to deal with and understand boarder security and terrorism. No other candidate Republican or Democrat has this international experience.  In 2004 Chris joined the Texas Attorney General's Office, at the same time going back to school to earn a Masters Degree in Management. Currently Chris works for the Attorney General's Office in the Criminal Investigation Division for Money Laundering. As confirmation of his abilities Chris has earned the Master Peace Officer License, the highest law enforcement license issued in Texas.  Chris has the best police and management education available.  In his capacity as a Criminal Investigator with the Attorney Generals Office, Chris works on a daily basis with many different law enforcement agencies.  This proven ability to work with other agencies is a requirement for a sheriff. On December 31, 2007, New Years Eve, the Bexar County Dispatch '911' Call Center was overwhelmed; 250 citizens attempting to report fires, domestic situations as well as other emergencies could not get help. This crisis occurred primarily because there were not enough personnel on duty to handle the in-coming emergencies. In this era of automation the personal touch has been sacrificed for efficiency and an effort to cut costs. Automated prompts or messages asking you to "wait for the next dispatcher" are inappropriate at a time when immediate help is required. When Chris is elected Sheriff of Bexar County he plans to increase staff in dispatch and promote salary incentives so as to attract and keep our qualified personnel. When a citizen calls '911' a concerned, trained person will answer the call and handle your emergency. Bexar County is plagued with sexual predators and we need a new Sheriff who is ready to implement an aggressive and proactive offender recognition and monitoring program. There are approximately 1900 Registered Sex offenders within Bexar County. We need to evaluate and understand the propensity for these persons to offend again and their continuing threat to the citizens of Bexar County, especially our children. Serious adjustments need to be made in the Sheriff's Office manpower and resources dedicated to monitoring those convicted of sexual offenses and are living in our community. When elected sheriff, Chris Milam, will seek out Federal funding sources to assist in managing the ever growing problems associated with monitoring sexual offenders.  Bexar County will no longer tolerate criminals who exploit our women and children, we want them caught, off our streets, and locked up in jail. We need a new sheriff who is a sheriff to all the people.  A Sheriff who is not only educated, but who has also been tested. With one-third of the Bexar County budget going to law enforcement we need a Sheriff who is financially conservative. We need a Sheriff who has the vision and the financial training, to spend our tax money wisely.  We need a Sheriff who will put these assets to good use to protect our children our elderly and our property.   As Chris' friends and members of Chris campaign are asking for your help.  We need three things. First, we need your vote on March 4th.  We ask that you exercising your constitutional right to vote on March 4th.  Second, we need volunteers. All campaigns run on volunteers.  We have 22,000 phone calls to make, we need your help! Third, the heart beat of all campaigns are donations. We need your donations. Sheriff races are not very glorious. They are not like senate or congressional races. If you can please donate $25.00 to Chris' campaign we would greatly appreciate it. Chris needs your financial support.  Please go to Chris' web site at: www.milamforsheriff.com and learn more about Chris' campaign and learn how to volunteer or donate to this campaign.   **************************************   "Some people asked me why I got into the race for Sheriff." Dennis J. McKnight, Republican Candidate for Sheriff   Some people asked me why I got into the race for Sheriff.  I am in it because the people of BexarCounty deserve better than what they have had..   They deserve better than they are likely to get at the hands of the other candidates.  The job of the Sheriff in a major, metropolitan county is more than riding around in a cowboy hat professing to be tough on crime. The two stated objective of law enforcement are, to prevent crime, and to arrest offenders.  If crime prevention is done correctly, the number of offenders arrested is reduced.  Ben Franklin said, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  Compare the cost of an adequate patrol division to the cost of operating a jail.  Warehousing prisoners is very expensive.  To this point, very little has been accomplished to balance the scale.  Einstein said insanity is repeatedly doing things the same way and expecting a different result.  The Sheriff of Bexar County needs to be a leader and innovator who can identify the problem and propose a viable solution.   The Sheriff needs to be someone who can think outside the box.  The Sheriff should be someone with exceptional education, training and relevant experience; a proven manager. During my tenure in the Sheriff's Office I became involved in initiatives to prevent crime and reduce jail population.  I participated in community policing initiatives, attended neighborhood meeting, and National Night Out Against Crime rallies and worked on streamlining the Central Magistration and booking processes.   I managed  Deputy Mobile Outreach Teams (DMOT) that dealt with crisis situations involving mental health consumers.  A mental health certified deputy would be paired with a licensed mental health worker.  The team would respond to crisis calls in the hope of calming the situation and restoring order without violence or arrest.   It has been documented by the Center for HealthCare Services that, on average, 2000 mental health consumers were appropriately handled at the scene and diverted from the jail by DMOT. If incarcerated, a mental health consumer spends, on average, three times longer in jail during the pretrial stage of the case than a detainee without mental health issues.  Because of matters related to competency and medical conditions in addition to mental health issues, the cost to house a mental health consumer averages $300 per day.  The average cost for detainees without mental health issues is $50 per day.  The DMOT program reduces cost to the taxpayer because costs little to maintain and run and is the right thing for the right reasons.  Preventing recidivism is another area of crime prevention.  Until last year, people discharged from jail were shoved out on the street and odd hours of the day and night in one of the highest crime areas of the county.  They had no money, no job, no place to go and no transpiration.  A formula for failure. People will do what they no how to do best to survive.  Commit another crime, get caught and end up back in jail.  I started a Re-Entry program that combined the services provided by NGOs, faith-based organizations and volunteers to catch the detainee upon release from jail.  These organizations provided food, shelter, transportation, medical treatment and job training.  The goal is to prevent the detainee from re-offending.  Virtually no tax dollars were spent on the program. The jail has always been a problem.  The annual budget exceeds $68 million.  Staffing deficiencies seemed to be at the heart of major operational problems and prevented certification by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards.  I assumed command of the jail, reviewed staffing numbers, directed shift commanders to reassign officers and the staffing issue, although still a problem, was resolved to the satisfaction of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards.  The jail was certified for the first time in six years and it was accomplished with less staff than was available to my predecessor.    The job of providing effective and efficient public safety without increasing budgets and taxes isn't easy.  Response times have risen to nearly two hours.  That is totally unacceptable.  Calls for services have increased from less than 65,000 in 1999 to over 150,000 in 2007.  Traffic on some major highways coming into BexarCounty has tripled in ten years.  It is clear that without an increase in budget, resources must be redirected and a new way of thinking must be initiated in order to provide requisite service to the public.  A few months ago, in a public forum, I suggested that DARE officers be reassigned to patrol.  That was a controversial proposal.  DARE is a good program.  Any program that keeps one child off drugs or alcohol is worth every penny spent.  However, we needed to respond to calls for robbery, sexual assault, domestic violence and the reassignment of the 9 DARE officers would provide 2 complete patrol districts with 24/7 coverage at no additional cost to the taxpayer.  Surprisingly, the suggestion was adopted.   Tax money is tight and commissioners have many legitimate places to spend it.  I have always tried to provide the best possible service to the taxpayer while staying within budget. Another question about me has come up.  Although I really do not see the need to address it, I will state my position here.  It has been suggested that I am not really a Republican or that I wasn't a Republican until this election.  This assertion is based on finding that I voted in very few, if any, Republican primaries.  I grew up in Pennsylvania in a Republican family.  I was a member of the Young Republicans while attending YoungstownStateUniversity.  I attended meeting of  the Young Republicans while at the University of Maryland at College Park.  I used to quote Barry Goldwater's Conscience of a Conservative.  I came to Texas and St. Mary's University and became active in student government and was on the student senate.  I inquired about a Young Republicans Club.  I was assured there wasn't one.  Everyone was a DixieCrat.  Republican candidates for local offices were few and far between.  If there was a Republican candidate, there certainly was no opposition on the primary ballot.  Voting trends will show that folks who showed up to vote in the Republican primary were likely not to ever do it again because there were no contested races.  In fact many offices had no Republican candidate.  Republicans had and, to a large degree, have a tendency to put forth a single candidate.  Public in-fighting is a social no no. Twelve years ago I thought about running for office.  A long time Republican pundit chastised me for not voting in the primaries.  I gave him the same explanation as above. He was not moved.  Two months ago, the same very seasoned, long time Republican pundit bemoaned to me the problems with getting voters to vote in the primary.  He used the very arguments stated above.  Beyond that, do we have a party or a club? Political parties should be open to everyone.  Political parties should be in the business of attracting members and qualified candidates from wherever they can.  We should be saying "come join us" and "come on over to our side".  Over the years, legions of folks like Phil Gramm who was a Democrat, became Republicans.  John Lindsey was a Democrat who became a Republican  No one complained.  We were happy to have them.  The list goes on.  I recently attended a Republican Business Woman's Club luncheon where the guest speaker spoke about that very issue.  She was proud to say that the Republican Party is active in recruiting new members and voters.  She said freedom of thought and expression is essential to the political process.  She criticized the Democrats for their treatment of Joe Lieberman.  Democrat Dennis Kusinich was blocked by a court order from appearing on the primary ballot because he would not agree with everything the Democratic Central Committee said. That is the kind of thing that disenfranchises voters and turns them away from a party.   Now, can we just move on.

"You are Dead Wrong." by Jeff Wentworth, State Senator, District 25 State Senator Responds To 2/4/2008 South Texas Republicans Newsletter by Joe Solis Dear Joe,   I read your newsletter with interest and believe it serves a useful and beneficial purpose.    That said, I believe you need to be accurate with your statements about Republican candidates, and you are dead wrong when you state, incorrectly, that as county commissioner Lyle Larson " . .  continues to pull in his $87,000 salary during this Republican primary . ."   NO county commissioner in Bexar County, Lyle or any other commissioner, is paid that amount.  Where did you get that number?  Out of the air?   Lyle has refused to accept any pay raises during his 12 years on Commissioners Court, and his salary is the lowest of the four commissioners: $49,368 to be exact.   Both Commissioners Paul Elizondo and Tommy Adkisson draw down $98,316 while Commissioner Sergio Rodriguez is paid $77,102.   By refusing a pay raise to which he was entitled for years, Lyle has saved Bexar County taxpayers over $300,000.   And he insisted on cutting the tax rate seven times during his tenure, saving taxpayers more than $500 million.   He led the fight to freeze taxes for seniors and has been outspoken for his conservative principles during two terms on the city council and three terms on Commissioners Court, a total of 16 years' service to the people of San Antonio and Bexar County.   One of the striking differences between Lyle and his opponent is that Lyle has a proven record of doing what he said he'd do during election years -- and for that reason has been elected and re-elected to office repeatedly.    And, Joe, I must say that your passionate political rhetoric got the best of you when you referred to me as " . . the tired past and the status quo in our party."   Joe, for your edification, I'm a proud part of the ENERGETIC AND COURAGEOUS past, as well as the PRINCIPLED PRESENT AND FUTURE in our party.    There essentially WAS NO REPUBLICAN PARTY when a hand full of pioneers, my father and I among them, began building a competitive two-party political system in Texas back in 1956.  My dad ran as a Republican for county commissioner, and I worked as a high school volunteer in his campaign.   He lost that first race and the two more that followed: state rep in 1962 and state senator in 1974 -- and my first race for state rep in 1974 which was also unsuccessful.    When I was first elected county commissioner in 1976 -- the ONLY Republican elected official in the Bexar County Courthouse out of a total of 38 elected officials down there at the time -- it was the result of energetic and courageous work by many, many conservatives who believed in the value of better, more honest government in a competitive, two-party environment.    My success was largely due to five political campaigns as Republicans in a Democratic state over a 20-year period between father and son before my eventual election.   To refer to me as "the tired past" in our party does a disservice to your newsletter readers; the hundreds and hundreds of hardworking, pioneering Republicans who developed our party; and me personally.  It also shows a woeful lack of knowledge on your part of the history of our Republican Party in Bexar County.   By the way, Joe, my current term in the Texas Senate runs until January, 2011 -- so I'm very much a proud part of both the current and future of our party.   Jeff Wentworth State Senator, District 25

[2007 Story about Senator John McCain and Senator John Cornyn.] McCain, Cornyn Engage in Heated Exchange By Paul Kane, May 18, 2007; 7:01 PM ET  WashingtonPost.com, Copyright 2007 ARTICLE SEGMENTS: Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) hasn't spent much time in the Capitol this year as he seeks the GOP presidential nomination. But one of his rare appearances this week provided a pretty salty exchange with a fellow Republican. Things got really heated when Cornyn accused McCain of being too busy campaigning for president to take part in the negotiations, which have gone on for months behind closed doors. "Wait a second here," Cornyn said to McCain. "I've been sitting in here for all of these negotiations and you just parachute in here on the last day. You're out of line." McCain, a former Navy pilot, then used language more accustomed to sailors (not to mention the current vice president, who made news a few years back after a verbal encounter with Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont). "[Expletive] you! I know more about this than anyone else in the room," shouted McCain at Cornyn. McCain helped craft a bill in 2006 that passed the Senate but couldn't be compromised with a House bill that was much tougher on illegal immigrants. Cornyn's office declined to comment on the incident. McCain's camp specifically denied that the senator ever claimed to know more about the immigration issue than other senators, but acknowledged that the two Republicans had quite a disagreement. About Paul Kane:  Paul Kane joined washingtonpost.com in January 2007 to write a blog about Congress. He previously worked at Roll Call, the newspaper covering the inside politics of Capitol Hill. Senator John Cornyn Endorses John McCain For President  For Immediate Release, February 7, 2008   VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today announced that Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) has endorsed John McCain for president. Senator Cornyn issued the following statement on his endorsement: "In this time of war and economic uncertainty, America must have strong, principled leadership. National security is the first and most important priority of the federal government. We must have a President who will be a leader in the war on terrorism, who will do what is needed to protect our country and its people, and who will not buckle when the political waters become rough. In the Senate Armed Services Committee, and on the Senate floor, I have seen firsthand that John McCain has been right on critical national security issues. He is clearly the man for the job. "Sen. McCain has also been a real leader on another issue that we have neglected far too long -- wasteful and excessive Washington spending. I have watched John McCain take on the special interests and fight the tough battles on behalf of American taxpayers. While we have had principled disagreements on some issues, including some aspects of immigration reform, I am convinced that John McCain shares my conviction that we must secure our borders and restore respect for the integrity of our immigration laws. I will look forward to continuing to pursue these goals with him when he is President. "With many of my colleagues, I have been determined to stay out of the primary contests and allow the members of our party to work their will. I now believe, with a number of the other candidates deciding to step aside, that it is time for the Republican Party to come together and stand behind Senator McCain. I am honored to endorse him for President of the United States today and will do whatever I can to support his candidacy." John McCain thanked Senator Cornyn for his support, stating, "John Cornyn is a fellow conservative with a distinguished record of service to Texas and to our nation. I truly appreciate his support, and I am honored that he is on our team."

"Tale of Two Larsons" Terri Hall, San Antonio Toll Party   After years of being the lone ranger against tolling existing freeways, Bexar County Commissioner Lyle Larson seems to have taken a strange turn. Most will recall Councilwoman Sheila McNeil's remarks about Larson's precinct, "Those people up there can afford the toll roads. The average income up there is $300,000 a year." In days past, Larson would have been the first to defend his precinct from such inflammatory and discriminatory rhetoric (he's called these toll roads a targeted tax on his precinct), but no more. Just hours before the December 3 vote to approve toll rates for 281 at the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), Larson got on the radio and actually defended McNeil instead of taxpayers and then did the exact same thing at the MPO meeting itself. Considering Larson stood before a crowd of more than 600 at AlzafarShrineTemple at the final 281 public hearing proclaiming that he's adamantly opposed to ANY toll roads, his behavior in the last few months casts doubt about the credibility of his position. Case in point, Larson's appointee to the Alamo Regional Mobility Authority (tolling authority) is former City Councilman Bob Thompson, who is pro-toll and in favor of toll-taxing 281 users in Larson's precinct to fund mass transit projects his constituents may never use.   Larson got an earful after Thompson's remarks as he did after several other meetings where Thompson didn't seem to square with Larson's public position on toll roads. So naturally now that Bob Thompson's two-year appointment is up, his constituents are asking for a toll opponent to replace Thompson on the ARMA. Larson nor his office has returned phone calls requesting a meeting to discuss possible replacements. Over the years, Larson has also repeatedly blamed the Legislature for diverting gas tax revenues away from transportation creating the need for toll roads, and for their insistence on making local government pick-up the tab for building and maintaining STATE highways. He's essentially asked angry taxpayers to take out their rage on the Legislature. Well, this year his constituents have a choice to vote out a pro-toll incumbent, Frank Corte, and replace him with toll opponent, Tony Kosub (www.TaxpayersforTony.com) in the Republican primary. Yet who is Larson siding with? The gas tax raiding incumbent who got us all in this mess. They say politics makes strange bedfellows, but it sure looks like more of the same good ol' boy club to voters when the man who they once thought was their hero promotes business as usual instead of democracy in action.

President Ronald Reagan on The Challenger Disaster "On a crisp Winter's morning in Florida, January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger was launched with seven persons aboard, including Christa McAuliffe, a 37-year-old teacher from New Hampshire, who was to be the first ordinary citizen in space.   The flight began at 11:38 a.m. and ended just 73 seconds later in an explosion apparently caused by a failure in the joint between the two lower segments of the right solid rocket motor. The explosion caused the complete structural breakup of the Space Shuttle, killing all seven crew members. The disaster was witnessed live on TV by many thousands of school children watching McAuliffe venture on what she had described as "the ultimate field trip." That evening, President Ronald Reagan consoled the Nation from the Oval Office, giving this eloquent TV speech." Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd planned to speak to you tonight to report on the state of the Union, but the events of earlier today have led me to change those plans. Today is a day for mourning and remembering. Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain with all of the people of our country. This is truly a national loss. Nineteen years ago, almost to the day, we lost three astronauts in a terrible accident on the ground. But, we've never lost an astronaut in flight; we've never had a tragedy like this. And perhaps we've forgotten the courage it took for the crew of the shuttle; but they, the Challenger Seven, were aware of the dangers, but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly. We mourn seven heroes: Michael Smith, Dick Scobee, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe. We mourn their loss as a nation together. For the families of the seven, we cannot bear, as you do, the full impact of this tragedy. But we feel the loss, and we're thinking about you so very much. Your loved ones were daring and brave, and they had that special grace, that special spirit that says, 'Give me a challenge and I'll meet it with joy.' They had a hunger to explore the universe and discover its truths. They wished to serve, and they did. They served all of us. We've grown used to wonders in this century. It's hard to dazzle us. But for twenty-five years the United States space program has been doing just that. We've grown used to the idea of space, and perhaps we forget that we've only just begun. We're still pioneers. They, the members of the Challenger crew, were pioneers. And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's takeoff. I know it is hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It's all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It's all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons. The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we'll continue to follow them. I've always had great faith in and respect for our space program, and what happened today does nothing to diminish it. We don't hide our space program. We don't keep secrets and cover things up. We do it all up front and in public. That's the way freedom is, and we wouldn't change it for a minute. We'll continue our quest in space. There will be more shuttle flights and more shuttle crews and, yes, more volunteers, more civilians, more teachers in space. Nothing ends here; our hopes and our journeys continue. I want to add that I wish I could talk to every man and woman who works for NASA or who worked on this mission and tell them: "Your dedication and professionalism have moved and impressed us for decades. And we know of your anguish. We share it." There's a coincidence today. On this day 390 years ago, the great explorer Sir Francis Drake died aboard ship off the coast of Panama. In his lifetime the great frontiers were the oceans, and a historian later said, 'He lived by the sea, died on it, and was buried in it.' Well, today we can say of the Challenger crew: Their dedication was, like Drake's, complete.  The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honoured us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for the journey and waved goodbye and 'slipped the surly bonds of earth' to 'touch the face of God.' Thank you. Ronald Reagan - January 28, 1986 Source: The History Place

"The Republicrat PLUS" (A Moderate Viewpoint) This is a series by 3 anonymous political insiders in Bexar County and one in Webb County. The views of this section do not represent the views of South Texas Republicans PAC.   It is Valentine's Day week and I am in the mood for love. I'm still single and I could sure using some tender loving care. Let me tell you who is not getting any TLC.  That is Judge Mary Roman.  Last week, we featured the nasty letter sent in by a reader about the Judge.  Okay, the knives are out in a big way. That is pretty obvious.  Expect this one to get really hot and heavy. I have personal take on this situation. The manners of a jurist are important.  Last year, Judge Catherine Torres-Stahl would tell potential supporters: 'I'm running because Judge Mark Luitjen is so rude and mean in court. He has no manners or class.'  It was his style and manner that she focused on. It worked because she won. That is what challenger Anthony Zamora is doing to Judge Mary Roman. He obviously doesn't like her and it sounds personal.   Over and over again, they are saying Judge Mary Roman is cold, rude, unfair, and biased in her courtroom. This is important issue for one single reason. Judges on the Bench, watch your manners and don't start up with that attitude. Think about it. One of your fellow Democrats will try to take you out based on this. If you don't believe me, just start up with the lip service. Judge Roman is taking this challenge very seriously.  Her signs are all over the Eastside where she is expecting the black vote to come out for her big time. They were easy to see during the Martin Luther King March.  Did you notice the Judge marching right next to the Mayor of San Antonio?  Her signs are in really good places. Who is her sign guy?  Write in with your best guess.  I suggest the Judge get an attitude adjustment now.     The sign war on the Southside has gotten really bad.  Chico Rodriguez is getting hammered.  Several weeks ago, he got hit really bad in one night. I am talking about $700 worth of signs gone just like that. His enemies are not playing games.  This is personal and we expect things to get even hotter.  I estimate, based on my contacts in the sign business, that Chico has lost close to $3,000 in signs when you figure in the labor over the past 4 months.  The Southside- we fight with knives!!!   What else is going on?  Brent de la Paz, candidate for Bexar County Democratic Chairman, will be having a Meet and Greet this month.  This young man is so handsome and I love his eyes. Are they green? The old guard establishment in the Democratic Party feel safe with Carla. She is like the grandma who is doing her best.  Unless Brent can win the grassroots, he is going to have a tough time retiring her.  One of his supporters wrote us and told us that he does know Mikal Watts from way back. Why the denial? Who cares? My guess is that Carla is going to take 65% of the vote.  It is a woman's year like always. Nobody knows Brent at this point, although I did hear he got endorsed by the Young Democrats. I doubt that will help him any. Early voting is just a few weeks away and it will be interesting to see who is still left standing after the March 4th Primary. Then there is Hillary who is coming to town in the next two days. I hope to see here this time since the last time she came it was at a private home and they were asking $2,300 to speak to her and shake hand. Way too expensive for me. The word on the street is she is coming to a public rally. That helps.   That is the moderate view, I AM the Republicrat.

Thanks for reading the new edition of South Texas Republicans.  We welcome your comments, complaints and suggestions.  Joe Solis, Founder and Director  (SolisJoe@sbcglobal.net)