FB Independent Editorial: At election time, judge politicians by actions, not words

At election time, judge politicians by actions, not words

Introduction
Right before election time so many “tune-in” to the local paper, blogs, forums, radio and television to get last minute sound bites to decide whom they will vote for in the coming elections. This may not be the best route for making a choice though.


This year we’ve had numerous opportunities to hear and see candidates at forums and to talk with their supporters as they block-walk to convince us that their contender is the right one for the job.

After spending a few years watching one particular council in Missouri City, as well as having several friends keep an eye on our commissioners court, I’m convinced listening to their words, only, is a colossal mistake.

Thanks to new local media sources, at least 6 now, we have more options on which to draw our opinion from and finally our actions of voting.

For me, party affiliation seems to be less of an issue as finding those willing to serve that aren’t chasing the money (campaign contributions).

Often neighbors will ask me who to vote for, which I reply that they need to get the voting record of incumbents and their campaign financial disclosure reports, take nothing for granted in this never ending shell game.

If these records don’t match what they are saying in community forums, or in the public media, then I strongly advise them to look for candidates who will say what they mean and act on those choices.

It also helps to find candidates not accepting a majority of their contributions from out of area special interest companies, as is often the case in our county.

Right now in the council races in Missouri City I’m witnessing incumbents who have been “in service” for decades. They are attending special meetings and making promises, but to the more astute watchers of these boards, councils and commissions, especially this one, the key is listening to what they are actually saying.

For example, at one community forum the mayor and two at large councilmembers denied that they are diverting bond money to special interest projects, thus passing costs for new roads for private corporate developers to the citizens (contrary to state law, but rarely enforced).

This is easily confirmed in the city minutes for the 2007 November session.

It’s further complicated with a campaign disclosure statement from two of these incumbents that lists “potential conflicts of interest” by either doing business with some of those companies involved on the receiving end of these taxpayer gifts or direct contributions, which too can be easily confirmed via the public record (disclosure statements on file with the city for free).

Much of this, after years of promising the residents to “turn the corner on taxes”, which they actually raised three times last year. I’ve even heard them try to convince people that this isn’t happening or next, that it is in the “best interest” of all.

They even worked to start a pseudo-grass roots group in December to convince others and have one of the neighborhood HOAs directing traffic to the site, which may be a violation of it’s non-profit status.

Bond Problems
What’s actually going on with council, according to one media source, is known as “slipping” the bonds.

This means that they are changing the use of them for particular projects that the public had no opportunity to speak up on or support.

At another community forum, where only the incumbents were invited, the mayor presented an “unfunded” promise to the Lake Olympia community.

These “unfunded” projects are always interesting campaign promises to watch and quite often are the most frequently broken.

Yes, during election time we will see much deceit, misdirection and finger pointing. We’ve had our share of it this year with so many races at all levels.

Fighting voter fatigue is especially important with the local races still facing us. Finding the right people is even harder.

Do your homework folks and then vote!

Source:

http://fbindependent.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smen...