Well, we were very appreciative of TAMU-Commerce hosting this event
Tuesday evening. I was sorry to see such a small crowd, and many were
from Hopkins county (which is new to the district). I passed out my
card and asked to be notified sooner of any similar events in the
future. It was the first of its kind. Hosted by the African American
Leadership Conference and Phi Iota Alpha Fraternity.
I went into this with an open mind. I didn't know much about George
Alexander, having only seen him in one forum and met him very briefly
once. We helped get Dan Flynn elected when he first went to Austin and
had supported him for many years. I am always willing to take a hard
look at those public servants who represent us.
Mr. Alexander is not a polished politician. That's refreshing.
Mr.
Flynn defended himself saying he wasn't a career politician, then asked
us in his closing if we really wanted to send someone inexperienced to
Austin? Wasn't he inexperienced when he went a decade ago?
Mr. Alexander did point out that Texas government spending has risen
over 50% since Mr. Flynn took office. AND we do have debt, our
economic picture isn't as rosy as they would like us to believe. I
learned much of this when Debra Medina was running for Governor in
2009-10.
Mr. Alexander admitted he didn't know everything and wouldn't
pretend to. He's a concerned citizen running for office to represent
us. He has long time roots in the district.
Mr. Flynn listed his
awards and recognitions from different organizations and his voting
score with Empower Texans. (a side note that I think is funny...Flynn
touts the Empower Texans score and Sen. Deuell discounts it. I think we
need to look at various issues and see how he's voted. Also realizing
that sometimes they support a bill knowing it will fail in the Senate
and vice versa, so they can look good. A lot of games are played in
Austin. It can be difficult to know what's really happening. To get a
fresh "outsider's view" check out
http://davidsimpson.com/
he was the freshman in the last session who really stood up for the
people. You can sign up for his email list. He told us about getting
called into the "principal's office" over his anti-TSA bill.)
Mr. Alexander mentioned Mr. Flynn's record on some legislation
(for the TTC, against more transparency in the budget, against removiing
the confidentiality of toll contracts, against managing control of our
Texas environment, for the nursing home "granny tax" ) Some of these I
was familiar with and others I was not.
Mr. Alexander said that according to campaign finance reports Mr.
Flynn has raised most of his money from special interests outside the
district (around 1 Million in the last 10 years). I confirmed this
here:
http://www.followthemoney.org
The panel of journalists asked some really good questions. I think it was all moderated very fairly.
(GEUS videoed the forum held in Greenville on Monday night. It might be available on the public access channel.)
To see more on each candidate:
http://www.alexanderforhouse.com/
http://www.daflynn.com/Endorsements.htmI came across this website with lots of info. Project Vote Smart
http://votesmart.org
I hope this helps as you go to the polls starting Monday.
For Liberty and Justice for all,
Debbie McKee