Dems make their case for votes at forum

Published Sunday, February 3, 2008

By Brandon Evans

Wise County has adopted Republican red when going to the polls in recent elections.

Of the 10 local positions up for election in 2008, only two are currently held by Democrats. Still, local Democrats continue to try to get their message out in an attempt to earn their way into more county positions.

Democrats from Wise and Parker counties gathered at a forum at the Decatur Civic Center on Tuesday night to listen to and question an array of Democrats running for local, state and national offices in the 2008 election.

The Wise County Active Democrats organized the event. Approximately 30 to 40 visitors attended along with 11 candidates.

Of all the Democrats running for local offices, none will face an opponent in the primary. One of those was Gerald Hartley of Runaway Bay. Hartley is running for district attorney for Wise and Jack counties. He won't face an opponent until November when he will be competing against Republican Greg Lowery and independent Clinton Phillips.

"I want to move as many cases as possible, but in the right way," Hartley said. "The only way to make a statement to the criminal element is to take defendants through a speedy trial and make sure justice is served."

Jim Popp of Greenwood, who is running for Precinct 1 commissioner, also spoke at the event. In November, he will face one of four Republicans running in the March 4 primary for the position.

"I am going to give Precinct 1 back to the people of the county," Popp said. "I'm tired of commissioners only coming around once every four years around election time. Any other time I can't find them."

Popp promised to hold town hall-style meetings once a month to meet with constituents on issues if he is elected.

Bill Smith, a candidate for Precinct 3 commissioner, also made an appearance. He will face incumbent Mikel Richardson in the general election in November.

"I feel like the last eight years we have been hoodwinked by Republicans on the local, state and national level," Smith said. "We need honesty back in office. We need people willing to look after each other as neighbors rather than an aristocracy."

Smith especially took issue with commissioners earning a $14,000 annual automobile allowance.

Dennis Hudson is running again for Precinct 1 constable. He will face Republican Tom Bishop in the general election. Hudson is running for his fifth term as constable.

"I will continue to try and give the best law enforcement in Wise County," Hudson said. "I have a good relationship with the Sheriff's department and all the police departments in the county."

Several candidates running for state offices also appeared at the forum, including a pair of gentlemen running for an open spot on the Texas Railroad Commission (RRC).

Art Hall, 36, a lawyer, an ordained Baptist minister and a city councilman for the city of San Antonio made his case for railroad commissioner before the Wise County crowd.

Hall described a rags to riches story when introducing himself.

"I was born in Hempstead and I grew up mainly in a trailer house," he said. "But I became the only kid in my class to earn a full scholarship to Harvard."

As a member of the San Antonio city council, he said his main purpose there has been preserving and protecting the environment.

"The gas industry is a large industry in Texas and we need to maintain that," Hall said, "but with bad couplings blowing up houses, abandoned wells polluting water supply and possible contamination from injection wells, we need better regulation."

He also said he would focus on energy and water conservation.

Hall took a little heat during the audience question and answer segment of the forum. Hall was questioned about a possible conflict of interest if elected to the RRC because his wife Stephanie is a lawyer for Valero Energy Corporation.

Hall said there is no conflict because his wife works on international issues dealing with Valero.

Hall was also questioned about his ties to the H.B. Zachry Corporation. He accepted campaign finance money from Zachry during his run for city councilman in San Antonio. Zachry is a Texas-based company working with Cintra, a Spanish company, to build the first stage of the proposed Trans-Texas Corridor.

Hall will be running against Democrats Dale Henry and Mark Thompson in the primary.

Henry also made a presentation at the forum.

Henry, 76, lives near Austin. He said his experience makes him the ideal candidate for the position.

"I have over four decades of experience in the oil and gas industry," Henry said. "I know how to solve problems in the field."

He said the RRC needs to better enforce the rules it already has in the books. He said that starts by not "rubber stamping every permit."

He also said commissioners need to ensure that all the information on permit applications is correct.

Last year several residents from Greenwood were able to halt a proposed commercial disposal well from going in after discovering incorrect information on the company's permit application.

Edra Bogle, of Denton, also made an appearance. Bogle is running for the District 14 state board of education. She was a longtime professor at the University of North Texas before retiring in May 2002.

Her biggest complaint with the current public school system in Texas is the obsessive focus on standardized testing. She also raised an issue with abstinence-only sexual education.

"Texas has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the country," Bogle said. "As Dr. Phil would say, 'How's it working for ya?'"

Bogle mentioned the importance of her run for the state board of education.

"There are five conservatives, five liberals and four swing voters on the board. I could make the difference."

Charles Randolph of Decatur will run against incumbent Phil King or Joe Tison in November for District 61 seat in the Texas House of Representatives.

He promised to represent the working, middle class if elected.

Two candidates running for national offices also spoke at the forum.

Tracey Smith, 59, a real estate broker in Fort Worth, will challenge incumbent Republican Kay Granger in November for the District 12 seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

"People ask why do I want to run against someone as well known as Kay Granger," Smith said. "It's because I'm angry about the way soldiers coming home from Iraq can't even get the health care they deserve. I am mad about the war. The war was over three years ago. It's time to leave and give the country back to the Iraqis.

"And I'm angry about children not having health care."

Ray McMurrey, an educator from Corpus Christi is running for the U.S. Senate. McMurrey will face Rick Noriega, a current member of the Texas House of Representatives and veteran of the ongoing war in Afghanistan. In November, the winner will face incumbent John Cornyn or Republican challenger Larry Kilgore.

McMurrey said creation of a single-payer health care system will be the cornerstone of his campaign. As a former cancer patient, he said he understands the problems with private health insurance.

"I am also the only senatorial candidate addressing a time table for the Iraq war," McMurrey said. "We have some people in this country that want to create a 50 to 60 year power base in Iraq."

He also said he was concerned with the power of lobbyists in Washington, D.C.

Noriega, a longtime member of the Texas house, is also running for U.S. Senate. He was unable to attend, but he sent state representative Lon Burman to speak for him.

"Rick can win in November," Burman said. "He has 10 years of experience in the state legislature... Rick and I are some of the few guys to stand up to Craddick in the house."