A Union Invades Republican Collin County

The Plano Firefighters Association (one of them union things that Republicans hate so much) has growing political clout Plano politics. Firefighter unions have long advocated for candidates in recent local elections in Arlington, Dallas, Irving and Mesquite. A Fort Worth association spent more than $700,000 into last year's elections, records show.

The Plano Firefighters Association is making its influence felt in the May 9, 2009 Plano city election by endorsing candidates and supporting bond proposition #1 on the city ballot.

Long dominated by Republican leaning high growth real estate development interests, new constituencies are slowly taking over as the real estate developers lose interest in using their influence to sway local politics to their favor, now that Plano is all but fully developed. The rise of Plano's Firefighter Association is another indication the city undergoing a political shift in the progressive direction.

While the firefighter association does not have collective bargaining power, it is making its influence felt. Since forming a political action committee in 2003, the Plano association has put more than $75,000 into city campaigns, more than any other interest group, endorsing candidates and mailing advocacy literature to voters. The association pays for its political activities with donations, not dues.

A recent Dallas Morning News article reports:

"I admire the firefighters. But the association is taking it a step further and influencing people with money," said Susan Plonka, a council candidate. "To say they have to pay us $20,000 to get a phone call returned is not accurate."

The association, which recently endorsed Plonka's opponent, Ben Harris, for the Place 2 council seat, does not see it that way.

"We don't feel like our side has been told a lot of times in the past," said Scott Kerr, the association president. "But ultimately the decision is [the City Council's]. And we respect that."

From The City of Plano's 2009 Bond Referendum Pamphlet:

1. Totals $11,368,000 and is for Public Safety Improvements in the City of Plano. This proposition includes funding for the reconfiguration, remodel and expansion of existing fire facilities; an additional $1 million for the construction of one new fire station (#13); the purchase of firefighting equipment and apparatus; and the purchase and installation of video surveillance apparatus in various City-owned areas in the City of Plano.

The Clock Is Ticking On The Texas Voter Photo ID Bill

Will the Texas House get a controversial voter photo ID bill out of committee this week, and if so, what form will it take? The clock is ticking, with the May 11 deadline to vote bills out of committee about a week away.

It seems that most in Republican leadership know that the version (SB 362) that passed in the Texas Senate on Mar 17, 2009 in a party line vote and subsequently debated in the House Elections Committee in early April has little chance of passing a full Texas House floor vote.

The version of the bill debated in the House Election Committee in April would have allowed voters, who didn't have photo ID, to presented two other forms of non-photo ID to cast a ballot. That requirement would not have been phased-in until 2013, which is after the 2011 round of redistricting scheduled to take place after the 2010 U.S. census. The bill debated in the House Elections Committee would also reportedly only take effect if lawmakers earmark $7.5 million in the 2010-11 state budget for voter registration efforts. Hundreds of Texas citizens gathered in Austin during early April to make comment before the House Elections Committee on that version of the voter photo ID bill.

House Election Committee Chairman, State Rep. Todd Smith, R-Euless, had been strongly suggesting that the compromise voter ID bill delayed until 2013 had at least a chance of attracting enough Democratic votes to pass the House and become law. House Republicans, however, found the compromise language unpalatable and apparently would not have even voted that compromise version of the bill out of the House committee.

So, on Wednesday, Committee Chairman Smith circulated a new very restrictive version of the Republican Voter ID bill that absolutely requires voters to present a government issued Photo ID before being allowed to cast a regular ballot. This new revised language is vastly different from the legislative language opened for public comment by the House committee in April. Gone are the alternative provisions for the two other non-photo forms of ID, the $7.5 million for voter registration efforts and the 2013 phase-in.

The new restrictive voter ID language makes an absolute requirement for a government issued photo ID that would be become effective in 2011. Smith's last minute maneuvers to immediately mandate photo ID for Texas voters comes after 71 House Republicans signed a statement of principles indicating that any Voter ID legislation must require voters to present photo IDs, without exception, at the "next possible uniform election date," this year.

Listen to the this May 1, 2009 Texas Public Radio Report made before Chairman Smith started circulating the more restrictive bill.

Committee Chairman Smith could schedule a "bums rush" vote on the new restrictive voter Id bill in House Elections Committee at any moment without debate or additional public comment to pass it out of the House Committee and onto the House floor for a vote. The House Elections Committee would likely vote to pass the bill out of committee in a probable party line vote of 5 Republicans for and 4 Democrats against the bill.

House Democrats are asking for prudence and additional public input on this new last minute version of the legislation. Thirty-three Democrats who are chairmen and vice chairmen of House committees sent a memo to GOP House Speaker Joe Straus and Committee Chairman Smith, on Wednesday calling for a new committee hearing on the more restrictive voter photo identification legislation. "While some components of the bill may have been discussed previously in committee, the public has not had an opportunity to give voice to their opinions regarding the comprehensive new bill," the memo states. "This is only prudent, given the Voting Rights Act and the impact of this bill on every citizen in Texas."

Requiring voters to present a government-issued photo ID to vote is a flawed solution to a made-up problem. Republican maneuvering has every appearance of a disparate scheme devised to stack the deck in favor of Republicans in the 2010 legislative elections. Republicans are anxious to maintain control of the Texas House and Senate to give them the upper hand in the federal and state redistricting decisions that the Legislature is scheduled to make in 2011 following the 2010 U.S. census.

The Texas photo Voter ID bill is part of the Republican agenda to keep Republicans in office by suppressing the vote of groups that tend to vote Democratic. In the 10 states that have already passed voter picture ID laws, voter participation is down about 3 percent. However, black and Hispanic voter participation is down more than 10 percent in those states. The success of Democratic voter registration drives among these Texas groups in 2008 threatens to tip the balance of power away from Republican candidates in future elections. As the tide of Democratic voters continues to grow across Texas, voter ID legislation would be an effective way for Republicans to hold back the tide.

There is a chance the bill will not pass in a House floor vote given Republicans hold only a slim 76-74 majority in the House and two of those Republicans sided with Democrats against a similar bill in the 2007 legislative session. It is notable that only 71 of the 76 House Republicans signed the "statement of principles" letter calling for the restrictive photo ID measure. To date, most of the 74 House Democrats oppose a restrictive voter photo ID requirement, but Rep. Joe Heflin, a Democrat who sits on the elections committee has reportedly said he is leaning toward supporting a photo ID law.

Call Elections Committee Chairman Todd Smith and ask him why Republicans are making photo Voter ID the highest priority when there is no evidence of voter fraud, even after Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott's $1.4 million two year investigation attempting to locate voter fraud failed to identify anything more than 26 cases where people forgot to sign and address the absentee ballot envelope:

Contact Information:

Call Rep. Todd Smith, Chairman of House Committee on Elections, at his capitol phone number (512) 463-0522 or write him an email - link to email form - or do both!

Elections Committee Contact Information:

Rep. Betty Brown (R)	Capitol office: (512) 463-0458	Link to email form
Rep. Dwayne Bohac (R)	Capitol office: (512) 463-0727	Link to email form
Rep. Dennis Bonnen (R)	Capitol office: (512) 463-0564	Link to email form
Rep. Linda Harper-Brown (R)	Capitol office: (512) 463-0641	Link to email form
Vice Chair Aaron Pena (D)	Capitol office: (512) 463-0426	Link to email form
Rep. Alma Allen (D)	Capitol office: (512) 463-0744	Link to email form
Rep. Rafael Anchia (D)	Capitol office: (512) 463-0746	Link to email form
Rep. Joe Heflin (D)	Capitol office: (512) 463-0604	Link to email form

Click here to see members of the House Elections Committee.

Write a letter to your local newspaper editor

Read more at: Take Action - Photo Voter ID Bill Up For House Committee Vote

Dem Party Position On Local Candidates

We have received several comments and emails to the blog in response to our municipal elections posting asking if the Democratic Party of Collin County has a position statement covering candidates appearing on any of the city and ISD election ballots. As far as we have been able to determine the the Democratic Party of Collin County has no such candidate position statement for the local elections.

It is unfortunate that so few progressives have made themselves available to run for any of the local city and ISD elected offices across Collin County. For the most part, the ballot choices in this election are between a conservative Republican and a more conservative Republican or between a conservative Republican and a Libertarian. This county sorely needs Democrats to get active in local city government and school district oversight and run for office!

Since this election is officially called a "non-partisan" election, party affiliation is not noted beside any of the candidate names on the ballot. Voters really need to work hard to research the candidates to make the best possible choices.

There are two sources of information on the that Collin County voters can reference. One is the League of Women Voters of Plano/Collin County voter's guide: (click LWV guide name)

• Allen City Council & ISD
• Frisco City Council & ISD
• McKinney City Council & ISD
• Plano City Council & ISD

The second is the Dallas Morning News Voter Guide.

Secretary of State: “Homestead Exemption Tax Amendment” e-mails are fake

The Austin American-Statesman Newspaper - Austin, Texas
By Patrick George | Friday, April 24, 2009, 04:49 PM

Officials at the Office of the Secretary of State say e-mails circulating about a Homestead Exemption Tax Amendment are fake.

The e-mail in question says voters must choose whether or not to keep the homestead tax cap for people 65 and older. [Texas Secretary of State] Spokeswoman Ashley Burton said that the e-mails are completely false and that there are no statewide initiatives on the ballot for the May 9, 2009 election.

“There are only local elections,” Burton said. She said some variations on the e-mail have been floating around the Internet. Below is [one version of the] fake message:

Please pass the word and VOTE for the following constitutional amendment. Early voting: April 30 - May 5 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; May 6 from noon to 6 p.m. May 7 & May 8 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Election Day: May 12 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Texas Homestead Exemption Tax Amendment Please read and pass on to all your Texas email friends as this applies to all voters. You must vote in May to keep the Homestead tax cap for 65 and over, even if you are not 65 yet. If you are a Texas homeowner then this is important to you. If not, it is important to your friends who are. I am sending this email to everyone on my email address list that lives in Texas. I want to be sure you are aware of a constitutional amendment that will be on the ballot at the May election. It is an amendment to correct an error made by the lawmakers when they voted for a reduction in school property taxes in 2005. When the lawmakers voted for a 1/3 reduction in school property taxes beginning in 2006 and to be completed this year, they forgot about the homestead exemption for senior citizens and people with disabilities. The state constitution caps school property taxes for homeowners 65 years and older and those who are disabled. However, they DID NOT get the same reduction when the property tax cut for schools was voted on two years ago. So an amendment is on the May ballot to correct this error. The problem is that most voters who are younger than 65 or not disabled probably won’t even notice the amendment or care. PLEASE get out and vote for this amendment if not for yourself, then for your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends. We would really appreciate your getting the word out to all your friends and families to vote for this amendment. The fear is that with a low voter turnout, the amendment could very well not pass.

Click Here For May 9, 2009 Municipal Election Early Voting Locations & Times