And So It Goes In Hays County Politics

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By Charles O'Dell, Ph.D.

Opinion

The upcoming November election in Hays County is not about partisanship; it’s about citizens regaining control of their government. Here are just a few of the games that some candidates are playing with your tax dollars.

There are six candidates running for two county commissioner positions.

In precinct 1, twelve-year incumbent, Democrat Commissioner Debbie Gonzales Ingalsbe is facing write-in candidate Bill Wyatt and Republican Nick Ramus.

In Precinct 3, one term incumbent, Republican Will Conley is facing a challenge from Democrat candidate Steve Klepfer, former mayor of Wimberley, and Libertarian Deborah R. Wood.

Ingalsbe has confounded many of her Precinct 1 constituents with her questionable spending and willingness to be led or pushed around by Precinct 3 Commissioner Will Conley and Precinct 2 Commissioner Jeff Barton.

All signs suggest that Conley is supporting Nick Ramus in the Ramus, Ingalsbe, Wyatt contest. Conley has called Ramus “a great man and a great candidate.”

It will be interesting to hear Conley’s comments about Ramus being arrested and jailed by Hays County Sheriff Department on Friday, September 5, 2008 for threatening two citizens with a firearm. Ramus also has been convicted twice before of being a public nuisance and he sued Hays County for revoking his septic permit. Ramus has a history of drawing complaints from citizens for the septic system on his property.

Bill Wyatt is a sixth generation resident of San Marcos whose uncle was the U.S. 10th District Congressman J.J. “Jake” Pickle. Wyatt said that he was urged by citizens to jump into the Precinct 1 contest. He said that he had seen enough of Ingalsbe’s voting record to motivate him to sign up as a write in candidate. Wyatt is running on a platform of fiscal responsibility, an end to nepotism and conflicts, and pledges to represent the interests of all Precinct 1 citizens, not just a few. Wyatt is the only candidate who signed the Texas Ethics Commission Code of Fair Campaign Practices.

And so it goes in Hays County. Isn’t it time for citizens to regain control of their government?

As co-founder of Hays Community Action Network (HaysCAN) in 2003, Mr. O’Dell strives to carry out the mission of ensuring open, accessible and accountable government. He is a long time and close observer of the workings of the Hays County Commissioners Court. He earned a degree in Agricultural Education and a Masters in Ag Economics at Texas Tech, and, later, a Ph.D. at The University of Maryland while employed as a Research Economist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Washington, D.C. Texas born and raised on a family farm, O’Dell is a Hays County Master Naturalist and a board member of the Ethical Society of Austin.