The jockeying by court members has turned what could be a professional, fair and open search for a new sheriff into a political game and pay to play scramble for those candidates who want the court to consider them
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By Charles O'Dell, Ph.D.
Here’s how I interpret the circus going on in Hays County commissioners’ court as our elected officials jockey to appoint a replacement for Sheriff Allen Bridges who died December 6th.
It’s a horse race with three favorites in the running: Bridges Chief Deputy Sheriff Sherman Brodbeck, Bridges election opponent Democrat Bill Huddleston, and Buda Police Chief Bo Kidd. Back at the starting gate are recently retired Texas Ranger Tommy Ratliff, Austin Police Department supervisor Joe Munoz, and according to Commissioner Conley, a host of other unnamed candidates hiding from the public.
The Bridges family and Republican Conley publicly support Brodbeck, a declared Independent who says he won’t run for office in 2010. Surprisingly, none of the remaining four court members, all Democrats, have expressed any support for fellow Democrat Huddleston, and it appears that only the President and Vice President of Hays County Law Enforcement Association (HCLEA) support Kidd.
Chief Deputy Brodbeck is being handicapped by prominent and repeated reporting of a matter that occurred some twenty years ago in Blanco County. That didn’t seem to play into Bridges decision when he made Brodbeck his Chief Deputy, but by bringing the matter into play now a commissioner can create a horse race to manage for possible political gain. Huddleston supporters point out that he garnered over 25,000 votes in the recent election he lost to Bridges, and could lose another one, this time by just five votes.
This jockeying by court members has turned what could be a professional, fair and open search for a new sheriff into a political game and pay to play scramble for those candidates who want the court to consider them.
Democrat Judge Sumter is pushing hard to convene commissioners’ court behind closed doors in executive session on Monday where they can deliberate/negotiate away from prying public eyes. Conley says he wants a public hearing. I agree with him but I don’t believe him. That’s like him voting against a tax rate hike after he was sure it would pass. Conley just wants to court Bridges moderate Republicans.
Here’s what I believe is really going on in commissioners’ court. One commissioner is shopping to see which candidate will cooperate with him if selected. Two commissioners are looking to court Republican voters in their precincts, and one commissioner will, as usual, just go along for the ride.
If I were a candidate for Sheriff, I would exercise my legal right to request a public hearing. I would much rather have the court members talking to my face in public than behind my back and making closed door deals in executive session. I can just imagine Barton and Conley having their way with the three elected women in executive session.
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.
2 comments:
Thank God Hays County has its own political muckraker in Charles O'Dell. Someone needs to point out the political incompetence that goes on in this area. But let's not forget the real reason this stuff is permitted: public ignorance and to some degree a naive trust in our elected officials. However, the worst part of all the shenanigans in our local politics is the game of greed and self-interest that is played by those who run for elected office and then win. They think they are being clever and smart, but they are really fools eroding their own souls. They may think they are superior beings by using our tax dollars for their own benefit and being divisive just for their own egos. But in the end they are ultimately unhappy and emotionally crippled people. Believe it!
I find the tone of this column rather sexist. The two male commissioners just telling the females what to do? I bet these three commissioners can stand on their own two feet without some man telling them how to vote.
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