This is one of those elections where only the highly-motivated will turn out to vote
Update, Wednesday April 14 – The RoundUp did not attend last night's forum. We are informed it was well attended. Said one attendee, "All in all it was a productive forum but won't come to much at election time. The election will turn on who gets their supporters to the polls."
Wimberley resident Rob Pitzer offered the following observations about the failed attempt to hear from all the candidates running for Wimberley City Council: An invitation was offered, and basically ignored by the slate of candidates – Carroll Czichos, Beth Mitchell and Catfish Pigg to participate in the LWV candidate forum. This brings up a simple question to me – why wouldn’t these candidates take the opportunity to voice their positions, ideas and goals for the City Council seats for which they are running? Their lack of even responding, much less not showing up last night only indicates to ME they don’t want those that are about to vote to know what they plan to do! (I did go, and they were not there – only representatives of their “camp”). Am I wrong? We will probably never know in a public meeting where ALL of the candidates are together to allow the voters all of the available information with which to make their decisions on election day. I have been taught, anything that is kept in the dark is usually not good or healthy; whereas things brought out into the light seem to flourish and are for good. So for me, this situation raises a big red flag.
Click on map to enlarge
Editor's Note: If you value your groundwater, you'll value getting to know who the candidates are for three seats on the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District that are up for election May 8. Those seats are for Districts 1 (Henly), 3 (East Dripping Springs/FM 1826) and 5 (Wimberley). The groundwater district is the only local entity that is specifically charged with monitoring, conserving and protecting our groundwater supply in western Hays County.Word has it one group of candidates wants to usurp our private property & water rights through regulatory fiat, and the other group of candidates wants to usurp our private property & water rights through making the Groundwater District as ineffective as possible and allowing developers and water companies to suck our aquifer dry. Maybe somewhere there's a happy medium. Ya think?
And how in the world did the Glenn Beck 9.12 Project get involved in the affairs of our local groundwater management?? Who are those guys?
Send your comments and news tips to roundup.editor@gmail.com or click on the "comments" button at the bottom of the story
Please join the Wimberley Valley League of Women Voters tomorrow night, April 13, at 7 pm at the Wimberley Community Center to hear from all the candidates running for the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District (HTGCD).
The Wimberley HTGCD seat currently held by Jack Hollon is being contested by Joan Jernigan and Craig Reitz. There are 2 other seats being vacated in DS and Henly.
This election is very important and will be held on May 8 with early voting beginning on April 26 and continuing through May 4.
We have had a strong supporter of groundwater conservation in Jack Hollon and we need to make sure that his successor is the same kind of representative for this precious shared resource.
Please come out Tuesday night to hear from all the candidates (including the ones from Drippin' and from the Henley area). There is a big difference in the views of these candidates and I know it will be helpful for all of us to see what is going on in this election.
Most importantly, mark May 8 on your calendar to VOTE in this election at the Community Center.
This is one of those elections where only the highly-motivated will turn out to vote. Those who really believe we should protect and preserve our groundwater, streams and springs for future generations and those who find this kind of conservation effort to be "government taking away our liberties." This is what is at stake in this election, as you will see and hear on Tuesday night.
There was a similar candidate forum last week in Dripping Springs hosted by the Glenn Beck 912 Project group that meets twice a month at the DS VFW Hall and it was quite informative about who is in favor of preserving our water and who thinks this is nothing but another government takeover.
Please come out Tuesday night and hear from these candidates. This is the first time this board election has been hotly contested, and with 3 board seats (out of 5) up for grabs, this will decide the majority opinion on the board.
24 comments:
let's see the Glenn Beck nutcases come and make a fuss at the debate tomorrow night. We'll show those fruitcakes how liberals can also kick some ass.
Wow, the Editor knew a reference to the Glenn Beck project website would rsise some ire.
Just the "feel" of the websire evokes "skinhead" and "hate group" sensibilities.
It makes me want to use my Constitional right to bear arms to protect myself from the potential insanity promoted by these idiots.
Anyone who would be a devotee of Glenn Beck is a candidate for review by the phony Obama death panels these same hate mongers made up.
"Amerika Uber Alles Herr Fuehrer Beck."
You are all so full of it. This is just another indication of the touchy-feely looney left gone out of their minds. Forget democracy, when the commies are in charge you just have fake elections like the one that the Venezuelans or the Cubans have.
As for hate crime, I think that this blog may have just recorded a terroristic threat from the "new psycho-liberal". Maybe I should report that to the authorities.
Glenn Beck is a useless hyperventilating idiot, just like his cousins from the backwoods, Sarah and Rush.
What I care about is having members on the groundwater district board who will stand up to huge wasters of groundwater like Aqua Texas and greedy developers who could care less what impact their developments have on our natural resources. Their only interest is turning a profit.
I agree with the statement that this election will be for the highly-motivated to vote. I'm not holding out much hope for the district, considering what I've seen of the naturalists and progressives in this county. All talk and no action – or sellouts. God save us all and our groundwater if the highly motivated are mostly those of the Beck variety.
The left wing nut cases have just stormed this blog to the point it is no longer relative. Not one of the first 6 posts have talked about the subject presented. Bob O., have you lost control or are you just running a blog for entertainment of the lefties?
I have some questions about the election of the board members but I think I’ll just go to the forum tomorrow night to get some real answers instead of witnessing this liberal feeding frenzy.
I couldn't agree with you more last Anonymous.
And anyone with even a small sense of humor can see what New P-L was saying was that if the Glenn Beck folks want to come and agitate at a local citizen meeting, hey will be met with equal but intelligent passion from the citizens who really care about our water - and not allow the meeting to be some nutcase forum for right wing antagonism and disruption.
Sadly, the Beck-Tea Partiers are justified in their anger but are cluelessly attacking the scapegoat of the problem (government) and not the real problem. And that real problem is greedy private sector power and control by thick wallet lobbyists and special interest money at the expense of American citizens.
Water should not be a political or for-profit economic issue. In fact, water should not be owned by anyone. The next thing you know the ultra-conservatives will be pushing for or complacently rubber stamping the privatization of the rain clouds.
When does it end? Does it end when the life expectancy of our children declines on a year over year basis?
Someone please give Mr. Hanky a hanky.
Hanky, do you really expect to get real answers from the Beck candidate trio? They are all practiced in the art of deception.
Bob Ochoa believes in free speech, Mr. Hanky.
Btw, what the hell kind of a name is Mr. Hanky?
Clearly Joan Jennigan looks like best candidate for the Wimberley area. "Nevada" bio reads like a big profit off our water guy. We need common sense not common exploitation re: our water.
Mark Key's bio reads like he should be running for head football recruiter for the military. I see NO water expertise except "water boy".
Both the right and the left on this blog are nuts. What a shame. You all are indicative of what has happened in our nation.
Whatever happened to centralist thinking? Or keeping both feet on the ground and using our brains to resolve urgent issues.
Get a grip, people. You are going to need it.
Awaiting the Tsumani is right. We all need to be much more constructive with our comments and look for solutions while agreeing to disagree as needed. Myself included.
However, I will not allow mindless right wing rhetoric to go unaddressed (like sympathizing with the IRS airplane domestic terrorist). I often agree with intelligent and populace conservatives. But I loathe divisive RNC or Tea Party brainwashed talking point conservatives.
And some right winger countering this comment by saying that liberals have their own mindless talking points is just more tit for tat nonsense. Justifying right wing gooberism with tit for tat is like liberals trying to justify left wing pomposity.
Btw, what Tsunami are you waiting for?
As regards the Tea Party being involved in our local elections, I quote Noam Chomsky:
“Ridiculing the tea party shenanigans is a serious error,” Chomsky said.
Their attitudes “are understandable,” he said.
http://progressive.org/wx041210.html
That our local elections are being heavily impacted by Tea Party notions is no accident. This is a major wave of political thinking in America today and we would be remiss not to take them seriously. There is a hint of fascism in this that is unmistakable, this is how it begins: the economically disgruntled clamoring for something to change, but not knowing where to lash out. They start by lashing out at each other rather than at the elites who have manipulated the the system to put them in the situation they are in.
If we stand by right now and allow these folks to take over our groundwater board and our school board elections, we have only ourselves to blame.
These TeaBaggers are angry at government, like many us are, but they seek redress in all the wrong places, IMHO. Rather than take their message to Washington, they would rather take it out on the water and school boards and rather than tackle the bank bailouts or CEO travesties on Wall Street, they think their problems are really about someone telling them to conserve (or share) water or not allowing Creationism to be taught in the public schools. When you find yourself feeling powerless nationally, it is understandable to seek some local control.
Vote on May 8 in the HTGCD election and vote for Backus, Jernigan or Carlton, depending on your district.
The other candidates are either completely uninformed, backing expensive pro-developer water projects like pipelines and reservoirs or just do not wish to see any regulation over the use of groundwater at all. They would allow unfettered pumping of our shared aquifer because they claim it is their right and no one can stop them. If we go dry, then so be it, we will simply pipe in water from somewhere else.
THREE seats on the groundwater board are up for grabs on May 8 and if the TeaBagger-endorsed candidates win this election, they will have a majority on the board and can essentially make the board useless with inaction. The current board has worked too hard for too many years for us to allow this to happen.
Please began a conversation with your neighbors about this election and get out the vote on May 8 and support pro-water candidates, real environmentalists, conservationists and people who have some background in water issues. Visit http://haysgroundwater.org for more information and bio's on the candidates and background on the mission and the work of our board over the past years.
To claim that the Tea Party is sponsoring any of the candidates is just pain silly. I just got back from the forum and saw no such presence.
The Candidates did themselves proud with two exceptions, Joan Jernigan and Kristin Carlton who were very weak. Joan was in way over her head and seemed confused at times. Kristin seemed conflicted and off topic in some of her statements and then took a cheap shot at her opponent during the closing statements. That was the only negative statement of the evening. I’m sorry to say it but neither of these ladies deserves your vote for the board.
The other four candidates, Backus, Key, Skipton and Reitz seemed very qualified to serve on the board.
The League initially did an excellent job of establishing the "ground rules" for the forum and posing questions. The League is generally viewed and promotes itself as a non-partisan group. However, the League really lost credibility as non-partisan sponsors last night.
First, it was apparent that the League filtered the questions to ensure that only questions slanted towards giving the district more power were asked.
Second, during candidate Carlton's closing she turned to candidate Skipton asked questions that the League had already stated were prohibited in this forum. When candidate Skipton gave his closing, he also responded to Carlton's question. Instead of allowing Skipton an opportunity to simply address Carlton's question (that was supposedly prohibited by the League), the League timekeeper called time. For all other candidates, when "time" was called on a question they were still generally given up to about 30 seconds to complete a response. Not so in this case. The timekeeper actually stood up, positioned herself between the candidate Skipton and the audience, and marched toward him positioning the sign between his face and the audience without giving even a slight variance from the time limit that they had allowed all other candidates to have during the forum.
Carlton wasn't the only cheap shot, League. You ladies violated your own charter and have sullied your reputation as a nonpartisan sponsor by filtering questions and engaging in such incredible bias in favor of some candidates and bias and rude conduct against others - candidates that you aren't even eligible to cast votes for given your geographic location.
What did the Wimberley League hope to accomplish other than displaying such a lack of integrity ?
Wow, Anonymous #5 have you got it wrong.
The result of policies from Backus and your county has been to accelerate the very thing you despise. Backus wants a personal fiefdom complete with salary, benefits, retirement package and other perks. He has spent considerable District resources on lobbyists and lawyers to achieve his goal. He has incessantly sought more money for HTGCD - in particular production fee and property taxes.
Backus supported legislation to eliminate all exempt wells. No new exempt wells would be granted. Existing exempt wells would be eliminated or converted to non-exempt wells at the discretion of the HTGCD (i.e., Backus & crew). The goal is to force everyone to pay production fees to Backus’ regime.
Look at Aqua Texas which is seeking to ensure that homeowners cannot have any wells in the Woodcreek subdivision or other areas it operates. Aqua Texas is losing approximately 50% of the water drawn out of the ground. What does it care? The homeowners there no longer have a choice of opting out of that system. You have created an entire city where 100% of the people are forced to waste 50% of their water because of the failed policies of the county and HTGCD. What does Backus care if 50% of it is wasted as long as 100% of it is subject to production fees? He got his but don't expect to get yours.
The county subdivision rules were changed to force new groundwater based subdivisions to be on central water systems like Aqua Texas so that they would have to pay production fees to the district. Those central water systems make money by pumping as much water as possible out of the ground - but they have to pay production fees to the HTGCD (fees passed on to the customers).
Is it really a good policy to force a city full of people to waste 50% of their water by removing their choice to have a residential well? What a great deal for the investor owned utilities and the empire builders at HTGCD who get the production fees off the backs of these folks to boot.
The new subdivision rules Backus supported under various organizational fronts were never designed to "conserve water". How many new 6 acre per lot subdivisions are planned in Hays County? Subdivisions having a central water system are exempt from complying with a 6 acre minimum size. How logical is that? You claim you want 6 acres/residence as the basis for prohibiting a residential well and then require no minimum lot size as long as there is a central well. More people per acre means more water consumption per acre. You don't need to be a genius at math to see the fallacy in this rule. It wasn't about conserving water - it was about generating production fees for the HTGCD empire builders by preventing property owners from having a choice.
You've guaranteed a higher consumption rate per acre by these ill-conceived policies. You aren't preserving anything except "production fees" for HTGCD and profits for the New York hedge funds and Pennsylvania and New Jersey utilities that own these central water systems.
Education doesn't do any good if people can't exercise choice. HTGCD incumbent’s objective has been to remove choice using lobbyists and attorneys and astroturfing “stakeholder” groups in a failed attempt to extend his empire at your expense. He won’t stop trying until he is no longer holds office.
While you still have a choice exercise it and vote for candidates who believe in choice, education, conservation based incentives, and rights of district residents and property owners. The only candidates that support such principals are Skipton, Key, and Reitz.
Don't be fooled by Craig Reitz's smooth talk and reported extensive private sector experience. He's a very recent newcomer to town who has fallen in with developer crowd on the city council. No one knows, or has checked, his business background. He knows relatively little about the legal responsibilities and obligations of the HTGCD. You can be sure of one thing, he has absolutely no passion or compassion for the preservation of our aquifer and our groundwater. He'll go with the highest bidder, and that's it.
The thing that has not been mentioned here is the fact that we are losing Doug Wierman as President of the HTGCD. Doug will be missed due to his management and scientific skills. Jack Hollon will be stepping aside as well. He has been a legend regarding water conservation in the Wimberley Valley. Thanks and Good Luck to both gentlemen!
Jernigan has one overriding positive qualification--she cares. Reitz could give two shakes of a rat's tail.
The enabling legislation for HTGCD already gives it "Chapter 36" powers with the following limitations:
a) can't prohibit domestic/exempt wells
b) can't meter domestic wells
c) can't charge production fees on domestic wells
d) can't impose ad valorem tax
e) can't enter property without consent
f) county can overrule decision by Board
The sole purpose of the "full Chapter 36 powers" group is to eradicate these limitations on District authority over citizens. Backus has spent considerable District money on lobbyists and lawyers in his numerous attempts to accomplish that objective.
The people here put these limitations on the District when voting for its confirmation. Looks like voter fears were well founded. Backus has sought to thwart voters through legislative fiat or by merging with other districts to dilute the voting power of the voters in the District. While your vote still counts you might consider using it.
Backus, Carlton, and Jernigan all strongly supported "full Chapter 36 powers" at each of the forums. "Full Chapter 36 powers" is the euphemism for their agenda of ad valorem taxes, production fees, elimination of domestic wells, unwarranted searches on your property, and elimination of county veto power over their authority.
If you want responsible and fresh approaches to groundwater conservation vote for Jimmy Skipton for position 1, Mark Key for position 3, or Craig Reitz for Position 5 (Wimberley). On the other hand, if you want new property taxes and more government control over your personal property vote for their opponents, Backus, Carlton, and Jernigan. I think the choice is clear.
Skipton, Key & Reitz. The Three Stooges. They will make a mockery of our groundwater district and its legally mandated mission.
Calling any of the candidates “Stooges” is the kind of immature name-calling we have come to expect from some on this Blog. I do hope when the last anonymous poster gets old enough to vote he will learn a little more civility and something about the subject at hand. This election is serious business and should not be trivialized by such comments. If I wanted to, I could come up with an insulting descriptive comment about the other three candidates. Remember these people are asking to do an important job for us, for no pay; they deserve better than being called names.
Post a Comment