The ramifications are national because Texas was awarded four new congressional seats after the 2010 Census. Whether they go Democratic or Republican could affect the balance of power in the U.S. House
Update: State GOP Chair Steve Munisteri yesterday sent this lengthy advisory to rank and file Republicans.
Note: Latest updates from tweeters following the courtroom drama live today in San Antonio over the redistricting cluster-mess are quoting that Texas's primary elections will be delayed until at least May 29, with a possible fallback date of June 26. Forget about a primary in April. Such late dates essentially wipe out any meaningful influence Texans will have on picking the Republican nominee for president, not to mention the high anxiety it is causing GOP and election officials across the state. Follow Dallas attorney Michael Li's excellent ongoing coverage here.Send your comments and questions to roundup.editor@gmail.com, to the Star-Telegram link below, to Mr. Conley at will.conley@co.hays.tx.us, to Mr. Bannon at sam@samforhayscounty.com or click on the "comments" at the bottom of the post
By Paul J. Weber
The Associated Press
via the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram
SAN ANTONIO, TX (Tues. Feb. 14, 2012) – The chances of Texas voters having much influence in the Republican presidential race faded Tuesday after a panel of federal judges acknowledged that the state's deep divisions over political maps had made it nearly impossible to preserve an April primary.
Texas was originally scheduled to be a part of next month's slate of Super Tuesday primaries, but the redistricting clash forced the state to reschedule its contest to April 3. With that date now all but dead, too, elections workers who squeezed into a packed San Antonio courtroom Tuesday advocated a new date of May 22, which could be long after Republicans settle on a nominee to face President Barack Obama.
Mirror, mirror, who's the most fiscally conservative of all?
Meanwhile, here at home in Hays County, we have the remarkably undramatic, mostly under-the-radar campaigns in the GOP primary match-up between incumbent Pct. 3 County Commissioner Will Conley (Wimberley) and challenger Sam Brannon (San Marcos). Anybody heard from these guys lately? Conley sent out a nice letter (at county expense) last month welcoming new constituents/neighborhoods that were brought into Precinct 3 following the county's redistricting. "I am very excited to have you in my precinct and look forward to working with you in the future," Conley chirped in the letter. "Please feel free to contact my office if you have questions, or if I can be of assistance to you in another circumstance." Another circumstance? Conley may amp up his campaign for re-election to a third 4- year term later on (term limits anyone?) but for now appears to be satisfied that he has a leg up on Brannon due to a perceived good constituent services record and the allegiances he has won over the years with his many road upgrade projects and willingness to take over county maintenance of miles of private roads.
Map of Pct. 3 / link to enlarge (pdf)
Brannon has been quietly scoring points with fiscal conservatives by pointing out that Conley is very much the fiscal Un-conservative, having presided the last eight years over a huge growth rate in Hays County government size, spending and debt. County debt was approaching $500 million at the end of 2011. Not all of it can be explained by population growth alone.
This local primary is shaping up to be a real choice for conservatives between a challenger campaigning for lower spending and debt reduction and an incumbent who is unabashedly proud of his long and consistently pro-spending record.
"This election is about stopping the special interest politics in Hays County, and acting more responsibly and transparently in the business of county government," Brannon asserted in a recent e-mailed message. "A little focused effort from the people who care about our community will make the difference."
Brannon's campaign has scheduled two meet-n'-greet fundraisers, Sunday Feb. 19, 12:30-2:30 p.m. at Brewster's Pizza (512.847.3299) at the RR 12 Junction in Wimberley; and Saturday Feb. 25, 4-6 p.m. at the Price Senior Center (512.392.2900), 222 San Antonio St. in San Marcos. Live Bluegrass and gospel music will be provided by Sasquatch Holler at both events.
Bob Ochoa
35 comments:
Conley isn't just fiscally unconservative - he seems to support gifting millions of the taxpayer dollars to benefit very few, e.g., the scandalous WVWA land deals.
Conley also seems to have no problems with eviscerating property rights of all of his constituents for a mythical benefit to a few - again WVWA. One example is the horrendous legislation he supported to eliminate the right of landowners to have even a residential well for their own property.
Unless you are a deadbeat "non-profit" that would lose out if Conley were not in office, why would you support Conley?
Perhaps Brannon will be more protective of his constituents' property rights and tax dollars!
Conley does what is best for Conley. $$$. That is his Raison d'etre. The local party exposes itself as a fraud in fiscal matters (RINOs) if it is helping to re-elect Conley.
Republicans AND Democrats should vote in the Republican primary for Sam Brannon. The sooner we can get on with getting Conley out of the courthouse, the better.
Democrats can always vote in the November general election for whatever Democrat runs against Brannon (or -- shudder -- Conley).
Remember: it's ABC --Anyone But Conley!
Steve klepfer ran against Conley and lost.
Steve Klepfer got $2,000,000 for Blue Hole
David Baker ran against Conley and lost.
David Baker got $3,000,000 and 1,700,000 for Jacob's Well
Sam you need to form a non profit now!!!!!!!
Anon 2:42
What proof do you have that Comm. Conley paid these people money? I don't support all that Will has done, but I don't believe he is guilty of "vote buying".
Conley made about $80,000 with the County last year.
David Baker made about $100,000 with WVWA last year.
Who lost the election?
To Bob Ochoa:
What has Comm.Conley done that you discuss him in such snide and almost derogatory terms?
He is one of 5 commissioners [including Judge]so why don't you also blame the other ones for being un-fiscal and special interest officials? Because you know they all are, dont'cha?
You can easily tell by the two photos who is the more intelligent one. But can you tell who is the more honest one?
Bob,
Any truth to the rumor that Will Conley and David Baker's next project will be HVWA (Huntsville Valley Watershed Association).
@ Anonymous who said:
Bob,
Any truth to the rumor that Will Conley and David Baker's next project will be HVWA (Huntsville Valley Watershed Association).
Ha! ...and they can put signs in the showers to limit time for "conservation". Wonder what they think about "aquifer mining" at the new place?
Why is there so much hate toward Commissioner Conley on this site?
He has done an excellent job and Wimberley will continue to grow under his leadership.
It is just a matter of time before we get an HEB, Chili's, and hair club for men right on the square.
Just imagine no more going to Dripping Springs for food or a new rug.
Mr. Conley's trademark always has been to operate and deal "under the radar" behind closed doors, private and out of the public view. Trips to Washington, deals with private property owners and developers, deals with Aqua Texas, planners, consultants, water marketers, WVWA, WSP, the party hierarchy, his drawer full of crony proxies. Just never with the general public. It is impossible for constituents, all the people he is supposed to represent, to know what Conley has next under his sleeve.
I challenge any resident constituent in precinct 3 to remember a time they ever heard or saw Conley openly honestly discuss his Commissioner Court agenda in detail, his plans and vision for the future of precinct 3 and Hays County. Does anyone really know what Conley STANDS FOR?
Conley's biggest strength and success is in keeping the public, the voters uninformed, misinformed and always IN THE DARK. This is not the mark of an honest public servant but of a slippery inside trader.
The Wimberley Valley and rural parts have reached a crossroads. The region and its residents stand at the precipice, literally. Will we take the unlighted path to exploding growth, cookie cutter subdivisions, unclean air, poisoned water, a drained aquifer?
Did you know Conley has the ability to advocate in the legislature for development regulations in unincorporated areas, to advocate for restricted road building in rural areas through CAMPO, to strengthen subdivision, groundwater and septic rules through commissioners court, to put some teeth in groundwater availability ordinances, to provide substantially more funding to the groundwater district so it can do its job? Is he doing any of these things? HELL NO he's not.
By his actions and inactions, Conley's agenda is pro growth and pro development through and through. That is not bad or dishonest if he admitted it and it was the GENERAL CONSENSUS he represented. But it is NOT the general consensus by any stretch, because the general public has NO IDEA. It is his general consensus and a handful of special interests.
We need a true consensus builder on commissioners court, one whose primary function is to keep the public informed of the court's business, consequences, pros and cons who takes feedback from all comers to form genuine consensus. There are multiple and simple ways of doing that. But it is against Conley's grain. He has failed in open communication with his constituents and consensus building.
I prefer open agendas over hidden agendas in my public officials. I will not vote to return Mr. Conley to commissioners court another 4 years of Guess That Song.
Who said a Hair Club for Men is coming? I'm on the mailing list and haven't heard a word.
This is obviously more Conley lies.
Why is it that Brannon's employment record seems to be mom-existent? Is the rumor true that he just runs for office and lives off his contributions? Is it a rumor that he lives in government subsidized senior citizen housing? Has his expertise in conservatism just been gained from campaigning as a conservative ?
@IMHO
The Wimberley Valley and rural parts have reached a crossroads. The region and its residents stand at the precipice, literally. Will we take the unlighted path to exploding growth, cookie cutter subdivisions, unclean air, poisoned water, a drained aquifer?
Growth is not your choice to make. Just as you came here, so can others. Hays County had a 66% population growth from 1999-2009. The counties around Hays County experienced population increases of 20%-75%.
The "cookie cutter" subdivisions can be blamed in significant part on the county for promoting "planned communities" via its "open space" and other requirements. The restrictive covenants are often designed to force consumption. The HOA problem is one that the county helped create because of ill-advised policies pushed by "environmentalists" and others under the pretext of conservation or aesthetics.
Unclean air, poisoned water, a drained aquifer? Where is the water poisoned in this area? If unclean air is in Hays County, where do you think it is coming from that is under your control?
As to the "drained aquifer" - give it up. Jacobs Well is an overflow valve for venting excess water. You have no right or entitlement to having water gushing out of Jacobs Well and certainly not at the expense of all other property owners in GMA 9. Jacobs Well is going to be a standpipe of stagnant water except in wet years. It's a little elitist to believe you can pass some "resolution" that Nature will heed.
Anonymous said,
"You have no right or entitlement to having water gushing out of Jacobs Well and certainly not at the expense of all other property owners in GMA 9".
This is neither true nor what you will see in the actions of people living in the Wimberley area nor around the state who value and intend to protect their water resources.
This is simply more bashing coming from those who do not live in Wimberley or have never soothed their souls swimming in the waters of Cypress Creek.
Some things are just too important to allow others to destroy.
Jacob's Well, Cypress Creek and the oasis that is Wimberley is one of those things.
Anonymous wishes to believe he and the rest of us live in an unregulated world of anarchy in which only growth and money worshipers rule the kingdom.
Fortunately, the tools are available to soften the blows of unmitigated growth and development in our region for present and future residents. The tools need only to be implemented and utilized.
Unfortunately, elected officials such as Will Conley who stand for everything and nothing are content to allow growth to envelop the countryside like a voracious blight. Conley is no leader, except to his irresponsible growth worshipers. He has no stated vision beyond his divide and conquer politics. He has become a public service leech. He has served his time. If given more time, you can only expect more of his shell games and hidden agendas. It is getting very tiresome.
So you left wingnuts here on this Blog and in Wimberley just want to vote in the Republican primary for Sam Brannon so you can vote against him in the General Election! I don't plan to vote for Sam, but that is just nasty politics. Who do you bozos plan to vote FOR? Sam deserves better treatment. What a bunch of disingenuous jerks! I would not call you Americans.
A lot of us Democrats plan to vote for Sam in the Republican primary, AND we would be fine with his being the eventual Co. Comm. for Pct. 3. It truly is a vote for Anyone-But-Conley, but that's how we feel. Sam Brannon would be better than Will Conley any day of the week.
No disrespect meant toward Sam.
To Anonymous 2:13 PM--
It's no surprise that you wouldn't call us Americans. You won't call ANYONE who disagrees with you an American, and you hold some idea that that fact scares the pants off us. Not so.
You can continue to call us "not Americans," "wingnuts," " "bozos," and "jerks," and we will continue to think that YOU are more worthy of those epithets (look it up).
Just to get the record straight, there IS no Democrat running for County Commissioner, not at the moment, anyway.
So, those of us who are going to make sure we get rid of Conley in the Primary are consciously voting FOR Sam Brannon.
@ Loves Cypress Creek 02/18/2012 who said...
Anonymous said,
"You have no right or entitlement to having water gushing out of Jacobs Well and certainly not at the expense of all other property owners in GMA 9".
This is neither true nor what you will see in the actions of people living in the Wimberley area nor around the state who value and intend to protect their water resources.
Please cite any authority for your proposition that the statement isn't true. People around the state ARE going to protect their water resources and that's why you've already lost. You have no entitlement to streams, creeks, etc., period.
Your local cult, WVWA, will tell you that Jacobs Well is done for if there is another 2 foot drop. Your city council is presently considering a resolution to support a 5 foot drop promulgated by media hound group "CARD".
Now you can support whatever resolution you want but passing a resolution is not going to cause the aquifer to stop dropping - and I can assure you that the other 8 counties and all the businesses and people there in GMA 9 are not about to abandon their property for your water amenity.
You can believe you have an entitlement but that doesn't make it so.
This is simply more bashing coming from those who do not live in Wimberley or have never soothed their souls swimming in the waters of Cypress Creek.
Not bashing, simply observing reality. You will need to find another place to "soothe your soul".
Some things are just too important to allow others to destroy.
Jacob's Well, Cypress Creek and the oasis that is Wimberley is one of those things.
As noted above, you have no entitlement to them. You've contributed to the "problem" locally by your own population growth - but I wouldn't characterize that as "allowing others to destroy". So tell us what right you believe you have to prohibit population growth in a 9 county region.
You're such hypocrites over there. You expect everybody else to do without in order to artificially create an excess of water so that it can be dumped into a ditch running through town. Your city council is contemplating supporting a "5 foot drawdown" - which if that is part of a local management plan will mean that a significant portion of Wimberley will be denied tap water. Meanwhile the same hypocrites are planting St. Augustine grass at Blue Hole and trying to get a permit for a commercial well so that the city can continue to water the heck out of the non-native, very thirsty grass without paying for it. How does that well fit into your "conservation" expectations for everyone else?
@ IMHO 02/18/2012 12:38 PM who said...
Anonymous wishes to believe he and the rest of us live in an unregulated world of anarchy in which only growth and money worshipers rule the kingdom.
Not at all. There are plenty of laws out there - and none of them support you in your efforts to eradicate people and commerce in a 9 county region so that you can enjoy a local water amenity.
I've been impressed with Sam. In my interactions with him, he's been a real class act; intelligent, thoughtful and real.
Those that have questions about his employment record or anything else can attend his gatherings and ask him yourself, rather than anonymously raise them here.
If he follows through on his platform of fiscal responsibility, transparency and local decisions, I believe everyone will be pleased with the outcome. Let's put him in office and see that he follows through with it.
If left to Conley and the Current HTGCD, all we will have is big box stores in Wimberley and diesels running up and down RR 12.
I say enough, I don't mind going to Austin to get my groceries and hair care products.
As far as small family owned businesses go, I know Pat Painters is thinking of moving to the area.
Joe D said...
"If left to Conley and the Current HTGCD, all we will have is big box stores in Wimberley and diesels running up and down RR 12."
You know Joe, you need to get some fresh material, the "diesels" comment not only doesn't make sense it is tiring to listen to. Your rants at the Wimberley City Council meeting the other night had many people raising their eyebrows at their absurdity. Wimberley adopting the C.A.R.D. proclamation of a 5 foot drawdown in exchange for their support in wasting 700,000 gallons of groundwater on St. Augustine grass at Blew Hole and a pumping permit was obvious as hell. It seems that C.A.R.D. and WVWA are engaging in back room trades and deals with applicants before the requests are presented to the HTGCD. Are you listening Jimmy? Do Not approve the pumping by Wimberley at Blue Hole! They can get their water out of Cypress Creek for their uses.
Sam's meet-and-greet at Brewsters attracted a pretty good crowd of enthusiastic supporters. Great music by the Sasquatch Holler band! It was easy to see that Sam's supporters truly believe that he will bring back much needed transparency to Hays County government. One of Sam's supporters, a retired Army Colonel and Vietnam war vet, announced to everybody that Will Conley had asked him why he was supporting Sam and he told Conley, one word, Leadership. Nuff said. You done good Sam. Hope you win.
I certainly do not agree with the anonymous who keeps trashing Cypress Creek. It is vitally important to Wimberley's economy and ecology. You have every right to trash your own back yard, Hon, just don't mess with our area. Ya understand?
Where I can agree totally is with the HTGCD denying, with a big D red circle around it, the city of Wimberley's request for a pumping permit to waste groundwater watering St. Augustine grass at the Blue Hole Park. What an idiotic proposal by the city!! St. Augustine is a huge water waster. It should be banned once and for all.
By the way, St. Augustine grass had become a perennial asset to Blue Hole over the years without ANY discernible irrigation.
The construction killed the old grass and it needed to be replanted.
Who knew this was going to happen just before a Drought of Record?
St. Augustine, although not native, can thrive in a shady environment like Blue Hole and is one of the best grasses there is for such areas.
The timing last summer was off, that is all. Blame the weather.
If you knew anything about grass, you would know that St. Augustine is not native this area because it can't tolerate our arid climate and alkaline soil. It takes tons of water and does not do well in the shade. Astro-Turf would be a better choice! Quit trying to cover up for the Blue Hole in the Head crowd.
The well they want to activate and pump from has not been used for years for good reason. The last time it was pumped it dried up several wells near by. WVWA and Card jump all over and sue anyone that wants to pump from anywhere near Jacob's Well, but not this request. Why? The reason is they want the City to form a mini-district and adopt a DFC of a 5 foot draw down on their own as they did last Thursday night. That was a ridiculous move from the ignorant Council, particularly Mac who is running for office. WVWA and CARD know that the TWDB is going to deny WVWA's petition and maintain the GMA-9 DFC of a 30 foot drawdown and they are desperate.
The mini-district will only cause the HTGCD to order WWSC to turn off everybody's water taps since we are already at 5 foot, You FOOLs!
Blue Hole, get your water out of the creek! How tough can that be?
Like I said, Blue Hole had a nice patch of St. Augustine down near the creek for many, many years and nobody was down there watering it.
The periodic flooding, the shade and rains from time to time kept it alive, not irrigation.
You don't know squat and I do know grass.
flectrol fairness.To " knows something about grass",
Why was it necessary to put 7000,000 gallons of treated drinking water from the Trinity Aquifer on the SA grass to establish it? Do you support that type of waste? Do you really think they will never water it again?
Where are all the hippies? I find it interesting that none of the so-called conservationists WVWA and CARD are complaining about the waste and use of SA grass or opening the Blue Hole Well when there is ample water right there in the creek for free.
If I had been making this decision to use drinking water to water that grass, I would have done things differently, but this was a construction schedule problem: park was due to open, there was bare ground and erosion was certainly a big concern.
The park will use only rainwater once its tanks fill up, this was an unfortunate construction problem and one I have faced many times. Who knew that last summer would end up so dry?
Yes, using some other water source would have been better for not only environmental reasons, but for public relations reasons, too.
I had a similar problem last summer and that is perhaps why I am hesitant to condemn the landscape decisions made.
It would have been a shame to delay the opening of the swimming hole for a whole year or to risk plant damage (death) or erosion.
I do not support this decision to use treated drinking water on landscaping at all. Not only is it wasteful, but Wimberley's drinking water is so chock full of chlorine, it could not possibly make plants happy.
That said, I do support the use of St. Augustine in specific (and limited) cases and the banks of Cypress Creek at Blue Hole is one of those cases. It has proven historically to provide a perfect spot for this grass and for the public to enjoy a shady lawn area between dips in the cooling waters of Blue Hole.
"It would have been a shame to delay the opening of the swimming hole for a whole year or to risk plant damage (death) or erosion."
The decision wasn't about denying children the pleasure of taking a dip, it was about denying the City revenue, and you know it. This was poorly planned and executed and a slap in the face of the people in Wimberley who have been denied the right to build a pool or top one off if they already have one, or irrigate their lawns, etc.
My observation of Conley leads me to believe that he wouldn't be in charge of CAMPO if wasn't willing to sell his soul to the highest bidder.
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