Friday, January 30, 2015

Why I am Supporting Joel Downs for Hurst City Council



Why I am Supporting Joel Downs for Hurst City Council
By
James Scott Trimm

I have lived my entire life (nearly half a century) in Hurst, and I have been a registered voter in Hurst for my entire adult life.  My entire family was very politically involved, and I was raised a conservative.  I want to say that I am a conservative first, and a Republican second.  My conservatism is non-partisan.  Before the Reagan Revolution I was a conservative Democrat, I have been a conservative Republican, and I stand ready to abandon the Republican party as well, if it too rejects conservative principles.

As a conservative I have a core set of values and beliefs about the limited role of government, and personal liberty, which serve as my guide.  These principles are applicable on every level of government, including municipal government.  These are values that I do not believe Henry Wilson shares.

One of those core values is that government must live within its means.  If possible, government (on all levels) should avoid borrowing, and even establish a “rainy day fund” for future lean years.  However, the City of Hurst has been borrowing at an alarming rate, despite having a healthy tax base.  The city is now nearly 100 million dollars in debt!  We must not let this trend continue.  We have seen what has happened to cities that have run themselves into heavy debt.  And what have we gotten for this debt?  Well in the case of the recent renovation of the Hurst Library, I cannot tell that anything I recognize as a “library” was actually expanded.  From what I can tell, no new shelf space for actual books has been added, much of the new space is a large, grand, lofty hallway that must now be heated and air conditioned.

Joel Downs wants to begin the process of reining in this debt, and this definitely resonates with my conservative values.

But Downs is hardly a one issue candidate, he is running on a number of issues that resonate with my conservative values of limited government, transparent government, personal liberty and self determination.

One issue is the red light cameras in Hurst.   I am convinced that the majority of residents in Hurst do not want these cameras.  I do not believe that a properly limited government should press these red light cameras upon citizens that do not want them.  To me, this is offensive to my values of freedom and self-determination of the people of our city.

Joel also emphasizes personal liberty and encourages capitalism.  These are also core conservative values which go hand in hand with limited government, and would do much to encourage new business growth in areas of Hurst that definitely need it.

By contrast Joel’s opponent, Henry Wilson has been no friend of limited government, personal freedom and property rights. Indeed he was a key part of a most vile disregard for property rights in our city.

Back in 1997 Henry Wilson was on our city council as a key figure responsible for one of the most egregious abuses of the eminent domain power in the history of the United States. At that time the City of Hurst forced 127 families from their homes, not for a new school or fire house, but to expand the mall and build an adjacent shopping center!

The Institute of Justice’s Castle Coalition listed this as one of “the 10 most egregious uses of eminent domain for private purposes” and writes: of these events:

A Texas trial judge refused to stay the condemnations while the suit was ongoing, so the residents lost their homes. Leonard Prohs had to move while his wife was in the hospital with brain cancer. She died only five days after their house was demolished. Phyllis Duval’s husband also was in the hospital with cancer at the time they were required to move. He died one month after the demolition. Of the ten couples, three spouses died and four others suffered heart attacks during the dispute and litigation. In court, the owners presented evidence that the land surveyor who designed the roads for the mall had been told to change the path of one road to run through eight of the houses of the owners challenging the condemnations.
(Government Theft: The Top 10 Abuses of Eminent Domain; March 2002; page 11)

Wilson was cold and unsympathetic about this blatant disregard for property rights saying at the time “We’re doing something neat for all of the citizens of Hurst.” (Dallas Morning News; April 13, 1997)

Moreover Henry Wilson is no friend of transparency in government.  In 2010 Henry Wilson joined fourteen other city council members from various Texas cities and sued the state of Texas in a failed effort to have the Texas Open Meetings Act thrown out.   

Our Texas Attorney General (and now Governor) Greg Abbott defended TOMA on behalf of the citizens of Texas.  Abbot put it well when he said:

“Open, transparent government is fundamental to our democratic system of government. Today’s decision ensures that the Texas Open Meetings Act will continue holding elected officials accountable to conduct the taxpayers’ business in the light of day and in a manner that informs the public about government decision-making,”


Henry Wilson is running on his experience, he has been on the city council since 1985.  Now I have nothing against Mr. Wilson personally.  He seems to be a very nice person, who has been very community minded over the years.  But that does not mean that Mr. Wilson reflects my values.  Mr. Wilson is the establishment candidate, the status quo.

I make a challenge to my fellow Hurstonians.  Drive down Pipeline Road all the way through south Hurst.  After you cross Precinct Line Road (going east towards Bedford), start looking at what this area of Hurst looks like today, and ask yourself, is Hurst better off today than it was in 1985?  How many head shops were in Hurst in 1985?  How many head shops are in Hurst today?

Mr. Downs is not the establishment candidate.  He offers positive change.   It is time for change, for new blood, and for a course correction toward conservative values that reflect those of the majority of the residents of our city.  And that is why I am supporting Joel Downs for City Council.  I hope that you will join me. 

You can Visit Joel Down's Campaign Website at http://www.downsforhurst.com

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Hurst Mayor Henry Wilson: No Friend of Transparency


Hurst City Councilman Henry Wilson

Is No Friend of Government Transparency

By

James Scott Trimm


Government transparency has long been regarded as paramount to Texas voters and the Texas Open Meetings Act seeks to guarantee transparency.  The Act does so by requiring that most government meetings be open to the general public. Notice of these open meetings must be given at least 72 hours in advance.  All final actions, decisions or votes must be made in these open meetings. There are very few exceptions to these rules.  Any official who violates this Act is subject to fines up to $500 or up to six months in prison.

The Texas Open Meeting Act is an essential law which protects the people from closed door meetings and back room dealing behind the citizens backs.  The Texas Open Meetings Act helps keep government transparent.  It is hard to imagine that anyone would be opposed to this important legal protection for Texas citizens.

But Hurst City Councilman Henry Wilson is no friend of transparency in government.  In 2010 Henry Wilson joined fourteen other city council members from various Texas cities and sued the state of Texas in a failed effort to have the Texas Open Meetings Act thrown out.  

The three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit ruled against Mr. Wilson saying:

“Here, government is not made less transparent because of the messages of private speech about public policy: Transparency is furthered by allowing the public to have access to government decision making. This is true whether those decisions are made by cogent empirical arguments or coin-flips. The private speech itself makes the government less transparent regardless of its message,”

Wilson and his friends appealed this decision all the way to the US Supreme Court, which in 2013 refused to hear the case, letting the Fifth Circuit Court's opinion stand.

Our Texas Attorney General (now Governor) Greg Abbott defended TOMA on behalf of the citizens of Texas.  Abbot put it well when he said:

"Open, transparent government is fundamental to our democratic system of government. Today’s decision ensures that the Texas Open Meetings Act will continue holding elected officials accountable to conduct the taxpayers' business in the light of day and in a manner that informs the public about government decision-making,”





Sunday, January 25, 2015

Hurst Mayor Henry Wilson is no Friend of Property Rights




Remember back in 1997-2000 when:

"The city of Hurst, Texas, agreed to let its largest taxpayer, a real estate company, expand its North East Mall and thus increase its sale and property tax revenue. There happened to be 127 homes in the way, but that did not deter the City. Under the threat of eminent domain, almost all of the homeowners sold their property. Ten did not, and brought a lawsuit. The Lopez, Duval, Prohs and Laue families each owned their homes for approximately 30 years. Others had been there for more than a decade.

A Texas trial judge refused to stay the condemnations while the suit was ongoing, so the residents lost their homes. Leonard Prohs had to move while his wife was in the hospital with brain cancer. She dies only five days after the house was demolished. Phyllis Duval's husband also was in the hospital with cancer at the time they were required to move. He died one month after demolition. Of the ten couples, three spouses died and four others suffered heart attacks during the dispute and litigation.

In court, the owners presented evidence that the land surveyor who designed the roads for the mall had been told to change the path of one road to run through eight of the houses of the owners challenging the condemnations."
(Government Theft: The Top 10 Abuses of Eminent Domain; March 2002; page 11)

Hurst City Councilman Henry Wilson (who is now Mayor) was cold and unsympathetic about this blatant disregard for property rights saying at the time “We’re doing something neat for all of the citizens of Hurst.” (Dallas Morning News; April 13, 1997) 

Henry Wilson actually uttered these words while forcing long time Hurst families to move for a private mall expansion, while two of their spouses were dying of cancer!