Linda Curtis, leader of Independent Texans, the state’s only association for independent voters, has yet to hear from any proponents of Proposition 6 willing to join the debate on Constitutional Amendment 6 this Saturday, September 21 at 11:30 am. The debate is planned as a featured event at the first-ever Independent Texans Convention. Independent Texans, founded in 2001, is a part of a “cross-partisan” coalition working to unite fiscal conservatives, independents and conservationists to come out against the measure.
Rumors are Prop 6 backers are planning to blow off the debate by claiming there is no credible opposition to Prop 6. This comes on the heels of the release by Independent Texans of a provocative and well researched white paper opposing Prop 6 found here: http://www.indytexans.com/wp-content/uploads/Prop-6-Final.pdf.
Curtis said, “The Governor, Texas House Speaker Straus and 127 House members are pushing Prop 6. Straus is about to fund up his PAC to push this amendment on Texans likely counting on voters not having enough information to understand its implications. Another pro-Prop 6 group, H2o4Texas Coalition, has a boatload of some of the world’s biggest businesses as sponsors. We can spell DOW – but can the proponents spell “cow”, as in Rick Perry’s new water cash cow for his cronies? Maybe the Governor is too busy job poaching in other states to get one of his water bandits to debate Rep. David Simpson (R-Longview), coming all the way from Longview for it. We’ve heard through the grapevine the pro-Prop 6 lobby is saying that we have no coalition. So what are they afraid of?”
Prop 6, by far the biggest and most controversial constitutional amendment on the November ballot, will move $2B in funding from the Texas Rainy Day Fund into a water fund that, over time, is expected to grow to $30B, for use by the Governor’s hand-picked Texas Water Development Board to help build “priority” water projects. “The way we figure it, that’s probably one or two projects each, for the special interests supporting Prop 6”, said Curtis..
The convention, sponsored by Independent Texans, is being held at the Bastrop Convention Center this Saturday, with the debate set to start at 11:30 a.m. Bastrop has become a symbol of the Texas Water Wars, being fought over plans by the Governor’s allies to move groundwater from aquifers in rural Texas to the growth corridors – without regard for the impact on land, aquifers and food growers. Other ground-zeros in this same war are found all over Texas, including parts of North Texas and East Texas that are squarely in the sights of the Metroplex and its thirst for new land to flood with reservoirs.
Who’s backing Prop 6? Look here: http://www.watertexas.com/water-texas-pac-leadership-team (Water Texas PAC) and here: http://www.h2o4texas.org/h2o4texas-sponsors/ (H2O4Texas).
For more information contact us at 512-535-0989 or email Linda Curtis at ljcurtis@indytexans.org
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