We will be discussing what follows or anything else you want to talk about tomorrow night at 8 pm
on our monthly conference call. Call us at 512-535-0989 or email us at info@indytexans.org for conference call instructions.
The BIG news is about Laura Thompson — see the report below.
Is a watershed – pun intended – moment upon we Texans of all political stripes? We think so, as politics-as-usual is imploding. This situation carries both opportunity and risks. One big risk is to the economic stability afforded us by a seemingly impenetrable two-party system. The opportunities are boundless, as new solutions to our many problems can move onto the main stage.
Those in power, one would think, must be trying like hell to read tea leaves – another pun intended. But the hogs at the public trough will likely continue their feeding frenzy risking economic collapse…the collapse that is intimately tied to how they continue squandering the public purse and our natural resources — particularly land and water.
Perhaps they haven’t figured out yet that there are no tea leaves. Conservatism and liberalism are both dead and populism (Trump’s right and Bernie’s left) is showing up at the wake. Could anyone keep a straight face when hearing that the very same Rick Perry who called Donald Trump a “cancer on conservatism”, is now willing to be Trump’s running mate?
Seriously folks, it’s getting rich out there – rich with absurdity and rich with opportunities that have broken out at the national level. It’s our job as Texas independents (notice the small “i”) to figure out how to use it at the local level.
Hoping to “see ya” on tomorrow night’s call at 8 pm.
Don’t give up…we just got started!* An extraordinary situation is developing in Texas House District 120 in San Antonio. Yesterday, local businesswoman, Laura Thompson, an unaffiliated independent, came out at the top of the heap of 4 candidates running to fill the unexpired term of Rep. Ruth McClendon who had to step down due to illness. Thompson received 33% and Lou Miller received 28%, (with a little over 2000 votes cast.) Thompson will soon move to complete her petition drive to be on the November ballot as an independent, as she heads into the runoff for this special election sometime in July. If she wins in July, she would then be the incumbent running in November against one of the two Democrats from the Democratic primary runoff on May 24th. Yes, it’s confusing! But this could be a history maker – the first independent elected to the Texas House! Prediction: Texas voters are ready to go independent. Wanna help? Contact us! More on Thompson here. * The entire Oppose the Hose (NoVistaRidge.org) coalition that continues to grow across central Texas awaits a May 11th deadline to see the application for $127 million that San Antonio Water System is expected to file with the Texas Water Development Board for state water funds (SWIFT) for Vista Ridge. We also await a May 27th deadline for SAWS to challenge the ratepayer petition asking the Public Utility Commission to review the rates associated with Vista Ridge. Watch your email closely for action you can take…very soon! * Ethics whistle-blowers and fiscal accountability watchdogs, Kelly Gilleland and Herb Goldsmith, lost their bids for the Bastrop City Council last night. Incumbent Gilleland lost by just 40 votes. We wish the incoming members – Deborah Jones and Bill Peterson – good luck as they are going to need it. We know for sure that tough times are ahead for Bastrop residents as Austin’s affordability crisis is overflowing into Bastrop. We call upon Bastrop residents to get involved with us and soon we can share some exciting plans. * We attended an impressive 17th annual meeting of the Medina County Environmental Action Association recently. The very good news is that the association is raising the funds to engage in the legal battles of landowners who are challenging what appears to be a clear abuse of eminent domain. Landowner Richard Fourier had a very strong hearing on Monday in which the review board increased the condemnation award from $30K to $80K. Still, Fournier is appealing because he believes that the company in question is not a common carrier and therefore has no right to exercise condemnation powers on his land. Like their Facebook page and follow this important effort. More here. * It should not go unnoticed that Proposition 1, Uber and Lyft’s ordinance they put on the Austin city ballot via petition, was soundly defeated yesterday by 12 points. Austin voters don’t much like the deep pockets trying to buy elections — to the tune of $8 million compared to $200K spent by their opponents. That’s our best guess anyway. Congrats Austin!