By TRACI SHURLEY
A first-time candidate for state office is challenging three-term incumbent Bill Zedler for House District 96 in a race with statewide implications and education as a key issue.
Challenger Chris Turner will meet Zedler at 6:30 tonight at the Arlington League of Women Voters forum in the Arlington school district administration building on West Pioneer Parkway in Arlington.
The district includes south Arlington, Crowley, Kennedale and parts of Fort Worth, Mansfield, Forest Hill and Burleson. Libertarian Todd Litteken is also running.
A victory for Zedler would boost Republicans who are struggling to hold onto power as state demographics shift to a minority-majority state, said Harvey Kronberg, editor of the Quorum Report, an online newsletter about Texas politics.
The increasingly younger and more ethnically diverse district could help Turner, he said.
Zedler is considered "one of the two or three most vulnerable incumbents out there because of the changes in the district," Kronberg said.
Issues
Turner, a former campaign manager and district director for U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, has focused much of his campaign on education. He believes changes to the state funding formula made during 2006 have been an "abysmal failure for local school districts and districts across the state."
Zedler, who has been endorsed by, among others, anti-abortion groups and the Texas Municipal Police Association, is proud of his work. He believes it’s important for lawmakers to continue to drive down local property taxes and favors requiring schools to rely on state funding. He also wants to limit government growth.
Illegal immigration is also a big issue with him. He wants to get rid of what he calls "sanctuary cities" by encouraging local law enforcement to more aggressively enforce immigration laws. He cited Houston as an example.
Turner agrees that getting control of the state’s borders is important. He said, however, that state legislators shouldn’t mandate decisions about immigration enforcement.
Transportation and healthcare are also likely to get the candidates’ attention. Turner has mailed out fliers criticizing Zedler’s 2003 vote to support the Trans-Texas Corridor. Zedler said he initially supported the bill but has since been a leader in efforts to stop the Texas Department of Transportation from moving forward with the project.
Litteken, an information technology specialist who lives in Arlington, said he, too, questions the project.
"I’m against using any tax dollars for things that do not directly benefit people, the individual, and even then it is something that should be reined in," he said. "I’m so tired of paying high taxes for just about everything."
Support
Turner is one of seven Texas House candidates to be endorsed by the bipartisan Texas Parent PAC, based in Austin. That organization, formed after the 2005 legislative session, backed state Rep. Diane Patrick, R-Arlington, in her 2006 upset victory over longtime District 94 Rep. Kent Grusendorf.
Carolyn Boyle, chairwoman of Texas Parent, said Zedler’s stand on the state education funding formula is wrong.
She believes Turner will do better.
"He is so smart and articulate and grounded and mature, and he really gets these issues and he really cares," Boyle said.
Ron Wright, district director for U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Arlington, and former Arlington mayor pro tem, said Zedler’s "consistently conservative" voting record will help him win.
"I think the district is still a Republican district and Bill still represents the values of the majority of people in that district, low taxes and limited government," Wright said.
Money
Zedler reported more than $157,000 in contributions on hand for the Jan. 1 through June 30 reporting period. Turner had more than $173,000.
Zedler’s big supporters during the first half of the year included San Antonio executive James Leininger, who gave $10,000 to the campaign in June, and the PAC Texans for Rick Perry, which gave $10,000 as well. Leininger is a proponent of school vouchers.
Turner reported a $15,000 contribution from Bernard Rapoport of Waco and $7,500 from Texans for Insurance Reform. Rapoport, founder of American Income Life Insurance Co., supports Democratic candidates at the state and federal level.
This report includes material from the Star-Telegram archives.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
House District 96
Bill Zedler
Party: Republican
Age: 65
Residence: Arlington
Education: Bachelor’s and Master’s in Business Administration, Sam Houston State University
Experience: Retired from sales career in healthcare industry; first elected to the House of Representatives in 2003; vice chairman of the public education committee; serves on business and industry and House administration committees; served as precinct chairman, election judge and poll watcher
Military: Served in the Army in Vietnam
Family: Wife Ellen, three adult children and five grandchildren
Web site: www.billzedler.org
September 30, 2008
September 29, 2008
Study: U.S. Hispanics say they're frequently stopped and asked status
By DIANNE SOLÍS / The Dallas Morning News
dsolis@dallasnews.com
Nearly one in 10 Hispanics in the United States report that police or other authorities have stopped them in the last year and asked them about their immigration status, the Pew Hispanic Center said in a report released today.
Also Online
Link: Pew Hispanic Center
The finding comes amid the biggest crackdown in decades illegal immigration — one that’s been highly visible in Texas, the No. 2 destination for such migrants. Municipal police in several suburbs of Dallas, including Irving and Carrollton, have stepped up cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
Nationally, deportations or removals of Mexicans, Salvadorans and Guatemalans from the interior of the United States have doubled since 2005, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Renato de los Santos, a Latino leader in Dallas, called the survey’s finding alarming and suggested that racial, ethnic or language profiling should be stopped unless it involves a terrorism suspect.
“It is the only way we as U.S. citizens should tolerate that,” said Mr. de los Santos, a North Texas district director for the League of United Latin American Citizens.
In Washington, the report’s co-author Mark Lopez characterized the finding as surprising but declined to speculate on causes as survey follow-up questions weren’t asked.
The report by the nonpartisan research center surveyed about 2,000 Hispanic adults and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points. Hispanics constitute about 15.4 percent of the U.S. population, or 46 million people. Roughly 30 million are over 18 years of age. About half of the adult population is foreign-born.
A spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement declined to comment.
In Irving, where Latinos and the regional Mexican consul complained loudly last year about police procedures, police spokesman David Tull emphasized that Irving police officers don’t carry out deportations. But in booking at the jail, citizenship is established, Officer Tull said. If officers believe ICE should be called to do further inquiry, the agency is called, he said.
dsolis@dallasnews.com
Nearly one in 10 Hispanics in the United States report that police or other authorities have stopped them in the last year and asked them about their immigration status, the Pew Hispanic Center said in a report released today.
Also Online
Link: Pew Hispanic Center
The finding comes amid the biggest crackdown in decades illegal immigration — one that’s been highly visible in Texas, the No. 2 destination for such migrants. Municipal police in several suburbs of Dallas, including Irving and Carrollton, have stepped up cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
Nationally, deportations or removals of Mexicans, Salvadorans and Guatemalans from the interior of the United States have doubled since 2005, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Renato de los Santos, a Latino leader in Dallas, called the survey’s finding alarming and suggested that racial, ethnic or language profiling should be stopped unless it involves a terrorism suspect.
“It is the only way we as U.S. citizens should tolerate that,” said Mr. de los Santos, a North Texas district director for the League of United Latin American Citizens.
In Washington, the report’s co-author Mark Lopez characterized the finding as surprising but declined to speculate on causes as survey follow-up questions weren’t asked.
The report by the nonpartisan research center surveyed about 2,000 Hispanic adults and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points. Hispanics constitute about 15.4 percent of the U.S. population, or 46 million people. Roughly 30 million are over 18 years of age. About half of the adult population is foreign-born.
A spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement declined to comment.
In Irving, where Latinos and the regional Mexican consul complained loudly last year about police procedures, police spokesman David Tull emphasized that Irving police officers don’t carry out deportations. But in booking at the jail, citizenship is established, Officer Tull said. If officers believe ICE should be called to do further inquiry, the agency is called, he said.
September 25, 2008
Cleanup spurs labor need
Undocumented workers will be linchpin in efforts
By JENALIA MORENO and SUSAN CARROLL Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Sept. 25, 2008, 7:12AM
Video: Ike's aftermath See Houston's recovery from the devastating hurricane.
IMMIGRATION CHRONICLES BLOG
Thoughts on the slower rate of immigration All across southeast Texas, roofs need repair, debris must be discarded and towns hope to rebuild.
Hurricane Ike's destruction is sparking one of the largest rebuilding efforts the state has seen in decades, but at the same time is highlighting a thorny facet of the region's labor force: A lot of the recovery work will be done by illegal immigrants.
Homeowners have already turned to day laborers — many of whom are undocumented — to help clear brush, tent roofs and repair other storm damage. Contractors have hired them to rebuild or restore businesses and the city's infrastructure.
And the major work of rebuilding small towns along the Gulf Coast or big homes in Galveston will likely be aided by undocumented workers.
But this tug and pull of the labor force highlights an uneasy dilemma: The region needs the muscle of undocumented immigrants, but simultaneously is a cog in a broader crackdown of illegal immigrants at worksites.
"There's just no mechanism in place right now to provide those important laborers work authorization," said Leigh Ganchan, a Houston immigration attorney with Haynes and Boone. "It's a shame that employers can't tap into a whole segment of society that's willing and capable to provide those services. Our nation is more vulnerable than it would like to admit, I think. Vulnerable, meaning we need people to help us rebuild our infrastructure after major disasters like this."
Carlos González, Mexico's consul general in Houston, expects the area's existing immigrant population will do the rebuilding work, a key difference with what happened post-Katrina. New Orleans experienced an influx of Hispanic immigrants because it did not have as large of an immigrant population as Houston.
"You will find the immigrant community — as they always have — will play a very big role," said Laura Murillo, president of the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
However, Americans devastated by the storm should have the option of doing the rebuilding, said Ira Mehlman, spokesman for a Washington, D.C.-group that seeks to stop illegal immigration.
"Those people should have first crack at the reconstruction jobs," said Mehlman with the Federation for American Immigration Reform. "I'm sure there are an awful lot of people who can use the jobs and use the paychecks to get themselves back on their feet."
The looming demand for immigrant labor for rebuilding efforts illustrates how dependent Texas industry and commerce are on undocumented workers.
According to a 2006 study by the Greater Houston Partnership, construction is the largest employer of undocumented workers in the city, employing nearly 36,000 people.
"The storm hasn't done anything but point out again how badly these workers are needed and how much they contribute," said Angela Blanchard, president and chief executive officer of Neighborhood Centers Inc.
Chase Duhon, with an Austin-based company that contracted to remove brush and debris across Houston, said he's having trouble finding legal local workers to help with hurricane cleanup. He posted an ad online to find more workers.
"We don't hire anyone who's illegal," said Duhon, a Houston native. "We want to keep it local. We want to use people here in Texas, but there's so much work, there are people coming from Michigan and Massachusetts."
Paralyzed by politics, immigration reform has yet to be approved by Congress despite years of hot debate. Supporters of reforms — such as a guest worker program — say storms like Ike prove how hard it is for employers to fill certain jobs.
"We need the labor. These people want to work," said Norman Adams, co-founder of Texans for Sensible Immigration Reform and president of Adams Insurance Service. "I don't think anybody has enough workers here."
Adams said the contractor repairing his water-damaged office building in the Heights area after the storm hired immigrant workers.
Honduran immigrant Esteban Valle, 49, said construction work has picked up since Ike hit.
"I think there's more work," said Valle, a legal permanent resident who previously lived in Dallas. "But it's easier for me because I have papers."
At one of the city's most popular day labor sites, the competition was stiff, with those skilled in trades like roof repair and hanging plaster wallboard often getting picked first.
"It's difficult because we don't have papers, and there are so many people," said 22-year-old Emanuel Hernandez, an undocumented immigrant from southern Mexico, gesturing to three dozen men gathered at the corner of Shepherd Drive and 11th.
Staff writer Jim Pinkerton contributed to this report.
jenalia.moreno@chron.com susan.carroll@chron.com
By JENALIA MORENO and SUSAN CARROLL Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Sept. 25, 2008, 7:12AM
Video: Ike's aftermath See Houston's recovery from the devastating hurricane.
IMMIGRATION CHRONICLES BLOG
Thoughts on the slower rate of immigration All across southeast Texas, roofs need repair, debris must be discarded and towns hope to rebuild.
Hurricane Ike's destruction is sparking one of the largest rebuilding efforts the state has seen in decades, but at the same time is highlighting a thorny facet of the region's labor force: A lot of the recovery work will be done by illegal immigrants.
Homeowners have already turned to day laborers — many of whom are undocumented — to help clear brush, tent roofs and repair other storm damage. Contractors have hired them to rebuild or restore businesses and the city's infrastructure.
And the major work of rebuilding small towns along the Gulf Coast or big homes in Galveston will likely be aided by undocumented workers.
But this tug and pull of the labor force highlights an uneasy dilemma: The region needs the muscle of undocumented immigrants, but simultaneously is a cog in a broader crackdown of illegal immigrants at worksites.
"There's just no mechanism in place right now to provide those important laborers work authorization," said Leigh Ganchan, a Houston immigration attorney with Haynes and Boone. "It's a shame that employers can't tap into a whole segment of society that's willing and capable to provide those services. Our nation is more vulnerable than it would like to admit, I think. Vulnerable, meaning we need people to help us rebuild our infrastructure after major disasters like this."
Carlos González, Mexico's consul general in Houston, expects the area's existing immigrant population will do the rebuilding work, a key difference with what happened post-Katrina. New Orleans experienced an influx of Hispanic immigrants because it did not have as large of an immigrant population as Houston.
"You will find the immigrant community — as they always have — will play a very big role," said Laura Murillo, president of the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
However, Americans devastated by the storm should have the option of doing the rebuilding, said Ira Mehlman, spokesman for a Washington, D.C.-group that seeks to stop illegal immigration.
"Those people should have first crack at the reconstruction jobs," said Mehlman with the Federation for American Immigration Reform. "I'm sure there are an awful lot of people who can use the jobs and use the paychecks to get themselves back on their feet."
The looming demand for immigrant labor for rebuilding efforts illustrates how dependent Texas industry and commerce are on undocumented workers.
According to a 2006 study by the Greater Houston Partnership, construction is the largest employer of undocumented workers in the city, employing nearly 36,000 people.
"The storm hasn't done anything but point out again how badly these workers are needed and how much they contribute," said Angela Blanchard, president and chief executive officer of Neighborhood Centers Inc.
Chase Duhon, with an Austin-based company that contracted to remove brush and debris across Houston, said he's having trouble finding legal local workers to help with hurricane cleanup. He posted an ad online to find more workers.
"We don't hire anyone who's illegal," said Duhon, a Houston native. "We want to keep it local. We want to use people here in Texas, but there's so much work, there are people coming from Michigan and Massachusetts."
Paralyzed by politics, immigration reform has yet to be approved by Congress despite years of hot debate. Supporters of reforms — such as a guest worker program — say storms like Ike prove how hard it is for employers to fill certain jobs.
"We need the labor. These people want to work," said Norman Adams, co-founder of Texans for Sensible Immigration Reform and president of Adams Insurance Service. "I don't think anybody has enough workers here."
Adams said the contractor repairing his water-damaged office building in the Heights area after the storm hired immigrant workers.
Honduran immigrant Esteban Valle, 49, said construction work has picked up since Ike hit.
"I think there's more work," said Valle, a legal permanent resident who previously lived in Dallas. "But it's easier for me because I have papers."
At one of the city's most popular day labor sites, the competition was stiff, with those skilled in trades like roof repair and hanging plaster wallboard often getting picked first.
"It's difficult because we don't have papers, and there are so many people," said 22-year-old Emanuel Hernandez, an undocumented immigrant from southern Mexico, gesturing to three dozen men gathered at the corner of Shepherd Drive and 11th.
Staff writer Jim Pinkerton contributed to this report.
jenalia.moreno@chron.com susan.carroll@chron.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
