By Adriana M. Chávez / El Paso Times
Article Launched: 09/22/2008 12:00:00 AM MDT
EL PASO -- George Rodriguez Stoltz, the Republican candidate for El Paso County sheriff, will be the first to admit he's the underdog.
Stoltz will face Democratic candidate Richard Wiles, a retired police chief, in the general election Nov. 4.
Stoltz, 42, has spent the last 18 months in Iraq as a contracted police adviser, and returned to El Paso on Sept. 14. Stoltz said that since then, he has hit the ground running to make strides in his campaign, which carries the motto "international experience for an international community."
"I have to," Stoltz said. "It's been an uphill battle to get things started with my campaign. It's hard to campaign when you're thousands of miles away."
Stoltz said he decided to run for sheriff because he tired of seeing "crime and corruption going out of control."
While he was in Iraq, Stoltz said, he would keep up with his hometown by visiting the Web sites of media outlets such as the El Paso Times and reading stories on the FBI's public corruption investigation and the area's crime trends.
"I went from (hearing) Americans saying Iraq was corrupt to seeing graffiti (in El Paso) going out of control and community leaders under investigation," Stoltz said. "I believe in my heart that El Paso deserves better, especially our outlying areas."
Although Stoltz may still be unfamiliar to many county residents, Wiles said he knows Stoltz very well. Stoltz was an El Paso police officer for 18 years before he resigned to work as a civilian
contractor in Iraq. Wiles said he was unable to grant Stoltz a leave of absence because it isn't commonly approved in the department.
Before becoming an officer, Stoltz was a U.S Marine who graduated from Ysleta High School in 1984. Stoltz said his family has roots in the Lower Valley, where he still lives with his wife, Nancy, and three children -- Nicole, 20; George Anthony, 17; and George Eric, 15. His two sons attend Socorro High School, where Stoltz is a member of the football team's booster club.
George Stoltz said he shares views similar to late Sheriff Leo Samaniego's on enforcing immigration laws. Last year, Samaniego was criticized for allowing deputies to check on the immigration status of drivers during traffic checkpoints.
Wiles said he doesn't believe local law enforcement should enforce federal immigration laws, and added that immigration laws should be enforced by officers specifically trained in immigration law.
Stoltz said he is against consolidating aspects of the Sheriff's Office and the Police Department and implementing DIMS, or District Attorney's Information Management System, which allows crime suspects to be jailed before appearing in front of a magistrate judge. Wiles said he supports both those issues.
Sammy Carrejo, who is involved with Stoltz's campaign as a publicist, said he decided to support Stoltz because of his position on DIMS and other issues Wiles has supported.
Stoltz "is doing this for the safety of El Paso. He's not worried about making his next career move like his opponent is," Carrejo said. "Wiles is not the type of person we need."
Wiles said he questions Stoltz's campaign motto, and is concerned that Stoltz is comparing Iraq to El Paso.
"I don't think Iraq can compare to El Paso. It's best to have actual experience here on an international border," Wiles said.
Eastsider Ann Marie Giron said she supports Wiles' campaign because she believes he's the most qualified based on his past experience as police chief.
"All citizens (have) benefited from his ability to manage not only a police department, but theÊadditional responsibilities therein, which affected our lives daily, such as budgetary constraints andÊthe development of aÊmore trusting relationship between citizens and the Police Department," Giron said. "These are the criteria that are relevant, not party-affiliation, gender, raceÊor ethnicity."
Adriana M. Chávez may be reached at achavez@elpasotimes.com;546-6117.
Wiles file
Name: Richard Wiles
Age: 46.
Experience: Retired El Paso police chief. Worked for 27 years for the city of El Paso, initially as a firefighter and then in various jobs in the Police Department. Retired in December.
Education: Master's in criminal justice from Sul Ross State, where he was named outstanding criminal justice graduate student. Bachelor's in criminal justice from the UTEP. Graduate of Andress High School.
Web site: www.wilesforepcounty.com.
Stoltz file
Name: George Rodriguez Stoltz
Age: 42.
Experience: Eighteen years experience as an El Paso police officer. Last assignment was with department's Gang Task Force. Resigned from the department to serve 18 months in Iraq as a contracted international police adviser. Former U.S. Marine.
Education: Attended Sul Ross State, where he was a cornerback on the school's football team, from 1985 to 1987. Studied criminal justice at El Paso Community College and American Military University, an online university.
Web site: www.georgestoltz.com.
Showing posts with label Republican. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Republican. Show all posts
September 23, 2008
September 13, 2008
McCain, Obama avoid talk of immigration reform
By Ramon Bracamontes / El Paso Times
Article Launched: 09/13/2008 04:19:04 PM MDT
EL PASO - As the presidential race heads toward Nov. 4, both candidates continue to avoid talking about immigration and immigration reform - a politically-charged national issue that has real life implications in El Paso and other border cities.
Whether the strategy of avoiding this topic helps Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is unknown, but the issue is one which will have to be dealt with by whoever wins the general election in November, experts said.
"it is an issue they are both trying to avoid," said Eli M. Kantor, a California immigration lawyer. "Both candidates are pretty much pro-immigration reform however it is not a popular issue to talk about right now."
The reason immigration reform isn't popular on the campaign trail is because people on both sides of the debate have very strong opinions, experts said. Those who live along the border and who have current family members who might be here illegally want families to be reunited and for all immigrants to be treated humanely.
But, those who live in others parts of the country want the border secure, they want immigration eliminated and they put homeland security issues first, said Kantor, who is the media liaison for the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
"It is easier right now to just talk about securing the borders," Kantor said. "The candidates have to appeal to all the voters, so they don't want to alienate anyone on either side of the issue."
During President
Bush's Administration several attempts at passing an immigration reform bill died. Bush's immigration reform bill increased security along the border, while at the same time fining businesses that hired undocumented workers, which upset some people.
The bill was disliked by others because it had a guest-worker program and it gave some those in the U.S. illegally the ability to become naturalized citizens.
"Most of us come here to work and get better, not to do any harm," said Rigo Orozco, who was outside the Border Farm Workers Center in South El Paso this week. "If there was a way for me to work and stay here, I would do it."
It is estimated that anywhere from 12 to 20 million people are working in the United States illegally.
An economic study issued earlier this year by Americans for Immigration Reform stated that the U.S economy could lose nearly $1.8 trillion a year if undocumented workers left the country. Texas, which has an undocumented immigrant population of about 1.4 million, could lose more than $220 million if all undocumented workers were ousted.
"The system has been broken for a while now and only a political band-aid has been put on it," said University of Texas at El Paso political science professor Charles Boehmer. "The new president will have to tackle the issue. No one is happy with the status quo."
Texas Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, who has been working for years to improve the trade corridor between Mexico and the U.S. because it directly affects El Paso and its people, said the problem must be addressed soon.
"What we need, what the country needs is a comprehensive framework," Shapleigh said. "The right talks about walls. The left talks about fair trade. But all these issues are linked. Security is linked to trade; trade is linked to labor; labor is the key to prosperity. And all these issues need to be on the table if we are to succeed."
But, Shapleigh, too, sees that both candidates are trying to avoid the issue while on the campaign trail.
"Both parties need a dose of courage," he said. "Obama knows that a comprehensive framework is the key - but will not deal realistically with free trade. McCain lost his courage when he veered right to win his primary. If these guys want to lead, now is the time for leadership."
Prior to being the Republican party nominee, McCain teamed with Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., to sponsor a comprehensive immigration bill. The bill allowed employers to hire foreigners under a temporary visa program if they can prove they are unable to hire American workers for the same job and it allowed workers to stay in the United States.
While the immigration reform package did not pass, it shows that McCain has a clear concept of what he wants to do with the issue, said Michael Moore, chairman of the El Paso Republican Party.
"Sen. McCain knows where the border is and he has been here several times," Moore said. "He has the experience in Congress to solve the issue and he knows what the problem is and how to fix it."
Ramon Bracamontes may be reached at rbracamontes@elpasotimes.com; 546-6142.
Article Launched: 09/13/2008 04:19:04 PM MDT
EL PASO - As the presidential race heads toward Nov. 4, both candidates continue to avoid talking about immigration and immigration reform - a politically-charged national issue that has real life implications in El Paso and other border cities.
Whether the strategy of avoiding this topic helps Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is unknown, but the issue is one which will have to be dealt with by whoever wins the general election in November, experts said.
"it is an issue they are both trying to avoid," said Eli M. Kantor, a California immigration lawyer. "Both candidates are pretty much pro-immigration reform however it is not a popular issue to talk about right now."
The reason immigration reform isn't popular on the campaign trail is because people on both sides of the debate have very strong opinions, experts said. Those who live along the border and who have current family members who might be here illegally want families to be reunited and for all immigrants to be treated humanely.
But, those who live in others parts of the country want the border secure, they want immigration eliminated and they put homeland security issues first, said Kantor, who is the media liaison for the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
"It is easier right now to just talk about securing the borders," Kantor said. "The candidates have to appeal to all the voters, so they don't want to alienate anyone on either side of the issue."
During President
Bush's Administration several attempts at passing an immigration reform bill died. Bush's immigration reform bill increased security along the border, while at the same time fining businesses that hired undocumented workers, which upset some people.
The bill was disliked by others because it had a guest-worker program and it gave some those in the U.S. illegally the ability to become naturalized citizens.
"Most of us come here to work and get better, not to do any harm," said Rigo Orozco, who was outside the Border Farm Workers Center in South El Paso this week. "If there was a way for me to work and stay here, I would do it."
It is estimated that anywhere from 12 to 20 million people are working in the United States illegally.
An economic study issued earlier this year by Americans for Immigration Reform stated that the U.S economy could lose nearly $1.8 trillion a year if undocumented workers left the country. Texas, which has an undocumented immigrant population of about 1.4 million, could lose more than $220 million if all undocumented workers were ousted.
"The system has been broken for a while now and only a political band-aid has been put on it," said University of Texas at El Paso political science professor Charles Boehmer. "The new president will have to tackle the issue. No one is happy with the status quo."
Texas Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, who has been working for years to improve the trade corridor between Mexico and the U.S. because it directly affects El Paso and its people, said the problem must be addressed soon.
"What we need, what the country needs is a comprehensive framework," Shapleigh said. "The right talks about walls. The left talks about fair trade. But all these issues are linked. Security is linked to trade; trade is linked to labor; labor is the key to prosperity. And all these issues need to be on the table if we are to succeed."
But, Shapleigh, too, sees that both candidates are trying to avoid the issue while on the campaign trail.
"Both parties need a dose of courage," he said. "Obama knows that a comprehensive framework is the key - but will not deal realistically with free trade. McCain lost his courage when he veered right to win his primary. If these guys want to lead, now is the time for leadership."
Prior to being the Republican party nominee, McCain teamed with Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., to sponsor a comprehensive immigration bill. The bill allowed employers to hire foreigners under a temporary visa program if they can prove they are unable to hire American workers for the same job and it allowed workers to stay in the United States.
While the immigration reform package did not pass, it shows that McCain has a clear concept of what he wants to do with the issue, said Michael Moore, chairman of the El Paso Republican Party.
"Sen. McCain knows where the border is and he has been here several times," Moore said. "He has the experience in Congress to solve the issue and he knows what the problem is and how to fix it."
Ramon Bracamontes may be reached at rbracamontes@elpasotimes.com; 546-6142.
September 7, 2008
Party platforms' plans for border called weak
AUSTIN -- Neither Republicans nor Democrats have outlined an adequate strategy to deal with border security and immigration, Texas border leaders said last week.
"Neither one of them is taking a holistic approach," El Paso Mayor John Cook said.
At their national conventions in the past two weeks, both parties adopted platforms that describe their political philosophies and policy plans.
The Texas Border Coalition, a group of elected officials and business leaders, said that both platforms contain some good ideas but don't have what it takes to provide security and a fair immigration system.
"While we find a lot to admire, we also find both miss the point," said Coalition Chairman Chad Foster, who is also mayor of Eagle Pass.
The coalition has opposed the Bush administration's border fence plan, and has called for increased technology and personnel to help secure the border, along with reform of the immigration system.
The Republican plan supports more investment in resources for border agents and border security.
But, Foster said, it's too harsh in tone and doesn't advance a civil dialogue about immigration.
The Democrats' plans include more technology, infrastructure and people on the border and promise comprehensive immigration reform with a guest-worker program within a year of a new administration.
The
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plan, though, doesn't mention the border fence.
"We are disappointed with the Democrats' silence on the border wall," Foster said said. "We disagree with the Republican call for completing the wall in haste."
Cook said the presidential candidates have largely treated the immigration issue as the elephant in the room.
Without more public debate on what to do with the approximately 12 million undocumented immigrants in the country or how to provide workers U.S. employers need, Cook said, he worries that lawmakers will again leave the issue on the back burner.
"Congress has shown us time and time again they don't want to take that issue on, and it becomes a political football," he said.
El Paso County Attorney José Rodríguez, also a coalition member, said he has been disappointed that neither Republican presidential candidate John McCain nor Democratic candidate Barack Obama has emphasized immigration.
Debates over immigration and border security were among the driving factors in the 2006 midterm elections, but the economy and foreign policy are the hot-button issues in the current campaigns.
Immigration is too complicated and volatile a topic to take center stage in the presidential race as both candidates jockey for votes, said Irasema Coronado, a political science professor at the University of Texas at El Paso.
"It is a no-win situation for either candidate," she said.
Advocating a comprehensive immigration reform plan, she said, would alienate anti-immigrant voters.
Promoting a harsh immigration crackdown, she said, could worry employers and businessmen who need workers.
"As the campaign draws to an end, both candidates will try to stick to the middle on every issue," Coronado predicted.
But that doesn't mean a new president won't deal with immigration and border security issues once he takes office, she said.
Obama has said that, if elected, he would take up the issue in his first year.
If he wins, Coronado said, voters should expect some comprehensive immigration reform package that includes worker visas. Under McCain administration, the plan would likely include more get-tough security measures and deportation.
"This is all about doing your political calculus," Coronado said, "and you want right now to maximize votes."'
Brandi Grissom may be reached at bgrissom@elpasotimes.com
"Neither one of them is taking a holistic approach," El Paso Mayor John Cook said.
At their national conventions in the past two weeks, both parties adopted platforms that describe their political philosophies and policy plans.
The Texas Border Coalition, a group of elected officials and business leaders, said that both platforms contain some good ideas but don't have what it takes to provide security and a fair immigration system.
"While we find a lot to admire, we also find both miss the point," said Coalition Chairman Chad Foster, who is also mayor of Eagle Pass.
The coalition has opposed the Bush administration's border fence plan, and has called for increased technology and personnel to help secure the border, along with reform of the immigration system.
The Republican plan supports more investment in resources for border agents and border security.
But, Foster said, it's too harsh in tone and doesn't advance a civil dialogue about immigration.
The Democrats' plans include more technology, infrastructure and people on the border and promise comprehensive immigration reform with a guest-worker program within a year of a new administration.
The
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Advertisement
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
plan, though, doesn't mention the border fence.
"We are disappointed with the Democrats' silence on the border wall," Foster said said. "We disagree with the Republican call for completing the wall in haste."
Cook said the presidential candidates have largely treated the immigration issue as the elephant in the room.
Without more public debate on what to do with the approximately 12 million undocumented immigrants in the country or how to provide workers U.S. employers need, Cook said, he worries that lawmakers will again leave the issue on the back burner.
"Congress has shown us time and time again they don't want to take that issue on, and it becomes a political football," he said.
El Paso County Attorney José Rodríguez, also a coalition member, said he has been disappointed that neither Republican presidential candidate John McCain nor Democratic candidate Barack Obama has emphasized immigration.
Debates over immigration and border security were among the driving factors in the 2006 midterm elections, but the economy and foreign policy are the hot-button issues in the current campaigns.
Immigration is too complicated and volatile a topic to take center stage in the presidential race as both candidates jockey for votes, said Irasema Coronado, a political science professor at the University of Texas at El Paso.
"It is a no-win situation for either candidate," she said.
Advocating a comprehensive immigration reform plan, she said, would alienate anti-immigrant voters.
Promoting a harsh immigration crackdown, she said, could worry employers and businessmen who need workers.
"As the campaign draws to an end, both candidates will try to stick to the middle on every issue," Coronado predicted.
But that doesn't mean a new president won't deal with immigration and border security issues once he takes office, she said.
Obama has said that, if elected, he would take up the issue in his first year.
If he wins, Coronado said, voters should expect some comprehensive immigration reform package that includes worker visas. Under McCain administration, the plan would likely include more get-tough security measures and deportation.
"This is all about doing your political calculus," Coronado said, "and you want right now to maximize votes."'
Brandi Grissom may be reached at bgrissom@elpasotimes.com
September 5, 2008
Rep. Berman considering running for governor
By Corrie MacLaggan
State Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, said today that he’ll run for governor at the end of the 2009 legislative session if he doesn’t succeed in passing legislation targeting illegal immigrants.
“If we can’t get anything done next session because it’s blocked, I will run for governor at the end of the session,” he said in an phone interview from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, where he landed early this evening after attending the GOP convention in St. Paul, Minn.
Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office today released a document showing Berman has requested Abbott’s official opinion on whether a House member would lose his seat if he announces his candidacy for governor during the first year of a two-year term.
Berman said he wants to keep his House seat and that if Abbott rules that he would have to give up his seat to run for governor, that would factor into his decision whether to run.
Berman would like to penalize employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants. He’s also proposing a surcharge on money wired to Mexico.
“We have almost two million illegal aliens in Texas and no one’s doing anything about it,” Berman said. “A lot of people are very concerned, including myself. It’s costing Texans $4 billion a year and we think something needs to be done.”
The cost of illegal immigration is disputed; for example, a state comptroller’s report said undocumented immigrants added $17.7 billion to the gross state product in 2005.
During the 2007 legislative session, a package of anti-illegal immigration bills by Berman and other Republicans died in the House State Affairs committee. Chairman David Swinford, R-Dumas, said after meeting with lawyers from Abbott’s office that at least 20 bills were either unconstitutional or trumped by federal law.
State Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, said today that he’ll run for governor at the end of the 2009 legislative session if he doesn’t succeed in passing legislation targeting illegal immigrants.
“If we can’t get anything done next session because it’s blocked, I will run for governor at the end of the session,” he said in an phone interview from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, where he landed early this evening after attending the GOP convention in St. Paul, Minn.
Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office today released a document showing Berman has requested Abbott’s official opinion on whether a House member would lose his seat if he announces his candidacy for governor during the first year of a two-year term.
Berman said he wants to keep his House seat and that if Abbott rules that he would have to give up his seat to run for governor, that would factor into his decision whether to run.
Berman would like to penalize employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants. He’s also proposing a surcharge on money wired to Mexico.
“We have almost two million illegal aliens in Texas and no one’s doing anything about it,” Berman said. “A lot of people are very concerned, including myself. It’s costing Texans $4 billion a year and we think something needs to be done.”
The cost of illegal immigration is disputed; for example, a state comptroller’s report said undocumented immigrants added $17.7 billion to the gross state product in 2005.
During the 2007 legislative session, a package of anti-illegal immigration bills by Berman and other Republicans died in the House State Affairs committee. Chairman David Swinford, R-Dumas, said after meeting with lawyers from Abbott’s office that at least 20 bills were either unconstitutional or trumped by federal law.
Critics worry voter ID proposal would disenfranchise citizens
Kevin Sieff (The Brownsville Herald)
BROWNSVILLE -- Proposed changes in the state's voting laws could force thousands of South Texans to prove their citizenship in order to vote in local, state and national elections.
During the coming legislative session, Texas Republicans plan to introduce a measure that would target perpetrators of voter fraud, especially non-citizens. The stringent voting regulations -- dubbed the "voter suppression bill" by opponents -- are already being discussed by Texas state representatives.
On Friday, members of the House's elections committee met at the University of Texas-Brownsville/Texas Southmost College to take testimony related to voting reform.
If voters are required to provide proof of citizenship - as last year's failed House Bill 626 would have mandated -- South Texans will likely be among the most adversely affected.
Many Rio Grande Valley residents delivered by midwives are currently struggling to get passports because of U.S. State Department suspicions that their birth certificates were fraudulently provided. See ACLU Lawsuit
At the hearing Friday, immigration attorney Lisa Brodyaga estimated thousands of passport applicants -- almost all of them South Texas residents -- are struggling to prove they were born in the United States. If voters are required to provide proof of citizenship, many worry the same people will be disenfranchised.
"These cases reveal serious flaws with the proposal to require proof of citizenship in order to vote," said Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, the chairman of Friday's hearing.
But House Republicans continue to stress the importance of voting reform.
In a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott wrote that "serious allegations of voter fraud have persisted, especially in South Texas, for more than a century."
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has made it clear that cracking down on voter fraud will be one of his priorities this session, said Rich Parsons, a spokesperson for Dewhurst.
"He wants to make sure that only U.S. citizens are casting their vote in U.S. elections," Parsons said.
In addition to the proof of citizenship requirement, House Republicans have also pushed a voter-identification bill that would require voters to present government-sanctioned photo identification, such as a driver's license, at the polls, in addition to a valid voter registration card.
But two recent studies found that voter-identification requirements could keep current voters away from the polls.
In 2006, the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law found that 25 percent of African-Americans, 18 percent of seniors over 65, and 15 percent of voters earning under $35,000 a year do not have government-issued photo identification.
A study commissioned by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, conducted by researchers from Rutgers and Ohio State universities, found that in 2004, states with voter-identification laws experienced a drop in turnout, including a 10 percent drop in Hispanic voters.
BROWNSVILLE -- Proposed changes in the state's voting laws could force thousands of South Texans to prove their citizenship in order to vote in local, state and national elections.
During the coming legislative session, Texas Republicans plan to introduce a measure that would target perpetrators of voter fraud, especially non-citizens. The stringent voting regulations -- dubbed the "voter suppression bill" by opponents -- are already being discussed by Texas state representatives.
On Friday, members of the House's elections committee met at the University of Texas-Brownsville/Texas Southmost College to take testimony related to voting reform.
If voters are required to provide proof of citizenship - as last year's failed House Bill 626 would have mandated -- South Texans will likely be among the most adversely affected.
Many Rio Grande Valley residents delivered by midwives are currently struggling to get passports because of U.S. State Department suspicions that their birth certificates were fraudulently provided. See ACLU Lawsuit
At the hearing Friday, immigration attorney Lisa Brodyaga estimated thousands of passport applicants -- almost all of them South Texas residents -- are struggling to prove they were born in the United States. If voters are required to provide proof of citizenship, many worry the same people will be disenfranchised.
"These cases reveal serious flaws with the proposal to require proof of citizenship in order to vote," said Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, the chairman of Friday's hearing.
But House Republicans continue to stress the importance of voting reform.
In a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott wrote that "serious allegations of voter fraud have persisted, especially in South Texas, for more than a century."
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has made it clear that cracking down on voter fraud will be one of his priorities this session, said Rich Parsons, a spokesperson for Dewhurst.
"He wants to make sure that only U.S. citizens are casting their vote in U.S. elections," Parsons said.
In addition to the proof of citizenship requirement, House Republicans have also pushed a voter-identification bill that would require voters to present government-sanctioned photo identification, such as a driver's license, at the polls, in addition to a valid voter registration card.
But two recent studies found that voter-identification requirements could keep current voters away from the polls.
In 2006, the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law found that 25 percent of African-Americans, 18 percent of seniors over 65, and 15 percent of voters earning under $35,000 a year do not have government-issued photo identification.
A study commissioned by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, conducted by researchers from Rutgers and Ohio State universities, found that in 2004, states with voter-identification laws experienced a drop in turnout, including a 10 percent drop in Hispanic voters.
August 29, 2008
Rep. Madden reaches out to constituents
By Stephanie Flemmons, Staff Writer
(Created: Friday, August 29, 2008 11:24 AM CDT)
With the 81st Texas Legislative Session nearing, State Rep. Jerry Madden (R-Plano) decided to reach out to his constituents in order to gain insight.
“The intent is to first get feedback from constituents,” Madden said. “I want to gather what they are interested in, what they want and what they don’t want.”
Madden said during the 81st Legislature he believes there will be many challenges, including the Texas economy, transportation which includes both highway construction and public transportation, water issues, immigration, voter identification, taxation and many others.
“I have prepared this survey as a means of gathering your input on the important issues coming to the front for the upcoming 81st Legislature,” Madden said in a letter addressed to District 67 constituents. “I am your Representative and as such I need to know your collective opinions on these issues to better represent you. This coming year I expect to cast more than 4,000 votes as your Representative in Austin and it is my goal to use your input to make a truly representative vote on each issue.”
Madden said the survey has brought many issues to the surface, but three issues have received numerous responses.
Madden said he learned constituents are passionate about voters showing photo identification at the polling places prior to being allowed to vote.
“This is something we had at the Texas House level, but it died,” Madden said.
District 67 constituents are also passionate about illegal immigrants who commit crimes.
Out of 492 responses, 418 people believe we should eliminate sanctuary cities (cities that protect illegal immigrants) where immigration status of someone arrested is not checked by law enforcement. Furthermore, 462 out of the 492 responses believe the state should require counties to check the immigration status of all individuals charged with a felony.
“Illegal immigrants convicted of a felony who have served time in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice are deported after they serve their time,” Madden said. “We are worried about illegal immigrants who commit lesser felonies and are serving probation. We want to develop a process to deal with those individuals.”
Madden said he plans to take this first-time survey and utilize the responses to help voice their opinions to the legislatures. He said he hopes to gain insight for ideas on potential legislation.
“Some want me to do one thing and some want the complete opposite,” Madden said. “For some bills I won’t be the major writer, but I still want the constituent feedback.”
Madden believes it is important for District representatives to be available to their constituents.
Madden is setting up focus groups where volunteers meet to discuss specific areas of interest including economy, job development, taxation, water issues, transportation, education K-12, higher education, criminal justice and immigration.
For information on focus groups or to participate in the survey, visit www.jerrymadden.org.
Madden said he will try to answer any questions by phone, email or internet.
“Please give us your contact information so that I can discuss these issues with you,” Madden said in a press release. “I thank you for the honor of serving you and Texas. It is a great privilege to represent all of the citizens of District 67.”
Contact Stephanie Flemmons at sflemmons@acnpapers.com.
(Created: Friday, August 29, 2008 11:24 AM CDT)
With the 81st Texas Legislative Session nearing, State Rep. Jerry Madden (R-Plano) decided to reach out to his constituents in order to gain insight.
“The intent is to first get feedback from constituents,” Madden said. “I want to gather what they are interested in, what they want and what they don’t want.”
Madden said during the 81st Legislature he believes there will be many challenges, including the Texas economy, transportation which includes both highway construction and public transportation, water issues, immigration, voter identification, taxation and many others.
“I have prepared this survey as a means of gathering your input on the important issues coming to the front for the upcoming 81st Legislature,” Madden said in a letter addressed to District 67 constituents. “I am your Representative and as such I need to know your collective opinions on these issues to better represent you. This coming year I expect to cast more than 4,000 votes as your Representative in Austin and it is my goal to use your input to make a truly representative vote on each issue.”
Madden said the survey has brought many issues to the surface, but three issues have received numerous responses.
Madden said he learned constituents are passionate about voters showing photo identification at the polling places prior to being allowed to vote.
“This is something we had at the Texas House level, but it died,” Madden said.
District 67 constituents are also passionate about illegal immigrants who commit crimes.
Out of 492 responses, 418 people believe we should eliminate sanctuary cities (cities that protect illegal immigrants) where immigration status of someone arrested is not checked by law enforcement. Furthermore, 462 out of the 492 responses believe the state should require counties to check the immigration status of all individuals charged with a felony.
“Illegal immigrants convicted of a felony who have served time in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice are deported after they serve their time,” Madden said. “We are worried about illegal immigrants who commit lesser felonies and are serving probation. We want to develop a process to deal with those individuals.”
Madden said he plans to take this first-time survey and utilize the responses to help voice their opinions to the legislatures. He said he hopes to gain insight for ideas on potential legislation.
“Some want me to do one thing and some want the complete opposite,” Madden said. “For some bills I won’t be the major writer, but I still want the constituent feedback.”
Madden believes it is important for District representatives to be available to their constituents.
Madden is setting up focus groups where volunteers meet to discuss specific areas of interest including economy, job development, taxation, water issues, transportation, education K-12, higher education, criminal justice and immigration.
For information on focus groups or to participate in the survey, visit www.jerrymadden.org.
Madden said he will try to answer any questions by phone, email or internet.
“Please give us your contact information so that I can discuss these issues with you,” Madden said in a press release. “I thank you for the honor of serving you and Texas. It is a great privilege to represent all of the citizens of District 67.”
Contact Stephanie Flemmons at sflemmons@acnpapers.com.
August 23, 2008
Senate candidate Cornyn says he reflects Texan values
By BRAD WATSON / WFAA-TV
Video
Republican John Cornyn promised to support President Bush, and by last year, he voted for White House-backed bills, more than any other senator.
That's in the past.
"This is about the future; it's about John McCain or Barack Obama; it's about me or my opponent," he said.
Cornyn served as a state district judge in San Antonio, then as a Texas Supreme Court justice and later as attorney general.
Voters picked him in 2002 for the U.S. Senate.
Cornyn backed Bush on the Iraq war.
But with polls showing Bush unpopular, even in Texas, energy prices high and the economy slipping, Cornyn backs away from Bush.
He says it's time for bi-partisan solutions.
"People aren't so much interested in the partisan back-and-forth in Washington. Frankly, they are getting pretty tired of that. I am, too," he said.
Cornyn differed with Bush on immigration by not favoring a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.
And Cornyn says he's worked with Democrats to improve open government laws.
The take of Cornyn's opponent, Democrat Rick Noriega: "He's failed the families of the State of Texas."
But Cornyn says he better reflects Texans' values.
"Texans are a pretty conservative bunch," he said.
E-mail bwatson@wfaa.com.
Video
Republican John Cornyn promised to support President Bush, and by last year, he voted for White House-backed bills, more than any other senator.
That's in the past.
"This is about the future; it's about John McCain or Barack Obama; it's about me or my opponent," he said.
Cornyn served as a state district judge in San Antonio, then as a Texas Supreme Court justice and later as attorney general.
Voters picked him in 2002 for the U.S. Senate.
Cornyn backed Bush on the Iraq war.
But with polls showing Bush unpopular, even in Texas, energy prices high and the economy slipping, Cornyn backs away from Bush.
He says it's time for bi-partisan solutions.
"People aren't so much interested in the partisan back-and-forth in Washington. Frankly, they are getting pretty tired of that. I am, too," he said.
Cornyn differed with Bush on immigration by not favoring a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.
And Cornyn says he's worked with Democrats to improve open government laws.
The take of Cornyn's opponent, Democrat Rick Noriega: "He's failed the families of the State of Texas."
But Cornyn says he better reflects Texans' values.
"Texans are a pretty conservative bunch," he said.
E-mail bwatson@wfaa.com.
August 17, 2008
Fort Worth man plays key role in McCain camp
Sun, Aug. 17, 2008
By ANNA M. TINSLEYatinsley@star-telegram.com
Juan Hernandez is a defender of immigrant rights, a position that puts him at odds with some in the GOP.
FORT WORTH — For years, Juan Hernandez was a familiar sight at Joe T. Garcia’s — strolling among diners and singing as a local troubadour.
His work there led to singing at weddings and recording albums in Spanish and English. He earned enough money to pay for graduate school and learned lessons that would help him through the years, said his father, Francisco Hernandez Sr. "His years as a troubadour gave him so much time working with people," he said. "He learned to win the appreciation of people."
That may have helped, as Juan Hernandez — a lightning rod because of his passionate defense of immigrant rights — has had a career that led him from teaching literature in Dallas to being the first U.S.-born person named to a Cabinet position in Mexico, under President Vicente Fox.
He is now the Hispanic outreach director for Republican presidential hopeful John McCain, an unpaid volunteer who has the delicate task of trying to gain Latino support for McCain while fielding criticism for his position on immigration as well as for the years he spent working for Fox.
"People tell him he should be in the Democratic Party," said his brother Francisco Hernandez Jr., a local attorney. "But he says the place you have to change hearts is in the Republican Party.
"He sees it as his mission. If he had $1 for every person in the McCain camp who . . . agrees with him, he’d be set financially for a year. But some people throw rocks at him."
The McCain campaign and Hernandez will be in the spotlight more than ever during the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul, set for Sept. 1-4.
Family ties
Juan Hernandez, 53, is the eldest of six children — born to a Fort Worth mother, Mary Clay, and a Mexican father, Francisco Sr. — followed by Marjorie, Nina, Francisco Jr., Daniel and Mary Clay.
They grew up as dual citizens of the U.S. and Mexico, getting their education in English and Spanish, formally moving to Fort Worth in 1977. Their father, who has a law degree from Mexico that isn’t recognized in the U.S., worked as a roofer, interpreter and adviser.
Francisco Sr. doesn’t take government help, such as Social Security, but he does believe in giving back to his community.
He set the example as his children grew up, from fighting for a gymnasium to be built at a local elementary school to working for soccer fields to be created for area youths. Through the years, he has encouraged his children to help where possible.
"My dad thinks you can make a bigger impact in office," said Francisco Jr., a former associate municipal judge and past commissioner of the Texas Ethics Commission. "I think you can make a more important impact not being in office."
Juan’s path led him to work for Fox and now McCain.
Francisco Jr. runs a local law firm and serves on the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport Board after an unsuccessful bid for a Texas House seat in 1996.
Daniel also works at the law firm and the Fort Worth Housing Authority, after years on the zoning commission and months on the city building standards commission. He briefly considered a City Council bid last year when Councilwoman Wendy Davis stepped down.
"My dad instilled in us to do something for somebody else," Daniel Hernandez said. "It’s not so much about politics, but somehow giving back."
Two loves
Juan Hernandez was born in Fort Worth and has homes here, in Mexico and in Washington, D.C.
In the 1990s, he was a literature professor at the University of Texas at Dallas, where he founded the Center for U.S.-Mexico Studies, combining his love of the two countries.
He was in that role when he invited then-Guanajuato Gov. Vicente Fox to speak in Dallas and meet with then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush. Juan Hernandez ended up working with Fox for years, helping with free-trade issues and his presidential campaign.
After Fox won the presidency, he named Hernandez to his Cabinet, making him the first U.S.-born person to hold such a position, which included serving as director of the Presidential Office for Mexicans Abroad. The appointment drew strong criticism from some in Mexico and in the Mexican media.
"You’re going to have to have some thick skin in anything we do for a living," Daniel Hernandez said. "But we know who our family and friends are — and Juan’s Christian faith is unreal."
Under fire
Juan Hernandez has been taken to task by Republicans who criticize the government for not doing more on immigration. They have called on McCain to fire Hernandez, who has advocated open borders — a position sharply opposed in Republican Party platforms.
His home page includes a message to Congress, saying that "with solutions to border, immigration, and guest worker issues so logical and obvious, it can only be the handiwork of feuding Washington special interest groups to have befuddled and complicated what is clear and simple." And his 2006 book, The New American Pioneers, passionately defends Mexican immigrants.
"He rejects in principle the idea that we should have assimilation and we should have border enforcement," Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies, has said.
Last year, when McCain’s campaign was being overshadowed by other Republican presidential hopefuls, including Rudy Giuliani, Juan Hernandez signed on to McCain’s campaign as an unpaid volunteer.
Hernandez declines interviews about his work with McCain. Newsweek recently ran an article, "Why Won’t Juan Come to the Phone?," saying Hernandez is "toxic to many conservatives" but "has good ties to the Latino community."
"It’s tough to hear the criticism," said Francisco Hernandez Sr. "The point is, I believe in many of his points."
He also believes in McCain and even got to go to breakfast with him and Juan — a move that won him over. "I didn’t know anything about him, really," Francisco Sr. said. "But to hear him talking, the way he was expressing himself, he was humble but he knew what he was doing.
"I will vote for him, not totally because Juan is working with him," he said. "But because he shows integrity, love and loyalty."
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Juan Hernandez Age: 53
Where he’s from: Fort Worth, where he was born, and Guanajuato, Mexico, where he was raised when not in Fort Worth.
Where he lives: Fort Worth, Mexico, Washington, D.C.
Family: Married to Estela, his childhood sweetheart. They have four children — Estela, John, Laura Clay and Mariana. Parents: Francisco Hernandez Sr. from Guanajuato (state) and Mary Clay Hernandez, a Fort Worth native. Siblings: Marjorie, Nina, Francisco Jr., Daniel, Mary Clay.
Family tradition: Juan Hernandez and some of his siblings split their time between Mexico and Fort Worth. To this day, in their parents’ home, they speak Spanish to their father and English to their mother.
Party affiliation: He has been involved in Republican politics for 20 years. His brother, Francisco Jr., jokes that his bid for a Texas House seat — as a Democrat — is the one blemish on Juan Hernandez’s Republican voting record.
Little-known facts: He has written several books of poetry in both Spanish and English. And the only way he would work for McCain was as an unpaid volunteer. "That was his condition. He would go work for [McCain], but he wouldn’t take a paycheck," Francisco Jr. said. "Then you don’t have to compromise your beliefs."
— Anna M. Tinsley
ANNA M. TINSLEY, 817-390-7610
By ANNA M. TINSLEYatinsley@star-telegram.com
Juan Hernandez is a defender of immigrant rights, a position that puts him at odds with some in the GOP.
FORT WORTH — For years, Juan Hernandez was a familiar sight at Joe T. Garcia’s — strolling among diners and singing as a local troubadour.
His work there led to singing at weddings and recording albums in Spanish and English. He earned enough money to pay for graduate school and learned lessons that would help him through the years, said his father, Francisco Hernandez Sr. "His years as a troubadour gave him so much time working with people," he said. "He learned to win the appreciation of people."
That may have helped, as Juan Hernandez — a lightning rod because of his passionate defense of immigrant rights — has had a career that led him from teaching literature in Dallas to being the first U.S.-born person named to a Cabinet position in Mexico, under President Vicente Fox.
He is now the Hispanic outreach director for Republican presidential hopeful John McCain, an unpaid volunteer who has the delicate task of trying to gain Latino support for McCain while fielding criticism for his position on immigration as well as for the years he spent working for Fox.
"People tell him he should be in the Democratic Party," said his brother Francisco Hernandez Jr., a local attorney. "But he says the place you have to change hearts is in the Republican Party.
"He sees it as his mission. If he had $1 for every person in the McCain camp who . . . agrees with him, he’d be set financially for a year. But some people throw rocks at him."
The McCain campaign and Hernandez will be in the spotlight more than ever during the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul, set for Sept. 1-4.
Family ties
Juan Hernandez, 53, is the eldest of six children — born to a Fort Worth mother, Mary Clay, and a Mexican father, Francisco Sr. — followed by Marjorie, Nina, Francisco Jr., Daniel and Mary Clay.
They grew up as dual citizens of the U.S. and Mexico, getting their education in English and Spanish, formally moving to Fort Worth in 1977. Their father, who has a law degree from Mexico that isn’t recognized in the U.S., worked as a roofer, interpreter and adviser.
Francisco Sr. doesn’t take government help, such as Social Security, but he does believe in giving back to his community.
He set the example as his children grew up, from fighting for a gymnasium to be built at a local elementary school to working for soccer fields to be created for area youths. Through the years, he has encouraged his children to help where possible.
"My dad thinks you can make a bigger impact in office," said Francisco Jr., a former associate municipal judge and past commissioner of the Texas Ethics Commission. "I think you can make a more important impact not being in office."
Juan’s path led him to work for Fox and now McCain.
Francisco Jr. runs a local law firm and serves on the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport Board after an unsuccessful bid for a Texas House seat in 1996.
Daniel also works at the law firm and the Fort Worth Housing Authority, after years on the zoning commission and months on the city building standards commission. He briefly considered a City Council bid last year when Councilwoman Wendy Davis stepped down.
"My dad instilled in us to do something for somebody else," Daniel Hernandez said. "It’s not so much about politics, but somehow giving back."
Two loves
Juan Hernandez was born in Fort Worth and has homes here, in Mexico and in Washington, D.C.
In the 1990s, he was a literature professor at the University of Texas at Dallas, where he founded the Center for U.S.-Mexico Studies, combining his love of the two countries.
He was in that role when he invited then-Guanajuato Gov. Vicente Fox to speak in Dallas and meet with then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush. Juan Hernandez ended up working with Fox for years, helping with free-trade issues and his presidential campaign.
After Fox won the presidency, he named Hernandez to his Cabinet, making him the first U.S.-born person to hold such a position, which included serving as director of the Presidential Office for Mexicans Abroad. The appointment drew strong criticism from some in Mexico and in the Mexican media.
"You’re going to have to have some thick skin in anything we do for a living," Daniel Hernandez said. "But we know who our family and friends are — and Juan’s Christian faith is unreal."
Under fire
Juan Hernandez has been taken to task by Republicans who criticize the government for not doing more on immigration. They have called on McCain to fire Hernandez, who has advocated open borders — a position sharply opposed in Republican Party platforms.
His home page includes a message to Congress, saying that "with solutions to border, immigration, and guest worker issues so logical and obvious, it can only be the handiwork of feuding Washington special interest groups to have befuddled and complicated what is clear and simple." And his 2006 book, The New American Pioneers, passionately defends Mexican immigrants.
"He rejects in principle the idea that we should have assimilation and we should have border enforcement," Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies, has said.
Last year, when McCain’s campaign was being overshadowed by other Republican presidential hopefuls, including Rudy Giuliani, Juan Hernandez signed on to McCain’s campaign as an unpaid volunteer.
Hernandez declines interviews about his work with McCain. Newsweek recently ran an article, "Why Won’t Juan Come to the Phone?," saying Hernandez is "toxic to many conservatives" but "has good ties to the Latino community."
"It’s tough to hear the criticism," said Francisco Hernandez Sr. "The point is, I believe in many of his points."
He also believes in McCain and even got to go to breakfast with him and Juan — a move that won him over. "I didn’t know anything about him, really," Francisco Sr. said. "But to hear him talking, the way he was expressing himself, he was humble but he knew what he was doing.
"I will vote for him, not totally because Juan is working with him," he said. "But because he shows integrity, love and loyalty."
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Juan Hernandez Age: 53
Where he’s from: Fort Worth, where he was born, and Guanajuato, Mexico, where he was raised when not in Fort Worth.
Where he lives: Fort Worth, Mexico, Washington, D.C.
Family: Married to Estela, his childhood sweetheart. They have four children — Estela, John, Laura Clay and Mariana. Parents: Francisco Hernandez Sr. from Guanajuato (state) and Mary Clay Hernandez, a Fort Worth native. Siblings: Marjorie, Nina, Francisco Jr., Daniel, Mary Clay.
Family tradition: Juan Hernandez and some of his siblings split their time between Mexico and Fort Worth. To this day, in their parents’ home, they speak Spanish to their father and English to their mother.
Party affiliation: He has been involved in Republican politics for 20 years. His brother, Francisco Jr., jokes that his bid for a Texas House seat — as a Democrat — is the one blemish on Juan Hernandez’s Republican voting record.
Little-known facts: He has written several books of poetry in both Spanish and English. And the only way he would work for McCain was as an unpaid volunteer. "That was his condition. He would go work for [McCain], but he wouldn’t take a paycheck," Francisco Jr. said. "Then you don’t have to compromise your beliefs."
— Anna M. Tinsley
ANNA M. TINSLEY, 817-390-7610
August 10, 2008
District 55: Republican Sheffield confident he'll win seat
Posted on: Sunday, August 10, 2008, 6:30 AM
By Justin Cox
Killeen Daily Herald
In January, Ralph Sheffield sat down for a one-on-one interview with a reporter from the Herald, and said confidently that he was going to win the District 55 House seat.
It was months before the intense campaign battle in the Republican runoff made the District 55 race the hottest ticket in town. He didn't care that the media and others had anointed former Temple Mayor Pro Tem Martha Tyroch as the favorite in the race.
Sheffield trailed Tyroch by a slight margin after the primary March 4; Tyroch still had an enormous financial backing and outspent the Temple small business owner 2-to-1. But Sheffield was the one smiling a month later when he nearly doubled Tyroch's vote total to win the nomination.
He's still smiling.
It's tough to blame him – as a Republican in Bell County, Sheffield has to like his odds at winning the District 55 seat since the county's other 29 elected officials are Republicans.
And despite the worries of some that the runoff splintered the party leaders in the county and weakened Sheffield's finances for the fall campaign, he said the party has rallied behind him.
"They've seen what I've been able to do," Sheffield said Thursday. "In the primary, I came in second, but I was able to get the support of the third- and fourth-place candidates, and quite naturally, I was able to gather their supporters over. We've got a good Republican Party in Central Texas, and I think it's going to show we're going to come out and win big in the fall."
Sheffield only spoke briefly of his Democratic opponent, Sam Murphey, saying Murphey may have worked on the staff of successful Central Texas Democrat Chet Edwards, but the comparisons should stop there.
"No doubt that people are concerned about the presidential race and how it's going to come into play. ... Chet Edwards (has been) a great congressman for Bell County in the past, there's no doubt," Sheffield said. "But Sam Murphey is no Chet Edwards."
Sheffield said he's got the money to run a strong campaign this fall, despite the six figures in television time and mailers he spent before the runoff April 8.
"Financially, I've had two races I've had to go through, a primary and a runoff," he said. "They're costly, no doubt about that. ... I'm working hard in raising my funds. Campaigns are not cheap. However, I'm going to be able to have enough funds to get my message out and even supplement that part of it."
Since the contentious nature of the primary and runoff seemed to push his campaign message to the background, Sheffield is thrilled to be focusing on issues of Central Texas again. He said he wants to use the same strategy in Austin that has made him a successful small business owner for more than 30 years.
He said it's hard work and listening to what people need.
"I've always been very involved in community activities, and it's not often that a small businessman gets a chance to represent his district in the statehouse," he said. "Someone who's had to meet a budget and payroll on an ongoing basis, somebody who cares less about personal politics."
Sheffield said the future of transportation in Bell County starts with the completion of Interstate 35; all other projects are secondary.
He added that the funds generated by the gas tax shouldn't be pilfered so readily for other projects since that is TxDOT's only budget source.
"I'm not for any kind of tax increases, but at the same time, I'm all about fixing our roads," he said. "We need to find a way to correct some of that. There's a possibility that with inflation the way it is, maybe you look at indexing the gas tax. Central Texas is exploding. We're going to need roads to get around and deal with the growth."
The many facets of illegal immigration have been a topic of Sheffield's focus. In addition to all the problems it creates for citizens, it severely hurts infrastructure, and is one of the problems contributing to the public school system.
"We must stop the bleeding of resources to illegal immigration," Sheffield said. "It's having an effect on our infrastructure; it affects our schools, our insurance rates, it affects a lot of things."
It's one of the many aspects of the state house Sheffield hopes he can fight to change.
"Bell County has been Republican for a long, long time," Sheffield said. "And I think it's going to be hard-pressed to change that."
Contact Justin Cox at jcox@kdhnews.com or (254) 501-7568.
By Justin Cox
Killeen Daily Herald
In January, Ralph Sheffield sat down for a one-on-one interview with a reporter from the Herald, and said confidently that he was going to win the District 55 House seat.
It was months before the intense campaign battle in the Republican runoff made the District 55 race the hottest ticket in town. He didn't care that the media and others had anointed former Temple Mayor Pro Tem Martha Tyroch as the favorite in the race.
Sheffield trailed Tyroch by a slight margin after the primary March 4; Tyroch still had an enormous financial backing and outspent the Temple small business owner 2-to-1. But Sheffield was the one smiling a month later when he nearly doubled Tyroch's vote total to win the nomination.
He's still smiling.
It's tough to blame him – as a Republican in Bell County, Sheffield has to like his odds at winning the District 55 seat since the county's other 29 elected officials are Republicans.
And despite the worries of some that the runoff splintered the party leaders in the county and weakened Sheffield's finances for the fall campaign, he said the party has rallied behind him.
"They've seen what I've been able to do," Sheffield said Thursday. "In the primary, I came in second, but I was able to get the support of the third- and fourth-place candidates, and quite naturally, I was able to gather their supporters over. We've got a good Republican Party in Central Texas, and I think it's going to show we're going to come out and win big in the fall."
Sheffield only spoke briefly of his Democratic opponent, Sam Murphey, saying Murphey may have worked on the staff of successful Central Texas Democrat Chet Edwards, but the comparisons should stop there.
"No doubt that people are concerned about the presidential race and how it's going to come into play. ... Chet Edwards (has been) a great congressman for Bell County in the past, there's no doubt," Sheffield said. "But Sam Murphey is no Chet Edwards."
Sheffield said he's got the money to run a strong campaign this fall, despite the six figures in television time and mailers he spent before the runoff April 8.
"Financially, I've had two races I've had to go through, a primary and a runoff," he said. "They're costly, no doubt about that. ... I'm working hard in raising my funds. Campaigns are not cheap. However, I'm going to be able to have enough funds to get my message out and even supplement that part of it."
Since the contentious nature of the primary and runoff seemed to push his campaign message to the background, Sheffield is thrilled to be focusing on issues of Central Texas again. He said he wants to use the same strategy in Austin that has made him a successful small business owner for more than 30 years.
He said it's hard work and listening to what people need.
"I've always been very involved in community activities, and it's not often that a small businessman gets a chance to represent his district in the statehouse," he said. "Someone who's had to meet a budget and payroll on an ongoing basis, somebody who cares less about personal politics."
Sheffield said the future of transportation in Bell County starts with the completion of Interstate 35; all other projects are secondary.
He added that the funds generated by the gas tax shouldn't be pilfered so readily for other projects since that is TxDOT's only budget source.
"I'm not for any kind of tax increases, but at the same time, I'm all about fixing our roads," he said. "We need to find a way to correct some of that. There's a possibility that with inflation the way it is, maybe you look at indexing the gas tax. Central Texas is exploding. We're going to need roads to get around and deal with the growth."
The many facets of illegal immigration have been a topic of Sheffield's focus. In addition to all the problems it creates for citizens, it severely hurts infrastructure, and is one of the problems contributing to the public school system.
"We must stop the bleeding of resources to illegal immigration," Sheffield said. "It's having an effect on our infrastructure; it affects our schools, our insurance rates, it affects a lot of things."
It's one of the many aspects of the state house Sheffield hopes he can fight to change.
"Bell County has been Republican for a long, long time," Sheffield said. "And I think it's going to be hard-pressed to change that."
Contact Justin Cox at jcox@kdhnews.com or (254) 501-7568.
August 7, 2008
Border policy blasted
August 7, 2008
Senate hopeful stumps in city
By Chris Ramirez
chris.ramirez@amarillo.com
U.S. Senate hopeful Rick Noriega said he thinks redeploying more National Guard troops to the border will help reform the nation's immigration policy.
Speaking in Republican-strong Amarillo and Lubbock on Wednesday, Noriega accused incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, of political "gimmickry" instead of hammering out solutions to the nation's immigration crisis.
Noriega, a Democrat, called for enacting Operation Jump Start II, a proposed second wave of troop deployments along the Texas-Mexico border. He also wants soldiers to be equipped with more sophisticated border-surveillance technology and for employers to face stiffer penalties if they knowingly hire undocumented immigrants.
"Washington has failed in their immigration policies and have put an enormous burden on all Texans in state and local governments," Noriega said. "State and local governments have had to pick up the ball ... and have had to pay for a failed immigration policy."
Noriega was the National Guard's Laredo Border Sector commander during Operation Jump Start, the 2006 troop deployment that sent an estimated 18,000 guardsmen to the border to provide security until federal lawmakers could mete out an immigration-reform package.
Controlling the border is key to crime that stems from human smuggling and the flow of illegal drugs into the United States, said Noriega, a state representative from Houston.
Officials for Cornyn's campaign said Noriega's pledge for more troops at the border smacked of doublespeak. Noriega once described the deployment as "political fluff," a sentiment his campaign was quick to say was meant to convey that troops were not a substitute for meaningful immigration reform.
"Two years ago, deploying National Guardsmen to the border was wasteful fluff. Now, it's central to his immigration policy," said Kevin McLaughlin, spokesman for the Cornyn campaign. "This plan reeks of Washington, D.C., and leaves more unanswered questions than it answers."
Jimmy Healy, chairman of the Hutchinson County Democratic Party, said that although Noriega is trailing in the polls, the Democrat is chipping away at Cornyn's pre-election poll lead without spending as much as the incumbent.
"People are sick of the Bush administration's hold on government," said Healy, a Borger resident. "We need a new direction and better use of taxpayers' money."
A July 30 Rasmussen Reports telephone survey showed Cornyn held a 10-point advantage over Noriega, 47 percent to 37 percent. The survey had a 4.5 percent error rate.
Senate hopeful stumps in city
By Chris Ramirez
chris.ramirez@amarillo.com
U.S. Senate hopeful Rick Noriega said he thinks redeploying more National Guard troops to the border will help reform the nation's immigration policy.
Speaking in Republican-strong Amarillo and Lubbock on Wednesday, Noriega accused incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, of political "gimmickry" instead of hammering out solutions to the nation's immigration crisis.
Noriega, a Democrat, called for enacting Operation Jump Start II, a proposed second wave of troop deployments along the Texas-Mexico border. He also wants soldiers to be equipped with more sophisticated border-surveillance technology and for employers to face stiffer penalties if they knowingly hire undocumented immigrants.
"Washington has failed in their immigration policies and have put an enormous burden on all Texans in state and local governments," Noriega said. "State and local governments have had to pick up the ball ... and have had to pay for a failed immigration policy."
Noriega was the National Guard's Laredo Border Sector commander during Operation Jump Start, the 2006 troop deployment that sent an estimated 18,000 guardsmen to the border to provide security until federal lawmakers could mete out an immigration-reform package.
Controlling the border is key to crime that stems from human smuggling and the flow of illegal drugs into the United States, said Noriega, a state representative from Houston.
Officials for Cornyn's campaign said Noriega's pledge for more troops at the border smacked of doublespeak. Noriega once described the deployment as "political fluff," a sentiment his campaign was quick to say was meant to convey that troops were not a substitute for meaningful immigration reform.
"Two years ago, deploying National Guardsmen to the border was wasteful fluff. Now, it's central to his immigration policy," said Kevin McLaughlin, spokesman for the Cornyn campaign. "This plan reeks of Washington, D.C., and leaves more unanswered questions than it answers."
Jimmy Healy, chairman of the Hutchinson County Democratic Party, said that although Noriega is trailing in the polls, the Democrat is chipping away at Cornyn's pre-election poll lead without spending as much as the incumbent.
"People are sick of the Bush administration's hold on government," said Healy, a Borger resident. "We need a new direction and better use of taxpayers' money."
A July 30 Rasmussen Reports telephone survey showed Cornyn held a 10-point advantage over Noriega, 47 percent to 37 percent. The survey had a 4.5 percent error rate.
July 18, 2008
Border volunteer: Illegal immigration at crisis level
By WES FERGUSON, Staff Writer
Friday, July 18, 2008
America faces an illegal immigration crisis, a Longview member of the Texas Border Volunteers said Thursday.
Speaking before the Republican Club of Gregg County, Mike Denholm said the many crises range from the criminal to economic, environmental, medical and terrorism-related.
"They're trying," he said of the state of Texas' efforts to patrol the border. "They've made a genuine effort and have had some effect. But the cost and manpower demands are astronomical."
The Texas Border Volunteers watch areas known for high traffic of illegal immigrants and report them to law-enforcement agencies.
Denholm, a Stemco retiree who immigrated to the United States from England in 1963, said the biggest immigration issues facing the country include the creation of a superhighway that connects Mexico, the United States and Canada.
The superhighway is the beginning of a "quasi-secret" plan to merge the three nations into the North American Union, similar to the European Union, he said.
"It would be an abandonment of our sovereignty, a blatant violation of our Constitution and would bring nothing to our beloved country," Denholm said.
Denholm said illegal immigration costs the United States millions of dollars each year.
The average family supported by low-skilled labor draws $22,500 more in benefits annually than it contributes to the benefits of others, he said.
When first entering the country, Denholm added, illegal immigrants also damage private property and cut fences, endangering livestock, he said.
"The problem is, cattle find these holes a lot quicker than the ranchers can," he said.
Friday, July 18, 2008
America faces an illegal immigration crisis, a Longview member of the Texas Border Volunteers said Thursday.
Speaking before the Republican Club of Gregg County, Mike Denholm said the many crises range from the criminal to economic, environmental, medical and terrorism-related.
"They're trying," he said of the state of Texas' efforts to patrol the border. "They've made a genuine effort and have had some effect. But the cost and manpower demands are astronomical."
The Texas Border Volunteers watch areas known for high traffic of illegal immigrants and report them to law-enforcement agencies.
Denholm, a Stemco retiree who immigrated to the United States from England in 1963, said the biggest immigration issues facing the country include the creation of a superhighway that connects Mexico, the United States and Canada.
The superhighway is the beginning of a "quasi-secret" plan to merge the three nations into the North American Union, similar to the European Union, he said.
"It would be an abandonment of our sovereignty, a blatant violation of our Constitution and would bring nothing to our beloved country," Denholm said.
Denholm said illegal immigration costs the United States millions of dollars each year.
The average family supported by low-skilled labor draws $22,500 more in benefits annually than it contributes to the benefits of others, he said.
When first entering the country, Denholm added, illegal immigrants also damage private property and cut fences, endangering livestock, he said.
"The problem is, cattle find these holes a lot quicker than the ranchers can," he said.
July 3, 2008
McCain: Staff shake-up part of 'natural evolution'
By BETH FOUHYAssociated Press Writer
July 03, 2008 - 10:51 p.m.
Republican presidential candidate John McCain said Thursday that a shake-up in the leadership of his campaign was part of a "natural evolution" as the organization becomes more national in scope.
McCain's campaign announced Wednesday that top adviser Steve Schmidt would assume a broad portfolio of duties, with nearly full control over message and strategy. Schmidt will report to Rick Davis, who will keep the title of campaign manager but focus on longer term matters like the Republican National Convention and McCain's choice of a running mate.
Addressing reporters at the conclusion of a three-day visit to Colombia and Mexico, the GOP nominee-in-waiting downplayed the personnel shift.
"Our campaign continues to grow, and the responsibilities are expanding and Mr. Schmidt is taking over some increased responsibilities," McCain said. "Rick Davis remains the campaign chairman, campaign manager. It's a natural evolution as we become more and more of a national campaign with increased staff and increased responsibilities."
Schmidt disclosed in memo Thursday to the 11 regional campaign managers that he will hire a national political director and a national field director to operate from the campaign's northern Virginia headquarters to improve regional operations and coordination.
He said the goal is to increase the capacity to "reach out to voters, build coalitions, identify supporters, and ultimately turn them out to the polls."
"In the days ahead, we will be working to enhance and strengthen the coordination between all these aspects of the campaign," Schmidt said.
The staff changes - coming after Republican complaints that the Arizona senator's campaign lacked focus and a coherent message - threatened to overshadow McCain's trip through Latin America and his effort to present himself as a statesman experienced in foreign affairs.
McCain met Thursday with Mexican President Felipe Calderon to discuss trade and immigration issues. They spoke at length about the Merida Initiative, a U.S.-sponsored effort to stem the flow of drugs and guns across the Mexico border, McCain said.
McCain and his wife, Cindy, also toured a federal police station where they reviewed drug interdiction training programs.
McCain began the day at the Basilica de Guadalupe, Mexico's holiest Roman Catholic site, where he viewed the famed portrait of the Virgin of Guadalupe and received a blessing from the Basilica's monsignor.
McCain laid a wreath of white roses at the altar and stood atop the Papal balcony. He was accompanied by President Bush's brother, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who was in Mexico on business.
"I think he's going to win," Jeb Bush said of McCain's chances against Democrat Barack Obama. "He just needs to be himself and not let Sen. Obama redefine himself."
McCain's visit to the Basilica had clear political overtones as Catholic and Hispanic voters are expected to be key swing voters in the November election. Obama also has worked to woo Catholics and Hispanics after those groups voted heavily for Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton during the primary season.
McCain's trip to Colombia and Mexico was billed primarily as an opportunity to promote free trade in the Western Hemisphere.
Obama has spoken out against NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, and a pending free-trade pact with Colombia, both of which are unpopular in important general election swing states like Ohio. McCain wants to help workers displaced by free-trade agreements receive job training and other benefits.
The McCains were returning to Phoenix late Thursday, and planned to spend the Fourth of July holiday at the family compound outside Sedona, Ariz.
July 03, 2008 - 10:51 p.m.
Republican presidential candidate John McCain said Thursday that a shake-up in the leadership of his campaign was part of a "natural evolution" as the organization becomes more national in scope.
McCain's campaign announced Wednesday that top adviser Steve Schmidt would assume a broad portfolio of duties, with nearly full control over message and strategy. Schmidt will report to Rick Davis, who will keep the title of campaign manager but focus on longer term matters like the Republican National Convention and McCain's choice of a running mate.
Addressing reporters at the conclusion of a three-day visit to Colombia and Mexico, the GOP nominee-in-waiting downplayed the personnel shift.
"Our campaign continues to grow, and the responsibilities are expanding and Mr. Schmidt is taking over some increased responsibilities," McCain said. "Rick Davis remains the campaign chairman, campaign manager. It's a natural evolution as we become more and more of a national campaign with increased staff and increased responsibilities."
Schmidt disclosed in memo Thursday to the 11 regional campaign managers that he will hire a national political director and a national field director to operate from the campaign's northern Virginia headquarters to improve regional operations and coordination.
He said the goal is to increase the capacity to "reach out to voters, build coalitions, identify supporters, and ultimately turn them out to the polls."
"In the days ahead, we will be working to enhance and strengthen the coordination between all these aspects of the campaign," Schmidt said.
The staff changes - coming after Republican complaints that the Arizona senator's campaign lacked focus and a coherent message - threatened to overshadow McCain's trip through Latin America and his effort to present himself as a statesman experienced in foreign affairs.
McCain met Thursday with Mexican President Felipe Calderon to discuss trade and immigration issues. They spoke at length about the Merida Initiative, a U.S.-sponsored effort to stem the flow of drugs and guns across the Mexico border, McCain said.
McCain and his wife, Cindy, also toured a federal police station where they reviewed drug interdiction training programs.
McCain began the day at the Basilica de Guadalupe, Mexico's holiest Roman Catholic site, where he viewed the famed portrait of the Virgin of Guadalupe and received a blessing from the Basilica's monsignor.
McCain laid a wreath of white roses at the altar and stood atop the Papal balcony. He was accompanied by President Bush's brother, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who was in Mexico on business.
"I think he's going to win," Jeb Bush said of McCain's chances against Democrat Barack Obama. "He just needs to be himself and not let Sen. Obama redefine himself."
McCain's visit to the Basilica had clear political overtones as Catholic and Hispanic voters are expected to be key swing voters in the November election. Obama also has worked to woo Catholics and Hispanics after those groups voted heavily for Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton during the primary season.
McCain's trip to Colombia and Mexico was billed primarily as an opportunity to promote free trade in the Western Hemisphere.
Obama has spoken out against NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, and a pending free-trade pact with Colombia, both of which are unpopular in important general election swing states like Ohio. McCain wants to help workers displaced by free-trade agreements receive job training and other benefits.
The McCains were returning to Phoenix late Thursday, and planned to spend the Fourth of July holiday at the family compound outside Sedona, Ariz.
McCain vows to boost aid to Mexico police fighting drug war
08:05 PM CDT on Thursday, July 3, 2008
By LAURENCE ILIFF / The Dallas Morning News
liliff@dallasnews.com
MEXICO CITY — Appearing before Mexico’s drug-fighting Federal Police on Thursday, John McCain promised that as president he would quickly implement a U.S. aid package to give the officers more helicopters, technology and training.
Mr. McCain, visiting the federal force’s new command center as he concluded a three-day trip to Colombia and Mexico, paid his condolences to the hundreds of officers who have died in the drug fight since President Felipe Calderón took office 19 months ago.
Those deaths, Mr. McCain said, “will not be in vain.”
“I want to thank President Calderón and the people of Mexico for their efforts in making our relations better,” said Mr. McCain, who struggled to make himself heard as pounding rain thundered off the metal roof of the helicopter hangar where he spoke.
Mr. McCain expressed support for the Merida Initiative, the $1.4 billion anti-crime aid package passed by the U.S. Congress last week. “I look forward to implementing the Merida Initiative, and to work together to stem the flow of drugs from Colombia through Mexico and into the United States of America.” he said.
Mr. McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, and Mr. Calderón held a private meeting earlier in the day.
Mr. McCain’s support for comprehensive immigration reform has made him popular among ruling party officials here, along with his support for the North American Free Trade Agreement. Mr. McCain’s Democratic rival, Barack Obama, has called for a renegotiation of the treaty.
On immigration, the Republic senator said that he supported a temporary guest-worker program as a “short-term” solution but only through the use of high-tech documents to prevent forgery.
But he also reiterated his stance that the U.S.-Mexico border must be controlled before comprehensive immigration reform can be considered.
By LAURENCE ILIFF / The Dallas Morning News
liliff@dallasnews.com
MEXICO CITY — Appearing before Mexico’s drug-fighting Federal Police on Thursday, John McCain promised that as president he would quickly implement a U.S. aid package to give the officers more helicopters, technology and training.
Mr. McCain, visiting the federal force’s new command center as he concluded a three-day trip to Colombia and Mexico, paid his condolences to the hundreds of officers who have died in the drug fight since President Felipe Calderón took office 19 months ago.
Those deaths, Mr. McCain said, “will not be in vain.”
“I want to thank President Calderón and the people of Mexico for their efforts in making our relations better,” said Mr. McCain, who struggled to make himself heard as pounding rain thundered off the metal roof of the helicopter hangar where he spoke.
Mr. McCain expressed support for the Merida Initiative, the $1.4 billion anti-crime aid package passed by the U.S. Congress last week. “I look forward to implementing the Merida Initiative, and to work together to stem the flow of drugs from Colombia through Mexico and into the United States of America.” he said.
Mr. McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, and Mr. Calderón held a private meeting earlier in the day.
Mr. McCain’s support for comprehensive immigration reform has made him popular among ruling party officials here, along with his support for the North American Free Trade Agreement. Mr. McCain’s Democratic rival, Barack Obama, has called for a renegotiation of the treaty.
On immigration, the Republic senator said that he supported a temporary guest-worker program as a “short-term” solution but only through the use of high-tech documents to prevent forgery.
But he also reiterated his stance that the U.S.-Mexico border must be controlled before comprehensive immigration reform can be considered.
June 28, 2008
McCain, Obama court Hispanic voters
June 28, 2008, 8:29PM
By LIZ SIDOTI
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Presidential rivals John McCain and Barack Obama on Saturday vied for the support of Hispanics, beginning a four-month courtship of a pivotal voting constituency by vowing to revamp immigration policy.
"I come from a border state, my dear friends. I know these issues," McCain told Hispanic elected officials. The Republican senator from Arizona said overhauling the country's broken immigration system, not just securing its borders, "will be my top priority."
Appearing later before the same audience, Obama accused McCain of walking away from comprehensive immigration reform. The Democratic senator from Illinois said: "We must assert our values and reconcile our principles as a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws. That is a priority I will pursue from my very first day."
The two spoke separately to some 700 Hispanics attending the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials conference. It's the first of three such appearances each is scheduled to make to Hispanic organizations in less than a month, underscoring the importance of the nation's fastest-growing minority group.
Both McCain and Obama were warmly received at NALEO; the crowd gave each standing ovations and cheered loudly. When McCain spoke, the audience shouted down anti-war protesters who interrupted the Republican's speech four times. The audience chanted Obama's name when the Democrat entered later. As he took the stage, Obama said "Si, se puede!" — his "yes we can" campaign slogan in Spanish — and the crowd echoed him.
Earlier, McCain met separately and privately with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, while Obama stopped by Walter Reed Army Medical Center to visit wounded war veterans. McCain also attended an evening fundraiser in Kentucky, where he criticized anew Obama's withdrawal from the public financing system and said, "Senator Obama's word cannot be trusted."
Hispanics, however, were the primary focus as each makes an aggressive play for this up-for-grabs group that's likely to carry important weight in battleground states of Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico and others with large numbers of Spanish-speaking voters.
A recent AP-Yahoo News poll showed that Obama lead McCain among Hispanics, 47 percent to 22 percent with 26 percent undecided.
Still, Obama, who is trying to become the first black president, doesn't have a lock on this volatile group. During the Democratic primary, Hispanics referred rival Hillary Rodham Clinton to Obama by nearly 2-to-1.
McCain, for his part, senses opportunity and is hoping to build on Republicans' recent inroads in this Democratic-trending group.
President Bush captured about 40 percent of the Hispanic vote in 2004, the most ever for a GOP presidential candidate. His Democratic rival John Kerry won 53 percent, down from the 62 percent former Vice President Al Gore got in 2000.
This year, immigration reform, a touchstone issue for Hispanics, is a wild card.
Both McCain and Obama support an eventual path to citizenship for millions of immigrants in the country illegally, and, thus, the issue isn't expected to be a major point of differentiation in the campaign. Still, Hispanics will be paying careful attention to what is said on the subject.
McCain co-sponsored broad bipartisan Senate legislation last year that would have overhauled the immigration system and improved border security; the legislation split the GOP and critics pushed for a border-enforcement only approach. After the measure failed, and in the heat of the Republican nomination race, McCain emphasized the need to secure the borders first before enacting other reforms, which he said were still needed.
The Republican drew sustained applause Saturday after answering the question of whether "comprehensive immigration reform" — and not just enforcement — would be a top priority in his first 100 days in office.
"It will be my top priority yesterday, today and tomorrow," McCain said. "We have to secure our borders ... but we also must proceed with a temporary worker program that is verifiable and truly temporary. We must also understand that 12 million people are here, and they are here illegally, and they are God's children." He promised to address the issue in "a humane and compassionate fashion."
Seeking to reassure skeptics, McCain added: "We will resolve the immigration issue in America and we will secure our borders."
Obama, for his part, used the appearance to poke at McCain.
"One place where Senator McCain used to offer change was on immigration. He was a champion of comprehensive reform, and I admired him for it. But when he was running for his party's nomination, he walked away from that commitment and he's said he wouldn't even support his own legislation if it came up for a vote," Obama said as the crowd interrupted him with applause. "We can't vacillate. We can't shift."
Like McCain, Obama also was asked how broad immigration reform will rank in importance at the outset of his presidency.
Said Obama: "It will be one of my priorities on my first day because this is an issue that we have demagogued. There's been a lot of politics around it, but we haven't been serious about solving the problem. And I want to solve the problem."
Responding to Obama's criticism, McCain's campaign said Obama "worked to kill" the Senate legislation by voting for amendments to it that Democratic sponsors opposed.
————
Associated Press writer Sara Kugler contributed to this report.
By LIZ SIDOTI
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Presidential rivals John McCain and Barack Obama on Saturday vied for the support of Hispanics, beginning a four-month courtship of a pivotal voting constituency by vowing to revamp immigration policy.
"I come from a border state, my dear friends. I know these issues," McCain told Hispanic elected officials. The Republican senator from Arizona said overhauling the country's broken immigration system, not just securing its borders, "will be my top priority."
Appearing later before the same audience, Obama accused McCain of walking away from comprehensive immigration reform. The Democratic senator from Illinois said: "We must assert our values and reconcile our principles as a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws. That is a priority I will pursue from my very first day."
The two spoke separately to some 700 Hispanics attending the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials conference. It's the first of three such appearances each is scheduled to make to Hispanic organizations in less than a month, underscoring the importance of the nation's fastest-growing minority group.
Both McCain and Obama were warmly received at NALEO; the crowd gave each standing ovations and cheered loudly. When McCain spoke, the audience shouted down anti-war protesters who interrupted the Republican's speech four times. The audience chanted Obama's name when the Democrat entered later. As he took the stage, Obama said "Si, se puede!" — his "yes we can" campaign slogan in Spanish — and the crowd echoed him.
Earlier, McCain met separately and privately with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, while Obama stopped by Walter Reed Army Medical Center to visit wounded war veterans. McCain also attended an evening fundraiser in Kentucky, where he criticized anew Obama's withdrawal from the public financing system and said, "Senator Obama's word cannot be trusted."
Hispanics, however, were the primary focus as each makes an aggressive play for this up-for-grabs group that's likely to carry important weight in battleground states of Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico and others with large numbers of Spanish-speaking voters.
A recent AP-Yahoo News poll showed that Obama lead McCain among Hispanics, 47 percent to 22 percent with 26 percent undecided.
Still, Obama, who is trying to become the first black president, doesn't have a lock on this volatile group. During the Democratic primary, Hispanics referred rival Hillary Rodham Clinton to Obama by nearly 2-to-1.
McCain, for his part, senses opportunity and is hoping to build on Republicans' recent inroads in this Democratic-trending group.
President Bush captured about 40 percent of the Hispanic vote in 2004, the most ever for a GOP presidential candidate. His Democratic rival John Kerry won 53 percent, down from the 62 percent former Vice President Al Gore got in 2000.
This year, immigration reform, a touchstone issue for Hispanics, is a wild card.
Both McCain and Obama support an eventual path to citizenship for millions of immigrants in the country illegally, and, thus, the issue isn't expected to be a major point of differentiation in the campaign. Still, Hispanics will be paying careful attention to what is said on the subject.
McCain co-sponsored broad bipartisan Senate legislation last year that would have overhauled the immigration system and improved border security; the legislation split the GOP and critics pushed for a border-enforcement only approach. After the measure failed, and in the heat of the Republican nomination race, McCain emphasized the need to secure the borders first before enacting other reforms, which he said were still needed.
The Republican drew sustained applause Saturday after answering the question of whether "comprehensive immigration reform" — and not just enforcement — would be a top priority in his first 100 days in office.
"It will be my top priority yesterday, today and tomorrow," McCain said. "We have to secure our borders ... but we also must proceed with a temporary worker program that is verifiable and truly temporary. We must also understand that 12 million people are here, and they are here illegally, and they are God's children." He promised to address the issue in "a humane and compassionate fashion."
Seeking to reassure skeptics, McCain added: "We will resolve the immigration issue in America and we will secure our borders."
Obama, for his part, used the appearance to poke at McCain.
"One place where Senator McCain used to offer change was on immigration. He was a champion of comprehensive reform, and I admired him for it. But when he was running for his party's nomination, he walked away from that commitment and he's said he wouldn't even support his own legislation if it came up for a vote," Obama said as the crowd interrupted him with applause. "We can't vacillate. We can't shift."
Like McCain, Obama also was asked how broad immigration reform will rank in importance at the outset of his presidency.
Said Obama: "It will be one of my priorities on my first day because this is an issue that we have demagogued. There's been a lot of politics around it, but we haven't been serious about solving the problem. And I want to solve the problem."
Responding to Obama's criticism, McCain's campaign said Obama "worked to kill" the Senate legislation by voting for amendments to it that Democratic sponsors opposed.
————
Associated Press writer Sara Kugler contributed to this report.
June 27, 2008
Words Not to Live By
June 27, 2008 | Political Intelligence
The platform of the Texas Republican Party is a nonbinding document that few read. Most Republican elected officials pretend it doesn’t exist. It demands abolition of the Department of Education and the Internal Revenue Service, deportation of all undocumented immigrants, and denial of emergency room care while they’re still here. It is a utopian work that urges American withdrawal from the United Nations.
To the party faithful, the 7,000-word revelation of shared principle has become an almost sacred text. Every two years, at the Republican state convention, party loyalists spend three days composing the platform with the care usually reserved for international treaties (of which they are, of course, suspicious).
So on June 12, the first official night of the 2008 convention in Houston, the 32-member platform committee crowded into a small, gray-carpeted side room at the George R. Brown Convention Center to finalize the platform. They heard testimony from a parade of delegates seeking changes in the platform. Some wanted to soften the document’s stance on the war in Iraq (“There should be no timetable for pulling out of Iraq or Afghanistan”). Some wanted to moderate the position on immigration (“No amnesty! No how. No way”). Others wondered how enthusiastically the document should endorse the government of Taiwan.
Delegate Brittany Paxman, an undergrad at the University of Texas at Austin, begged the committee to tone down the harsh language on social issues. “When we legislate issues like school prayer and gay marriage, we end up excluding people who would otherwise be Republicans,” she told the committee. “I think we should apply that small government philosophy to social issues.”
Next!
Since 2004, the party platform has called for repeal of Gov. Rick Perry’s toll road plan known as the Trans-Texas Corridor. This year, the committee went even further, calling for investigation of elected officials who support the corridor. One delegate told the committee it should terminate the root cause of the Trans-Texas Corridor and repeal NAFTA.
A hirsute delegate wearing a Ron Paul shirt, who identified himself as Duane Jones, told the committee that the platform should endorse legalization of marijuana, but only for medical purposes. Really.
“You can give me a hair test right now, because I don’t use that stuff anymore,” he told the committee. Then he added that hemp is also an excellent energy source—better than ethanol, oil, and natural gas (the platform calls for more gas drilling). “Let me get this straight,” asked one committee member with a bemused look. “Are you saying we should use marijuana instead of gasoline?”
Yup.
As the 11 p.m. printing deadline neared, committee Chair Kirk Overbey ended debate by trying to soothe the delegates whose proposals foundered. After all, he said, “We’re going to approve a piece of paper that no one’s going to read for two years.”
The platform of the Texas Republican Party is a nonbinding document that few read. Most Republican elected officials pretend it doesn’t exist. It demands abolition of the Department of Education and the Internal Revenue Service, deportation of all undocumented immigrants, and denial of emergency room care while they’re still here. It is a utopian work that urges American withdrawal from the United Nations.
To the party faithful, the 7,000-word revelation of shared principle has become an almost sacred text. Every two years, at the Republican state convention, party loyalists spend three days composing the platform with the care usually reserved for international treaties (of which they are, of course, suspicious).
So on June 12, the first official night of the 2008 convention in Houston, the 32-member platform committee crowded into a small, gray-carpeted side room at the George R. Brown Convention Center to finalize the platform. They heard testimony from a parade of delegates seeking changes in the platform. Some wanted to soften the document’s stance on the war in Iraq (“There should be no timetable for pulling out of Iraq or Afghanistan”). Some wanted to moderate the position on immigration (“No amnesty! No how. No way”). Others wondered how enthusiastically the document should endorse the government of Taiwan.
Delegate Brittany Paxman, an undergrad at the University of Texas at Austin, begged the committee to tone down the harsh language on social issues. “When we legislate issues like school prayer and gay marriage, we end up excluding people who would otherwise be Republicans,” she told the committee. “I think we should apply that small government philosophy to social issues.”
Next!
Since 2004, the party platform has called for repeal of Gov. Rick Perry’s toll road plan known as the Trans-Texas Corridor. This year, the committee went even further, calling for investigation of elected officials who support the corridor. One delegate told the committee it should terminate the root cause of the Trans-Texas Corridor and repeal NAFTA.
A hirsute delegate wearing a Ron Paul shirt, who identified himself as Duane Jones, told the committee that the platform should endorse legalization of marijuana, but only for medical purposes. Really.
“You can give me a hair test right now, because I don’t use that stuff anymore,” he told the committee. Then he added that hemp is also an excellent energy source—better than ethanol, oil, and natural gas (the platform calls for more gas drilling). “Let me get this straight,” asked one committee member with a bemused look. “Are you saying we should use marijuana instead of gasoline?”
Yup.
As the 11 p.m. printing deadline neared, committee Chair Kirk Overbey ended debate by trying to soothe the delegates whose proposals foundered. After all, he said, “We’re going to approve a piece of paper that no one’s going to read for two years.”
June 21, 2008
Opinion: McCain absence annoys some at GOP gathering
Sat, Jun. 14, 2008
McCain absence annoys some at GOP gathering
By BUD KENNEDYStar-Telegram staff writer
HOUSTON -- John McCain is ignoring 7,000 Texas Republicans this weekend.
Some of them are returning the favor.
Instead of speaking to the state party convention this weekend, McCain will come to Texas on Monday to raise money at a Dallas barbecue.
"Where is he?" asked Sara Fischer, 31, of Mansfield, brushing past a volunteer futilely trying to pass out McCain lapel stickers.
"I didn't support McCain," she said. "But I have to now. He's our candidate. It seems like he should be here."
Inside the exhibit hall, the McCain T-shirts at one souvenir stand were marked down from $15 to $8 -- two for $15.
At the door, campaign volunteer Hector Medina, 26, of San Antonio waved McCain stickers as delegates streamed past.
"Some Republicans aren't very excited," said Medina, an Army recruit leaving Monday for basic training. "They just say, 'He's not my guy.'"
McCain is not snubbing the entire state. Besides coming to Dallas and Midland on Monday, he'll go to Houston on Tuesday for what is billed as a major speech on energy policy.
But today, he's somewhere hosting a telephone town hall meeting at cityhall.johnmccain.com.
That could originate anywhere. They have phones now in Houston.
"The senator is looking forward to coming to Texas Monday, and he will be delivering a major policy speech," said McCain spokesman Jeff Sadosky, returning a call.
Keynote speaker and former presidential candidate Mitt Romney of Massachusetts was authorized to represent McCain at the convention, along with former candidate and Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Sadosky said.
Republican state Rep. Phil King of Weatherford helped lead the Texas presidential campaign for Huckabee, who was loudly applauded for a down-home speech Friday afternoon.
"I'm really surprised that McCain's not here," King said. "I've always been told that this is the largest gathering of Republicans in the country. I'm taken aback."
(Sometimes, Texas' convention outdraws the national event.)
King went over the case for McCain: "He's very strongly pro-life. He's strong on defense. I feel confident in his Supreme Court nominees. But he's not as strong on immigration as I want and not the fiscal conservative we need."
U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Flower Mound, an obstetrician, is helping write McCain's healthcare platform.
"The reality is, his campaign needs are greater in other places," Burgess said. "Texas' vote is probably not a question mark."
One recent poll showed McCain winning Texas with 52 percent to 39 for Democratic nominee Barack Obama. But McCain might lose the 5 percent of Texas Republicans who supported the presidential candidacy of maverick U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas.
Fischer, the conventioneer who didn't want a McCain sticker, said she supported Huckabee.
"Huckabee is funny," she said. "He's seems like my dad. McCain seems like the old uncle that you have to bring to holiday parties."
Her biggest complaint is that she hasn't seen enough of McCain. The extended Democratic campaign has resulted in two months of free publicity for Obama.
"Obama is a much more appealing candidate to people my age," she said. "He has better ads and better music. ... McCain hasn't been on TV at all. I really don't know anything about him, except that he was in Vietnam."
And that he wasn't in Texas.
bud@star-telegram.com
Bud Kennedy's column appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. 817-390-7538
http://www.star-telegram.com/news/columnists/bud_kennedy/story/699891.html
McCain absence annoys some at GOP gathering
By BUD KENNEDYStar-Telegram staff writer
HOUSTON -- John McCain is ignoring 7,000 Texas Republicans this weekend.
Some of them are returning the favor.
Instead of speaking to the state party convention this weekend, McCain will come to Texas on Monday to raise money at a Dallas barbecue.
"Where is he?" asked Sara Fischer, 31, of Mansfield, brushing past a volunteer futilely trying to pass out McCain lapel stickers.
"I didn't support McCain," she said. "But I have to now. He's our candidate. It seems like he should be here."
Inside the exhibit hall, the McCain T-shirts at one souvenir stand were marked down from $15 to $8 -- two for $15.
At the door, campaign volunteer Hector Medina, 26, of San Antonio waved McCain stickers as delegates streamed past.
"Some Republicans aren't very excited," said Medina, an Army recruit leaving Monday for basic training. "They just say, 'He's not my guy.'"
McCain is not snubbing the entire state. Besides coming to Dallas and Midland on Monday, he'll go to Houston on Tuesday for what is billed as a major speech on energy policy.
But today, he's somewhere hosting a telephone town hall meeting at cityhall.johnmccain.com.
That could originate anywhere. They have phones now in Houston.
"The senator is looking forward to coming to Texas Monday, and he will be delivering a major policy speech," said McCain spokesman Jeff Sadosky, returning a call.
Keynote speaker and former presidential candidate Mitt Romney of Massachusetts was authorized to represent McCain at the convention, along with former candidate and Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Sadosky said.
Republican state Rep. Phil King of Weatherford helped lead the Texas presidential campaign for Huckabee, who was loudly applauded for a down-home speech Friday afternoon.
"I'm really surprised that McCain's not here," King said. "I've always been told that this is the largest gathering of Republicans in the country. I'm taken aback."
(Sometimes, Texas' convention outdraws the national event.)
King went over the case for McCain: "He's very strongly pro-life. He's strong on defense. I feel confident in his Supreme Court nominees. But he's not as strong on immigration as I want and not the fiscal conservative we need."
U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Flower Mound, an obstetrician, is helping write McCain's healthcare platform.
"The reality is, his campaign needs are greater in other places," Burgess said. "Texas' vote is probably not a question mark."
One recent poll showed McCain winning Texas with 52 percent to 39 for Democratic nominee Barack Obama. But McCain might lose the 5 percent of Texas Republicans who supported the presidential candidacy of maverick U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas.
Fischer, the conventioneer who didn't want a McCain sticker, said she supported Huckabee.
"Huckabee is funny," she said. "He's seems like my dad. McCain seems like the old uncle that you have to bring to holiday parties."
Her biggest complaint is that she hasn't seen enough of McCain. The extended Democratic campaign has resulted in two months of free publicity for Obama.
"Obama is a much more appealing candidate to people my age," she said. "He has better ads and better music. ... McCain hasn't been on TV at all. I really don't know anything about him, except that he was in Vietnam."
And that he wasn't in Texas.
bud@star-telegram.com
Bud Kennedy's column appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. 817-390-7538
http://www.star-telegram.com/news/columnists/bud_kennedy/story/699891.html
Official urges Republicans to go the polls
Official urges Republicans to go the polls
By JIMMY ISAAC
Thursday, June 19, 2008
There's only one way Republicans can lose in the upcoming November general election, former Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams told local party leaders Wednesday.
"The problem is our base. Some of us that are conservative Republicans are upset. They're mad," Williams said in front of 23 people at the Republican Women of Gregg County luncheon in Longview. "(Sen. John McCain) is our man (for president). He's going to win. But he can't win unless we get un-mad."
Williams is chairman of Texas Republican Victory 2008, a coordinated, statewide get-out-the-vote campaign for the party's candidates. He also chairs the Republican National Finance Committee's Eagles Program under President Bush's appointment, and has served on past campaigns for Bush and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.
Williams is touring Texas and other parts of the nation — not merely to drum up support for the Republican ticket, but to motivate disgruntled, apathetic Republicans who he says could turn the November tide to Democrats if they don't vote.
The U.S. Senate race between Cornyn and Democratic challenger Rick Noriega is the top of the Texas ticket, he said. That's not the only important race, as three state Supreme Court justices and a host of state lawmakers and local Republican officials face the challenge of a state threatened to lose its Republican foothold because of voters' frustration about immigration, energy, education, the war and other issues, Williams said.
He pointed to the Dallas/Fort Worth area — his home — as a recent example. Republicans lost every race in Dallas County in 2006 — 29 judges, the county sheriff and district attorney — because Republicans didn't vote in usual numbers, he said.
Tarrant County, considered the most Republican county in America behind Orange County, Calif., has a Democratic state representative who won a special election in December because 10,000 less voters came to the polls than during the general election one month before, Williams said.
"It is all hands on deck this time," Williams said. "(Former President) Calvin Coolidge said, 'If you help your country, you help yourself. It's our patriotic duty to vote.' "
Williams is a Texas Christian University graduate and former baseball coach-turned-small-business owner and politician. He became Texas' 105th secretary of state in February 2005 and resigned July 1, 2007. Two weeks later, he was named chairman of the Texas Republican Victory 2008 coordinated campaign.
He also served as chief liaison for Texas Border and Mexican Affairs and as chair of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closer Response Strike Force committee during his term as secretary of state. Williams is a trustee of TCU and the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University.
http://www.news-journal.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/06/19/06192008_republican_women.html
By JIMMY ISAAC
Thursday, June 19, 2008
There's only one way Republicans can lose in the upcoming November general election, former Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams told local party leaders Wednesday.
"The problem is our base. Some of us that are conservative Republicans are upset. They're mad," Williams said in front of 23 people at the Republican Women of Gregg County luncheon in Longview. "(Sen. John McCain) is our man (for president). He's going to win. But he can't win unless we get un-mad."
Williams is chairman of Texas Republican Victory 2008, a coordinated, statewide get-out-the-vote campaign for the party's candidates. He also chairs the Republican National Finance Committee's Eagles Program under President Bush's appointment, and has served on past campaigns for Bush and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.
Williams is touring Texas and other parts of the nation — not merely to drum up support for the Republican ticket, but to motivate disgruntled, apathetic Republicans who he says could turn the November tide to Democrats if they don't vote.
The U.S. Senate race between Cornyn and Democratic challenger Rick Noriega is the top of the Texas ticket, he said. That's not the only important race, as three state Supreme Court justices and a host of state lawmakers and local Republican officials face the challenge of a state threatened to lose its Republican foothold because of voters' frustration about immigration, energy, education, the war and other issues, Williams said.
He pointed to the Dallas/Fort Worth area — his home — as a recent example. Republicans lost every race in Dallas County in 2006 — 29 judges, the county sheriff and district attorney — because Republicans didn't vote in usual numbers, he said.
Tarrant County, considered the most Republican county in America behind Orange County, Calif., has a Democratic state representative who won a special election in December because 10,000 less voters came to the polls than during the general election one month before, Williams said.
"It is all hands on deck this time," Williams said. "(Former President) Calvin Coolidge said, 'If you help your country, you help yourself. It's our patriotic duty to vote.' "
Williams is a Texas Christian University graduate and former baseball coach-turned-small-business owner and politician. He became Texas' 105th secretary of state in February 2005 and resigned July 1, 2007. Two weeks later, he was named chairman of the Texas Republican Victory 2008 coordinated campaign.
He also served as chief liaison for Texas Border and Mexican Affairs and as chair of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closer Response Strike Force committee during his term as secretary of state. Williams is a trustee of TCU and the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University.
http://www.news-journal.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/06/19/06192008_republican_women.html
June 15, 2008
Immigration worries Hispanic delegates
Immigration worries Hispanic delegates
Web Posted: 06/13/2008 10:15 PM CDT
By Janet Elliott
Houston Chronicle
HOUSTON — As a son and grandson of men who came to the United States without documents, Joe Martinez has cringed at some of the red-hot talk about unauthorized immigration he has heard this week at the Republican State Convention.
“I'd love to see the rhetoric softened,” said Martinez, a 26-year-old from Mercedes who is attending his first state convention.
But he knows that this is a nation of laws, and so did his father and grandfather, who both became American citizens. And he's enthusiastic about being a Republican, proudly showing off his tan-and-blue cowboy boots, one signed by Rick Perry and the other by Ron Paul.
“Once people start to realize what Republican principles and values are, that's pretty much the way the culture lives its life: faith, love and self-dependence,” said Martinez, who works as a supervisor in a state program that provides attendants for homebound elderly and disabled people.
Hispanics have a small presence among the 6,000 delegates and alternates at the convention, a worrisome sign for the party's future. The momentum provided by President Bush's popularity among Hispanics could stall out in the face of the party's hard-line stand against amnesty for unauthorized immigrants.
Republicans took over state government, beginning in the late 1980s, by growing their base at the local level, particularly in suburban areas.
But it can be difficult to recruit candidates to run as Republicans in heavily Hispanic areas when the GOP affiliation is often a “death warrant,” said Hector Farias, 41, of Weslaco.
Just as U.S. Sen. John McCain and Bush have supported a pathway to citizenship for some unauthorized immigrants, convention delegates are split on the issue.
“We're for securing the border,” said Ruben Jimenez, whose family has been in Texas for 150 years. “In order to be a good citizen, you've got to obey the law.”
But Martinez can't forget a scene he witnessed when he was 12: a frightened, hungry family of four hiding in a cemetery on his family's ranch. Just as his father took food to the man, woman and children, he is looking for compassion and compromise by his party on the emotional issue.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/politics/stories/MYSA.061408.MAINGOPsider.3529022.html
Web Posted: 06/13/2008 10:15 PM CDT
By Janet Elliott
Houston Chronicle
HOUSTON — As a son and grandson of men who came to the United States without documents, Joe Martinez has cringed at some of the red-hot talk about unauthorized immigration he has heard this week at the Republican State Convention.
“I'd love to see the rhetoric softened,” said Martinez, a 26-year-old from Mercedes who is attending his first state convention.
But he knows that this is a nation of laws, and so did his father and grandfather, who both became American citizens. And he's enthusiastic about being a Republican, proudly showing off his tan-and-blue cowboy boots, one signed by Rick Perry and the other by Ron Paul.
“Once people start to realize what Republican principles and values are, that's pretty much the way the culture lives its life: faith, love and self-dependence,” said Martinez, who works as a supervisor in a state program that provides attendants for homebound elderly and disabled people.
Hispanics have a small presence among the 6,000 delegates and alternates at the convention, a worrisome sign for the party's future. The momentum provided by President Bush's popularity among Hispanics could stall out in the face of the party's hard-line stand against amnesty for unauthorized immigrants.
Republicans took over state government, beginning in the late 1980s, by growing their base at the local level, particularly in suburban areas.
But it can be difficult to recruit candidates to run as Republicans in heavily Hispanic areas when the GOP affiliation is often a “death warrant,” said Hector Farias, 41, of Weslaco.
Just as U.S. Sen. John McCain and Bush have supported a pathway to citizenship for some unauthorized immigrants, convention delegates are split on the issue.
“We're for securing the border,” said Ruben Jimenez, whose family has been in Texas for 150 years. “In order to be a good citizen, you've got to obey the law.”
But Martinez can't forget a scene he witnessed when he was 12: a frightened, hungry family of four hiding in a cemetery on his family's ranch. Just as his father took food to the man, woman and children, he is looking for compassion and compromise by his party on the emotional issue.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/politics/stories/MYSA.061408.MAINGOPsider.3529022.html
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