North Texas Tea Party

NTTP’s TeaApproved candidates in contested races were a split decision on election night.  Outright winners included Keith Self and Fred Moses; Cheryl Williams, Van Taylor, and Doug Reeves made the runoffs (Doug has decide to retire for the field, however).  We’re sorry to see the razor-thin loss of Cathy Ward, plus the elimination of Wayne Richard and Karl Voigtsberger.  Don McLeroy won locally, but lost it in the other areas of his large district.

The question is: is this grand experiment with the TeaApproved concept making a difference?  In consideration of the alternative- a generic Get out the Vote effort- it’s pretty clear our process has had more impact on assuring truly conservative choices will be available in the November elections.  The sprocess has not been always smooth or perfect, but the amount of impact NTTP has managed for a group less than a year old has been satisfying.  The fact that – for much of this- we have ended up contesting a Plano-based ‘establishment’ that has held power pretty much nonstop for 25 years and  fighting them nearly to a draw so far, is rather remarkable.  But we only win through coalitions with other groups, so that is where our emphasis must lie.

So it’s on to the runoffs and we’ll see about making an impact there.  We would like to thank all of the NTTP membership for the difference they made.

From 7am to 7pm.  GOP Primary polling locations can be found here. All Tea Party members wishing to help move the GOP from just ‘talking the talk’ to ‘walking the walk’ of fiscal conservatism and limited government are encouraged to attend their precinct convention.  These conventions will held at the polling places after the polls close; most starting at 7:30pm (but arriving early is best).

Tell your friends about it or feel free to print and distribute the list below.

TeaApproved List (Contested)

Race	Candidate
State Board of Education	Don McLeroy
Don was elected to the State Board of Education in Nov. 1998 and chaired the Board from July 2007 through May 2009. McLeroy is a dentist in Bryan and served on the Bryan Independent School District Board of Trustees.
State Rep. District 66	Wayne Richard
CEO of ICGlogal, a small IT Company. Salvation Army Plano advisory board member, and Alumni Chair of SMU COX business school
State Rep. District 66	Van Taylor
Investment banker; former Marine officer, Iraq War veteran
Collin County Judge	Keith Self
West-Point graduate, former Green Beret and 25 years in combined services
Collin County Commissioner, Precinct 2	Karl Voigtsberger
Retired HP Quality Engineer
Collin County Commissioner, Precinct 2	Cheryl Williams
Real Estate Consultant
Collin County Commissioner, Precinct 4	Kathy Ward
Business
Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4	Doug Reeves
Business
Collin County GOP Chairman	Fred Moses
Small Businessman

More than anything else, the NTTP desires to change how politics are done, to make the Public Servant more responsible to the average taxpayer and less to the special interests who look at the taxpayer as a fount of fund for their pet projects.  Locally, it appears that these powers that be have abandoned all scruples in their desperate attempt to gain fiscal control over Collin County.  In a clearly choreographed  and coordinated last-second assault on the conservatives in the primary races, Mabrie Jackson and Mandy Tschoepe unleashed last-second smears based on information well-known for months, hoping that their targets do not have time to respond.  At the same time, in a coordinated pirouette, John Muns suddenly stopped his drumbeat of extreme negativism to talk about grandchildren.  This is the type of dirty politics controlled from the backroom that motivated many of us in the Tea Party to activism.  It simply needs to stop and we need to talk issues.

We want to make it clear, the NTTP still strongly supports the TeaApproved candidates of Wayne Richard, Van Taylor, Keith Self, Kathy Ward and Fred Moses as the true conservatives of this race, as their campaigns have been about the offices they are in or running for, not their opponents.  And we feel that such last-minute antics say far more about the character and ethics- or lack thereof- of the attackers, rather than the targets

WAYNE RICHARD RESPONDS:

To The Voters of District 66 in Collin County,

As most of you know, I have been running for the Texas House of Representatives since August, 2009.  Our campaign message has focused on the issues and returning our representation in Austin back to conservative values.  We have run an honest, ethical, grassroots campaign that is above board and without reproach.

Unfortunately one of my opponents has decided to attack me both personally and professionally and I can no longer sit idly by and allow these attacks to remain unaddressed.

1. ‘Operation Chaos’ was launched by Rush Limbaugh in 2008 to try and avert an Obama presidency.  I participated in Operation Chaos because, like many other loyal Republicans, we could foresee the disaster an Obama administration would bring to this country.   If I am a Democrat, then so is Rush!
2. My business property taxes have always been paid on time and in full.
3. As a small business owner, I have several dba’s registered, many of which were never launched and most of which are merely ideas or concepts.   One of these dba’s, ‘Love in the Fast Lane’ was a concept I developed for an advertising campaign to address road rage.  It was never launched.
4. Another dba is Fubiov (Forget U Buddy I’m On Vacation).  Fubiov is an internet portal designed for users to share family vacation stories, videos, pictures, & destination critiques.  There was never any deceitful advertising or improper content.
5. The www.Fubiov.com site was deactivated until now.  Feel free to visit the site.  I may decide to keep the site live as a result of the free publicity it is receiving.
6. Our contributors are staunch conservatives who put their money where their mouth is.  They support conservatives running for office around the state of Texas, and chose to back me as well, and we are grateful.  Liberal-progressives would like to discredit the conservative base by calling us extremists.

My opponent’s malicious and hateful attacks are the work of a desperate opponent.  The old tired political attacks that worked in the past are not going to get leaders elected this time.  I believe voters are looking for real leadership to move our state forward – not politics as usual.  Join me in returning our government to a body of patriotic statesman and not the same old rhetoric.  Stand with me on March 2^nd and return our government to the people!

God Bless Texas,

Wayne Richard

VAN TAYLOR RESPONDS:

Mabrie Jackson’s politically moderate message fails to attract voters who want a strong conservative as their state representative, so in a desperate attempt to save her campaign she is now littering mailboxes with offensive mailings.

In her mailings, Jackson is intentionally misleading voters by claiming that Van Taylor has hidden his high-profile run for congress against liberal Democrat Chet Edwards, a key Nancy Pelosi lieutenant.  The truth is, Van Taylor documented the campaign in his very first press release when announcing for office.   Taylor has repeatedly referred to the race in public forums, handed out information on the race to voters, and posted it on his website, which can be viewed at http://www.vantaylor.com .   Taylor’s run is another example of his life-long commitment to the conservative cause, and he is proud of his attempt to defeat a liberal Democrat in 2006.

The Jackson attacks come as Van Taylor continues to build campaign momentum, winning the overwhelming majority of conservative endorsements in this campaign.   This week, Taylor was endorsed by the Texas Alliance for Life and the Conservative Hispanic Society PAC.   Taylor has previously been endorsed by the Texans for Fiscal Responsibility PAC, Young Conservatives of Texas, and Congressman Jeb Hensarling.   Additionally, he is “A” rated by the NRA, certified as “pro-life” by Texas Right to Life, and earned the “Tea-Approved” label from the North Texas Tea Party.

Semper fi,

Van

KEITH SELF RESPONDS:

I said that I would stand with the taxpayers, and I did.  My record is clear and no amount of mud can change the fact that I championed open and accessible government, that we cut your taxes, and we limited the growth of county government.

There is no possible way that I can be painted with wasteful spending except by untruths.  As Ronald Reagan once said, “It is hard to be that wrong by accident.”

It is precisely because I clearly stand with the taxpayers that my record is not being attacked, but my character is attacked by these falsehoods.  I will continue to campaign with honor and stand on my record.

Keith Self

FRED MOSES RESPONDS:

In response to the outlandish mailer that was sent to voters yesterday I believe a supporters guestbook entry on my site sums it up best:

“It’s hard to insure party unity when your opponent has gone the route that she has. I hope that the Republicans of Collin County can see that when the going gets tough, she is willing to attack anyone in her own party to get the outcome that she desires – even the chairman that has accomplished so much.
If her experience and stance on issues is not enough to get her elected and she feels the need to go dirty to win, then that should tell everyone what kind of candidate that she is. “

My opponent did not include the over $40,000 in contributions my wife and I have made to Republican candidates and to the Republican Party. I am the only one in my race that has received the endorsements of the North Texas Tea Party, Collin County Conservative Republicans, Coalition for Better Government, all three State Representatives: Jodie Laubenberg, Ken Paxton, Jerry Madden. All across America we are seeing Chicago-style politicking does not win races. If I lose this race I will be able to look myself in the mirror and know that I conducted myself graciously. Nothing is worth losing your integrity. Integrity is what you have when no one is looking.

Fred Moses

COLLIN COUNTY POLLING SITES:
Plano  Precinct 1: Carpenter Rec Center – 6701 Coit Road
Frisco  Precinct 1: CCCC-Preston Ridge Campus – 9700 Wade Blvd
Plano  Precinct 1: Parr Library – 6200 Windhaven Pkwy
Plano  Precinct 2: CCCC-Spring Creek – 2800 E. Spring Creek Pkwy
Plano  Precinct 2: Harrington Library – 1501 18th St
Plano  Precinct 4: Haggard Library – 2501 Coit Road
Plano  Precinct 4: PISD Administration Center – 2700 W. 15th St
Dallas  Precinct 4: Renner-Frankford Library – 6400 Frankford

• Feb 16 – 19  (Tues. – Fri)       8am – 5pm
• Feb 20  (Sat.)                          7am-7pm
• Feb 21  (Sun.)                         1pm – 6pm
• Feb 22 – 26  (Mon. – Fri.)      7am – 7pm

Since NTTP was unable to get a commitment from Duncan Webb to participate in the joint Tea Party Candidate Forum in time (though he showed up for it to witness others participating), video shot at the CCCR event will have to suffice.  Although the questioning was limited (with so many candidates being addressed at the same time), the short piece below was very illuminating:

Many thanks to the CCCR for holding this event.

Here are the entire videos of the County Commissioner Precinct 4 candidates:

Here are the entire videos of the County Commissioner Precinct 2 candidates:

UPDATE: The runoff has been pushed back to March 27th.

Many of the Plano members of the North Texas Tea Party joined in helping the campaign for Cathy Fang for Plano City Council, based on her commitment to apply sound fiscal review and standards to the city budget, with prioritization based on the essentials and the taxpayer’s concerns.  In doing so, we joined in a highly diverse coalition that- despite Cathy’s previous lack of political experience and connections and coming from an ethnic group with historically low voter participation- managed to force the well-oiled machine of the city political establishment, into a March 20th runoff (after the primary). And- assuming the outcomes expected from the primaries- the momentum will be there to carry Cathy to victory as well.

This picture from election night says it all: Chinese, Southeast Asians, Hispanics, Tea Partiers, GOP regulars, and others: all interested in fiscal responsibility, all coalescing around a simple CPA running as a citizen’s candidate. This is how politics should be.

That was

Lots of videos coming on the Tea Party Candidate Forum on Jan. 27th.  Please forgive the ’shaky-cam’ of these first ones; a handheld camera by a hand that got really tired.  Better videos will be following along.  These don’t address the prepared remarks of the candidates; you can hear such canned stuff anywhere.  Feel free to leave comments at the bottom.

Let’s address the high drama one first; the drama coming about midway through (the webmaster being a Goldwater/Reaganite who served as a GOP County chair AND was a ‘Chaos’ voter found this one interesting):

In a more mundane piece: the State rep candidates (Wayne, Van, and Mabrie) address budget issues:

And the the first of several videos to follow on the County Judge candidates of Keith Self (incumbent) and John Muns:

Certainly more fun and truly informative than the SOTU speech;  nearly 300 Tea Party activists and others came to here a spirited candidate forum: the three candidates for State Representative, District 66 (Wayne Richard, Van Taylor, Mabrie Jackson) and the two candidates for Collin County Judge (incumbent Keith Self and John Muns).  The candidates, moderators, and questioners all were exceptionally good, and the entire crowd left much better informed about these two key races.  Pictures for now; video later:

McKinney Tea party looked sharp.. and brought great cookies!  (Thanks, Mike!)

The three State Rep candidates responded to moderator and audience questions

While a full house looked on and deliberated their choices.

The Allen Area Patriots once again put together a great candidate forum, this time for the County DA candidates; they also did an assessment of the candidates found here.  And despite the governor’s debate going on that evening, the crowd was the largest to date!

Here is Greg Willis:

Followed by James Angelino:

And then Jeff Bray:

It’s time to get to work for real change.  Doing what we can to make the politiians that fiscal insanity is no longer acceptable.  Starting locally and working up: grill the candidates for office, pick the best for actually implementing the principles of limited government and fiscal responsibility in office and get to work (that includes holding the officeholders accountable, now and in the future).

• Collin County GOP candidates
• Dallas County GOP candidates