As a tea party leader, I've organized several rallies and protests around the Houston area. When we held our first rally on the grounds of Discovery Green, we paid hundreds of dollars to secure the venue and insurance and the proper permits.
When we held our huge Tax Day Tea Party April 15, 2009 that brought over 11,000 people to Jones Plaza in downtown Houston, we spent thousands of dollars to secure the venue and insurance, as well as pay for off-duty officers to provide security and crowd control.
When Occupy decided to start a Houston chapter, however, we never heard of permits, or insurance, or security. Tents sprung up around the park, people camped out, and the group even made use of city power without paying. That always struck me as wrong and inequitable.
We in the tea party have always been willing, and usually been able, to pay for the use of public property such as parks and public buildings. We believe in following the rules, and in doing what's right while we call attention to the miserable state of the finances at all levels of government.
So when I saw that the ads from supposed "tea party" District Attorney candidate Mike Anderson were shot in an actual courtroom and NOT on a set, I got a little miffed. Did Anderson, who retired as a judge but who occasionally serves in that court, PAY for the privilege to use county resources to film an ad for his campaign? Was that even legal?
It may or may not be, but the principle is what gets me.
I don't know much about county politics, but I know any D.A. race is contentious; especially so here, after Harris County went through the Rosenthal scandal. I'm not working on D.A. Lykos' campaign, and there are a few cases where I want to ask some serious questions about her office's policies. But after paying our way so dilligently for so long, and seeing the Occupy crowd get special treatment from the city, I decided to see if an ordinary citizen can get a hearing on this type of complaint.
So today I'm filing a complaint with the State Commission on Judicial Conduct over this ad. We'll see what happens. It may amount to nothing. But I'm tired of seeing ethical lapses brushed aside with an "Oh, well. Nothing you can do about it." Let's see whether Anderson filmed the ad properly by paying for the use of public facilities. If so, fine. If not, then I want an explanation. And possibly a refund.
You go, girl. And honestly, I would follow some of the other tea parties by filing suit against the city for refunds on that money. You are still within the time limits.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe in "nothing you can do". There's always something you can do. The Left has proven time and again that if they hit a wall, they just bounce off and go down another path.
We should never be 100% happy with our Officials; that would suggest something is really wrong. What we need is more private businesses, Libraries, and Churches let the neighborhood know that a facility is available for rent.
ReplyDeleteWho are you suppporting for Harris County DA?
ReplyDeleteI haven't supported either candidate. I rarely endorse anyone publicly because of the tea party thing - I don't want an endorsement from me to come across as a tea party endorsement, so I am publicly supporting Paul Simpson for HCRP chair this cycle, and that's it.
ReplyDeletewell, supporting simpson is one thing your doing right if you want to change the way things are. But seriously, I don't care a bit that a courtroom was used after business hours or on the weekend to film in....happens all the time for news programs, tv shows, movies...I really don't care....now our tax dollars will be used to "investigate" your complaint, pay a lawyer to decide if there's a problem, and another lawyer to write a letter with their opinion, etc....you've just cost me a whole lot more than what the county may or may not have collected in use fees for the room.
ReplyDeleteI see where you're coming from, I do. If I weren't so hacked off about Occupy and all the money WE spent to wake people up about government waste, I might have let it slide. But honestly, catching one of them on the principle of the matter has a good chance of preventing it in the future, and that's a potential savings.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.patlykos.com/news/statement-on-judicial-misconduct-complaint/
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bigjollypolitics.com/wp/2012/05/17/harris-county-da-race-politics-in-the-courtroom-say-it-aint-so-mike-anderson/
How can you claim you don't support one candidate in the race over the other when you've clearly conspired to help create a fake campaign issue? Be up front already and support your candidate loud and proud, don't profess neutrality when you clearly are not.
ReplyDeleteI have friends who had a very bad taste in their mouth after dealing with the DA's office over something that happened to their children. That's certainly not something I'm brushing aside. If I'd wanted to do something to influence the race in a huge way, I'd have used all the tea party resources at my disposal, blasted it everywhere, and tried to get my face all over television. None of that happened.
ReplyDeleteI just voted for Mike Anderson in the Republican Primary in an effort to empty the District Attorney office of the incompetent twit Pat Lykos.
ReplyDelete