Nac County Dems,
Three quick notes:
1) APRIL LUNCHEON — Join us for our April lunch at Szechuan (3308 North St.) (Thursday-4/21) at Noon. We’ll have some excellent food and great conversation!
2) MAYORAL RACE — We had a good Nacogoches Mayoral Candidate Forum last week and all three candidates have been invited to send items to be posted to our email list. Here’s one from each candidate:
Walter McCrimmon
Hello! Democrats, this is a very important election for Mayor. I am a Democrat who has been active in a number of campaigns in deep East Texas. I was very active during the Presidential campaign in 2008. I supported the Bill White candidacy for Governor of Texas and attended the Texas State Democratic Convention in 2010 as a delegate. I am asking for support, volunteers, and campaign contributions of $25, $50, or $100. My campaign needs financial support to get out the message to elect Walter McCrimmom for Mayor! Please contact me at (936) 205-4538 and send donations to
Walter McCrimmon campaign
2012 Durst, Apt. 114
Nacogdoches, TX 75964
Roger Van Horn
Thank you for arranging the question/answer meeting with the county Democrats last Thursday evening. I think it is important for interested citizens to get an opportunity to learn as much as they can before casting a vote. The meeting was well organized with fair and important questions. I encourage anyone to contact me at my office or home if they have any concerns or questions concerning city issues. My phone numbers are in the book and my email is rvanhorn@ci.nacogdoches.tx.us. You can also check out www.RogerVanHorn.com
Pam Fitch
A lot of people have asked me why I decided to run for Mayor. If I could sum up the answer in one word, it would be PROGRESS. I love this community, and, like you, I want it to grow and flourish to its full potential.
Our city is blessed with a rich history, diverse economy and abundant natural resources. We have the opportunity to be a model city, but achieving that goal takes vision and leadership. I believe I can provide both. A few of my top priorities include:
· Saving taxpayers money by eliminating wasteful spending while opposing property tax and water rate increases.
· Preserving and protecting our neighborhoods by improving code enforcement and maintaining appropriate zoning.
· Promoting economic growth by ensuring policies are small business friendly and don’t unfairly favor one business over another.
· Encouraging openness and transparency in city government by maximizing citizen involvement in the decision making process.
If we continue to do the same thing over and over again, we will continue to get more of the same—more tax increases, more water rate increases, and more unjustified tax abatements. It’s time for new leadership.
I have 10 years of public sector work experience, including eight years as director of the Nacogdoches CVB and two years in senior management for the City of Lubbock (population 220,000). Through these positions, I have been involved in every aspect of local government operations, from budgeting to crisis management.
In 2008, my family returned to Nacogdoches and opened Jack Backers College Bookstore. My husband and I built the business from the ground up. Our business model was simple—keep costs low and provide superior customer service. I believe this philosophy can also be applied at the local government level.
With your support, I truly believe our community can make great strides forward. But I need your help! Please cast your vote for Pam Fitch for Mayor. Early voting begins May 2 at the C.L. Simon Recreation Center. Election day is May 14 at TJR Elementary School.
For more information about my campaign or to request a yard sign, visit http://pamfitch.com
3) We usually save news for the monthly newsletter but Precinct Chairs Ralph and Elaine Sanders have been keeping up with the details of the terrible budget being proposed by Republican House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan. Read below and check out this link to see why this budget is bad for Americans and what you can do to stop it: http://www.democrats.com/pass-the-peoples-budget:
The House Republican TeaParty budget for 2012 will destroy Medicare to pay for bigger tax breaks for billionaires.
But the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) fought for – and won – a separate vote on the “People’s Budget” which fights for the priorities we and most Americans support.
According to Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor of The Nation:
The People’s Budget lays out what a robust progressive agenda looks like. It protects an already frayed social net and promotes a progressive tax policy that makes millionaires, billionaires, and big corporations pay their fair share. It doesn’t stop at cutting the low-hanging fruit at the Pentagon, instead it brings our troops home from two wars that cost trillions of dollars and do nothing to make the US safer, and resets and rethinks what real security means in the 21st century.
According to Jeffrey Sachs, Economist and Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University:
the People’s Budget would cut the budget deficit to zero by 2021, but would do so in an efficient and fair way. It would close the budget deficit by raising tax rates on the rich and giant corporations, while also curbing military spending and wrestling health care costs under control, partly by introducing a public option.
Tell your Representatives to vote for the People’s Budget.
Petition
I urge you to vote for the People’s Budget written by the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
1. Eliminates the Deficit by 2021 without devastating Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.
The CPC budget targets the true drivers of deficits: the Bush Tax Cuts, the wars overseas, and the causes and effects of the recent recession. By implementing a fair tax code, by building a resilient American economy, and by bringing our troops home, it achieves a budget surplus of over $30 billion by 2021.
2. Puts America Back to Work and Restores America’s Competitiveness
The CPC budget rebuilds our roads and bridges, ensuring that those who use it help pay for it. It rebuilds our education system by training more and better teachers, restoring schools, helping each student graduate, and supporting community colleges.
3. Creates a Fair Tax System
The CPC budget ends the Bush Tax Cuts and estate tax breaks and creates fair tax brackets for millionaires and billionaires. It ensures the banks that wrecked our economy pay a modest financial responsibility fee and that exotic trading by Wall Street traders is taxed. It guarantees that hedge fund managers do not get special treatment by taxing capital gains and dividends as ordinary income. It eliminates charity to oil companies making record profits from price gouging at the pump. And it taxes US corporate income as it is earned, in much the same way Americans are taxed.
4. Brings Our Troops Home
The CPC budget responsibly ends our wars that are currently paid for by American taxpayer dollars we do not have. It also realigns conventional and strategic forces, resulting in $2.3 trillion worth of savings.
That’s it for now-keep fighting the good fight!
Sincerely,
Stephen Wright, Chairman
Nacogdoches County Democratic Party
