| Re: Lisa Polster... any relation to John Polster? |
Poster: Anonymous Posted: 2008/3/8 17:54:46 I think with all the distractions out there, it is hard to wade through what is really going on..... There's been a lot of inappropriate activities in Denton County going on for a while. Many current county officials accept contributions from county vendors, for example. The big money, though, is in the roads - the county continues to grow explosively, someone's going to make a lot of money. If you buy land at price X, and can get your buddies to vote a road near you, then you can sell that land at X + 500, say, and presto -- suddenly you're a rich man. A legal way to get rich, but not the type of thing we usually condone in the USA. Hugh Coleman's point was that those decisions need to be non-political, and done fairly, with the best interests of the county as a whole in mind, as opposed to a narrow group of contributors. Cynthia White utilized attack politics years ago when she attacked funny stuff going on in other parts of the county govt, which needed to be cleaned up. She started out with some great ideas and dedication. Unfortunately, over time, she got used to the job, took on other interests ( she's a talented lady), and became allied with the machine which was condoning funny stuff, and she began to use poor judgment, such as things like giving out big amounts of taxpayer $$ to consultants, or following the current Denton County practice of accepting campaign contributions from county vendors. She really raised eyebrows when she took the objectivity out of road decisions, which affect who's going to get very, very rich. You may disagree with Mr. Coleman's tactics, but his campaign is part of a reform movement that needs to be done in Denton County. It's an uphill battle to fight the machine -- in spite of all that came out, he barely won the primary; it appears that Mr Coleman was very careful to only include verifiable info about Ms. White. Instead of making abstract claims of inappropriate contributions, for example, he listed the donors, and the amounts. rumor hs it that he actually refrained from mentioning some other damaging stuff; that is just a rumor, so it may or may not be true. Many officials were fearful to come out publicly for Mr. Coleman, but privately a LOT of people think things need to change. Modern politics is different in some ways from the old days, but in some ways it's the same -- there's a classic movie on fighting the machine called Mr Smith goes to Washington that captures some of the dynamics. Mr Coleman and Jimmy Stewart are very different personalties, but on the whole, the analogy applies: I'd recommend it highly. It took a lot of political courage to endorse Mr. Coleman -- law endorsement types, though, are usually brave people about standing up for what's right. If you notice, the Sheriff and most of the constables endorsed Mr. Coleman. One of the sad things about politics is the fallout - Ms. White has given years of service to the county, and must understandably feel bitter, and furious with Mr. Coleman. She deserves everyone's thanks for the service and effort she put in. Another movie I'd recommend -- if you've ever seen 'On the waterfront', you'll understand who she should really be angry with ( and why): she coulda been a contender. It's hard to know what is really going on in elections, as opposed to the distraction issues; we all need to try as hard as we can to be fully informed. |