Arlington council runoff
I am dismayed that the Star-Telegram never prints a story about Chris Hightower without the statement "the first openly gay candidate for the Arlington City Council." I am not gay, but it is unfair and openly prejudicial. The fact that he is or is not gay has no bearing on his qualifications for office, and your writers should be reminded of that and discontinue the practice.I have been a victim of prejudice before as a longtime member of the military, and it is no fun. Information I have in the community is that Hightower is a very bright, talented individual, and his voice should be heard without prejudicial inferences.-- Carl Mincer, ArlingtonIt's encouraging to have two strong candidates in a runoff for the District 5 council seat. What tips the balance in favor of Chris Hightower is his ability to listen to and empathize with residents of central Arlington.Chris understands our desire for smart redevelopment and has the political and business savvy to make it happen. He respects our wishes to preserve the charm of our older neighborhoods and shares our vision of a family-oriented, ethnically and economically diverse community of tree-lined streets and safe, affordable housing. He won't rubber-stamp divisive projects pushed by UTA and Downtown Arlington Management Corp. over homeowners' opposition.I believe Chris will represent us honorably on the council and will work hard to make the heart of Arlington an even better place to live, work and play. Please join me in voting for Chris Hightower on June 18.-- Grace Darling, ArlingtonFort Worth mayor's racePlease accept this enthusiastic endorsement of Betsy Price for Fort Worth mayor! Betsy has proved her executive, supervisory and leadership ability during her administration of the county tax assessor-collector's office and will set the same high standards in the mayor's office.-- Stanley Wright, Fort WorthA tax assessor makes more than a hundred grand a year. The Fort Worth mayor's position pays about $30,000. Why would a person leave a well-paying public position for one that doesn't even pay one-fourth as much? Maybe there's some outside lobbying going on. I think we'll be the ones paying for it down the line. I just don't trust a person who has made that much money on the taxpayers' dime for so many years to suddenly take a huge cut in pay, all for "the good of the people."I am voting for Jim Lane in this runoff. He's given a lot to this city without the large salary. He's the clear choice for Fort Worth.-- Don Beims, Fort WorthAs mayor, Betsy Price will bring a fresh approach to City Hall's struggle to come to grips with a crippled budget and extravagant pension plans for two powerful city employee groups that have paid for about two-thirds of her opponent's campaign expenses. These insider groups will be negotiating labor agreements and retirement benefits with the city after the runoff.Betsy is beholden only to taxpayers, not to special interests inside or outside city government. And with a long background in both business and government, she knows how to manage budgets and hold down costs.Betsy Price is the right person at the right time to become our mayor.-- Jim Pitts, Fort WorthElection letters
Letters endorsing political candidates should be no longer than 150 words and must have a full name, home street address, city of residence and both a home and daytime telephone number for verification. Letters about June 18 elections must be received by 5 p.m. Sunday, June 12.
E-mail (preferred; please do not send as an attachment): letters@star-telegram.com; Fax: 817-390-7688
Regular mail: Letters to the Editor/ Elections, P.O. Box 1870, Fort Worth, TX 76101
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