Scandal in Keene mayor's race is small potatoes

By Bud Kennedy

bud@star-telegram.com

This year, even fried chicken is controversial.

The newest political food fight is in Johnson County, where a restaurateur running for mayor is in the legal fryer because he offered voters a discount at his plate-lunch cafe.

Former Mayor Dan Roberts wants the job back from Mayor John Ackermann in Keene, once a quiet enclave but now a growing town of 6,100.

According to the Keene Star, one of Roberts' campaign mailers for the Nov. 6 election includes a piddling 10-percent-off coupon at the Chaf-In Restaurant, Roberts' 92-year-old Cleburne landmark.

Roberts said he now faces a Texas Rangers investigation of a complaint that he's buying votes.

Since the coupon amounts to only 96 cents off a chicken dinner or $1.63 off a T-bone steak, this is not exactly a big-money investigation.

Under Texas law, it's OK to reward voters as long as they can vote however they please. But federal law is stricter, and those elections share the ballot.

Roberts didn't tell the Star much about the coupons or the complaint. He has campaigned against Keene's rising payroll.

Another former mayor, Roy Robinson, is also challenging Ackermann, elected in 2010.

The idea of food-for-votes has also drawn complaints in both Colorado and Ohio, where the Republican Party has filed formal state challenges because Democrats offered pizza to college students.

In Fort Worth, Buttons Restaurant executive Herbert Hughes wasn't sure if he should take my call

He and chef Keith Hicks cooked up a $12 discount for early voters today only on platters of fried chicken-and-waffles, pot roast, meatloaf or gumbo.

"Am I in trouble?" he asked, laughing.

"We just want to encourage everybody to vote. Is that so bad?"

Buttons hosted a campaign fundraiser for Democratic congressional candidate Marc Veasey, but has also hosted Republican events and an economic forum.

On Facebook, Hicks wrote: "Voting is cool katz. So I have something special for all of you who voted early."

The price is good for both left or right wing.

Bud Kennedy's column appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. 817-390-7538

Twitter: @budkennedy

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