H-E-B House seat; sheriff’s race; horse racing; abortion rights
H-E-B House seat
At this time 22 years ago, Scott Fisher was being introduced around Bedford as the mayor-to-be. He was supported by local politicians. The voters didn’t agree.
He came with some baggage. Because of his connection with the Christian Coalition, a PAC opposed his candidacy and put up 4-by-8-foot signs saying, “Don’t let Pat Robertson take over our city.”
State Rep. Jonathan Stickland won’t sit quietly in his District 92 seat and vote the way the professional politicians in Austin want him to. So a group of good-ol’-boy professional politicians endorsed Fisher.
You have a choice: Continue to be represented or let professional politicians decide what’s best for you.
John Hogg, Bedford
Sheriff’s race
Bill Waybourn in an honorable person.
But his qualifications as sheriff of Tarrant County are like those of somebody who has sold ice cream from a vending cart in downtown Fort Worth for 10 years. That doesn’t make him eligible to be CEO of Ben & Jerry’s.
Dalworthington Gardens most likely has the most enforced speed limit of any city in Tarrant County. If a police department generates a large amount of the city budget, the chief’s job is safe.
As for his celebrity endorsements, those and $1.69 will get you a cup of coffee almost anywhere.
Sheriff Dee Anderson has done an excellent job managing his budget and running a jail with hundreds of inmates. He deserves another four years.
Walter Degner, Arlington
Horse racing
It seems very confusing to me that Texans are able to carry handguns openly, but have to drive to Oklahoma or Louisiana to go to a casino.
And now all the hoopla about historical horse racing.
Why not allow casino gambling in Texas and lower everyone’s property taxes?
Why not improve the public schools? Build better roads, and update our infrastructure with the proceeds?
Lee S. Anderson,
Fort Worth
Abortion rights
The decision by a grand jury in Houston vindicating Planned Parenthood and instead indicting the people who fraudulently tried to defame it is reassuring to those of us who still retain hope for nonpartisan justice.
Unfortunately, this will not stop the opponents of reproductive rights from braying for Planned Parenthood’s destruction, as they have for the 100 years of its existence.
Those of us who believe in the right of women to participate in spheres of life in addition to that of motherhood will continue to support their work of providing health and contraceptive care to all who need it.
Frances Lyle, Fort Worth
This story was originally published February 11, 2016 at 5:14 PM with the headline "H-E-B House seat; sheriff’s race; horse racing; abortion rights."