Why we need an independent candidate for county judge

    When a candidate assumes office he swears to the effect that he has not promised anything for any vote, and that he will henceforth faithfully execute upon the law of the land.

    But wait a minute, if there is a party behind him, and if that party has an agenda, why would that party spend all that money for all those posters to get him in office?    To keep one of them from the other agenda from getting into office, of course. 

    And what becomes the issue in the election?  The agenda of one side vs. the agenda of the other side, of course. 

    A national campaign on the agenda of a party may be absolutely fine, for what is ultimately at stake is the law of the land that is made.  And the stakes are high.  Everything from taxes, to defense, to the federal judges who are appointed to tell us what the laws we previously made mean,  airport security, pollution laws, and you name it.

    But a local campaign on the agenda of party just does not do at the local level.  Van Zandt County makes no laws that I know of, unless one counts the burn bans in the summer.  Our problems are roads, how to pay for our jail, how to pay off on lost lawsuits, and how to avoid them, and such likes.

    And when a candidate from one side or the other gets into office, where does he go to for advice when he exercises the power of his office?  To someone of his side, whose conclusions he will accept, for he thinks just like him.

    The key lies in citizen involvement in presenting the issues to the officeholder.  As an independent I will be more open to all inputs.  Even as a candidate I will be drawing upon citizen involvement.  It is inherent in the manner I have chosen to run my campaign:  focus on the issues, and do so in an open forum.