Congressional District 17 Prospective Candidate Forum

Waco Tea Party held a forum Wednesday night for Congressional District 17 prospective candidates which was open to the public. The purpose of the forums is for voters to become more acquainted with candidates prior to Election day. Voting party line or because someone is cool, likable, good looking, or any other shallow criteria is dangerous. We are hoping voters will become more informed and more involved in politics, we need to get off the couch and get involved in our government. We ARE the government, elected officials work for us, not the other way around.

Seven gentlemen are either exploring the possibility of running for Congress or have filed to run in the 2010 race. Rob Curnock, Timothy Delasandro, Bill Flores, David McIntyre, Chuck Wilson, and Darren Yancy each accepted the invitation via email, and were gracious enough to take time out of their busy lives to allow the voters in our district to get to know them a little better.

Congressman Chet Edwards was invited via email (to his campaign manager and his office in D.C.) however the Waco Tea Party did not receive a response. Congressman Edwards did send a volunteer staffer to attend.

The perspective candidates all were given five minutes to introduce themselves and to explain why they may want to run for Congress to represent our district. After their comments each candidate was asked the same set of questions, and there were varied answers to many of them. If you would like to watch the forum you can view it on the Waco Tea Party website later in the week.

Rumors were abound that the Waco Tea Party took a straw poll.... Nope, sorry folks, we're leaving that up for you to decide. We will not endorse candidates as the Waco Tea Party.

Over 100 people attended the forum, coming from all over the district. Kosse, Burleson, College Station, Bryan, Waco, Hill County, West, and many more cities were will represented. Angie Cox, the Burleson Tea Party organizer, was in attendance as a representative and leading force of the HOT Tea Coalition. There will be more events around the area for the Congressional race and state/local races leading up to 2010 Elections.

Americans are given the right to vote, with that right comes the responsibility to know what or who you are voting for so that you can make an informed decision. How we vote locally matters nationally, and we can not decide how we are going to vote on Election day! I hope everyone will become more informed voters by learning more about candidates, legislation, and issues prior to voting. Attending events like the one on Wednesday night is a great first step.