County Redistricting

All Politics Is Local

The McLennan County Commissioners are considering which, if any, Justice of the Peace and Constable positions should be redistricted. Two public meetings were held, Tuesday and Thursday evenings, where citizens could comment.

The Waco Tea Party, Inc. does not have an opinion on which ones should be kept or consolidated, we are not redistricting experts and keeping in compliance with the Voting Rights Act is more complicated than the average person understands.  We simply provide you with the information supplied by the Commissioners Court. Each citizen is then better informed and can make up their own minds and weigh in on the issue.

If you missed the notice:

"In accordance with the requirements of Article 5, Section 18(a) of the Texas Constitution, the McLennan County Commissioners Court is charged with the responsibility from time to time, for the convenience of the people, to consider the division of the Justice of the Peace and Constable Offices. The Constitution provides that the County shall be divided into not less than four (4) and not more than eight (8) precincts. There are currently eight (8) Justice of the Peace Offices and seven (7) Constable Offices. The Commissioners Court of McLennan County, Texas is considering reducing the number of its Justice of the Peace/Constable Precincts to more effectively and efficiently serve the public. Public hearings will be held before the Commissioners Court for the purpose of receiving community comment upon the potential redistricting of the Justice of the Peace/Constable Precincts."

If you missed the meeting and would like to contact the County Commissioners to voice you opinion or learn more about why and how they will be redistricting the county their contact information is below.

County Judge, Scott Felton	dustin.chapman@co.mclennan.tx.us	254-757-5049
Precinct 1, Commissioner Snell	chrissy.brault@co.mclennan.tx.us	254-757-5061
Precinct 2, Commissioner Gibson	lester.gibson@co.mclennan.tx.us	254-757-5062
Precinct 3, Commissioner Jones	will.jones@co.mclennan.tx.us	254-757-5063
Precinct 4, Commissioner Perry	ben.perry@co.mclennan.tx.us	254-757-5064

The Waco Tea Party, Inc., as an organization, has not taken a position on the redistricting. We believe in Constitutionally Limited Government, that does not mean "anti-government" or "no government". We expect elected officials to follow the rule of law, and to act inside their bounds of the United States and Texas Constitutions. The County Commissioners are acting within their responsibility, whether you agree with the outcome or not, the process is within their authority and duty. 

That being said, we also find the amount of information for citizens to make intelligent and informed decisions is almost non existent. If the Commissioners would like people to understand their positions they must better communicate with the public. Fact sheets which should include costs and projected savings, process description, and other pertinent information should be readily available on their website. In an age of increased social media and technology there is no reason why they cannot be more informative. If they were a business and wanted their customers to understand a change or product they would fail miserably. If they want to shove change down citizens throat they shouldn't be surprised when there is blowback. 

If they really want their constituents to "buy in" to the change they need to learn how to communicate more effectively. Holding precinct meetings where questions could be asked and answered rather than only holding a public hearing for comments would have been more helpful and caused less fear mongering and misinformation to go around the county. The city of Waco has had many meetings for the public on various topics in the past that have been much better received, perhaps the Commissioners could learn a few lessons from them for the future.

We also believe in fiscal responsibility, and the county hasn't been as fiscally responsible as they could have been in years past. Hopefully, they will continue to improve upon their budgeting process and try to correct past practices that have caused spending to go up year after year which in turn, causes our taxes to go up too.

Cutting the size and scope of government in the county is going to be necessary if we do not want to see bigger and bigger property tax bills in our mailboxes. We also know that it has to be balanced cuts and means reduced services at times. Commissioners are tasked with making decisions that are most effective an in an unemotional, and sensible manner. It means inconveniencing some citizens at times. It is uncomfortable, especially when it means eliminating positions of elected officials and employees that do work hard for the county and its citizens. 

There have been numerous complaints about "how" and "why" the Commissioners are addressing this issue. While we appreciate citizens frustrations, we must stress that emailing us or calling us will not accomplish as much as you contacting your elected officials, they represent you in these matters. 

The Waco Tribune Herald has written a story about the redistricting, and being that one of our officers was quoted, we felt it important to give you her complete testimony.  Carol Waddell was there as a citizen of West, and not representing the Waco Tea Party, Inc. at the public hearing. Carol was exercising her right to address the Court, and has every right to do so. We encourage everyone to participate in the political process, whether their position is the same as the organization or any one of our officers personal opinions or not, what matters is that citizens are involved in the process.  

If you have a differing opinion or supporting letter we invite you to submit it to us by email. (We ask that you send the response as a Word document, limit it to 600 words or less, keep it family friendly, and on topic.)

"Good evening, as everyone in this room knows at every level of government we are buried in a sea of debt and if we plan to continue to function as a country, state, and county then there are tough decisions to be made to rein in spending and have more cost effective government.  So to that end, I applaud the commissioner’s court for looking for avenues to make those tough decisions and cut costs of county government that is paid by the tax payers.

However, there are necessary services that governments are charged with providing to the taxpayers and that we as taxpayers should receive.  The problem with the plan you are proposing is that it cuts services to rural taxpayers appears that once again in McLennan County if you don’t live in Waco you get crapped on.  Maybe you have done your homework and done a cost/revenue analysis of the county’s justice of peace courts.  If you have, why didn't you preface this plan by providing that information to the taxpayers and the communities that would be affected by this plan?

Are these offices in West and Mart truly losing money in the services that they provide to the respective communities?  Are there other JP courts in McLennan County that could be consolidated that would save money but not require the affected citizens to have to drive 45 miles to get the services or serve on jury duty? You seem to forget that you are the employees and the taxpayers of this county are in fact your bosses so the burden is on you to show us what is being done inefficiently, what is costing more than the revenue it generates, and then come up with solutions that still offer the services in a reasonable manner to the citizens but in a more cost effective manner.

Believe it or not, there are in fact citizens in the rural areas who do not drive to Waco or across the county and or do not have the means to do so.  Our JP offices do much more than just hold court and fine people in our communities, they help citizens young and old with a variety of issues and provide valuable services to the taxpayers.  So having people get up in a public hearing and accuse citizens of this county of being unpatriotic, greedy or needy doesn't do anything but cause animosity and contention where none should exist.

Except for our JPs and constables, the rural cities of McLennan County rarely see anyone from the county government unless there is a criminal act to be policed by the sheriff dept., a tragedy like the West explosion to deal with, or the presence of federal or state officials to have a photo op with.  So to propose cutting services on the heels of raising our taxes is another slap in our faces.  The county continues to spend money on things like Waco Chamber of Commerce dues, the Baylor football stadium, and the Economic Development Board, none of which benefits the outlying cities. According to your own CAFR report from 2012, 15.2% of the general fund is for economic development.  This increased from $1.15 million in 2011 to $2.295 million in 2012 and is the highest it has been in 10 years.  The main problem with that is that you only partnered with the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce and the City of Waco in this endeavor so once again, the rural cities of the county are not being served with the tax dollars we are paying.

I implore you as elected officials to do your homework, obtain some accurate cost/revenue analysis, and then come up with a common sense solution to our budget woes that doesn't negatively affect tax payers and put unnecessary burdens on them."

Welcome To Our New Website!

Welcome to the new year and a newly designed website.

As with most things in the Waco Tea Party, we learn by trial and error.  This year seems to be starting off no different.  As I was updating our website one morning not to long ago, I inadvertently deleted our old website format while "previewing" our provider's new web platform for dummies.  The silver lining is that I now know more about coding, HTML, and how to import widgets so that you, our readers, can enjoy a better designed website.  Or so I hope.

If you are a graphic designer and would like to help out, or if you know anything about how to manage a website, please volunteer!

Please take a look around, if you find an error please let us know, and if you think of any content you would like for us to incorporate feel free to suggest it.  I am obviously an amateur, so don't expect slick and sleek!

Thank you for your continued support as we enter our 5th year of tea partying!
Toby Marie 

The Tea Party Movement Turns Five Next Month!  

Join us in February for our birthday party!

February 20th

6-8:00 PM

​At the West Waco Library

House Defunds Obamacare!

House Strikes A Blow To Obamacare As you probably have heard, the House of Representatives has voted to fund government through December 15th of this year and to defund Obamacare.  In a bi-partisan vote (unlike the passage of the bill which went along party lines) of 230-189. Now the Senate will take up the Continuing Resolution, so the battle is on! Congressman Bill Flores sent out a press release about his vote to defund Obamacare.   “Following passage of the continuing resolution, I, along with all of my fellow Texas Republican colleagues, sent a letter to all the Senators asking them to continue the fight to stop ObamaCare. For the 2 ½ years I have been in Congress, the House has been vigilant in working to repeal this government takeover of health care – especially now as we are seeing the adverse affects that the implementation of this law is having on businesses and families alike. Now is the time for the Senate to follow the lead of the House and ensure ObamaCare is stopped.” You can read the full release here and the letter to the Senate here.  Please call Congressman Flores today and thank him for his vote, it is important to show him that we are supportive of his choice and appreciate the commitment to our district. Washington, DC Office: 202-225-6105 Waco Office: 254-732-0748 So, Now What? The US Senate will take up the House's CR and vote, there are a number of scenarios that could happen, including a possible filibuster to be led by Senator Cruz.   Senator Cruz issued the following statements, in part: “Today, the House of Representatives did what Washington pundits only a few weeks ago said was impossible: a strong bipartisan majority voted to defund Obamacare. This is a victory for House conservatives, and it is a victory for Speaker Boehner and Republican leadership. “The American people overwhelmingly oppose Obamacare — a program which is killing jobs, dragging down the economy, and harming the most vulnerable among us. They deserve a fight — and House Republicans are leading that charge. “But the House was just step one. Step two is the Senate, where all accounts suggest Harry Reid plans to use procedural gimmicks to try to add funding back in for Obamacare. “The fight to save America from Obamacare is just beginning — it may well go back and forth from the House and Senate several times — and a united Republican front means that Harry Reid and the President cannot ignore the American people.” To read Senator Cruz's full press release click here. Now Is The Time! If you have not signed the petition to defund Obamacare now is the time!  Share it with your friends, family, neighbors, and others.  Visit http://www.dontfundobamacare.com/ to sign the petition, let's get it to 3 million!*.(Note, this is a PAC website, however we are not asking you to donate, just to simply sign the petition). We also recommend calling your US Senators an asking them to stand firm, defund Obamacare, and fund the government.  There is no need for a shut down, we simply want to shut down Obamacare.   Get The Facts About Defunding Obamacare The Heritage Foundation has developed a great list of reasons why the ACA should be defunded, and replaced with a common sense solution that is doctor/patient centric.  Visit their website to learn more. Obamacare Deconstructed - The Movie  A movie about Obamacare, how it came to be, and the truth, with sourced research links in the description, is one of the best we have seen.  Please click here to watch the full movie - it is about 15 minutes - and arm yourself with the facts.  Then share it with others you know, show them the truth about Obamacare. Exempt Me! Our friends at Americans For Prosperity have begun an "Exempt Me" program to bring awareness to the onerous requirements of Obamacare.  We've tested it out and believe it is a great way to show how many Americans want to be exempt from the ACA - aka Obamacare.  Even if it is defunded we need to work on repealing, but it the mean time, let's get EVERYONE an exemption.  To ask for your exemption, click here!

Get Involved! Here's How!

Apathy in the political process is increasingly prevalent, Americans either don't care or are unaware, and even if they do care and do know what government is doing they don't know what to do about it.  Many people are under the misguided notion that there is nothing "We The People" can do, or that if we do speak out we are ignored, which is simply not true.  An active citizenry that is vocal with their elected officials can and often do make a difference.

So that brings us to "How" do you get involved and stay active? 

Posting to social media sites to your like minded friends is great to keep people informed. Social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest may spread a conservative message, encourage others to share the message, increase participation in events, increase voter turnout by reminding people to vote, and in many other ways.

However, if you are looking for more ways to be involved, consider one of the following:

• Attend a school board, city council, or county commissioners meeting -  Then write a short report about what they are considering or what they talked about during the meeting.  Then send it to your friends in an email, post it to a blog, submit a letter to editor of a local newspaper or other media (many TV and radio stations take those reports and do stories on them).  You don't have to be the reporter, just be the source for the reporter. 
• Attend a town hall or public hearing - Same as above. - Consider speaking at the meeting, most of the time citizens can make remarks at the beginning of public hearings or at the end of a town hall meeting.  Tell your story, how a tax or program will impact you, your family, or your business.
• Volunteer to help with your local political party. - We often complain about what the state or national parties are doing, but the real work is on the ground at a local level. If want the party to change you have to get involved with the party. We promise you that they are starving for volunteers!- You don't have to have a grand fundraiser, or raise thousands of dollars (but if you do that is great too).  If you simply get 10 people to donate $10 that pays for our radio show, newspaper, and email blast system for one month.
• Be a liaison between a public official, elected official or other organization. - Report to other like-minded organizations about what you are doing and offer to be a hub of communications.  This is more valuable that one may realize, it keeps us from overlapping events, duplicating efforts, and it also helps promote each other's organizations.
• Become a subject matter expert that people can trust. - Find a topic of interest, then blog about it (if you need help with blogging scroll down or ask us for help). Offer to give a presentation at a meeting or write articles for newsletters.  For example: C-SCOPE has become a hot topic in Texas, it is confusing and there are conflicting opinions on this issue.  Become the resident "expert" on this topic and inform others about what you learn and solutions to the problem. 

You can be more active on your own, start your own club/organization/group, or join one already established. Again, that is up to you and what you are most comfortable doing.

Volunteering For The Waco Tea Party 

There are a hundred ways to be active, and we have a lot of needs here are the Waco Tea Party, it's just a matter of matching your interests, skills, and availability to the tasks and positions. We have jobs for "lone wolfs" and "team players" - there is something for everyone.

Are you a graphic artist or can you edit video?  Can you do spreadsheets in Excel or create pamphlets in Word or Publisher?  Are you highly organized and willing to be the person to keep us on track at meetings?  Are you willing to research speakers for meetings and guests for our radio show?  Let us know and we'll keep you busy!

Which brings us to time. How much time you put into volunteering for the Waco Tea Party or any other organization is up to you. Like anything else in life, what you put into it is usually what you will get out of it. 

If you would like to volunteer with us send us an email and one of our Steering Committee Members will contact you. Or give us call at 254-307-8629 (leave a message if we don't pick up - we don't have regular office hours).  Or ask to meet with us and discuss the opportunities.

Come & Take It Texas!

FreedomWorks has launched a new program to challenge the efforts of Battleground Texas called "Come & Take It".  On Friday we held our first meeting, and to be honest we thought we would only get about a half dozen people, but were pleasantly surprised by the 35-40 who took the time to attend.  We know a lot of our supporters work during the day, so we will hold another meeting soon for those that missed it.

Most Texans understand the meaning of the phrase "Come & Take It", it is uniquely Texan and it is more than a phrase, it's an attitude. With so many people moving to our great state we found that a few of our newer supporters were confused by the phrase. Let us explain: No, it does not mean we want someone to take Texas, it means we challenge them to try to take it.

To learn more about the phrase click here.

Battleground Texas is a democratic operational plan to turn Texas purple then blue, and they have been fairly active in the Waco area for a few months now.  They are registering voters, holding meetings, passing out information about immigration (yes, they seem to want amnesty for all), and keeping the ACA (Obamacare).  

The Come & Take It initiative is being driven by the grassroots of the conservative movement; tea party, 912, liberty groups, and others. They have enlisted grassroots leaders from around the state to volunteer their time and efforts to the program. We aren't paid, however it is rewarding to see so many people get more involved in the political process and at the same time keep Texas values and ideals!

If you would like to sign up, visit: http://comeandtakeit.fwsites.org/ for more information.  We promise not to spam you or add you to third party lists.