Who doesn’t enjoy thinking back on the great Ronald Reagan? One of my all time favorite Presidential debate moments is the part of one of the debates when President Reagan said “there you go again.” I really am enjoying it now in particular because it is such a good lead-in quote to use when commenting on the very liberal, very predictable, and very wrong-headed editorial comments by Allen Youngblood on his car wreck website.
For years I have heard from person after person after person what a wonderful person Ricky Brown is. In Republican circles his name has come up many times going back to two county chairmen ago. Ricky Brown has been mentioned as someone the Liberty County candidates committee should recruit since before Craig McNair even thought about running for county judge. But leave it to Allen “Sherlock Holmes” Youngblood to try and convince us all that there is something wrong with this recent appointment to be the interim county tax collector.
Though Youngblood tries to act like he has uncovered some big damning secret that should have disqualified our county judge from voting on who would be the interim county tax collector, all of his information should make most people like Ricky Brown’s appointment even more.
First, Youngblood’s secret spy work revealed to his readers that Ricky Brown has been a friend of the county judge a long time. That makes me think our county judge may have appointed someone he knew beyond the shadow of a doubt could be trusted with taxpayer money. It is good to once again have a county judge who is looking out for WE THE PEOPLE and it is good he appointed someone he holds in the highest of esteem.
Second, Youngblood breezes over Ricky Brown’s former position – a position that again recommends Brown as a highly qualified and highly trustworthy person. Youngblood had nothing to say that could actually discredit Ricky Brown so he just kind of skips through his article hoping he can make readers feel like he does – reminds me of an occasional effort by his counterpart in local radio.
Third, Youngblood acts as if he has a smoking gun. But his “ah ha” revelation again recommends Brown even more to those who think about what Youngblood is writing. Youngblood tries to imply that anyone who has worked at any business that has had anything to do with Judge McNair is disqualified. But Youngblood loves reading his own fleeting thoughts, so he writes beyond anything helpful to his case. He added the following description of Ricky Brown’s and Judge McNair’s past business dealings to his already flimsy and biased critique: “very normal in the course of real estate development”. So Youngblood accused and vindicated any idea of impropriety in this appointment all in one paragraph.
Youngblood is like John and Nancy Archer and maybe a few others busy liberal activists who are willing to express their goofy opinions in public – they are all frustrated. Judge McNair (and most of the other newly elected public officials) have made great strides in this county in a short period of time. Memories of one scandal after another and the residue of poor money management are the legacy of Youngblood’s beloved Democrats’ 100 year hold on power in this county. Now he is acting out because he can’t stand that the common sense approach and the success of this new group of officeholders will give little chance of his compadres mounting a challenge and winning back positions for Democrats.
Youngblood’s effort to bring a scandal to the public’s attention is not a total failure in this story. It is scandalous to many of us that Allen Youngblood would introduce the idea of criticizing an appointment when someone like Ricky Brown is the appointee. He certainly never criticized any of the Democrats’ appointees. Allen Youngblood, it seems, only gets his bloodhounds out for Republicans. He may on rare occasions snoop around when he sees a politically wounded and dying Democrat. But he will only criticize Democrats when he sees it will hurt what creditability he has left and it will hurt the Democratic Party. Otherwise his writing is like his life – leaning heavily to the left.
Too bad his name and his views will appear forever in cyberspace by Ricky Brown’s. But this article will leave most of us considering the source and it will be one more reason we are happy Ricky Brown was appointed. Most of Republicans should be happy with these results after many years of hoping Ricky Brown would one day hold a leadership position in Liberty County’s courthouse.
Many of us will look with great hope to Ricky Brown for leadership and, regretfully some among us will look to Allen Youngblood - not for leadership, but to check the car wreck scene out. “There he goes again”, Youngblood puffing on his Marlboro and chasing law enforcement’s chatter on the scanner. Go Allen go! Please Allen go… please. Please go.
Your hit piece backfired and it will continue to backfire. Almost every time a citizen meets Ricky Brown- Youngblood will be discredited even more.
Liberty County Sheriff's Office nabs Tommy Holmes for - Agg. Sexual Assault of a Child
Late yesterday afternoon, Deputies from the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office Crime Suppression Unit were assigned the task of tracking down, locating and apprehending a male, identified as Holmes, Tommy W/M 07/07/65 of Liberty County. Mr. Holmes was wanted for the Felony charge of Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child.
Throughout the investigation it was learned Mr. Homes was in fact a Fugitive on the run. Information was obtained indicating Mr. Holmes was hiding in a motel in the City of Atlanta, Texas. Deputies from the C.S.U., working with Law Enforcement Officials in Cass County, Texas were able to establish surveillance on the motel where Mr. Holmes was hiding. As a result of this surveillance operation, Mr. Holmes was positively identified by Officers on the surveillance detail and he (Holmes) was subsequently apprehended without incident.
Mr. Holmes indicated he was “going to turn himself in today.” However, members of the LCSO Crime Suppression Unit, by being resourceful and pro-active in their investigation were able to help him (Holmes) in his quest to surrender and will bring him back to Liberty County later today to face the serious criminal charge which is pending against him.
At this time there is no booking photograph available, however, as soon as one become available, it will be released.
By taking a “pro-active” stance against criminal activity, including but not limited to Narcotics, Burglary-Thefts, Violent Assaults to extremely serious cases such as the case listed above involving Mr. Holmes, the LCSO Crime Suppression Unit has been able to and shall continue aggressively seeking out criminal offenders throughout Liberty County and bring a close to Methamphetamine or other narcotics related labs/operations.
It should also be noted, citizens providing information to the Sheriff’s Office, whether by telephone or the web ( http://www.libertytxsheriff.com ), can remain anonymous. The valuable information citizens are providing us here at the LCSO is a tremendous asset to our endeavor in apprehending criminals and closing down criminal operations with Liberty County. With citizens and Law Enforcement working together in a pro-active manner, a significant difference can be made in our community.
Throughout the investigation it was learned Mr. Homes was in fact a Fugitive on the run. Information was obtained indicating Mr. Holmes was hiding in a motel in the City of Atlanta, Texas. Deputies from the C.S.U., working with Law Enforcement Officials in Cass County, Texas were able to establish surveillance on the motel where Mr. Holmes was hiding. As a result of this surveillance operation, Mr. Holmes was positively identified by Officers on the surveillance detail and he (Holmes) was subsequently apprehended without incident.
Mr. Holmes indicated he was “going to turn himself in today.” However, members of the LCSO Crime Suppression Unit, by being resourceful and pro-active in their investigation were able to help him (Holmes) in his quest to surrender and will bring him back to Liberty County later today to face the serious criminal charge which is pending against him.
At this time there is no booking photograph available, however, as soon as one become available, it will be released.
By taking a “pro-active” stance against criminal activity, including but not limited to Narcotics, Burglary-Thefts, Violent Assaults to extremely serious cases such as the case listed above involving Mr. Holmes, the LCSO Crime Suppression Unit has been able to and shall continue aggressively seeking out criminal offenders throughout Liberty County and bring a close to Methamphetamine or other narcotics related labs/operations.
It should also be noted, citizens providing information to the Sheriff’s Office, whether by telephone or the web ( http://www.libertytxsheriff.com ), can remain anonymous. The valuable information citizens are providing us here at the LCSO is a tremendous asset to our endeavor in apprehending criminals and closing down criminal operations with Liberty County. With citizens and Law Enforcement working together in a pro-active manner, a significant difference can be made in our community.
YOUR “SLUSH FUND” IS OUR MONEY, MR. LITTLE
Could someone please tell our District Attorney that the money he is treating as his own personal “slush fund” belongs to us?
Controversial District Attorney Mike Little could have done what some media conscious politicians would have done and voluntarily taken larger than required budget cuts in his department, but he did not. He sat through the harsh reality of the results of years of his fellow Democrats have done to this county and watched silently as layoffs and consolidations and across the board cuts were discussed. He sat like he could do nothing about it. But is that true?
The truth is a large part of the problem can be traced back to Mike Little. The media fails to connect the dots. Mike Little refused to prosecute former County Judge Phil Fitzgerald and Commissioner Lee Groce just months after the two men voted to increase Little’s already robust budget. Little turned his head and looked the other way and enjoyed the benefit of his relationship to these men – which resulted in an increase of $150,000 year after year. Little shut down anyone who talked about pursuing Fitzgerald’s use of FEMA equipment for personal gain.
But the question remains, what can Little do about helping the county in a budget crisis? The Commissioners’ Court already cut his budget back closer to the pre-Fitzgerald numbers. He can do plenty. Preliminary reports indicate Mike Little has between $1,000,000 and $2,500,000 in money generated by confiscating money in criminal cases. Little has not only sat silently like he can do nothing about helping taxpayers, he has REFUSED TO TELL WE THE PEOPLE how much money he has in this fund.
“Hello, Mr. Little, it is our money!” And when you drive that SUV you bought with the taxpayer’s money, remember that is our vehicle. You have not been given a raise that includes a vehicle. You have treated yourself to millions of perks we never offered you.
Voters can tell by all of the wrangling in Washington D.C. about the national debt and the budget that it will take years to get our economic house in order. But I am happy to report it is becoming increasingly obvious that under County Judge Craig McNair’s leadership, Liberty County may have its economic house in order by the end of the year and WE THE PEOPLE can enjoy seeing things get better and better in the years to come. But we can still do better. Zero out Mike Little’s budget, if he continues to sit back like that is his money.
Good, hard working public servants are working in our courthouse for just a fraction of what Mike Little makes. He is willing to watch some of them lose their jobs and act like there is nothing that can be done. He is willing to make all of those who keep their job work harder to make up for being short handed.
Soon and very soon, we will have a chance to voice our opinion on Little’s behavior. Soon, some of those employees who make about 20% of what Mike Little makes, they will get to let him know how they feel about him. And we won’t be left short handed; we will be left with a fresh start. We will be left with a courthouse culture with a relatively clean slate. A culture that we can hope once again will work hard to serve us all well.
Democrats treat the taxpayer’s money like it is their own and Liberty County DA Mike Little is a classic example. Liberty County history shows democrat financial thinking is self-absorbed and narcissistic- the reason Liberty County is in such a bad financial state. Mike Little historically is the last chapter of this arrogant, corrupt and dark Liberty County financial history.
Controversial District Attorney Mike Little could have done what some media conscious politicians would have done and voluntarily taken larger than required budget cuts in his department, but he did not. He sat through the harsh reality of the results of years of his fellow Democrats have done to this county and watched silently as layoffs and consolidations and across the board cuts were discussed. He sat like he could do nothing about it. But is that true?
The truth is a large part of the problem can be traced back to Mike Little. The media fails to connect the dots. Mike Little refused to prosecute former County Judge Phil Fitzgerald and Commissioner Lee Groce just months after the two men voted to increase Little’s already robust budget. Little turned his head and looked the other way and enjoyed the benefit of his relationship to these men – which resulted in an increase of $150,000 year after year. Little shut down anyone who talked about pursuing Fitzgerald’s use of FEMA equipment for personal gain.
But the question remains, what can Little do about helping the county in a budget crisis? The Commissioners’ Court already cut his budget back closer to the pre-Fitzgerald numbers. He can do plenty. Preliminary reports indicate Mike Little has between $1,000,000 and $2,500,000 in money generated by confiscating money in criminal cases. Little has not only sat silently like he can do nothing about helping taxpayers, he has REFUSED TO TELL WE THE PEOPLE how much money he has in this fund.
“Hello, Mr. Little, it is our money!” And when you drive that SUV you bought with the taxpayer’s money, remember that is our vehicle. You have not been given a raise that includes a vehicle. You have treated yourself to millions of perks we never offered you.
Voters can tell by all of the wrangling in Washington D.C. about the national debt and the budget that it will take years to get our economic house in order. But I am happy to report it is becoming increasingly obvious that under County Judge Craig McNair’s leadership, Liberty County may have its economic house in order by the end of the year and WE THE PEOPLE can enjoy seeing things get better and better in the years to come. But we can still do better. Zero out Mike Little’s budget, if he continues to sit back like that is his money.
Good, hard working public servants are working in our courthouse for just a fraction of what Mike Little makes. He is willing to watch some of them lose their jobs and act like there is nothing that can be done. He is willing to make all of those who keep their job work harder to make up for being short handed.
Soon and very soon, we will have a chance to voice our opinion on Little’s behavior. Soon, some of those employees who make about 20% of what Mike Little makes, they will get to let him know how they feel about him. And we won’t be left short handed; we will be left with a fresh start. We will be left with a courthouse culture with a relatively clean slate. A culture that we can hope once again will work hard to serve us all well.
Democrats treat the taxpayer’s money like it is their own and Liberty County DA Mike Little is a classic example. Liberty County history shows democrat financial thinking is self-absorbed and narcissistic- the reason Liberty County is in such a bad financial state. Mike Little historically is the last chapter of this arrogant, corrupt and dark Liberty County financial history.
LIBERTY COUNTY DA MIKE LITTLE ATTEMPTS TO QUIETLY COVER-UP HIS AND ADA'S CORRUPT ACTS
As of 08/01/11, Liberty County DA Mike Little has taken over the three cases ADA Joe Warren was to prosecute against clients of defense attorney James Evans. Two of Evans’ clients are charged in the alleged “Cleveland Rape Case”.
Readers will remember that Liberty County DA Mike Little refused to suspend or fire ADA Joe Warren after he was arrested for “Witness Tampering” – “Terroristic Threats” and “Deadly Conduct”. In response to Mike Little’s and Warren’s corrupt actions, attorney Evans’ filed a “Motion to Disqualify” ADA Joe Warren. In a highly anticipated move, it is alleged that Liberty County DA Mike Little is attempting to cover-up his corrupt acts by quietly removing Warren from Evans’ cases.
Evan’s motion against Joe Warren of a “Motion to Disqualify” will move forward on 08/12/11 at 10:30am. It is also anticipated that other defense attorneys in the alleged “Cleveland Rape Case” will also join or follow Evans’ motion in order to responsibly protect their clients interest.
The Joe Warren arrest is part of a broadening ‘corruption probe’ by the Liberty County Sheriff Henry Patterson, Special Crimes Unit and Department.
Readers will remember that Liberty County DA Mike Little refused to suspend or fire ADA Joe Warren after he was arrested for “Witness Tampering” – “Terroristic Threats” and “Deadly Conduct”. In response to Mike Little’s and Warren’s corrupt actions, attorney Evans’ filed a “Motion to Disqualify” ADA Joe Warren. In a highly anticipated move, it is alleged that Liberty County DA Mike Little is attempting to cover-up his corrupt acts by quietly removing Warren from Evans’ cases.
Evan’s motion against Joe Warren of a “Motion to Disqualify” will move forward on 08/12/11 at 10:30am. It is also anticipated that other defense attorneys in the alleged “Cleveland Rape Case” will also join or follow Evans’ motion in order to responsibly protect their clients interest.
The Joe Warren arrest is part of a broadening ‘corruption probe’ by the Liberty County Sheriff Henry Patterson, Special Crimes Unit and Department.
BROWN 3 TO 2
After almost two hours in closed session, the Liberty County Commissioners Court, named Ricky Brown, 57 of Dayton as the interim Liberty County Tax Assessor/Collector. Brown will serve in that position until December 31, 2012 and longer if he is elected in the November 2012 elections.
Commissioner Melvin Hunt opened nominations by pushing current Tax Assessor/Collector Chief Deputy Doris Jones. That motion was seconded by Commissioner Todd Fontenot. As Liberty Dispatch predicted, both of these two long time Democrat politicians supported the retiring tax collector, Mark McClelland’s handpicked choice for replacing himself.
Just as Liberty Dispatch hoped, the first two votes against Doris Jones were from Republican Commissioners Charlotte Warner and Norman Brown. Liberty County Judge Craig McNair, also a Republican, broke the tie with his “no” vote.
Next, Commissioner Norman Brown nominated Ricky Brown and Charlotte Warner seconded that motion. Commissioners Fontenot and Commissioner Hunt voted against that motion, and again Judge McNair broke the tie with his “yes” vote. Ricky Brown, the retired president of Capital Farm Credit, and current Dayton City Council member, was sworn into office at the conclusion of the commissioner’s court meeting.
Immediately following the meeting, Chief Deputy Doris Jones filed her retirement papers, effective July 31st, seventeen months before she was thought to be planning her retirement. With all due respect to Jones, her actions after the meeting should help to confirm that Brown was the best choice. Rather than stay on and help the transition and serve the people of Liberty County, Jones is refusing to serve the same seventeen months in the same job she had planned to serve before McClelland’s unexpected retirement. Jones instead has opted to use her immediate, on the spot retirement, to show her contempt for the selection, or perhaps the whole process. This sudden decision by Jones is a regretful move for someone who has day in and day out done her job in the tax collector’s office.
But the voters should be shaking their heads “yes” to the selection of Ricky Brown. As one person wrote in the LD comments: “Honest and fair, excellent supervisory skills, no connections to the courthouse, has an excellent background in business/finance and can be trusted to do the right thing... I'll take Rick Brown any day!!!”
While some may see the above abbreviated analysis of this selection indicates something overly partisan, they must consider the goals of many in casting their votes in the last election included getting away from the good ole boy system. Many, who wanted to end the good ole boy system immediately, bristled at the idea of a public servant like McClelland trying to force his replacement to be chosen. Many voters want a fresh start. Besides, few voters ever want someone so close to retirement appointed, much less one that gained an appointment by the influence of someone connected to a political machine that is clearly on its way out.
McClelland, a diehard Democrat, may have retired prematurely because he had very little chance of carrying his Democratic credentials to victory in November 2012. Who knows? When major shifts happen in politics, it may be common for politicians to want to have someone friendly towards them to come after them. When that happens it lessens criticisms and revelations that could occur after they leave. The nominations and the vote today were predicted by Liberty Dispatch. The result is a good one. The next tax collector has no ties to the last one. For those who suspect some good ole boy wheeling and dealing was going on, it is time for celebration. For others, you will soon find that Ricky Brown will make an excellent tax collector.
Commissioner Melvin Hunt opened nominations by pushing current Tax Assessor/Collector Chief Deputy Doris Jones. That motion was seconded by Commissioner Todd Fontenot. As Liberty Dispatch predicted, both of these two long time Democrat politicians supported the retiring tax collector, Mark McClelland’s handpicked choice for replacing himself.
Just as Liberty Dispatch hoped, the first two votes against Doris Jones were from Republican Commissioners Charlotte Warner and Norman Brown. Liberty County Judge Craig McNair, also a Republican, broke the tie with his “no” vote.
Next, Commissioner Norman Brown nominated Ricky Brown and Charlotte Warner seconded that motion. Commissioners Fontenot and Commissioner Hunt voted against that motion, and again Judge McNair broke the tie with his “yes” vote. Ricky Brown, the retired president of Capital Farm Credit, and current Dayton City Council member, was sworn into office at the conclusion of the commissioner’s court meeting.
Immediately following the meeting, Chief Deputy Doris Jones filed her retirement papers, effective July 31st, seventeen months before she was thought to be planning her retirement. With all due respect to Jones, her actions after the meeting should help to confirm that Brown was the best choice. Rather than stay on and help the transition and serve the people of Liberty County, Jones is refusing to serve the same seventeen months in the same job she had planned to serve before McClelland’s unexpected retirement. Jones instead has opted to use her immediate, on the spot retirement, to show her contempt for the selection, or perhaps the whole process. This sudden decision by Jones is a regretful move for someone who has day in and day out done her job in the tax collector’s office.
But the voters should be shaking their heads “yes” to the selection of Ricky Brown. As one person wrote in the LD comments: “Honest and fair, excellent supervisory skills, no connections to the courthouse, has an excellent background in business/finance and can be trusted to do the right thing... I'll take Rick Brown any day!!!”
While some may see the above abbreviated analysis of this selection indicates something overly partisan, they must consider the goals of many in casting their votes in the last election included getting away from the good ole boy system. Many, who wanted to end the good ole boy system immediately, bristled at the idea of a public servant like McClelland trying to force his replacement to be chosen. Many voters want a fresh start. Besides, few voters ever want someone so close to retirement appointed, much less one that gained an appointment by the influence of someone connected to a political machine that is clearly on its way out.
McClelland, a diehard Democrat, may have retired prematurely because he had very little chance of carrying his Democratic credentials to victory in November 2012. Who knows? When major shifts happen in politics, it may be common for politicians to want to have someone friendly towards them to come after them. When that happens it lessens criticisms and revelations that could occur after they leave. The nominations and the vote today were predicted by Liberty Dispatch. The result is a good one. The next tax collector has no ties to the last one. For those who suspect some good ole boy wheeling and dealing was going on, it is time for celebration. For others, you will soon find that Ricky Brown will make an excellent tax collector.
LCSO Top Ten Most Wanted - 5 of ten most wanted arrested in last 72 hours
As of this afternoon, August 1, 2011, five of the ten persons who currently comprise the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office “Top Ten” most wanted have been apprehended within the last 72 hours. The Sheriff’s Office new pro-active “Crime Suppression Unit” actively sought out these individuals over this weekend and into today. Assisting in this endeavor today were two Investigators from the LCSO’s Cleveland Station.
The five fugitives in custody have been identified as;
Tanton, Billy Joe DWI/With child under 15yoa in vehicle
Evans, Timothy Probation Violation –P.C.S.
Herrin Jr., David P.C.S.
Coleman, James D.W.I. 3rd Offense
Baustista, Rigoberto P.C.S.
All of these Fugitives have been wanted for some time and are now in custody. By working with information received from the public, Sheriff’s Deputies with the Crime Suppression Unit were able to locate and safely apprehend these persons, clearing their outstanding Felony warrants. Once again, by working together with citizens and taking a “pro-active” stance against crime, the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office has been able to close out more cases and make more arrests.
The “Top Ten” list can be accessed, 24 hours a day at http://www.libertytxsheriff.com along with helpful information about the LCSO and several additional formats to assist with services such as anonymously reporting criminal activity, filing for extra patrols and our newest service, on-line reporting, where citizens can complete a minor incident/information report without any delay and obtain an on-line case number , immediately receiving a copy of the report for their records via their e-mail.
While the LCSO’s web site has proven to be a valuable asset for the Department, nothing can replace the strength of combined efforts from concerned, alert and motivated citizens with members of the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office in making our community safer.
The five fugitives in custody have been identified as;
Tanton, Billy Joe DWI/With child under 15yoa in vehicle
Evans, Timothy Probation Violation –P.C.S.
Herrin Jr., David P.C.S.
Coleman, James D.W.I. 3rd Offense
Baustista, Rigoberto P.C.S.
All of these Fugitives have been wanted for some time and are now in custody. By working with information received from the public, Sheriff’s Deputies with the Crime Suppression Unit were able to locate and safely apprehend these persons, clearing their outstanding Felony warrants. Once again, by working together with citizens and taking a “pro-active” stance against crime, the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office has been able to close out more cases and make more arrests.
The “Top Ten” list can be accessed, 24 hours a day at http://www.libertytxsheriff.com along with helpful information about the LCSO and several additional formats to assist with services such as anonymously reporting criminal activity, filing for extra patrols and our newest service, on-line reporting, where citizens can complete a minor incident/information report without any delay and obtain an on-line case number , immediately receiving a copy of the report for their records via their e-mail.
While the LCSO’s web site has proven to be a valuable asset for the Department, nothing can replace the strength of combined efforts from concerned, alert and motivated citizens with members of the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office in making our community safer.
RICKY BROWN TO HEAD UP TAX COLLECTING
Monday morning County Judge Craig McNair and all four of our county’s commissioners met to choose a replacement for retiring Liberty County’s retired tax collector Mark McClelland. The result was the appointment of Ricky Brown of Dayton.
Congratulations to Mr. Brown! Conservative Republicans have stood on the sideline for decades and watched the good ole boy system replace, appoint, and elect Democrats and people who have been unwilling to help change the county. Your appointment is encouraging to all of us who want professional business people to go into the courthouse and with fresh eyes look to improve the way business is conducted in our county.
Friendly service from the tax collector’s office is important and a sense that everyone is being dealt with in a fair and equal manner is imperative. The tax collector’s office deals with a variety of citizens, but inevitably some are under a great deal of stress when they come down to pay taxes. That office has some really good people in it and helping them create a friendly warm work environment with a professional approach tempered with a compassionate tone is what most taxpayers expect. Ricky Brown will be good at all of this.
The majority of negative comments about this department sent to Liberty Dispatch have involved the duplication of voter registration cards and suspicions about past large payments made to John Archer and other financial arrangements Mark McClelland made to deal with delinquent taxes. Someone new and sharp like Ricky Brown gives Liberty County an opportunity to clean up the past and to build a better future.
Congratulations to Mr. Brown! Conservative Republicans have stood on the sideline for decades and watched the good ole boy system replace, appoint, and elect Democrats and people who have been unwilling to help change the county. Your appointment is encouraging to all of us who want professional business people to go into the courthouse and with fresh eyes look to improve the way business is conducted in our county.
Friendly service from the tax collector’s office is important and a sense that everyone is being dealt with in a fair and equal manner is imperative. The tax collector’s office deals with a variety of citizens, but inevitably some are under a great deal of stress when they come down to pay taxes. That office has some really good people in it and helping them create a friendly warm work environment with a professional approach tempered with a compassionate tone is what most taxpayers expect. Ricky Brown will be good at all of this.
The majority of negative comments about this department sent to Liberty Dispatch have involved the duplication of voter registration cards and suspicions about past large payments made to John Archer and other financial arrangements Mark McClelland made to deal with delinquent taxes. Someone new and sharp like Ricky Brown gives Liberty County an opportunity to clean up the past and to build a better future.
CONTINUING TO BUILD A NEW RESPECT
Some insiders have described the atmosphere in the courthouse as a “breath of fresh air” and others have said “there is cooperation around here built around doing positive things rather than twisting arms.” For the first time in a very long time Liberty County voters have elected citizens from among us that are in no way connected with the good ole boy system that has been taxing and spending and using political tactics to take what they wanted. The result has been a group of people who have answered the budget crisis we have here in Liberty County with a great deal less controversy and delay than we have seen in Washington D.C.
If voters want to see growth of a continuing cooperative effort to reform our local government in substantive ways, they must hope that our commissioners and county judge use their power and influence to bring in new people with fresh ideas and energy. The next opportunity they have to do this will be the way they handle the replacement of long time county tax collector/assessor Mark McClelland.
Four people have been named as replacements to be considered for replacing McClelland. The four names are JoAnn Smith, Dennis Odell, Ricky Brown, and David Taylor. We have no reason to believe any of these people have not been good parents and good citizens, but in order to continue to build a positive forward marching courthouse without some of the problems of the past, two of these candidates seem to be better than the other two.
First, long time Liberty County employee JoAnn Smith has been part of McClelland’s team for many many years and anyone wanting to see change and a fresh approach will by definition wish Mrs. Smith the best but hope she is not the choice of commissioners court. Despite the well known fact she is within months of her planned retirement, Mrs. Smith is most likely to receive support from long time Democratic officeholders Todd Fontenot and Melvin Hunt. Both of these men may still be having trouble digesting the decisions voters made in the last election and they may ignore any message voters have sent and support Mrs. Smith.
Second, former County Judge Phil Fitzgerald’s personally appointed assistant to help with FEMA, Dennis Odell has several problems that don’t eliminate him, but would make many voters wonder why commissioners and the county judge would choose anyone like Mr. Odell with a cloud over their selection. The first cloud is Odell’s connection to Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald has been indicted for serious crimes and Odell was in a position to see discrepancies that would have caught him much earlier. Instead, Odell publicly brags that the records he was paid to keep will prove Fitzgerald is a criminal. Can we afford Odell in another position where he can just file away crimes like he did in the FEMA scandal? We need public officials to take responsibility and stop allowing people around them to rip off us taxpayers. Odell may somehow think opening his files when federal officials demand his cooperation proves he is ready for higher office, but should we agree with him?
Choosing either of the other two gentlemen reported to be in the hunt for this office would signal to voters that the commissioners and the county judge understand their desire for fresh faces with professional approaches to public service. Ricky Brown is well respected by those who know him in the Dayton area and he is known as a very capable, community-minded asset to this community. David Taylor is also known to possess many of the attributes we look for in public servants and most of those who have worked for him say he is the best boss ever. Though all four of the candidates may do a good job if selected, considering the shift toward positive change in the courthouse, these two gentlemen have distinct advantages over the other two.
If voters want to see growth of a continuing cooperative effort to reform our local government in substantive ways, they must hope that our commissioners and county judge use their power and influence to bring in new people with fresh ideas and energy. The next opportunity they have to do this will be the way they handle the replacement of long time county tax collector/assessor Mark McClelland.
Four people have been named as replacements to be considered for replacing McClelland. The four names are JoAnn Smith, Dennis Odell, Ricky Brown, and David Taylor. We have no reason to believe any of these people have not been good parents and good citizens, but in order to continue to build a positive forward marching courthouse without some of the problems of the past, two of these candidates seem to be better than the other two.
First, long time Liberty County employee JoAnn Smith has been part of McClelland’s team for many many years and anyone wanting to see change and a fresh approach will by definition wish Mrs. Smith the best but hope she is not the choice of commissioners court. Despite the well known fact she is within months of her planned retirement, Mrs. Smith is most likely to receive support from long time Democratic officeholders Todd Fontenot and Melvin Hunt. Both of these men may still be having trouble digesting the decisions voters made in the last election and they may ignore any message voters have sent and support Mrs. Smith.
Second, former County Judge Phil Fitzgerald’s personally appointed assistant to help with FEMA, Dennis Odell has several problems that don’t eliminate him, but would make many voters wonder why commissioners and the county judge would choose anyone like Mr. Odell with a cloud over their selection. The first cloud is Odell’s connection to Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald has been indicted for serious crimes and Odell was in a position to see discrepancies that would have caught him much earlier. Instead, Odell publicly brags that the records he was paid to keep will prove Fitzgerald is a criminal. Can we afford Odell in another position where he can just file away crimes like he did in the FEMA scandal? We need public officials to take responsibility and stop allowing people around them to rip off us taxpayers. Odell may somehow think opening his files when federal officials demand his cooperation proves he is ready for higher office, but should we agree with him?
Choosing either of the other two gentlemen reported to be in the hunt for this office would signal to voters that the commissioners and the county judge understand their desire for fresh faces with professional approaches to public service. Ricky Brown is well respected by those who know him in the Dayton area and he is known as a very capable, community-minded asset to this community. David Taylor is also known to possess many of the attributes we look for in public servants and most of those who have worked for him say he is the best boss ever. Though all four of the candidates may do a good job if selected, considering the shift toward positive change in the courthouse, these two gentlemen have distinct advantages over the other two.
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