Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-11-12 Euless Articles Dennis Bonnen got caught in a political trap. By retiring, he might save Republicans from it. He showed character, something the person who took him down could learn from. Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, pictured at a new conference in August, plans to retire from politics. (Deborah Cannon, Austin American-Statesman) By Dallas Morning News Editorial 9:27 AM on Oct 22, 2019 Dennis Bonnen’s decision to not only step down as speaker of the Texas House but to retire from politics altogether comes as a relief because it signals that character still matters in Texas politics, even if it seems to matter less and less in the nation at large. Bonnen’s position as speaker was at grave risk. But it’s entirely possible he could have held on as a representative. Doing so would have hurt his party and hurt the effort to build what must be a truly bipartisan legislature that works together toward common solutions for all Texans. What happened to Bonnen, though, is a lesson that political parties must learn and relearn over and over at the cost of all of the people they represent. In the ashes of Bonnen’s political career, we can sift out a fundamental problem that has chased American democracy since the founding. On his peaceful surrender of the first presidency, George Washington warned the nascent country that the division of political factions would tear at the country. Before he left office, in 1796, he wrote to Thomas Jefferson, "I was no party man myself ... and the first wish of my heart was, if parties did exist, to reconcile them.” Washington had no fear of letting the best of all ideas surface from any side to be considered in the light of what was best for the country. Bonnen’s problem as a legislative leader, and the thing that led to his downfall, was what he saw as the necessity of dealing with a person for whom party division is absolutely central to political life. Michael Quinn Sullivan, an unelected blogger, could never be satisfied with compromise across the aisle. It was always all or nothing, driving ever farther to the right even as suburban districts pulled back to the left. Good conservative legislators got caught in between, and Sullivan helped ensure they lost their offices by supporting politicians for whom political battle, not policy agreement, was the first order of business. The results have been predictable. A correction is afoot. The electorate is pulling away. Bonnen understood that. He was and is a smart political thinker, as well as a good policy leader. He saw that if he didn’t somehow persuade Sullivan to stop running candidates well outside the mainstream in Republican primaries, the GOP would lose its House majority. That may yet happen. Bonnen’s error was in imagining that a person like Sullivan — or name any other unelected political media personality — was genuinely interested in a functioning majority. When the fight is the point and when the factional division is what comes first, there is no sense in trying to trade. Sullivan recorded Bonnen’s comments and destroyed his career. Potential political disaster for Texas Republicans is the result. It’s a perfect outcome for Sullivan, and a terrible one for governance. As for Bonnen, he is leaving. He demonstrated himself as untrustworthy to his party and to his constituents, whatever he might have been trying to accomplish. At the very least, though, his decision suggests he is a person of depth, someone who can put something larger than himself above himself. And that is to his credit and to the benefit of Texas. This editorial was written by the editorial board and serves as the voice and opinion of The Dallas Morning News. House Speaker Dennis Bonnen may be gone, but the fight over local control continues BY RICHARD GREENE OCTOBER 25, 2019 05:02 AM, UPDATED OCTOBER 25, 2019 12:32 PM Prior to and during the Legislature’s last session, readers may recall, I tried to sound the alarm about the disdain many of our state lawmakers have for local governments. Some of the feedback I received was that my concerns were unfounded and that our representatives were only trying to cut property taxes. Never mind that none of what they were doing would result in homeowners’ taxes being slashed. It sounded good, anyway, and that’s all we needed to know to tune out their actions, which threaten our rights as citizens to control the government. The attacks on home-rule powers, long the purview of city and county voters, would seriously set back our quality of life. Excuse me if I now feel exonerated, but I do. When Empower Texans lobbyist Michael Quinn Sullivan ratted out two of the most powerful men in the Legislature, my fears of what was afoot were dramatically eclipsed. Concerns that they wanted to eviscerate the privileges of city and county officials and the voters who put them in office proved to be on target. But it went well beyond matters of public policy. Their motives were exposed as full on hatred of local governments. Hatred — really? Let the powerful House speaker, Dennis Bonnen, make it crystal clear what he thinks about local elected officials. He told Sullivan: “Any mayor, county judge that was dumbass enough to come meet with me, I told them with great clarity, my goal is for this to be the worst session in the history of the Legislature for cities and counties.” His top political lieutenant, Rep. Dustin Burrows, added his perspective: “I hope the next session’s even worse. … We hate cities and counties.” The reaction across the state has been visceral. The Texas Municipal League’s posted statement sums it up: “All Texans, especially the mayors and county judges who Dennis Bonnen referred to as ‘dumbass enough to meet’ with him, now know what we are dealing with.” The organization nailed it perfectly by saying it was appalling that Bonnen, R- Angelton, “fails to recognize that pursuing his personal vendetta will ultimately harm Texans who live in our cities.” That goes to the heart of the matter. It is not just local elected officials that have been targeted. It’s every citizen who loses their fundamental freedoms to decide for themselves what they want their local governments to do for them. KCBD-TV in Lubbock, the city represented by Burrows, reported that more than half the 64-member State Republican Executive Committee, including the party’s vice chairman, had signed onto a statement concluding that Bonnen should resign as speaker. Saying he won’t seek re-election is the next best thing, but, as Bonnen’s time in office is ending, what we now know to be ingrained in the nasty work of the Legislature, masquerading as “tax reform,” threatens our cities, counties and all their residents. Already on their agenda for the next session are plans to deny cities their rights to have their own watchdogs inside the Capitol to monitor legislation harmful to local communities. Voters should demand to know from every one of their representatives in both houses if they plan to support local control and if they will cease any actions that would diminish those powers. Now the question is: Will we act to protect the individual rights of a free society or watch them compromised as decisions about our hometowns are put beyond our reach? Richard Greene is a former Arlington mayor, served as an appointee of President George W. Bush as regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency and lectures at UT Arlington. A new mayor in Bedford is coming on board, promising change BY ELIZABETH CAMPBELL OCTOBER 31, 2019 11:33 AM, UPDATED OCTOBER 31, 2019 10:45 AM Former council member Michael Boyter will be sworn in as Bedford’s new mayor on Nov. 12. COURTESY CITY OF BEDFORD BEDFORD When Michael Boyter was growing up in nearby Hurst, he recalled that Bedford was the place to live with the best houses and many restaurants along Airport Freeway. Boyter, 52, who will be sworn in on Nov. 12, said other cities like Hurst and Euless are outpacing Bedford in terms of development and thinking outside of the box. He wants to bring similar changes to Bedford. “Euless is on the fast track. Hurst is changing. Then, you see Bedford and there hasn’t been progress…” “I am encouraged because I think we have a diverse council with respect to ideas. We’ve got to identify problems and find solutions,” he said. Boyter, who began serving on the city council in 2012, was unopposed in his bid for mayor after Jim Griffin resigned in September to run for the District 92 Texas House seat. The council voted to cancel the Nov. 5 election since Boyter was the only candidate who filed to run for mayor. Boyter also stepped down from his council seat to run for mayor. Tom Burnett was appointed to fill Boyter’s council seat, and he will also take office Nov. 12. Boyter is the chief financial officer for Qualtex Industries, a company owned by his friend and fellow council member, Roger Fisher. The two became friends when Fisher asked Boyter to help with his campaign for the District 92 Texas House seat. When asked about the dynamics of working for his friend and how that will affect the mayor’s office, Boyter said, “I tell people to look at how many times we’ve voted against each other in council decisions. It’s about putting egos aside” He also said the charter prohibits council members from any personal gains because of their elected office. He and Fisher haven’t taken part in discussions or voted on items where they knew people who wanted to do business with the city, he said. Meanwhile, Boyter said he is working to bring changes to the city, saying Bedford needs to think outside of the box when it comes to economic development and revitalizing the city which has a population of almost 50,000. “We are a mature community. We don’t have developers sitting on our doorstep. It’s about being a part of the conversation for change,” he said. Boyter said one of his top priorities is looking at ways to develop Bedford Commons. “This is our last piece of vacant land; we’ve got to get it right,” he said. The city is 98 percent built out, and there was a proposal to build luxury apartments in Bedford Commons, a tract of land zoned for mixed use near City Hall. There was stiff opposition to building the apartments. Government moves slowly, Boyter said, and he wants to see projects such as the Boys Ranch Park and street repairs move forward at a faster pace. Boyter said listening to residents is key for moving Bedford forward, and he said many say they don’t know what is going on in their community. “We can’t fall in to the trap regarding the angst in our country; we’ve got to bring people together and have discussions. People have direct contact with politicians on the local level,” he said.