The letter of recommendation handed out to Precinct 3213 voters

See below the letter of introduction and recommendation I left on doors and handed out to voters as I bicycled my precinct.

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Hello, I am Joel Downs, the Precinct Chairman for Precinct 3213. If you are reading this letter you live in Precinct 3213.  As Precinct Chairman I am trying to get acquainted with the Republicans in the precinct who vote in the primaries.  I've looked at the voting records and identified you as one of these people.  Hope you don't mind.

The events of the past three years have caused me great concern.  Concern about the future of our country.  For the first time in my life, I am beginning to doubt that the USA will remain a free country.  The American culture seems to be changing to one of unrealistic  entitlement, and complete self absorption.  A significant proportion of college graduates actually expect to be given a job at the highest rate, no matter their real qualifications, just because they have a college degree.  I could go on and on but I think you get the idea.

Anyway, I hope to become acquainted with you, and if you want to become politically active, I will help you in any way I can.  Because the only way, I believe, this country can be saved, is by vigorous, conservative action from the Grassroots.  It begins here with people like you and me, we must begin this task.                                    

In this sack you will find a flyer listing all of the early voting locations in the county.  I am doing this to encourage you to vote early because it is so much easier than voting on election day.  It is also more convenient.  Some of these locations are probably on your way home from work.  The only downside is that you have to vote electronically.  If you prefer paper ballots, you will have to wait till election day.

The candidates in positions listed below are the ones that I will be voting for in the Republican primary.  I have listed only a small part of the reasons I'm voting for them.  I'm not telling you who to vote for, just letting you know who I'm for and hope you agree.

If you want to put a Republican candidate's sign in your yard, I can get it for you. Thanks, Joel Downs, 817-308-9878

Kenny Marchant, Congressional Representative District 24. Marchant is a respected member of the House of Representatives with a good rapport and influence.  I think he should remain in place.

Ted Cruz, Congressional Senator or from Texas. I have seen Cruz speak, and I know his record.  Ted Cruz is a principled conservative, and well spoken.  He will be a positive conservative influence in the Senate.  Cruz also has the best chance of any of the candidates of knocking off David Dewhurst.  The troubling thing about Dewhurst is that he called for a constitutional convention and doesn't appear to realize the mistake he was making.  The last time a constitutional convention was called, the entire Constitution was rewritten.  Granted, Dewhurst called for the convention in order to add a balanced budget amendment, but you don't go to these extreme measures, risk the disruption of the Constitution just to balance the budget.  If the Constitution is to be changed, let's do it by amendment.  I am amazed that Dewhurst is this ignorant of history.  He should not be serving in the United States Senate.

Kelly Hancock, State Senate District 9.   Hancock is the more conservative of the candidates running for this office.  He is not as well spoken as Todd Smith, but remember Todd makes his living by speaking, he is a lawyer. As Senator, Kelly Hancock will author, sponsor, and to pass more conservative legislation.  He will make decisions that are more founded in conservatism.

Jonathan Stickland, State Representative District 92.  Stickland is a movement conservative, not interested in allowing a slow slide into socialism.  He will continue the trend towards more conservative legislation coming out the Texas Legislature.

Gary Fickes, Tarrant County Commissioner Precinct 3.  Fickes has been a Commissioner for several terms, he has performed well, and knows a lot about the job, especially the roads.  The commissioners court is a big influence on how many, where, and how large the state roads built in Tarrant County will be.  Fickes has a huge amount of institutional knowledge about this subject, and he makes good decisions.  The commissioners court appoints the board members of the Tarrant County health system.  Gary Fickes, in concert with other commissioners has always made sure that the board members enact policies that are sound, and do not give away the store to illegal aliens, unlike other large Texas counties.  For this reason, the Tarrant County health system budget has always been balanced, and some years has had a surplus. Gary Fickes should be reelected.

Jennifer Hall, County Chair, Tarrant County Republican Party.  Hall was elected temporary County chair when Stephanie Klick resigned to run for higher office.  She hit the ground running and has performed very well in that position, raising thousands of dollars in donations, and presiding over the court induced chaos that has been the 2012 primary season.  Jennifer Hall has had no previous experience as a County chair, but she has performed remarkably well and will be a huge asset in the years to come.

Jason McCaffity, Constable Precinct 3.  McCaffity has been a Texas peace officer for 14 years, he has a Masters degree in Business Administration, a Bachelors degree in Law Enforcement Administration, a Masters Peace Officer Certification, and is a graduate of the Police Management College.  As Constable, he will continue to improve the Precinct 3 Constable department.

Kevin Carey, Judge 153rd District Court, .  A County District Judge is on the first level of the people we select to make and/or enforce the rules for us.  Kevin Carey is a lifelong Republican and conservative with 22 years experience as a litigator.  He will make wise, fair and conservative decisions in his court.  He understands the danger of frivolous lawsuits and will make decisions accordingly.

The Candidates I recommended to Precinct 3213

The following are pics of the recommendations I left on doors and handed out to voters in precinct 3213.

David Dewhurst and the Depth of Dumb, why I voted for Ted Cruz

I made a departure when choosing Ted Cruz to be the US Senator from Texas in that I voted more against another candidate, than I did for Ted.  Ted Cruz is a conservative and he is smart.  I think he will make a good senator, but the larger reason I chose him is because I believe he has the best chance of knocking David Dewhurst out of the race.  I don't trust Dewhurst, I believe he is reckless and ignorant of history. Here's why.

In 2010, David Dewhurst called for a constitutional convention that would suspend the amendment process and rewrite the Constitution to include a provision for a balanced-budget.  Balancing the budget is a laudable goal, but does he realize what happened the last time a constitutional convention was successfully called?

In 1787, the 13 states convened a constitutional convention.  When it was over the Constitution had been completely rewritten, for the better it turned out.  But do you think this would happen today?  Do you think that a constitutional convention would keep our Constitution intact and only make improvements that we want?  Once a convention is called, there is no way to control the agenda or excluding anyone.  And those of us who have observed the way the Left has operated politically in the last 50 years are completely terrorized by this prospect of them getting their hands on the Constitution.

But not David Dewhurst. He continued to push for a constitutional convention, even after being apprised of the historical consequences of such a move.  He disregarded the voices that were telling him that this was a wrong thing to do.  He argued for a constitutional convention, and argued that he could control it, long past the time that a less determined person would've given up.

Calling for a constitutional convention because the amendment process is too slow and too difficult, can be likened to stepping out on a concrete driveway with your baby in one hand and the pair of diapers in the other, then throwing the baby and the diapers up in the air, and the expecting them to come back down fully assembled, with the new diapers wrapped around the baby's freshly powdered and wiped little butt.  Think something like this is going to happen?  David Dewhurst would.

He would throw that baby up in the air, throw those diapers up in the air then expect the baby to NOT splash like a watermelon on the concrete driveway, the fresh diaper to NOT be snagged by a passing hawk and he would also expect the dirty diaper, the one full of poo, to NOT come down and hit him right in the face.

David Dewhurst is a man of historical ignorance and recklessness.  He shouldn't be allowed to serve in the United States Senate.

Vote For Ted Cruz

Hancock-Smith, SD9 Senate, How I voted and why.

I voted early in the Republican primary.  In the Texas Senate District 9 race I voted for Kelly Hancock.

Both candidates are decent, principled conservatives.  However, Kelly is the more conservative of the two. He is an instinctive conservative.  He will author, sponsor, and work for conservative legislation.

Todd Smith is a reliable vote for any conservative legislation that comes across his desk. the operative phrase here is "comes across his desk", Todd cannot be relied on to initiate conservative legislation.

Todd's brand of conservatism has lost and will continue to lose ground to the Left.  The Left, the people who think collective solutions from the government are the end-all and be-all of fixing things, solving our problems.  The Left, the ones who think that communism just may be a good idea.  The Left, the ones who fervently believe that socialism is a good idea.  The Left, the ones who are so ignorant of history they don't realize that collective solutions to society's problems -socialism, communism, Leftism in general- have been responsible for more misery, and more deaths of innocent people than any other ideology in the last hundred twenty years.

If conservatism was likened to a thermometer, Kelly would be at 98°, and Todd would be at 72°.  Both temperatures are preferable to the Left's temperature of 30°, but Kelly's is higher than Todd's.  This is why I voted for him.

If you want to see the temperature of conservative legislation coming out of the state capital go up, then vote for Kelly Hancock.

Darrell Huffman's McCaffity Hit Mailer, #2

NOTE: see update at bottom of the page.
This is the second in a series of articles about the negative campaign mailer sent out by the Darrell Huffman campaign about his opponent, Jason McCaffity.

As I said in my first article on the subject, I received a negative campaign mailer about Jason McCaffity and the Kennedale PD.  The mailer had a website address on it that I assumed was back up for the statements made in the mailer.  However, it didn't turn out that way.  This statement:

Which references an incident in which McCaffity is supposed to have let an assault suspect go without arresting, or citing him and which references a disciplinary action of August 30, 2002 in the backup documentation is not supported by any documentation whatsoever, there is nothing in the website that backs this up.

I urge Mister Huffman to put this supporting documentation on the website and notify me with a comment.

If anyone can find back up for this statement in the supporting documentation, please let me know with a comment.

UPDATE: 5 – 20 – 2012 Another document has been added to the Disciplinary Action page.  It is the written reprimand from August 30, 2002. Jason McCaffity was indeed reprimanded for his actions on that day. Both charges, neglect of duty, and violation of the chain of command spring from one failure.  That failure was in the supervision of a subordinate officer. The charges are due to the actions of another officer, not Jason McCaffity. At the end of the letter, the chief encourages McCaffity to view this reprimand as a learning experience that will impact his law enforcement career in a positive manner. In my opinion, this is a light rebuke to a young sergeant, hardly the fire and brimstone REPRIMAND that is conveyed in the negative campaign mailer.

Darrell Huffman's McCaffity Hit Mailer, #1

NOTE: see update at the bottom of this page.
I received a negative campaign mailer a few days ago.  It was a piece about Jason McCaffity and the Kennedale Police Department.  After looking very hard, I discovered that the mailer came from the Darrell Huffman campaign.

 Like all negative campaign literature it makes very damaging statements about a candidate in mostly unspecific terms and always with the worst possible interpretation.  In the days before the Internet, these mailers had to stand on their own without any backup.  So it was with satisfaction I noticed a link to supporting documentation at www.JasonMcCaffity.com.  However, when I went to the website, I found that most of the statements were either not supported by the documentation, or could only be inferred from it.  In this first article I will focus on this statement:

This statement references repeated reprimands and repeated violations of the Chain of Command. Nowhere in the supporting documentation can I find any mention of reprimands, repeated or otherwise, or of Chains of Command.

However, Neglect of Duty was in the chief's charging letter. As a matter of fact, it looks like the chief discovered Jason doing something he had told him not to on Saturday, thought about it on Sunday, then wrote the charging letter on Monday.

If Mister Huffman has supporting documentation for the statement about reprimands and chains of command, I urge him to add it to the website and notify me with a comment.

If anyone can find reference to reprimands and chains of commands in the supporting documentation, I urge them to point it out with a comment.

If you find mistakes of fact or logic in this piece, please let me know.  It is my belief that the beginning of wisdom starts with the acknowledgment of one's own ignorance.  Joel Downs

UPDATE: 5 – 20 – 2012 Another document has been added to the Disciplinary Action page.  It is the written reprimand from August 30, 2002.  And it reveals three things.  The first revelation is that this reprimand was instigated because of a citizen complaint.  The second revelation is that both charges, neglect of duty, and violation of the chain of command spring from one failure.  That failure was in supervision of a subordinate officer.  The third revelation is the charge of repeated reprimands is not supported if this is the only document.  The charge of violation of the chain of command is due to the actions of another officer, not Jason McCaffity. At the end of the letter, the chief encourages McCaffity to view this reprimand as a learning experience that will impact his law enforcement career in a positive manner. This is a light rebuke to a young sergeant, hardly the fire and brimstone REPRIMAND that is conveyed in the negative campaign mailer.

Early Voting is the easiest way to vote.

You can vote ANYWHERE in the County in Early Voting, on Election Day you have to go to the location that is assigned to your precinct.

If you live in Tarrant County, you need 3 things to be able to vote early: You need to be a registered Tarrant County, Texas voter, be at a location within Tarrant county, and have ID.  That's all. You don't need your voter registration card because they will look you up on the registration rolls right then. You don't need to search out exactly the right location for your precinct, like on election day.

As a Tarrant County voter, you can go to any of the locations listed below and vote. Just present your ID, they will look you up on the computer, give you a password, they call it an "access code,  and direct you to the voting booth.  There's far less chance of long lines at 36 convenient locations all over the County

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EARLY VOTING LOCATIONS

1. MAIN EARLY VOTING SITE, Tarrant County Elections Center 2700 Premier Street Fort Worth, Texas 76111
ARLINGTON
2. Bob Duncan Center 2800 South Center Street Arlington, Texas 76014
3. Elzie Odom Athletic Center 1601 NE Green Oaks Boulevard Arlington, Texas 76006
4. Center for Community Service Junior League of Arlington 4002 West Pioneer Parkway Arlington, Texas 76013
5. South Service Center 1100 SW Green Oaks Boulevard Arlington, Texas 76017
6. Tarrant County Sub-Courthouse in Arlington 700 E Abram Street Arlington, Texas 76010
AZLE
7. B. J. Clark Annex Room 4 603 Southeast Parkway Azle, Texas 76020
8. Bedford Public Library 2424 Forest Ridge Drive Bedford, Texas 76021
9. Benbrook Community Center 228 San Angelo Avenue Benbrook, Texas 76126
10. Colleyville City Hall 100 Main Street Colleyville, Texas 76034
11. Crowley Community Center 900 East Glendale Street Crowley, Texas 76036
12. Euless Public Library 201 North Ector Drive Euless, Texas 76039
FOREST HILL
13. Mahaney Community Center 6800 Forest Hill Drive Forest Hill, Texas 76140
FORT WORTH
14. Diamond Hill/Jarvis Library 1300 Northeast 35th Street Fort Worth, Texas 76106
15. Griffin Sub-Courthouse 3212 Miller Avenue Fort Worth, Texas 76119
16. Handley-Meadowbrook Community Center 6201 Beaty Street Fort Worth, Texas 76112
17. JPS Health Center Viola M. Pitts/Como Lower Level, Suite 100 4701 Bryant Irvin Road N. Fort Worth, Texas 76107
18. Southside Community Center 959 East Rosedale Street Fort Worth, Texas 76104
19. Southwest Community Center 6300 Welch Avenue Fort Worth, Texas 76133
20. Southwest Sub-Courthouse 6551 Granbury Road Fort Worth, Texas 76133
21. Summerglen Branch Library 4205 Basswood Boulevard Fort Worth, Texas 76137
22. Tarrant County Plaza Building 201 Burnett Street Fort Worth, Texas 76102
23. Worth Heights Community Center 3551 New York Avenue Fort Worth, Texas 76110
GRAND PRAIRIE
24. Starrett Elementary School 2675 Fairmont Drive Grand Prairie, Texas 75052
25. Grapevine Community Activities Center 1175 Municipal Way Grapevine, Texas 76051
26. Haltom City Northeast Center 3201 Friendly Lane Haltom City, Texas 76117
HURST
27. Hurst Recreation Center 700 Mary Drive Hurst, Texas 76053
28. Northeast Sub-Courthouse 645 Grapevine Highway Hurst, Texas 76054
29. Keller Town Hall 1100 Bear Creek Parkway Keller, Texas 76248
30. Kennedale Community Center 316 West 3rd Street Kennedale, Texas 76060
LAKE WORTH
31. Sheriff’s Office North Patrol Division 6651 Lake Worth Boulevard Lake Worth, Texas 76135
32. Mansfield Sub-Courthouse 1100 East Broad Street Mansfield, Texas 76063
33. Former North Richland Hills Recreation Center (Intersection of Loop 820 and Rufe Snow) 6720 Northeast Loop 820 North Richland Hills, Texas 76180
SAGINAW
34. Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD Administration Building 6 – Training Room 1200 Old Decatur Road Saginaw, Texas 76179
35. Southlake Town Hall 1400 Main Street Southlake, Texas 76092
36. White Settlement Public Library 8215 White Settlement Road White Settlement, Texas 76108
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EARLY VOTING LASTS 11 DAYS, BEGINS MAY 14, AND ENDS MAY 25

May (Mayo) 14 – 18 Monday - Friday (Lunes – Viernes)  8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

May (Mayo) 19 Saturday (Sábado)----------------------------7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

May (Mayo) 20 Sunday (Domingo) --------------------------11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. 

May (Mayo) 21 – 25 Monday – Friday (Lunes – Viernes) 7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

 DON'T HASSLE ON ELECTION DAY, VOTE EARLY INSTEAD!

Joel Downs, Precinct Chair 3213