Keep them honest

I'm not shy about the types of politicians I support. I'm also not shy about speaking out against certain politicians who I think put themselves and their professional aspirations ahead of the good of the people. There is plenty of talk from these folks about the job they have done in Oak Cliff or the job they want to do. More often than not, they don't follow through on their rhetoric, which is why Oak Cliff is a mixed bag of progress and decline.

I didn't like the fact that Elba Garcia sent out a hit piece in the mail the week before the election telling Latino voters - in Spanish - that Ken Mayfield supported their detention and harassment simply because of their race. It was more of the same race baiting we've seen in the Arizona debate, and it was ugly, and most of all, wrong. I've known Ken Mayfield for several years, and he is certainly not the person some would have you believe. I initially met him when he appointed me to serve on the board of the Sixth Floor Museum. I wanted to volunteer for something worthwhile and a friend told me Ken was looking for locals to serve on civic boards. I found him to be fair, honest, and to the point. He wanted to be sure things were being done correctly, and we weren't just rubber-stamping the actions of those we were meant to oversee.

The contention that Ken was not a good steward of the county's money is a shameful lie. I have never met anyone who made sure tax dollars were spent on worthy projects. He was good for Oak Cliff, and I hope Elba Garcia will do as good a job when she takes over. The fact that she is willing to look the other way on the constable investigation - especially when her husband represented one of the constables - concerns me.  Dallas politicians have a poor history of back door deals and favors for friends and allies. This needs to change. Putting the usual suspects back in power is not the way to do it.

Regardless, she and every other elected official deserves our support, and more importantly, our vigilance. We need to ensure they are doing their job. If not, we need to return them to the private sector.