Print this page

Government is not created independent of the people. Rather, it is founded on their authority and exists for their benefit. The idea is reinforced in the Texas Public Information Act, which says that the people "do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for them to know and what is not good for them to know." Instead the people have the right to know what their government is doing. This quote is from the website of Greg Abbott, the Texas Attorney General, concerning public information.

How many of you think that your local elected officials are really listening to the taxpayers and doing things that are for their benefit. While explaining your concerns, are they sincere, objective and impartial although your views and theirs may differ? Or are they stone-faced and immovable at the very thought of your suggestion? Do you walk away with a sense of satisfaction, or do you get a gut feeling that what you just said went in one ear and out the other? Is that look of concern on their face, the smile and the head bobbing just political pandering designed to silence the persistent taxpayer whom they may later deem a heretic?

Taxpayers, the winds of change are blowing and it is time that we all stand up and say NO to those who have no common sense when it comes to spending and wasteful use of taxpayer dollars to provide amenities for the already well-to-do. How long will we lean on the crutch of apathy, sit at home on Election Day and leave the responsibility to others? The very next day there will be a throng of complainers griping about those same misbehaving elected officials who they allowed to stay in office. It's your lack of interest, indifference, and lack of emotion they are counting on to keep them in power. Be assured that those with a vested interest WILL vote. Taxpayers, this nightmare could have been over years ago had you simply voted. Don't think for one minute that the election result cannot be determined by your one vote. Your apathy is their best ally.

The very ones elected to serve us demonize common-sense people who can think for themselves and are concerned about the direction our city and school have taken. We have been accused of being a part of the neighborhood ass-sociation, anti-government and one of the three stooges whose only goal is to create dissension and the destruction of our community. We have also been called liars. We have received threatening letters including one death threat. When you can't attack the message, you always attack the messenger. What they fear most is the truth coming out about their actions, and the Public Information Act has made that all possible.

The Cleburne ISD does not issue any official statements denying any of our charges, even though they have a well-paid publicity person to do this. They cannot deny the facts, which were obtained from their own records.

Sometimes I just don't think our school district gets it at all. So I'll make it plain and clear. We the taxpayers do not like the fact that you ignored the majority vote and re-ran the bond election. This is why you are and will remain under intense scrutiny until we see a change that includes you listening to the taxpayer's voice. Many people told you that day not to do it, but all could clearly see your minds were set and you had no intention of changing. An offer to renovate the old schools and build one new one was suggested, cutting the bond to $19 million, and you would have no part of it. So you took your stand and you made a bed that now is not so comfortable to sleep in. That's not our fault. You have reaped what you have sown. If you will so easily violate civil liberty, will our religious liberty be next?

At the last school board meeting a prayer was offered that referred to the mean spirited people. Who was this person referring to? "Lord, should we call fire down from heaven and destroy them?" the disciples said. What answer did Jesus give? You do not know what manner of spirit you are.

Existing school board members and others close to the school called candidates for school board positions and advised them not to come to the Candidate Forum sponsored by Concerned Citizens for Cleburne on March 30. Six of the candidates listened and didn't show.

We have exposed school administration and board members' negligence in doing their jobs, the abuse of our democratic election process, the continued misuse of public office by punishing those who speak out against their actions, credit card abuse and the many liberties taken staying at luxurious hotels and dining at the finest tables that taxpayer money could afford. The repercussions from their actions are their problem. Public officials are not private businesses. The taxpayer has the right to know what their government is doing. Getting public information concerning salaries and expenses when paid with public money is our business, and we have a right to question expenditures and policies.

Taking a lesson from civil rights leader Rosa Parks, we the taxpayers are no longer interested in giving up our seat on the bus because we paid for the damn thing! The only reason that any public official should ever have reason to be embarrassed by any printed public information about them is if they are doing something wrong.

This group of concerned citizens is not made up of only a handful of uneducated people. We didn't crawl out of a cave. We are over 1,500 strong, including the silent majority of professional and business people from our community who live in fear of making their true opinions known because of financial loss or retaliation from public officials. This type of thinking is not healthy for our community. This is a democracy, not a dictatorship, and we all have the right to speak our minds regardless of which side of the tracks we live on. Elected officials should not abuse their office by punishing us for doing so.

Taxpayers have zero self-esteem from prolonged apathy about their rights in Cleburne. There are a few who think all of this public information exposure should have been handled in a more hush-hush way. Well, it's merely my opinion, but improper things done in secret should not be handled in secret.

Just because a taxpayer disagrees with their elected officials does not mean that he or she is no longer a viable part of this community. Does this mean taxpayers don't care about progress, good local paying jobs, streets and utilities, new industry and retail stores where our tax dollars can be spent in Cleburne so that our local small business owners reap some of the benefits and not just all the taxes? No, it means quite the contrary.

May 13th holds the key to changing course on a bridge that goes to nowhere. For all concerned citizens of Cleburne, I ask for your support to re-elect Mayor Ted Reynolds and new council members Sonny Russell and Betty Zuspann for a positive change. To straighten out the proven mess at CISD I ask that you support a fresh new group that doesn't come from the same old fishbowl - local parent Teresa Blackwell, local businessman and write-in candidate W.G. Dempsey, and 18-year law enforcement and certified paralegal Brad Parsons.

I ask all 1500 plus of you who said NO in the beginning to use the power of your vote again on May 13th to change the plan. I ask those of you who feel you were misled into voting YES to use your vote this time for a change. This will make our city and school district more taxpayer-friendly and less taxpayer-resentful for all citizens.

Harold Gentry