The Swamp – Page 2 – Carol A. Spencer

Stan Gerdes: Take a Stand

Yesterday I posted on Twitter (X) to @GregAbbott_TX

Give them 48 hours to return during which time the Speaker should fine them. If they don’t return, declare their seats vacant. Then vote with the lower quorum.

Empty seats in the TX House You may have seen that. Just like y’all, these people ran for office and that means doing the job. When the Governor leaves Texas, Dan Patrick assumes that position. If Trump were in the hospital, JD Vance would assume that position. When these people leave the state ON PURPOSE TO THWART THE BUSINESS OF THE STATE, there isn’t anyone to assume their positions, so they should be declared VACANT.

Airplane Cabin The key here is intent. They didn’t leave to attend a relative’s funeral or wedding. They didn’t leave because they are reservists and were called up to active duty. They didn’t leave during a called session for a vacation. They left to prohibit the Texas House from doing its work, the work of the people.

They could vote no. They could vote present, not voting. They could abstain. But what they can’t do is flee to stop business altogether. Doing so and remaining in-State calls for arrest. Doing so out-of-State to avoid arrest is grounds for removal.

Stan, you are my representative. You won a Republican primary. You won the General election with predominantly Republican votes. You need to represent Republicans in this matter, supporting fines, arrests if they return in-State after 3PM today, and adding your voice to the calls for the Governor to declare the State-fleeing Democrat seats vacant.

You claim to be endorsed by President Trump. President Trump has called for, wants and needs this map, which is appropriate for Texas to have proper and reflective representation. If you accept the endorsement of President Trump and his America First agenda, you must support fines, arrests and the Governor declaring the state-fleeing Democrat seats vacant.

Don’t confuse friendship with duty. These people are not your friends. You’ll know that when you leave office. They’d stab us all in the back in a heartbeat, which is exactly what they’re doing by fleeing the State. Take a stand!

Addendum: Governor Abbott says he’ll declare Dem seats vacant if those Dems aren’t in them at 3PM today.

Redistricting TX.

[Comments will be taken online at this link https://comments.house.texas.gov/home until the committee meeting is adjourned. The bill number is HB4 and the map is Plan C2308.]

Is it illegal to redistrict now? No. Is Texas growing significantly? Yes. Do the districts as drawn by Plan C2308 comply with applicable law and court decisions? Yes. Other than politics which enters into everything the legislature does no matter the bill number or issue, is there any reason this should not be done? No.

The diatribe coming from those in the opposing political party is no different than the diatribe that comes from any opposition party, unhappy with the fact that they don’t have the majority and can’t stop adoption should the proposing party stick together in their votes. Wipe away the political posturing and there is no reason this bill and map should not be adopted.

Voters ultimately get to choose by casting votes. Adopting this Big Beautiful Map and HB4 does not guarantee any outcome at the polls. That’s clear from the outcome at the polls in many elections. They’re called upsets. They happen in every election.

Texas House Redistricting Committee So, take a vote and pass the map immediately upon the end of public testimony. There will be a quorum and no reason to delay that vote. I doubt any member of the committee is going to change his/her vote, so get the job done. Do not adjourn until the vote is taken and the map is adopted!

Want to watch the August 1 (final) TX House committee hearing? It’s here: https://house.texas.gov/videos/22418

ADDENDUM:
Every member of this committee with the exception of Tom Oliverson and Hillary Gail Hickland voted to impeach Ken Paxton. They voted based on data provided with less than 24 hours notice. Now, the Committee Dems are whining about only having the bill and map 48 hours before today’s hearing. Yet, on Ken Paxton: silence! Disingenuous!

Chair: Rep. Cody Vasut (Y on Paxton, Rep)
Vice Chair: Rep. Jon E. Rosenthal (Y on Paxton, Dem)
Members: Rep. Josey Garcia (Y on Paxton, Dem)
Rep. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins (Y on Paxton, Dem)
Rep. R. D. “Bobby” Guerra (Y on Paxton, Dem)
Rep. Ryan Guillen (Y on Paxton, Rep)
Rep. Cole Hefner (Y on Paxton, Rep)
Rep. Hillary Gail Hickland (N/A, Rep)
Rep. Jolanda Jones (Y on Paxton, Dem)
Rep. Christian Manuel (Y on Paxton, Dem)
Rep. Tom Oliverson (absent, Rep)
Rep. David Spiller (Y on Paxton, Rep)
Rep. Carl Tepper (Y on Paxton, Rep)
Rep. Terry M. Wilson (Y on Paxton, Rep)
Rep. Gene Wu (Y on Paxton, Dem)

No Hotels in Bastrop?

UPDATE: June 24 Council meeting at 1:35:46. City Manager and Mayor referenced my comments. Mayor stated that “she is in opposition of the retreat, agenda item…. it’s not an item. She is just in opposition of the retreat.”

NOT TRUE. I expressed my opposition to my estimated cost of $7,473 by doing this retreat in Rockport. My estimate was low. See the City Manager’s slide showing the actual estimated cost to be $11,730. There is NO REASON to spend that much money and hold this event outside of Bastrop County. Why Rockport? Why on a Friday? This is a taxpayer-funded boondoggle clear and simple.

If you plan meetings for any organization, you are well aware that there are plenty of locations to do so both in the County and the City of Bastrop. So, why is the Bastrop City Council meeting in Rockport?

My guess? So you can’t attend or comment. And, quite cynically, perhaps some of them want a weekend at the beach with transportation paid by you.

So much for transparency.

[Will it be broadcast live? We don’t know yet. And, when meetings are broadcast live, live public comment isn’t available so you must comment ahead of time using the Council’s online form.]

It’s very disingenuous to hold a meeting more than 3 hours, 175+ miles, each way, for an all day meeting that is allegedly open to the public.

Tell the City Council if you like (or not) spending $7,473 of your tax dollars on a Friday public meeting in Rockport.

If you don’t agree with the City Council spending this much money and holding a Friday off-site meeting 175 miles away, email them today.

Mayor Ishmael Harris
Councilman Perry Lowe
Councilwoman Cynthia Meyer
Councilman Kevin Plunkett
Councilwoman Kerry Fossler
Councilman John Kirkland

Calculating the Cost of this Offsite Meeting: $7,473

Gas cost: At 22mpg and $3/gallon, the cost each way is $24.27. Will they car pool? Perhaps a couple will but we have to assume not. If just the 5 council people, mayor, city manager, city secretary drive, that is $388.32. OR, if they use the IRS mileage rate for reimbursement, that’s 70¢ / mile or $245 per person. For 9 people, that’s $2,205 in mileage reimbursements.

Hotel cost: What’s the hotel cost for the City Council, City Manager, City Secretary, select staff, and consultant? Hotel prices according to Hotels.com run from $151 to $269 per room no including taxes and fees. Taxes? 8.25% sales tax and 7% hotel occupancy tax.

If just the 5 council people, mayor, city manager, city secretary, and consultant go, and they stay in the cheapest hotel, the room cost would be $1,208 plus 8.25% sales tax and 7% HOT tax. The meeting starts at 8:30AM so they have to stay over the night before. Drive home 3 hours afterwards? Not likely. So, for just the 9 people, taxpayers are paying $3,133 at a minimum for hotel.

[I had a summer cottage exactly 150.3 miles from my primary home, 3 hour drive. While not preferable, I periodically drove up one day and back the next, a one night stay. Preferable was driving up on Friday night and back on Sunday evening, a two night stay.]

Meal cost: Using GSA rates for meals, the allowable per-day expense is $63. Using lunch and dinner for Thursday, all 3 meals on Friday, and breakfast and lunch on Saturday, the estimated cost per person for meals is $145/person for meals. That, times 9 people, is $1,305 taxpayer dollars.

Consultant cost: Leadwell is from Austin. So, gas, hotel, meals and their fee will be paid by taxpayers. According to https://consultants.promatcher.com/cost/texas.aspx, the cost of business consulting in TX is $158.13/hour. My guess is that this contract is likely $2,000+-. When I was a business consultant, I charged half rate for travel time, client paid hotel and meals, and a flat overnight fee.

Total taxpayer estimate:
$2,205+$3,133+$1,305+$2,000=$7,473 taxpayer dollars.

Your cost if you want to comment in person?
Gas, one night hotel, 3 meals costs: $285 minimum.

But your City of Bastrop City Council plans on holding a meeting 175+ miles, each way, and calls it an open meeting with public comment.

Will it be broadcast live? We don’t know yet. And, when meetings are broadcast live, live public comment isn’t available so you must comment ahead of time using the Council’s online form.

Let them know TODAY what you think about this!

If you don’t agree with the City Council spending this much money and holding a Friday off-site meeting 175 miles away, email them.

Mayor Ishmael Harris
Councilman Perry Lowe
Councilwoman Cynthia Meyer
Councilman Kevin Plunkett
Councilwoman Kerry Fossler
Councilman John Kirkland

Vote NO on Subsidizing the Movie Industry in Texas

I’m ADAMANTLY opposed to subsidizing the movie industry. That bill is SB-22 and it’s on Sunday’s calendar in the Texas House. As we in Bastrop well know, they’re coming here without that subsidy.

Film, soda, popcorn If I wanted to support the movie industry, I’d go to movies. Think “user fees”. If I use it, I pay. I don’t go to the movies, so why am I being forced to pay for them?

I’m really sick of government forcing people to pay for that which they don’t use or need. Think DOGE. The Feds are trying to cut out excess spending and the State of Texas just spends more and more and more on things like this… everyone’s pet project. Just where is this in the Texas Constitution? Picking government winners (in this case, the movie industry) and losers (in this case, the taxpayers) needs to STOP.

My daughter told me a few years ago that one of the best lessons I taught her, one that has allowed her to save, is to understand the difference between wants and needs. Our legislators need to recognize the difference between wants and needs, between who is paying the bill and who is benefiting.

The movie industry is moving from CA anyway. Gavin Newsom is having a very hard time keeping them there, but he’s working hard at it. They’re expanding the CA subsidies. Will Texas have to do so in 2 years? This is nothing more than a race to see which state will give them the most money.

The old argument about all the jobs they’ll bring is a bunch of BS. No one ever talks about the other side of that equation: the COST of the growth that comes with them: roads, schools (have you seen the latest bond indebtedness of our schools???), WATER (we don’t have enough), infrastructure of other kinds, quality of life due to overcrowding.. The costs are massive, but those trying to sell this government waste ignore that.

Let those two multi-millionaires invest in their industry to encourage that industry to come here. I don’t go to movies and I don’t want to invest in them. I urge my rep, Stan Gerdes, and other House members to vote NO on SB22.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT ADDENDUM

Will we be paying for films glorifying the Muslim religion at the same time that the Governor and others are trying to stop the EPIC development near Dallas? “Faith-based” doesn’t mean just Christianity.

See this language in the bill:

(f) A moving image project qualifies for a faith-based moving image project grant under Subsection (a)(5) if the project is designated by the office as a faith-based moving image project according to rules adopted by the office. The office is not required to designate any moving image project as a faith-based moving image project and has sole discretion to make that designation.

One denial and a court case will follow. Texas will lose that court case. Does “faith-based” apply only to Christian films? Is it defined in Texas law? I couldn’t find it. I found “religious organization”, but not “faith-based”.

Religious discrimination is illegal. It’s how Mosques, Buddhist temples and any other “church” or “worship center”, Christian or non-Christian, are built anywhere in any zone. I know of 3 such situations that occurred in neighboring towns when I was in elected office in NJ. Under Federal law, they could not be stopped. One was in a former commercial building, another on a large open tract of land, and the third in a residential neighborhood.

When any bill calls for “faith-based”, think long and hard about whether you’d want the provisions of that bill applying to other than Christian religions. Because this is the Bible-belt, I think that Texans too often think only of Christianity. But that’s not the case under Federal law. Substitute any religion you are adamantly opposed to in place of “faith-based” in the bill and decide if you’d still support it. Food for thought.

Bills Wither and Die on the Vine

To get to the Governor for signature in order to become law, Texas bills originating in the Texas House must be assigned to a committee, must have a hearing and be voted out of that committee, must be assigned to a calendar by the Calendar Committee and then must pass on the House floor.

In my business (IT), we would call every one of these a possible point of failure. But those aren’t the only ones because after passing the House, a bill goes to the Senate and the same process happens all over again.

So, last Thursday at midnight, any bill that originated in the House and hadn’t yet had a floor vote was effectively dead. DEAD. And, that night, many bills died. Texas also has a rule that bills are all single subjects, so thousands are filed each session.

Wondering how the list of bills authored or sponsored by HD-17 Rep Stan Gerdes faired? I can tell you that the one I’ve pushed now for two sessions never made it beyond committee assignment. Apparently, it found its way pretty quickly to the circular file again this session. Developers don’t want it and they have far more influence (and money) than we citizens do.

But here’s an article about a few possible (possible because they’ve not yet been signed by Gov Abbott) wins for Rep Gerdes: https://www.kbtx.com/2025/05/18/most-bills-die-texas-house-deadline-heres-what-brazos-valley-lawmakers-secured/

Eventually, I’ll post about the status of his various bills. That’s hours of work so it won’t happen before the end of the legislative session. Oh, did I mention that’s a mere 13 days away? Sine die, the end of the session, is on June 2.

It sure doesn’t look like a great session for Republicans, but then again, many of us predicted that when the Speaker vote shenanigans took place. See also: The Poison Pill, No Dem Chairs Vote Rings Hollow, and The Clock is Ticking.

It’s baaaack… Gateway Zoning Returns

There was a long discussion on Nextdoor a while back about development in the City of Bastrop and this election. NO, some shouted. It isn’t about the Gateway development. That’s over. Some of that land is up for sale, they said, so it won’t come back.

Caution, I said. Rezoning is afoot and zoning goes with the land, not the owner. The last application was a request for a zone change. I warned the City was moving too fast with zone changes and the public really didn’t understand them. I also warned about the City Council appointing developer and ethically-challenged former City Council member Jimmy Crouch to Planning & Zoning. I warned about stacking that Commission with developer friendly, Council buddies.

Now this article, from Thursday night’s P&Z meeting, by the Independent Texans PAC.
NOTE: I’ve refrained from suggesting who you should vote for since I don’t live in the City and I continue to do so. The title on this post is that of Independent Texans PAC, not mine. Article reprinted with permission to reprint in full from Independent Texans PAC.

So Wrong on So Many Levels

I’ve been to many, many governing body meetings. Ten years of Council meetings as an elected official myself. Then there were the many years before and after my term of office. As a public information official, I attended county governing body meetings. I’d say I’ve easily attended over 700 governmental body meetings.

But not once, until April 22 at the Bastrop City Council meeting, have I ever seen the presiding official prohibit a member of the public from speaking. We didn’t have time limits on our speakers and some came to every meeting calling us out on our lack of action on this issue or that. Some were relentless, but we listened to them each time. We, after all, were their representatives, those they hoped could fix what they saw as problems in our town.

John Kirkland’s blatantly politically motivated actions last night were shocking. He was way out of line. His use of his position on the dais to silence a political opponent was a clear abuse of power. He should have allowed the former mayor to speak, thanked him for his comments, and moved on. But he didn’t. He rambled on about some illegality, about the former mayor not being able to speak because the vacancy hadn’t been filled. Ridiculous and wrong.

John Kirkland is blinded by his vendetta against Lyle Nelson. Kirkland, not some errant member of the public, circulated the petition to get rid of the mayor. Whether the former mayor was right or wrong in his actions isn’t the issue. He was never charged with a crime and was completely exonerated by the Council’s own investigator. Kirkland couldn’t wait to get him off the Council. Now, it seems, he is hell-bent on keeping him on.

Once the mayor resigned, Kirkland needed to move on. But he hasn’t. The former mayor, whether Kirkland likes it or not, is a citizen of the City. He has the legal right to speak at meetings, to call out actions of the City Council where he sees they need calling out.

What better person to raise issues than one who has been in the system? He has far more knowledge than most citizens. But that’s what makes him dangerous to Kirkland and his ilk. That’s why he’s a threat. He knows the game. He knows the players.

Kirkland’s actions last night were offensive to a free people living in a representative republic with a constitutional right of redress of grievances. They were a vicious attack on government of the people, by the people and for the people. If Kirkland can’t handle the heat, which he apparently cannot, he should get out of the kitchen.