Support

Throughout this last week, the citizens of Arlington have turned out in tremendous numbers to support my stance against Open Carry Texas here in Arlington.  OCT's actions in the last Council meeting were such that, it was obvious that they couldn’t care less about the First Amendment nor the Second Amendment.  They were simply an unruly gang, stomping on the rights of others for their own benefit. 

Encompassed in their pursuit of happiness, they have proceeded to taunt a women’s group that was for gun control.  They have disrespected our police officers by calling them thugs, they have violated our laws and been cited for that.  They have disrupted a public meeting of the City Council, and deprived me of my First Amendment rights while denigrating my marriage of 39 yrs.  Enough is enough.

This is a gang pure and simple.  But what is disturbing about this event, is that candidates for the House of Representatives and the State Senate have knowingly aligned themselves with this gang mentality.  Both Konni Burton and Tony Tinderholt have lead the assault on our way of life here in Arlington.  Their brazen disrespect for the sanctity of the Council Chamber and local government, have led me to do something that I have never done in my life.  As a conservative Republican, I am supporting a Democrat for the race in the 94^th state congressional district.  I have met with Cole Ballweg several times and I have found him to be an intelligent, respectful small business owner here in Arlington.   I know that he has the demeanor to go to Austin and work across the aisle in such a fashion as to be appreciated by is counterparts.  With the outbursts of Cole’s opponent last Tuesday evening, I can assure you that Mr. Tinderholt cannot even control his temper and respect city government, much less that of a state venue.  Sending this individual to Austin is simply a mistake.

Mr. Tinderholt’s emotional imbalance is a matter of public record.  But beside his inability to keep his temper under control and his personal life in check, he has gone out of his way to support a gang and champion their cause.  Please don’t tell me it’s free speech, because it isn’t.  If that were the case he wouldn’t break the law by disrupting a government meeting of the Council, interrupting someone else while they are exercising their freedom of speech.  That would be hypocritical.  Mr. Tinderholt has already alienated himself from the City of Arlington’s government, please don’t send him to Austin and embarrass the citizens of Arlington at the state level.  Vote for Cole Ballweg. 

I have also supported the campaign of Republican candidate for State Senate Mark Shelton.  Konni Burton is of the same ilk as Mr. Tinderholt.  She is also in support of the Open Carry Texas gang.  But with Ms. Burton you can also assure yourself that there will be no state funding for high speed rail from Dallas to Ft. Worth.  Both Kathryn Wilemon and I support Mark Shelton for State Senate.