Elections Tied to Post Oak Dump

The proposed Post Oak Dump is an ongoing controversy in Guadalupe County similar to one in Maverick County near Eagle Pass over a coal mine operated by Dos Republicas Coal Partnership. Both projects require permits from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). In both situations the citizens of the area have brought up significant concerns over damage to local water resources.

In Maverick County, despite long opposition from local residents and environmental groups like the Sierra Club, Dos Republicas has received TCEQ permits to expand its operation and to discharge waste-polluted storm water and mine seepage into nearby Elm Creek, which feeds the Rio Grande — the source of drinking water for many Maverick County residents — and Hediondo Creek, a recreational fishing stream.

In Guadalupe County, the fight to prevent Post Oak Dump from acquiring a permit from TCEQ continues because residents fear that storm water runoff will become contaminated by the refuse buried there and carry those contaminants into the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer recharge zone thereby adversely affecting drinking water in the area.

Whether project opponents in Maverick County or Guadalupe County realize it these fights are related to who we elect as Texas Governor and as our state legislators. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is run by appointees of the governor and his views on environmental protection versus the interests of business have a tremendous effect on the decisions made by the agency. As Maverick County residents have recently learned business interests outweigh safe, clean water needs in the minds of TCEQ decision makers. Of course that’s not surprising when you consider that Gov. Abbott leads a party whose state platform calls for eliminating the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

State legislators also have an impact on the decisions the agency makes through passing laws and budgets. This November we have an opportunity to affect the Post Oak Dump decision by who we vote for in the race for Texas House District 44. Incumbent John Kuempel has publicly opposed the project but has done nothing to change the process which led to the preliminary permit or that might prevent approval of a final permit. We can re-elect our current Republican who has supported the Governor at every turn or we can send a message that we’ve had enough by electing Robert Bohmfalk instead.

It could take a generation to truly change the course of the TCEQ even if we elected good environmental stewards to every state office because our overly business friendly Governors have appointed commissioners with the same philosophy to the agency which then is passed down through the hiring process for agency employees at every level. If we don’t start now we won’t see improvement in our lifetimes.

Expanding Medicaid good for Texas, great for Guadalupe County

Over 27,000 or more than 1 in 5 citizens of Guadalupe County has no medical insurance according to the nonpartisan Center for Public Policy Priorities and therefore will have restricted or no access to medical care and prescription medication. More than 5,500 of those who are uninsured are children. Gov. Perry has so far refused to accept federal funds available under the Affordable Care Act that expand Medicaid to cover more than 15,000 additional people here in Guadalupe County.


Regardless of how you feel about the man in the White House or whether you think the Affordable Care Act should be repealed don’t you think that Guadalupe County and the rest of Texas should have the opportunity to draw down those funds for our citizens. It isn’t just health care for low income or out of work people we’re missing out on. It’s nearly $20 million a year which is enough to pay almost 400 additional medical professionals like Registered Nurses and family doctors. Just think of the economic impact of adding 400 more highly paid professionals to the local market, that’s new customers for everything from restaurants, movie theaters, grocery stores and auto dealers to clothing stores, bakeries and convenience stores.

If Texas doesn’t participate in expanding Medicaid those dollars just go to other states to make their plans more generous. If Rick Perry let’s that happen isn’t that like cutting off your nose to spite your face?

Why spend $300,000 for insurance if we can simply choose to never need it?

A couple of weeks ago the Guadalupe County Commissioners Court voted to spend $300,000 of taxpayer money wastefully. Guadalupe County hasn’t had a death penalty case in over 30 years yet they approved an inter-local agreement with Lubbock County to provide public defenders in death penalty cases, essentially an insurance policy.

Guadalupe County need never have a death penalty case as the District Attorney can simply choose to ask for life in prison without the possibility of parole and save the people of this county the $300,000 insurance premium.

Whatever you think about the justifiability of the death penalty you should remember two things. It costs about four times as much to execute someone as it does to put them in prison for life due to the appeals and other legal fees. There’s every reason to believe that not only did Texas kill an innocent man when Cameron Todd Willingham was executed by lethal injection but as we now know there was no crime committed at all because the fire that killed his children was accidental and not arson.

Guadalupe County should never have a death penalty case and if we don’t then we have no reason to spend $300,000 of the citizen’s money. Call your County Commissioner and Judge Mike Wiggins and tell them how you feel.