Party Time: Partisan Politics and City Elections
Many of the people I've talked with in our city seem to believe Texas law prohibits city council candidates from declaring their national party affiliations or accepting funds or assistance from partisan individuals or groups. That's not the case.
As far as funding is concerned, Texas law allows unlimited contributions from individuals, state party committees, and Political Action Committees (PACs). The only prohibitions are on donations from corporations or labor unions and cash (currency/coin) contributions over $100 per contributor per reporting period. There are additional requirements for contributions totaling more than $500 from out-of-state political committees. (Texas Election Code, Sec. 253).
As for parties on the ballot, home-rule cities can, by charter, make their ballots partisan. It's been that way since 2015.
TX Election Code 143.003. PARTISAN CANDIDACY FOR HOME-RULE CITY OFFICE AUTHORIZED. (a) A city charter may authorize nominations of partisan candidates by political organizations for an office of a home-rule city. Implementing regulations may be prescribed by the charter or by ordinance under charter authorization.
Our city has not chosen to do that. Few have, but I would not be surprised to see more municipalities vote in such a provision in the future.
That's because our country is divided. The two major political parties have never, in my lifetime, been farther apart in ideology and philosophy. Once upon a time, for most folks who weren't politicians, party affiliation - theirs or others' - didn't matter much. Today it's different.
For many now, the labels Republican, Democrat, liberal, or conservative are a part of their identity that's vitally important to them. And they want to know the party affiliations of candidates running for office, including in "non-partisan" city elections.
I wish it wasn't this way. As has been often said: streets and roads, water and sewer services, trash pickup, and so many other city-related issues can't be classified as liberal or conservative. Those on both sides of the aisle want clean and safe parks, well-maintained infrastructure, low crime, and fire trucks that won't break down on the way to a burning house.
In reality, though, whether or not candidates make their parties an issue, some voters will. If a candidate attends an event put on by a partisan group, votes in a party primary, or even expresses an opinion that's generally associated with one party or the other, some on the other side will blow it up into front-page news. Some will even make assumptions about a person's party affiliation based on the other's race, age, or sexual orientation.
I am a staunch fiscal conservative - which should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed my votes on city spending. I adamantly support our law enforcement institutions and our good police officers, and I believe criminals who harm others or take others' property should be punished. I also believe we have too many laws regulating behavior that harms no one - which is the fault of legislators, not the police - and many of them should be repealed.
"As government expands, liberty contracts." - Ronald Reagan
I believe in small government because I believe in individual liberty. In today's political climate, that makes me a Republican.
On many social issues, I'm closer to the middle of the road. I don't care who you love or marry - that's not my business. I also consider your religious beliefs to be none of my business. I don't believe the advocacy of either of those should be financed by taxpayer money. I believe in equal rights and equal opportunity for all (but not some nebulous concept of "equity" that involves punishing a group of people for what their ancestors did).
I don't think of myself in terms of a political party when I'm sitting at the dais, and I base my vote on each individual issue on its own merits, not according to a party playbook. It's my guiding principles that influence what I do in all aspects of my life.
On the political ideology matrix tests, which measure where you fall not just on a liberal-to-conservative continuum but also on a libertarian-to-authoritarian one, I always fall somewhere in the bottom right quadrant - close to midpoint conservative and solidly libertarian. Again, no surprise to anyone who really knows me.
None of this should matter in relation to city government, but to many people, it does. I don't make a lot of campaign promises because there is so much that an individual councilmember - including the mayor - can't control. But I can promise that as mayor, I will continue to approach every issue by considering the applicable law and all the relevant facts and circumstances. The partisan affiliation of anyone involved (including myself) won't factor into that equation. The principles of fairness, freedom, and fiscal responsibility always will.
