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  1. #1
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    Candidate Who Supported Farmers Branch Wins Runoff

    http://link.toolbot.com/dallasnews.com/54492
    Carrollton: Winner backed law against illegal immigrants
    08:14 PM CST on Wednesday, January 10, 2007
    By STEPHANIE SANDOVAL / The Dallas Morning News

    Terry Simons may have been a distant second among six candidates in the December special Carrollton City Council election. But he managed to pull out a win with a substantial margin in Tuesday's runoff election.

    Political observers are divided on how he managed it.

    Some say his runoff campaign stance supporting Farmers Branch illegal-immigration measures and indicating that Carrollton residents want their city to take similar action may have pushed him over the top.

    Others say it was support from sitting council members and members of his church.

    Regardless of which is true, some say the fact that the Farmers Branch measures came up in Carrollton could be just the start, with candidates in Carrollton and other cities following suit this spring.

    Mr. Simons defeated Jack Stotz with 55 percent of the vote.

    In the December election, Mr. Stotz had 38 percent , Mr. Simons had 18 percent and the remaining votes were split among four other candidates.

    "What happened between the early vote and election day in the Carrollton election?" said political watchdog Tom Washington of Carrollton.

    "One of the things that occurred to me ... Terry said he was in favor of looking at some Farmers Branch-type ordinances. Jack very clearly said it wasn't an issue the citizens cared about."

    Mr. Washington said Mr. Simons and Mr. Stotz took similar positions on issues like transit-oriented development. But the immigration issue made a big difference, he said.

    "The issues that bubbled up, the one that seemed to put a clear difference between the candidates is immigration," Mr. Washington said, "and that bubbled up between the regular election and the runoff."

    Mr. Washington also noted that turnout was greater in the runoff, which he also traces to the immigration issue.
    A mix of factors

    Bob McCranie said it's too early assess the influence of the immigration debate on the Simons-Stotz runoff.

    "Until I see the results precinct by precinct and see who voted and who didn't, I won't know that answer," said Mr. McCranie, a Carrollton resident who's been active behind the scenes in local political campaigns.

    "I want to see the voter rolls," he said. "If they're all First Baptist people, I can tell you First Baptist was the impetus in this election. ... I think the verdict is out until we see how the demographic came down."

    Brent Taylor, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Carrollton, e-mailed members of the large congregation, encouraging them to vote because of issues related to the church's new property.

    Mr. McCranie said that may have played a major role in the election, along with an e-mail by council member Tim Hayden endorsing Mr. Simons, who served on the council until February 2006.

    Mr. Simons stepped down in December 2005 to run for Denton County justice of the peace but retained his seat until February, when Matthew Marchant was elected without opposition. Mr. Simons lost his JP bid in the March Republican primary.

    Mr. Hayden's endorsement carried some weight, Mr. McCranie said.

    "I think if it was the immigration issue, Terry would have been ahead in early voting," he said.

    Mr. Stotz led the early voting, 487 to 474. Mr. Simons led election day voting, 572 to 357.

    While uncertain of immigration's effect on the race, Mr. McCranie said Mr. Simons' election could change council dynamics.

    Last month, two council members indicated they would support the city's participation in the 287(g) program, which trains law enforcement officers to verify the immigration status of people taken into custody. The majority of council members indicated during a briefing session that they didn't want to participate in the program, but one was undecided.

    It would only take four to change the informal decision or to move ahead with other anti-illegal immigrant issues, Mr. McCranie said.

    Mr. Simons didn't return phone calls Wednesday.

    Mr. Stotz said he believes the immigration issue was a minor factor in the runoff.

    "My inclination is to think [Mr. Simons] effectively got the members of his church out to vote," Mr. Stotz said. "They're a large group in the community."
    Spreading issue?

    Whether illegal immigration influenced Carrollton voters or not, other political observers say they expect it to become more of a topic in municipal elections as most area cities head into May city council elections.

    "Given the amount of discussion that's gone on around the Farmers Branch thing and some of the issues that have developed nationally, it seems to me it's probably a bigger chance it will come up," said Dr. John Todd, associate professor of political science at the University of North Texas. "This is something people are pretty sharply divided on."

    Three lawsuits have been filed against Farmers Branch since it banned apartments from renting to illegal immigrants on Nov. 13. That ordinance is set to take effect on Friday, but the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund on Wednesday asked a federal court for a temporary restraining order to prevent it from being implemented.

    E-mail ssandoval@dallasnews.com

  2. #2
    Senior Member Dixie's Avatar
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    A lot of the local cities are having elections this May and those running in DFW better speak out against illegal immigration because we will not elect someone that will not.

    Dixie
    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

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    This is exactly what we needed.

    W
    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

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    Senior Member Dixie's Avatar
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    Carrollton TX - Immigration issue seeps into election

    http://link.toolbot.com/dallasnews.com/56301

    Immigration issue seeps into election

    Candidates in Carrollton council runoff debate relevance of FB restrictions


    09:54 AM CST on Friday, January 5, 2007
    By STEPHANIE SANDOVAL / The Dallas Morning News

    ELECTIONS '07

    Illegal immigration issues in Farmers Branch are shaping the political debate in neighboring Carrollton.

    Whether Carrollton should follow its neighbor's lead and take steps to restrict illegal immigrants has become the hot-button topic ahead of Tuesday's runoff for the Place 6 City Council seat. The race pits former council member Terry Simons against former planning and zoning commissioner Jack Stotz.

    Mayor Becky Miller said she thinks it's a fire stoked by Mr. Simons as a last-ditch effort to win an election that saw him come in second among six candidates last month with 18 percent of the votes. Mr. Stotz had 37 percent.

    Mr. Simons said it's an issue Carrollton residents are passionate about.

    But Mr. Stotz said the city has more important priorities than trying to regulate issues that fall under the federal government's jurisdiction.

    Some council members agree it's a hot-button topic.

    But they say there's not much chance Mr. Simons will get enough support on the council to move forward with any proposal similar to that in Farmers Branch.

    Farmers Branch in November approved an ordinance requiring apartment managers to obtain proof that anyone leasing or renewing a lease is either a U.S. citizen or in the country legally – effectively banning illegal immigrants from renting an apartment there.

    The City Council also made English the official language in Farmers Branch and authorized the Police Department to apply for a federal program that would train a detention officer to check the immigration status of city jail inmates. In some cases, the officer could initiate deportation proceedings.

    Since then, three lawsuits have been filed against Farmers Branch, and a group of residents submitted a petition that will require the City Council on Monday to either repeal the apartment ordinance or put it to a public vote in May.


    'A lot bigger deal'

    "The immigration issue has turned out to be a lot bigger deal than what I thought it was going to be," said Mr. Simons, a 50-year-old builder.

    Though he also says the city needs to focus on bringing new businesses in to fill empty shopping centers, he said the immigration debate is important among voters.

    "I had a lot of really positive feedback ... strangely enough from people who have immigrated here to the United States through the legal system," he said. "They're like: 'It's not fair we're allowing all these people to come into the U.S. and not doing anything about it. We came through the system the legal way, and they can, too.' "

    The Carrollton City Council last month agreed not to pursue the federal law enforcement training program, known as 287(g). Council members said anyone jailed on a charge higher than a Class C misdemeanor in Carrollton, and who doesn't bond out, is transferred to Dallas or Denton County jails, where immigration officers frequently review the residency status of inmates.

    But Mr. Simons said he wants the City Council to reconsider that. And if elected, he said, he will try to get the council to consider other actions similar to what Farmers Branch has done.


    'It's crept into this'

    Mr. Stotz said that during the original campaign, residents raised the immigration issue only twice with him and that Mr. Simons did not focus on the issue until the runoff campaign.

    "I'm sorry that it's crept into this," said Mr. Stotz, 58, a retired IRS administrator. "I understand, because Farmers Branch is our neighbor to the south, but I'm sorry that issue has come up in this election. I don't think it's the most important issue to the city in the next six to 18 months, or the next eight to 10 years."

    The important issues are training and equipping public-safety personnel, ensuring the quality of development around the future rail stations, and improving and sustaining neighborhoods, he said.

    "I wouldn't want to lose focus on those issues that would make Carrollton a better place to live, work, play and get our children educated," Mr. Stotz said.

    But he said he does realize illegal immigration is an important issue to many Americans.

    "I think a lot of people are frustrated the federal government doesn't care to be doing all they can to secure the borders, so [citizens] are kind of looking to someone to do something, and Farmers Branch has taken that initiative," Mr. Stotz said. "I don't think it's the right move for Carrollton."

    Ms. Miller, the Carrollton mayor, said it's an issue only a handful of her city's residents have expressed concern about in the months that Farmers Branch debated it.

    "I think it's unfortunate because I think it's being used as a political campaign platform," she said. "I don't see it going anywhere if he brings it forward. This council has talked about it, and pretty much we decided we weren't going to get involved and do what Farmers Branch has done."

    But Carrollton council member Tim Hayden said he would have been surprised if the illegal immigration issue had not come up during the runoff campaign.

    "Meetings with my business, I go in there talking about business stuff, and it comes up," he said. "People are very emotional about the issue and feel strongly one side or the other. I think it's the topic of the day."

    E-mail ssandoval@dallasnews.com
    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

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