12.16.08

Vote to renew contract with county and CCA regarding T. Don Hutto scheduled for December 23rd

Posted in Bad Government Republicans, Commissioners Court, County Judge, Had Enough Yet?, T. Don Hutto, Uncategorized, Williamson County at 3:49 pm by wcnews

Received via email:

Judge Gattis announced this morning that the vote will take place on Dec 23rd; any hope of getting them to vote against the renewal rests on our activity before that meeting.

But, we must have full force at the meeting to assure they don’t bail out simply because we don’t give them the cover to vote for us and justice.

So, between now and the eve of Christmas Eve:

1. Contact anyone in the county hierarchy who might be able to help us; certainly the WCCC members, but also anyone who could talk to them with good audience.–minister, friends, family members, etc.

2. Write letters to the Sun, AAS, Chron.

3 Consider getting a few other supporters to go with you to visit with your commissioner–or go on your own; small settings can work far better than large, public ones because the commissioner needn’t be defensive of the issue. (It was in such a meeting that Gattis revealed that he was not necessarily in opposition to my position! I count him as a sure vote if we can dig up 2 more; I believe Birkman, Morrison, and Covey, in that order, are our hope. Long is hard-tail. )

4. Come to Sat. vigil to show support and generate more.

5. Attend the Dec 23rd meeting, come early (CCA will try to pack the place before it starts), bring others, and seriously consider speaking.

(I firmly believe that the new faces and voices who have recently come out against the contract renewal have had a huge impact. We had three new voices, again, this morning! Bill Marsh, Kate McSpadden, and Randall Craig all spoke with great insight and force about the need to opt out of renewal.)

Please stay in touch if you see a road-block or an in-road; we need to maximize our chances in these final few days!

Attach: my statement before WCCC today

MaryEllen Kersch

Obviously the WCCC is trying to hide, or shield, this vote by moving it up from a January date which was previously reported, to two days before Christmas. You can read Kersch’s full statement here [.doc], but I will excerpt it below:

We forwarded questions from the forum, seeking a few answers from you. Again, no response.

Well, of course, it seems to some of us that you really don’t have a reason—other than a sort of mini-lecture on punishing children for the “sins of their fathers” which can’t be considered a serious rationale because it makes poor 21st century theology, as well as being an inappropriate motive for action by this strictly administrative body.

Here’s what the other side said at the forum you all boycotted:
1. Putting families in prison for infractions comparable to running a stop sign is “inappropriate.”
2. The lack of oversight and assurance of humane treatment for families held at T Don Hutto is alarming, and contradicted by our national sense of right and wrong, —and does serious emotional damage to the young prisoners who end up gaining American citizenship.
3. Communities that locate a prison in their borders suffer immense long-term economic damage because “clean” economic growth avoids them. The uglier the facility, the greater the damage.
4. There are alternatives to locking up babies and families, and they are proven to be less expensive– and just as effective. But they provide no profit for the prison industry.

So now you know what the other side says; we’re still waiting to hear from you.

It’s doubtful we will hear from them. Just another benefit of one-party, unaccountable government in Williamson County.

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