07.12.07

Let Us Begin - Follow Up

Posted in 2008 Primary, Election 2008, Had Enough Yet?, HD-52, Take Action, Uncategorized, Williamson County at 4:22 pm by wcnews

I would like to invite everyone to read the comments to the earlier post, Let Us Begin - The End Of Republican Dominance. The last comment in particular offers some great historical information on how the change took place in Williamson County; going from a Democratic to a Republican dominated county.

In an AAS article from December of 1994, “Election turns tide for Williamson County politics,” the transition didn’t happen overnight.

When Melvin Pfennig of Taylor was chairman of the Republican Party in Williamson County in 1978, he purchased ads in the local newspapers announcing a meeting of all conservatives in the county.

“I had seven people show up. We met in the library in Round Rock. We could’ve met in a phone booth. That was in January. We kept meeting, and by June we had enough to fill a whole courtroom for our first real county convention.

“I never thought I’d see an election like we had last month,” Pfennig said.

From a phone booth to dominating the county in 16 years. They did it mainly by outworking the Democrats, a demographic shift among the incoming population and a national tide. A scenario that mirrors our present situation.

Though the shift may not be as radical, due to the overall size of the county, there will be a leveling out over the coming years. Those moving to Williamson County are more likely to support Democratic candidates, and long-time independents are warming to the Democratic party as they tire of droning Republican failure.

Ideally, no one party will dominate county politics the way the Republicans have recently and Democrats had in the past. A system with two nearly equal opposing parties produces a government with more accountability, competence and responsiveness.

In answer to the comment:

Go from 90% Democrat to 90% Republican, the Republican party notices.

Whether the Democratic party would notice if we switched back, I’m not so sure.

You better believe they would. They took notice after we almost took out Rep. Mike Krusee. I guarantee both parties noticed that.

And that former DA that tried the “Orange Socks” case with Ed Walsh with now Congressman Carter presiding.

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