Democratic Party of Jeff Davis County
Our Very On Blog
and you're a part of it!
Our new blog page is designed as a community page, consisting mostly of contributions from our members and newsletter subscribers. You determine the content of this page. Each month, we intend to feature a new post on our Blog from one of you.
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Our third blog post, with an introduction by Roy Morey, highlights a new book by Liz Cheney, who experienced the Trump-inspired January 6th insurrection from inside the halls of Congress, and also draws attention to a compendium of articles, in the January-February 2024 edition of The Atlantic, which outline what a second Trump presidential term would entail. Some of these articles are frightening, but must-reads nevertheless.
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You can access this collection as a separate pdf: Blog -- Introduction to Trump Compendium.
Previous Blogs
Our second blog post has been contributed by Todd Jagger, who worked tirelessly to help shepherd House Bill 1330, legislation critical to the future of Jeff Davis County, through the Texas Legislature. We strongly supported this legislation, and are grateful to Todd, our County Judge Curtis Evans, our State Representative Morales, and our State Senator Blanco for their efforts to pass this bill. We are anxious to see what public improvement projects result from these efforts.
Todd Jagger on House Bill 1330
(originally posted on Fort Davis Community Chat June 12th)
HB 1330 was signed into law by Gov. Abbott over the weekend. Because it received more than 2/3 votes in both the Texas House and Texas Senate, it takes effect immediately.
This is the bill that allows Jeff Davis County (exclusively) to apply for and receive infrastructure grant funding to benefit our unincorporated communities (i.e., Fort Davis). These could be road, drainage, sidewalks, parks and other improvements. Many grants are tied to being an incorporated municipality so this opens up new sources of funding without us having to add another unnecessary and unwanted layer of government and taxing entity. It's kind of a big deal.
The TxLege deservedly gets criticized for their efforts (or lack thereof), but Representative Heriberto Eddie Morales Jr. and Senator César Blanco worked hard and fought to get this bill passed. Only about one in seven bills filed actually gets passed, and it's not without dedicated effort on the part of our reps. I'm sure they would appreciate a "thank you."
And y'all should know that Judge Curtis Evans sealed the deal by traveling to Austin twice on a moment's notice to testify before the House and Senate committees on why this bill is important to us. When we got word at 6pm that it was going to be heard at 8:30am the next day in the Senate, Curtis drove home from Fort Stockton, then drove all night to Austin, getting just a few hours of sleep in a parking lot, before testifying to the committee. I have no doubts whatsoever that his presence and advocacy made the difference in moving our bill out of committee and to passage. He may not toot his own horn so I'm gonna do it for him. When you see Curtis maybe give him a thanks too.
To my knowledge, this is a historic first for any Texas community. We'll see if it bears fruit but the tree is in the ground.
Addressing Environmental Quality in Texas
Gary Freeman, Precinct 5 Democratic Chair, Jeff Davis County
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It is clear to almost everyone in Texas (except our governor) that rapid global warming is taking place. We are dealing with higher temperatures, less rain associated with drought, and much higher wind speeds responsible for larger fires that destroy property. This has consequences for our environment and the economy.
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Currently the state legislature is in session. It is important to figure out what they want to do with reference to global warming and educate Texans about alternatives that will address the issues.
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Texans still remember the failure of the electrical grid during winter storm Uri a couple years ago. If you lived in Fort Davis, you didn’t have electricity, but if you lived in the DMR, you had electricity because parts of West Texas were never on that grid. After the grid fiasco, the cost of electricity went up to pay for the grid. Now, the grid is supposed to be fixed.
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The governor and the Republican majority in the legislature want to subsidize the construction of plants that use oil and gas to generate electricity. They say it will help the grid. If they have solved the grid problem, why are these plants needed? Texas is the US leader in generating electricity from wind and solar, which do not produce greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming, and do not cause the pollution generated by fossil fuel production.
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The problem with the Texas power grid is the way it was set up. Instead of joining the rest of the country with stricter laws regulating pollution, they decided to go it alone, so we are all paying the high health cost of poor air quality. As part of a larger grid we would not have had these problems. The EPA is currently suing Texas for excessive air pollution that negatively impacts neighboring states.
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Global warming is not going to go away. The question is, how do we live with it. We must modify existing buildings where we live and work. This means more insulation to make heating and cooling more effective, as well as new ways to control temperature. Temperature control will require heat pumps, ventilation systems, etc.
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State government should update housing codes and provide tax incentives, loans, and grants. New laws involving water quality and its uses are required. Presently, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is an exercise in window dressing. The TCEQ collects data but does not act on it. The commission avoids anything that might result in lawsuits against a polluter.
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Thankfully, the commission is up for review this year. The legislature should require the commission to actively stop pollution through lawsuits and heavy fines or disband the commission altogether.
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What's your view? Do you have a post to contribute? We want feedback. Message us!
Our first post was contributed by our Precinct 5 Democratic Chair, Gary Freeman. Now residing near the top of Limpia Canyon in Davis Mountains Resort, Gary is a retired Professor Emeritus of Biology at the University of Texas. Since Gary has long been a student of climate change throughout the world, and especially in Texas, the topic of his first Blog post is not surprising: Addressing Environmental Quality in Texas.