Pulling Hair by Linda Scarbrough
Early voting in the November 3 election starts Monday, October 19, and ends October 30. Formal Election Day is Tuesday, November 3. Our votes will predict how things will go in Georgetown public schools and further afield in Texas, the U.S. and even the world.
I’m not going to hammer on about the strengths or weaknesses of candidates. Most people have read about them in the Sun and seen more TV and social media streams than anyone imagined existed. Some of it is pretty rough.
But some words are worth saying —and repeating.
Georgetown Independent School District’s Proposition A is solid. Though passage means a slight increase in the tax rate, GISD home appraisal values have plummeted so much this year that most homeowners will see only a scant increase in their tax bill: about $8 a year.
What this buys our kids is better pay for our public school teachers, which in turn will buy us the best teachers available to teach our children to the top of the academic heap. Our young folks must be masters of academics whether they turn themselves into astronauts or electricians. This will become the key to happy, fulfilled lives, not only for themselves but for their future home communities, wherever those may be. In that way, our children will become strong assets to this nation’s strength.
For this to happen, we must successfully compete for the best teachers against dozens of school districts around the Austin region, some of them quite rich. We cannot do this without this small investment in our children’s futures.
***
When I was in the second grade at the first Annie Purl Elementary School, a handsome three-story limestone building that sat where Dos Salsas now stands, a presidential election was going on. It was 1952, and Dwight D. Eisenhower, World War II hero, was running against Adlai Stevenson, Illinois governor. Mama Clara and Daddy Don held forth around the dinner table on candidates and issues. I became a premature talking head.
My teacher was Beverly Treuhardt. I adored her. She was beautiful and an inspiring teacher. One day I crept to her side and asked, “Mrs. Treuhardt, who are you supporting for president?”
She gave me a surprised look and thought for a moment. “Well, Linda,” she said, “I’ll tell you, but it’s a secret. I like Ike!”
When elections roll around, I often think of that statement. It was stamped on every Eisenhower campaign button, so she wasn’t telling me a secret. But that simple statement for me has summed up much of what has passed for political wisdom between that time and now.
It almost always boils down to the candidate we like, more than any promised policy: tax the rich; a chicken in every pot; a big, beautiful border wall securing peace and prosperity.
For me, liking a candidate means someone I trust and respect. Someone who gives me the feeling that they would enjoy having a cup of coffee with me and hearing what I think about the issues of the day. Someone your children will model.
I like Talarico, running for a seat in the U.S. Senate.
For me, an election is a test of a candidate’s character. A test about whether a candidate is not just kind, but practical and smart; doesn’t just have empathy for other people, but makes tough decisions when necessary. It helps if the candidate knows something about the office he or she hopes to fill.
***
Talarico, 37, was a child of Round Rock. His grandfather was a South Texas Baptist preacher who, when Talarico was “real little,” as he said last January, “told me that Christianity is a simple religion — not an easy religion, he would always clarify, but a simple religion — because Jesus gave us these two Commandments: To love God, our source, and to love our neighbors.
“And so those two Commandments have really guided my life at its best moments.”
He is deeply religious and is working toward a Master of Divinity degree at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. He does not hesitate to apply his knowledge and faith in Christianity to the practice of politics and securing legislation. This is not always a plus in a political candidate, but as I have read about Talarico and his own words, it seems a good fit.
I appreciate his strong embrace of the foundational principle of the United States: separation of church and state. I believe this is our nation’s bulwark against the disintegration of our democratic republic.
He is a great believer in the salvation of a good education: he graduated from McNeil High School, University of Texas at Austin (government), and Harvard School of Education with a Master’s in Education. He taught English to sixth graders and directed a nonprofit bringing computers to classrooms to help kids struggling with mathematics.
He has been an active member of the Texas House of Representatives for eight years. He’s been about as successful at getting legislation passed as a Democrat could have been in this chamber, which has been under Republican control during his tenure. He has cultivated friendships and alliances with his Republican colleagues: lunches, family dinners, coffee chats. He works across the aisle because, he says, he wants to get things done.
His first focus was education. Making health care less expensive became a huge issue for him during his first term, when he capped the price of a month’s supply of insulin at $25. Later his legislative work led to Texans being allowed to buy less expensive Canadian medicines approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
He is protective of voting rights for American citizens. He passed the Javier Ambler Law to prohibit state law enforcement agencies from entering into contracts with reality TV shows that film them while working in the line of duty. He helped establish reporting and removal requirements for explicit deepfake material on social media.
I don’t agree with everything that Talarico has said or done. But I trust him to be thoughtful and work hard to understand the problems of the people he represents and the outsized forces that shape society and governments. I trust him to be honest. Like most of us, he has matured toward moderation. He does not consider his Republican colleagues enemies. This, to my way of thinking, is an excellent thing.
Many of us have made up our minds about the contest between Talarico and our better-known attorney general, Ken Paxton. For those who haven’t, I would like to suggest opening your minds to Talarico. Do your own research from sources with different political biases, like Fox and CNN, or consult fact-based, neutral sources, like Britannica.
I think Talarico will make a great senator for Texas.
Linda Scarbrough is the co-owner and co-publisher of the Williamson County Sun. She and her husband, Clark Thurmond , have managed the paper since purchasing the it from her father in 1986. To learn more about the newspaper's history, visit www.wilcosun.com/news-georgetown/sun-launches-150th-volume.