Matt Stillwell's Bizarre Report to RRISD Board in Question

In the Fall of 2012, I wrote about how the Round Rock Independent School District had run afoul of the law in the way it was 'handling' the School Health Advisory Council, or SHAC.  At that time, an attempt was made to alter the district's sex education curriculum without following state-proscribed procedures.  The RRISD board was forced to dissolve the illegal SHAC and create a new one, which has been meeting since February 2013.  In accordance with the law this time, RRISD Trustees and the Administration appointed volunteers to serve.

One such appointee is our old friend Matt Stillwell; the perennial candidate who claimed he wasn't a liberal when he ran for school board in 2011 but proudly claimed to be a liberal when he ran for State Representative in 2012.  (He is now running for Austin City Council in the newly-created District 6).  Appointed by Trustee Diane Cox, Stillwell was elected chair of the RRISD SHAC in a curious chain of events that seems to have allowed election before the approval of the SHAC bylaws.  In early 2013, it appeared that Stillwell would have firm control of the RRISD SHAC.

However, later in the year, the SHAC vice-chair resigned, and the committee was called upon to elect a replacement.  At the November 12, 2013 SHAC meeting, Stillwell's favored candidate lost the election to Kyle Swartz.  Apparently this was very upsetting for Mr. Stillwell, because he subsequently appeared at the November meeting of the RRISD Board to give an unofficial 'report' to the Trustees.  In his report (video of which can be viewed here,)  an emotional Stillwell complained that his committee can't accomplish anything because the meetings are so contentious.  At times almost tearful, he implies that certain SHAC members are just mean trouble-makers because they dared to ask the vice-chair candidates about their respective philosophy regarding SHAC issues.  At the Board meeting Stillwell very nearly received permission from the board to remove members of the committee (which seems a clear violation of state law regarding SHAC composition.) 

Following Stillwell's controversial 'report' to the board, it seems that his committee members were not in agreement with his statements; the approved minutes of the November SHAC meeting convey a different story, as does a letter sent to the board by Vice-Chair Kyle Swartz, the latter of which is available to the public via open records, (you can see what RRISD sent me here.)

In his letter Mr. Swartz states that SHAC Executive Committee members were not given prior notification of Stillwell's report, were not asked to help prepare the report, and were not invited to attend the Board meeting.  He also notes that the SHAC had discussed and progressed on a number of key items, including those related to the sex education curriculum. More importantly, Swartz states:

Mr. Stillwell indicated the Vice-Chair candidate was asked about their stance on abortion. This is false. The question was, if the candidate felt that a Christian curriculum provider is unacceptable, would the candidate feel there would be a conflict of interest if an abortion provider, or affiliate, provided human sexuality curriculum or instruction. (Emphasis added.)

Perhaps what Mr. Stillwell is really upset about is that he is not able to control the SHAC and implement his agenda. According to his 2012 campaign website, he was affiliated with the Texas Freedom Network, which teaches volunteers to advocate for radical sex education.  Despite the agitation from TFN, note this significant statement in the November RRISD SHAC meeting minutes:

Discussion focused on who is asking for changes to the curriculum. The Trustees are not asking for changes to the curriculum. Parents are not asking for changes to the curriculum. Georgetown is asking RRISD what we are doing because statistics are so good. Question was raised as to where the call for a change is coming from.Member pointed out that perhaps we don’t need to change the curriculum but make changes to the execution.

Regardless of his possible agenda, clearly Stillwell is not particularly adept at providing leadership to his committee.  It appears that when the November SHAC meeting didn’t go his way, he sought to have the board of trustees aid him in circumventing both state law and the bylaws of the committee.  Had he been successful, RRISD would have found itself embroiled in yet another controversy and this time with more serious legal implications.  Now it seems that Stillwell, along with Board President Catherine Hanna (also a TFN volunteer,) and Diane Cox, have fed their version of the story to the Austin American Statesman.  Citizens should be sure to read the official posted meeting minutes as well as Kyle Swartz' letter so that they will have all of the relevant information on this situation.

Update:  Wow, so much interest in this story and messages wondering who besides Mr. Stillwell is running for Austin City Council District 6.  Check out Jay Wiley & his website here. 

Watch Out for The Matt Tax!

Here's a new ad from Texans for Tony Dale:

Both the Democrat Matt and the Libertarian Matt have suggested raising the Texas gas tax.  What is it with these Matts?

Get Out the Vote Rally With Tony and Ted

This Thursday, October 25, U.S. Senate nominee Ted Cruz will join State Representative nominee Tony Dale at the Cedar Park branch of the Williamson County Republican Party Headquarters for a Get Out The Vote rally.  The event will be from 4:30 to 5:45 pm, and attendees will have a chance to meet Ted Cruz, Tony Dale, and many of the other Republicans on the November 2012 ballot. 

If you need to get up to speed on the Senate race, a great source on Ted Cruz is Lawrence Person's Battleswarm Blog. 

Tony Dale is the popular Cedar Park City Councilman and longtime activist who handily won the primary contest for Texas House District 136.  Both Matt Stillwell and Matt Whittington, the Democrat and Libertarian candidates, have suggested raising the state gas tax, which is now coming to be known as the "Matt Tax."   Dale has a solid fiscally conservative record on the Cedar Park Council. 

The Williamson County Republican Party HQ-Cedar Park is located at Railyard Shopping, 601 Whitestone Blvd, Suite 218, Cedar Park, TX.

Hope to see you there!

California Gas Prices: A Cautionary Tale for Texas

"All In Perspective" Column for the week of October 15.  "All in Perspective" is published bi-weekly in the Hill Country News, Georgetown Advocate, and Jarrel Star-Ledger print editions.  
 
It’s been a tough year for California. Stockton and numerous other Golden State cities have filed for bankruptcy. The state government, already struggling under $618 billion in debt, has created a budget that includes as much as $28 billion in deficit spending, and residents are being asked to approve a slew of tax increases for the coming year. Now, Californians are paying the highest gas prices in the nation.

Although fuel prices in California have been rising faster than the rest of the nation for some time, this month the state’s average price reached a record high of $4.67 per gallon. The immediate cause for the latest price surge was a temporarily disabled refinery in the southern part of the state, however, this is only the tip of the iceberg.

As even the left-leaning New York Times has noted, California’s stringent environmental policies and high gas taxes are underlying causes of this latest crisis. The state’s tough emission standards effectively eliminate use of gas blends from other states, and therefore California must rely heavily on in-state refineries. Additional regulations have reduced the number of refineries by 20% since 1985. To make matters worse, California touts the second-highest gas tax in the nation.
These policies have drastically reduced fuel supplies while demand has continued to climb, a dynamic that ultimately leads to higher prices. Higher fuel costs mostly impact the middle class and poor, and, as in the case of ethanol mandates, actually contribute to higher pollution rates while driving up food costs too.

While Senator Diane Feinstein has been quick blame energy producers for the crisis, it’s no secret that the goal of the Democrat’s radical environmental policy is higher prices. Barack Obama stated in 2008 that he actually wanted to “boost” the price of gasoline to European levels, and since the price per gallon has more than doubled since 2009, I guess this is one of the few campaign promises the President did keep.

Although certainly feeling the effects of the Obama economy, Texas has fared better than the rest of the nation. Not only has the state economy grown during the recession, gas prices have remained lower than the national average. ($3.53 per gallon as of October 12.) Taxes on gas are relatively low, and the state has much more reasonable environmental policies. Common-sense environmental regulation has kept gas prices manageable and has improved air quality. In fact, in the last decade, Texas reduced NOx and ozone levels at more than twice the national average.
 
Unfortunately, there are those who want to impose California-style energy and tax policies on Texas. Locally, Democrat candidate for the legislature Matt Stillwell has suggested raising state gas taxes. He has complained that state tax revenues are not enough to maintain and construct roads, but does not mention, that only half of the state’s fuel taxes are used for highway construction and maintenance, while the rest is diverted to other uses, some of which have little to do with transportation.

Despite Texas’ environmental successes, Democrats in the state want much more stringent, California-style environmental restrictions. The aforementioned Mr. Stillwell even questioned if Texas should impose further regulations on the proven technology of fracking for domestic oil exploration, even though the United States Geological Survey, the EPA, and the University of Texas have all concluded that there is no evidence that fracking causes groundwater contamination. (Or earthquakes, tornadoes, or hurricanes, for that matter.) Stillwell also rejects local and state conservation efforts, and desires federal intervention in Williamson County on behalf of salamanders.

Clearly Texas has been doing something right; we are consistently ranked one of the top states for business, and the Lone Star State created about 37% of all new American jobs last year. At the same time, that notorious Texas pride has led to sound conservationist policies that strive to preserve the state’s natural beauty and resources. The key factor has been a balanced approach to policy. The last thing Texans need is to become more like California. Seriously, don’t mess with Texas.

Heartache: Matt Stillwell Not a Native Texan After All

Awkward...

Oh dear; it seems that Matt Stillwell, Democrat candidate for House district 136, has sent out some erroneous information on one of his campaign mailers.  As I noted yesterday in a brief update to "Matt Wants Higher Gas Taxes, Do You?" the campaign sent out a mailer this week in which Mr. Stillwell was described as a native Texan.  I wasn't sure at the time, but my memory did serve me well:  Mr. Stillwell was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  

I guess there were quite a few folks who noticed the problem- allegedly Mr. Stillwell has now had to send out an email apology to his supporters.  

It's a bit silly to make a claim that can be so easily disproved.  I can only guess that Mr. Stillwell's handlers thought they could mitigate his liberal politics by appealing to the Daughters of the Republic or something.  Do they really believe that 'Native Texans' are just a bunch of rednecks waiting for an excuse to "Git a rope" for transplants?  Some of my best friends are 'Native Texans,' and they seem like a pretty sharp bunch to me.

Maybe this is what they had in mind?

Matt Wants Higher Gas Taxes, Do You? UPDATE: Not Sure Where He Comes From?

Residents of western Williamson County have noticed recently that Republican Tony Dale does actually have an opponent in the race for Texas House District 136.  Democrat Matt Stillwell has managed to throw out some rather interesting campaign signs.  The signs, which seem designed to look hand-made, include various enigmatic questions, “Matt wants quality schools, do you?” and “Matt wants a water plan, do you?”  (Self, doesn’t Texas already have a water plan?)

Mr. Stillwell has been telling anyone who would listen (and the Austin American Statesman always listens to Democrats,) that he is a “social liberal” and a “fiscal conservative,” but nothing about his campaign suggests fiscal conservatism.  In fact, his real stances scream “fiscal liberal.”

For example, in some of the literature Mr. Stillwell has handed out, he calls for higher gas prices via tax increases.  He makes the argument that the State’s gas taxes are not high enough to maintain and construct roads, but makes no mention of the fact that over the past 25 years, some $10.8 billion in state transportation funds have been diverted to other uses.  Also, according to Texans for Safe Reliable Transportation, “Congress has transferred $7 billion in Texas-paid gasoline tax to other states.”  So maybe we don’t have a “revenue problem” after all?

Perhaps Mr. Stillwell ought to consider his party’s war on domestic energy producers, and have a little compassion for families and businesses struggling to keep up with gas prices that have increased 103.79% since Obama took office.

Advocating higher taxes doesn’t sound too fiscally conservative.

While in his literature Stillwell pays some vague lip service to the fiscally conservative policies that have made Texas successful, his endorsements tell another story.  A thinking person might conclude that endorsements from the Texas AFL-CIO and other unions imply that Mr. Stillwell would like to dismantle Texas’ “Right to Work” laws, and other fiscally conservative measures that have made the state successful.  As Stillwell stated in a recent interview, his support comes from labor unions and environmentalists.  ‘Nuff said.

One thing on which Stillwell has been quite truthful:  he is indeed a social liberal.  Not a moderate, mind you, but a liberal.  He is not only adamantly pro-abortion, but also advocates gay marriage.  Before his handlers recently scrubbed his campaign website, Stillwell accused supporters of traditional marriage of “the same type of thinking that has been proven wrong again and again over the last century,” and ridiculed attempts to protect marriage.  He is an opponent of the Defense of Marriage Act, something Texans have overwhelmingly supported at the polls.

Interestingly enough, the Austin American Statesman has been eagerly reporting Stillwell’s assertion that House District 136 is somehow a swing district and winnable by a liberal Democrat.  Their evidence?  That Governor Rick Perry and Senator John Cornyn won by only 15% points in the 2010 elections.

Dude.  On what planet is a 15-point advantage a close race?

Of course the rumor on the  streets is that Stillwell and his Democrat handlers know he can’t win, but they’re propping him up anyway so that he can do a little better the next time he runs for the Round Rock School Board.  The RRISD has been trying to boost him by appointing him to some boards, so maybe there is a method to this madness.  I wonder if the parents of Round Rock are ready for such an overt social liberal?

In the meantime, I think voters in HD 136 are smarter than Stillwell gives them credit for.

UPDATE:  This week Mr. Stillwell's campaign sent out a mailer claiming that he was a "native Texan."  Sounds good; the only problem is that he hails from out of state- New Mexico if I have my facts straight.  Either Stillwell's campaign is being run by someone who doesn't know him, or...

Will The Real Diane Cox Please Stand Up?

At one of last week's forums for the Round Rock Independent School District Board, candidates were asked about raising district property taxes without voter approval.  According to the Round Rock Leader, Diane Cox replied, "If we do raise taxes even by that small of an amount we need to get voter approval." 

What the Leader story did not deign to mention is the fact that Diane Cox serves as President of the Central Texas School Board Association, and that CTSBA is actively lobbying to change State law to allow school districts to raise property taxes without voter approval.  Not only is Ms. Cox the President of this organization, but on August 19 of 2010, she presented to the RRISD Board an agenda item* that includes the following:

Additional Golden Pennies: The current finance system requires school districts to seek voter approval in setting the maintenance and operation tax rate above $1.04. Legislation is needed which grants school boards the discretion of two additional golden pennies without voter approval."

Interestingly enough, the CTSBA brochure outlining their 2011 legislative agenda (which includes the above item,) states "Publication design by RRISD."  Sounds like the RRISD and the CTSBA have been working very, very closely.

While the Round Rock Leader has chosen to ignore this information, the Community Impact Newspaper's report includes the following:

In previous years, the Central Texas School Board Association, which Cox is president of, has lobbied at the Texas Capitol for a measure that would allow school boards to raise taxes without voters' consent. Cox said that she is not lobbying for such a measure this year, but noted, “There is a fundamental issue with the whole [education finance] system."

Of course, Diane Cox' desire for the power to raise taxes without voter approval is no secret to political activists in Williamson County.  Last Fall at a candidate forum for Texas House District 52 candidates, Ms. Cox asked Larry Gonzales and Diana Maldonado if they would support raising the tax cap without voter approval.  According to witnesses, Cox became so upset with the resulting conversation that she stomped out of the building. 

Challenger David Dziadziola has been adamant about keeping voters involved in the process of setting tax rates.  Matt Stillwell, who is challenging Brian Sellers, gave an interesting answer when asked if he favored allowing tax increases without voter approval, "In extreme circumstances, it would be a good thing to have in the toolbox, but as a general rule, it should be put to a vote."   Well, alrighty then.

Perhaps Diane Cox has had a change of heart about this important policy issue.  If so, she should resign as CTSBA President and repudiate its legislative agenda.  If not, it doesn't seem she is being entirely genuine about her stance on the issue. 

*See pages 43-44

For All The Wrong Reasons

While it is always good to see more people get involved in the political process, I am sometimes floored by the lack of focus, purpose, and even basic knowledge of some of those who file for office.  Apparently yesterday a gentlemen by the name of Matt Stillwell filed for Round Rock Independent School District Board of Trustees, Place 1.  In trying to find out more about Mr. Stillwell, I stumbled across his statement on his Facebook page:  

I've got two kids in the RR school system, got my teaching certification, pay taxes, I'm invested in this school system, plan on living in it for a long time, want to do my part to make it as good as it can be. Fig...ure I'm more informed than most, and I'm not to far left or right to get in my own way. RRISD has actually done a fairly good job from what I can tell, so it's not like I'm trying to fix it, just contribute. Got a lot to learn though and quickly, not sure how much campaigning I'll need to do. I think it's just me vs. the incumbant for Place 1.

Umm, do you have a plan?  A vision for the district?  Do you know who the incumbent is?  You're not sure how much campaigning you'll need to do?  I'm wondering how much Mr. Stillwell has thought about this.

Someone should probably introduce Mr. Stillwell to the incumbent, Brian Sellers.  Sellers and I have not always agreed on every issue, but he's a pretty good guy, and could do a lot more to make our district more efficient and more classroom focused if he had more help on the elected board. 

As it is, the RRISD board is dominated by Diane Cox, a known Democrat.  Happily, Ms. Cox has drawn an opponent too; David Dziadziola.  We'll be hearing more about Mr. Dziadziola in the coming weeks, but here's a snapshot:  While Diane Cox was the only person from Round Rock willing to appear in lib-Dem Diana Maldonado's television commercials, David Dziadziola was volunteering with the Larry Gonzales campaign.  Pretty good indicator of where these folks stand politically.

Update:  Primary Voting History indicates Mr. Stillwell prefers the Democrat Party.