Texas House District 149: Meet the Candidate

Tony Dale, Republican candidate for the newly-created Texas House District 149, will hold a "Meet the Candidate" event on Tuesday, November 8, 2011, from 5:30-7:30pm, at the Crystal Falls Golf Club in Leander.  Special guests include Williamson County Commissioner Cynthia Long and Leander City Councilman Christopher Fielder.  There is no cost to attend (but I'm sure Mr. Dale would appreciate any campaign contributions).   

Dale currently serves on the Cedar Park City Council, is a decorated Army veteran,  and has a very impressive resume of Republican activism.  I cannot imagine a better candidate to represent western Williamson County. 

Tony Dale Launches Campaign With Community Support

Last Tuesday evening Cedar Park City Councilman Tony Dale kicked-off his campaign for Texas House District 149.  The event at El Patron's in Cedar Park was attended by approximately 200 members of the local community.  By the time Dale addressed the group, the crowd was overflowing out into the dining area, where attendees were straining to hear the speeches from Dale and other community leaders. 

What is particularly remarkable about this event, was that the campaign effort had only been in existence for 6 days.  In fact, campaign signs were not delivered until after the event began, and many supporters had brought their own hand-made signs expressing support for Dale's candidacy.   The crowd was pretty animated and responsive to Tony Dale's rousing campaign speech, and one attendee remarked to me that he had not heard such a great "conservative speech since Ronald Reagan." 

Those in attendance included County Commissioners Cynthia Long and Lisa Birkman, both of whom spoke on Tony Dale's behalf.  Texas HD 149 includes portions of both Long and Birkman's respective County precincts, and support from these two leaders is essential.   Others present included State Representative Larry Gonzales, Williamson County Attorney Jana Duty, Cedar Park City Councilmen Matt Powell, Don Tracy, and Mitch Fuller, elected leaders from the City of Leander and Brushy Creek MUD, County Constable Robert Chody, members of both the Leander and Round Rock School Boards, and many, many others.  In fact, just about everyone previously mentioned as a potential candidate for the HD 149 seat, was on hand to help launch the campaign.

Councilman Tony Dale is well-known in the community, having resided in Williamson County for over a decade.  Prior to serving on the Cedar Park City Council, Dale had served on several local boards regarding planning & zoning and transportation, and last year was appointed by State Senator Florence Shapiro to a task force to ban 'designer' drugs K-2 and 'spice.'  In 2009 the Railroad Commission of Texas appointed Tony to the board of the Alternative Fuels Research Education Division.  He was a delegate on the VI Texas Trade Mission to Mexico sponsored by the Office of the Texas Governor in 2005.  In 2004 he was a member of the State Textbook Review Panel for the Texas Education Agency.

Along with his wife Mary and their two daughters, Dale's parents were on hand.  Like his father and grandfather, Tony Dale is a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces.  (and a decorated former Army Captain.)  Mary Lopez Dale was also a former Army Captain. 

In the 2012 Republican Primary, Tony Dale will face Corbin Van Arsdale, a lobbyist who has been leasing a house in Cedar Park since last Spring and who first registered to vote in Williamson County June 30 of 2011.  Van Arsdale announced his campaign with a press release and had listed a few local supporters, but when Tony Dale announced, Williamson County Constable Rick Coffman immediately removed his name from the Van Arsdale campaign. 

Update:  Corbin Van Arsdale sent his supporters an email last Friday, September 16, saying he would withdraw.  He made the official announcment Monday, September 19.

Texas House District 149 Update: Updated Update

While a handful of Williamson County residents are already publicly endorsing candidates, I think this is a good time to point out that the filing period for the 2012 Primary Election is a few months away, and we still don't know which candidates will actually file to run. 

In the newly created Texas House District 149, former State Representative Corbin Van Arsdale, who recently moved to Williamson County, is the only candidate who has announced.  However, according to long-time residents of Western Williamson County, there are at least three strong candidates with deep roots in the community who may file to run for the new Texas House District 149 seat.  One of these in particular has been described as a 'game changer.'

Despite his 2008 Primary loss to Republican Allen Fletcher, Van Arsdale has indicated he would very much like to return to the State Legislature.   He has been meeting with many local leaders and trying to learn about the community.  Prior to purchasing his home in Cedar Park last April,  Van Arsdale resided in West Austin, and has remained involved in government issues as a lobbyist.  He seems capable enough, but residents are still learning about him, and many are waiting to see if one of their own will enter this race.

At this point, I would say any endorsements are premature.

Update:  The cat is out of the bag as they say:  Cedar Park City Councilman Tony Dale is announcing this Tuesday.  Details here. 

Update:  Corbin Van Arsdale sent an email to his supporters last Friday, September 16, and Monday, September 19, he announced he is withdrawing from the race.

Sadly Obligatory Post on Anonymous Activism

As distasteful as it is, I find myself obligated to write about an anonymous package I received in the mail on August 27.  The packet contained negative political stories about Ted Pataki, who was considering running for the new Texas House District 149 seat, and about Governor George Pataki, who, to my knowledge, was never considering running for the Texas House District 149 seat. 

Just to clarify, the package was anonymous.  'Anonymous' in this grammatical construct means the author/sender did not identify himself or herself.  In other words, the package had no return address, no signature, and no other identifying details other than the postmark (mailed from Austin.)  No one has confessed, and I do not know who sent it.

Naturally, I have shared the above details with my fellow activists in Williamson County, and, in accordance with human nature, these folks have 1) expressed shock and disgust at such Byzantine tactics, and 2) speculated as to who would have motivation to do such a thing.  

It seems some supporters of another candidate are very upset with me for discussing the anonymous packet with others, since it has led to much speculation.  I had no intention of writing about this matter, but now I am being harassed for discussing the anonymous packet and have even received thinly veiled threats about legal action.  Therefore I am posting the facts of the matter here and stating once again that I do not know who sent the packet.