by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
Today is he day that Texans go to the polls to finish their selection of candidates who will stand for their parties in the November elections. The process began in March with "primary" elections, and today voters participate in a "runoff" process which determines each party's ultimate candidate for each office.
One race that has drawn national attention is the battle for the Republican nomination for Precinct 2 of the Dallas County Commissioners Court. The city's major newspaper, The Dallas Morning News, had endorsed former criminal judge and health care executive Vickers "Vic" Cunningham for the post because the newspaper felt that his opponent, lawyer and businessman J. J. Koch, was "too combative and dismissive" when discussing current members of the court. But now new information has come to light, and The Dallas Morning News has felt compelled to withdraw its endorsement of Vic Cunningham as well.
Some had accused Cunningham, the former criminal judge, of harboring racial biases, a charge which he denies - although his own mother admitted that he often used the "n-word" freely. This week, however, the charges of racial bias were again thrust forward when it was revealed that Vic Cunningham had set up trust funds for his children, but they would only be eligible to receive disbursements from those trust funds if they married white, heterosexual Christians.
According to The Dallas Morning News:
Vic Cunningham's brother, Bill, is a gay man who is married to a black gay man. Bill told the Dallas newspaper that his brother's "views and actions are disqualifying for anyone to hold public office in 2018. It frightens me to death to think of people in power who could hurt people." According to Bill Cunningham, Vic often refers to Bill's husband as "your boy."
As a former criminal judge, Vic Cunningham was responsible for sending people to prison, many of them black or Hispanic - although he adamantly denies that racial bias ever played a role in any of those sentencing decisions. The precinct that Cunningham is running to represent is largely black and Hispanic. Whoever wins today's Republican runoff, Mr. Cunningham or Mr. Koch, will face Democrat Wini Cannon in November, a black, female attorney.
Vic Cunningham has shown his values through a trust fund designed to control the lives and choices of his children. Now the residents of Dallas will have the opportunity to show their values at the ballot box.
May they choose wisely.
Citizen Journalist
Today is he day that Texans go to the polls to finish their selection of candidates who will stand for their parties in the November elections. The process began in March with "primary" elections, and today voters participate in a "runoff" process which determines each party's ultimate candidate for each office.
One race that has drawn national attention is the battle for the Republican nomination for Precinct 2 of the Dallas County Commissioners Court. The city's major newspaper, The Dallas Morning News, had endorsed former criminal judge and health care executive Vickers "Vic" Cunningham for the post because the newspaper felt that his opponent, lawyer and businessman J. J. Koch, was "too combative and dismissive" when discussing current members of the court. But now new information has come to light, and The Dallas Morning News has felt compelled to withdraw its endorsement of Vic Cunningham as well.
Some had accused Cunningham, the former criminal judge, of harboring racial biases, a charge which he denies - although his own mother admitted that he often used the "n-word" freely. This week, however, the charges of racial bias were again thrust forward when it was revealed that Vic Cunningham had set up trust funds for his children, but they would only be eligible to receive disbursements from those trust funds if they married white, heterosexual Christians.
According to The Dallas Morning News:
"Vickers “Vic” Cunningham acknowledged Friday that he set up a living trust with a clause rewarding his children if they marry a white person.
"Cunningham denied harboring racial bigotry but did confirm that his trust includes a stipulation intended to discourage a child from marrying a person of another race or of the same sex.
“'I strongly support traditional family values,' Cunningham said. 'If you marry a person of the opposite sex that’s Caucasian, that’s Christian, they will get a distribution.'"
Vic Cunningham's brother, Bill, is a gay man who is married to a black gay man. Bill told the Dallas newspaper that his brother's "views and actions are disqualifying for anyone to hold public office in 2018. It frightens me to death to think of people in power who could hurt people." According to Bill Cunningham, Vic often refers to Bill's husband as "your boy."
As a former criminal judge, Vic Cunningham was responsible for sending people to prison, many of them black or Hispanic - although he adamantly denies that racial bias ever played a role in any of those sentencing decisions. The precinct that Cunningham is running to represent is largely black and Hispanic. Whoever wins today's Republican runoff, Mr. Cunningham or Mr. Koch, will face Democrat Wini Cannon in November, a black, female attorney.
Vic Cunningham has shown his values through a trust fund designed to control the lives and choices of his children. Now the residents of Dallas will have the opportunity to show their values at the ballot box.
May they choose wisely.
No comments:
Post a Comment