The idea officials elected at the municipal level having a significant impact on how state and national government is ran was emphasized during Texas GOP Chairman Lt. Col. Allen B. West’s Saturday afternoon speech at Lamar County Fairgrounds during the Paris Patriot Rally.
With more than 200 people filling Lamar County Fairgrounds’ Community Exhibit Center, West’s call to action for the community was, “get out there.”
“Go out there and find out who’s running for city council come this May, who is running for school board come this May, who is running for county commission, county clerk this May,” West said. “Make sure they are owning up to the principles and values of Lamar County and Paris, Texas, because they will be your elected representative, they will be your voice.”
Agreeing with West, Robert Black, Association of Lamar County Republicans President, said the people need to look in the mirror and take the responsibility and power to correct the situations at hand.
“We did elect these individuals and we must hold them accountable and vote them out if they don’t represent us,” Black said. “We must pay more attention to our representatives — what they are voting ‘yes’ and ‘no’ to and what legislation they are sponsoring.”
West briefly talked about the eight Legislative Priorities the Republican Party of Texas urge the Texas Senate and House Republican Caucuses to adopt, which include:
- Election Integrity
- Restore the rights of individuals’ Religious Freedom
- Abolition Children Gender Modification
- Abolition of Abortion
- Constitutional Carry
- Monument Protection
- School Choice for All
- Ban Taxpayer-Funded Lobbying
“The number one priority we have — election integrity,” West said. “If we don’t fix election integrity in our state, then it’s not going to matter. States and counties run elections.”
Another legislative priority he talked briefly about was ending abortion.
“We have to end the murder of unborn babies,” West said. “Everyone’s talking about white supremacists, racism and everything. Planned Parenthood was founded by a white supremacist and a racist.”
He referenced a sign by the Satanists of America on I-30 near Garland, Texas, and said it is marked with the words “Abortion Saves Lives.”
“Either our representatives are going to stand on the side of a white supremacist, a racist and Satanists, or they’re going to stand on the side of Deuteronomy 30:19 that talks about choosing life.”
West said the Republican Party has not been focused on the municipal-level elections, but it is “where you build your farm.”
“It starts right here,” he said. “It starts with your city council, it starts with your school board.”
“The most important elected position in the United States of America is school board,” he continued. “The election to have the least amount of voter participation in the United States of America is the school board.”
Black, echoing West, said school boards need to become the people’s utmost focus.
“It’s about more than facilities,” he said. “We need to know what indoctrination is being attempted in our school districts and stop it.”
West, emphasizing the local-level elections as a top priority, rhetorically asked the community-filled center, “who runs elections in Lamar County?”
“It’s Lamar County,” he said. “That’s what you need to have. Then you can make sure things are honest and fair, and there’s integrity in your electoral system because you have gotten out there and voted for county commission and county clerks to make sure you have a fair and honest election. People are in elected positions because … it’s you all who vote for them.”
As community members asked West questions, Black said, “they kept asking (West) what he’s going to do, it’s about what we are going to do.”
“We need to stop relying on other people to do something. We have to do something,” Black said. “One of those things is obviously voting. Another thing is getting out and lobbying and protest — the left knows how to protest really well.”
Feature photo: Texas GOP Chairman Allen West during a Saturday Paris Patriot Rally at Lamar County Fairgrounds. By Trent Reed/MyParisTexas.com
More than 200 supporters filled the Lamar County Fairgrounds’ Community Exhibit Center during Allen West’s speech Saturday afternoon. Trent Reed/MyParisTexas.com
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