Show Me the Money!!!
Normally, I don't reprint
older information on a new page, but I have discovered some new facts voters might find interesting, and it has a direct
bearing on information already posted.
What you already know: Betty Brown approved,
signed, and mailed a "Contract with Voters" that she sent out in 1996 when she first ran for State Representative.
For those of you who haven't seen it, it is printed in its entirety at the bottom of this page. The gist of it is
simple: Betty promised to serve only four terms in office--a total of 8 years. Please keep that number in
mind, because it's important.
Betty has since come out and said that the contract doesn't count,
because she didn't win the election in 1996.
What you may not know: if Betty
Brown is re-elected on March 4, Texas taxpayers will be legally obligated to pay her $34,500 per year from the time she
retires from "public service" until the end of her life. If she is not re-elected, Betty receives no
pension from the State of Texas.
How It Came About
During
the legislative session in 2005, an issue many people supported arose in the Texas Legislature: pay raises for judges.
Growing concern had developed, because judges simply could not afford to retain their judicial positions--they could make
lots more money in the private sector than they could ever dream of in the public, and good judges were leaving public service
to practice law. The legislature set about fixing this issue--but they did it in a way that is too typical of
politicians looking out for their own interests at the expense of ours: they linked their pay with judges' pay.
You may remember that 2005 was dominated by attempts to fix the school finance system in Texas. Three special
sessions were called, two during the summer. In the second special session, legislators were unable to pass legislation
which addressed the over-arching problem of school finance, but they were able to provide judges with a pay raise. Then
they did something interesting: your elected representatives tied the amount taxpayers provide for legislators'
pensions to the amount judges are paid. The end result: if judges get a pay raise, legislators get an increase
in their pensions. Taxpayers fund it all.
For a legislator to earn a pension from the people
of Texas, he or she must serve 12 years. In 2005, the House of Representatives voted in favor of increasing the pension
12-year incumbents receive by $6,431. Now, incumbents who serve 12 years are eligible to receive a total of $34,500
per year after they retire from the legislature, provided they are at least 50 years old. If they retire before 50,
then they start to receive the pension after their fiftieth birthday.
Here's where Betty Brown comes in:
she promised to serve eight years; she is currently in her tenth. If Betty is re-elected, the end of her
next term will guarantee she receives the $34,500/year from taxpayers, because the end of her next term would add up to 12
total years of "public service" in the legislature.
You may wonder how Betty voted on the pay
raise for herself. This is one of the worst aspects of politics, one of the reasons people are disgusted with the political
process: according to the House Journal, which records actions of the Legislature, Betty was present on the day the
vote came up, but she refused to vote either for or against it. You see how that works? Betty can come
home to our district and say she didn't vote for a pay raise, but she receives all the benefits of the increase in pay.
She didn't vote for it, but she certainly didn't vote against it. She can receive a pension paid for
with our tax dollars, provided we vote for her one more time.
I know a lot of you donate some of your time to public
service, whether it be volunteering at a battered woman's shelter, or teaching Sunday School, or counseling young people
caught in crisis. Many more don't volunteer their time with formal organizations, but you look out for your
neighbor and give a helping hand whenever you see the opportunity. Our elected officials were meant to fill the same
role--the original intention of the founders was for regular citizens to take time from regular life to serve the rest
of us by representing us at the Capitol--state or national. It wasn't meant to be a longterm career; it was meant
to be a form of true service to fellow countrymen. Below is a quote from Betty's original campaign flyer (the full
text of which is listed at the bottom of the page):
"Term limits
fit the intent of Texas' founders, who wanted a citizen legislature."
But that idea of real
sacrifice has changed. Betty promised to stop "serving" at eight years--what, besides ego, would prompt her
to continue for more? Money. She already broke the term limit promise during her last election, so there's
nothing (except us) stopping her from doing so again.
The question I keep asking myself: Who
in this world gets a guaranteed pension of $34,500/yr for 12 years of anything? The answer is awful:
in Texas, it's a State Representative. Betty didn't have to do a good job--she didn't have to
listen to your concerns or tell you the truth or treat you with respect or be your voice when she played politics
in Austin. All she had to do was get re-elected enough times to earn a lifelong pension paid for with our tax dollars. I
don't think it's right that any representative earn a pension for 12 years of what is supposed to be public service--I
especially don't think it's right when Betty, who is so disdainful of us, does so. We give our time to causes
we believe in, without the expectation of financial gain. Shouldn't she?
When, in all of your experience,
have you ever expected that your service work would result in a life-long pension for yourself? When have you taken
money from other people so that you can increase that pension? When have you broken a promise in the hopes that you
receive money from taxpayers for the rest of your life? My bet is that you haven't. Betty has.
Particularly reprehensible about this change in the law is that State Legislators can now vote for what they
claim is a much needed pay raise for judges, without ever mentioning that their own bank accounts will likely benefit from
the vote. They have side-stepped a vital mark of democracy: open government. Instead of dealing
with the consequences that would ensue in their home districts if they openly voted on a pay raise for themselves, they
hide behind judicial robes and quietly take the pension they increased for their own benefit. It is truly revolting.
And Betty straddled the fence, experiencing the benefits while shrinking from the consequences.
The final vote
on this legislation (HB 11 in the second special session of 2005) was 105 FOR, 26 AGAINST, 13 PRESENT, NOT VOTING.
Betty was one of the politically knowledgeable, but spineless 13.
Before Seniority
Became more Important than Constituents
Below is Betty's original contract with voters, mailed out by
her campaign in 1996. No part of it has been edited; it is an exact replication of Betty's words back then. (I have
bolded some phrases for emphasis.)
Page One
My Contract With The People of Texas
I, Betty Brown, do hereby affirm that, upon my election to the Texas House of Representatives from
the 4th District on November 5, 1996, I will faithfully execute the following actions:
1) I will sponsor
legislation during the 75th Legislative Session limiting the terms of office for all legislators.
2) I will
work to the best of my ability to enact term limits legislation until such legislation is enacted.
3) I
will seek no more than four terms as representative for the 4th District.
Should any provision
of this contract be violated, I will tender my resignation to the people of the State of Texas, never to seek elective office
again.
[signed] Betty Brown
September
25, 1996
Send Betty Brown to the Texas House!
Page Two of Betty's 1996 Campaign Flyer
Isn't it funny how politicians say they're for term limits during an election year? Then,
when they get back to Austin with all their good old buddies, suddenly they forget their promises to the voters, figuring
they can use clever rhetoric to explain it to the folks back home. Then, they go on increasing your tax burden,
putting more regulations on you, and ignoring your private property rights.
You won't get that kind of treatment
from me. I am a rancher and homemaker from Terrell, not a career politician. And there is no stronger
proponent of term limits than I am. I believe in term limits because:
--Term limits fit the
intent of Texas' founders, who wanted a citizen legislature.
--Term limits will help Texans take back control
of their government.
--Term limits will eliminate the arrogance that comes from long tenure in Austin.
--Term
limits will break up the insiders' monopoly on the Legislature.
--Term limits will give voters more competitive
races from which to choose their leaders.
Support for term limits is about more than just a single issue.
This is a question of how our government is going to be run. Is government the domain of an elite few, who
spend their lives feeding at the public troughs and treating citizens in a condescending manner? Or is government to
be of the people, led by ordinary citizens who share interests, concerns and goals with the communities they represent?
The current power structure in Austin believes in the first view of government. I believe in the second.
But don't just take my word for it. Instead, take the contract I have completed on the opposite page
[listed above]. With my signature, I pledge that I will introduce
term limits legislation during my first term in office and work for its passage. And regardless of the outcome of my
term limits legislation, I will not seek more than four terms of office as your State Representative.
I invite you to detach this contract and keep it in a safe place. If I'm elected and I fail to fulfill
any of the promises of this contract, please send it to me and I will immediately resign my office.
This
may seem like a very serious act. It is. I am very serious about giving you back your government. And that
starts on Election Day.
Let's take our government back!
For
more information on Betty's campaign promises, click the links below.
Broken Promises, Broken Principles I
Broken Promises, Broken Principles II