3 men vie for county judge seat: Douglas Kirk
By Chris Cobb
Douglas Kirk surprised many people with his last-minute filing to run for Comal County Judge. In the process, he added some intrigue into what was a two-man race.
The Bulverde-based newspaper publisher fought his share of battles with Comal County government in recent years, and has used his newsprint to wage those battles — often evoking heated responses from residents and county officials.
“The name Douglas Kirk produces a visceral reaction in most people,” Kirk said Saturday at the New Braunfels Republican Women’s candidate forum. “People either love me or they hate me, which is OK, because I’ll represent all of you.”
He said he chose to join the race on the last day of filing to inject some true conservatism into the Commissioners Court.
“I looked at the people that were going to be on the ballot and I could not see a conservative in the race,” Kirk said, citing proposed wage increases and debt-funded projects supported by his two opponents. “It appears as though the elected officials measure their success by the things they create, budgets they grow, money they spend, and I’m tired of that and I think the electorate is tired of that.”
Kirk owns Morton Falls Publishing, which produces the Bulverde Standard and the Canyon Lake Week. He is also the owner of Bunker Fireworks and has worked as a research and marketing and development analyst.
He served on the Board of Trustees for Comal Independent School District from 1992 to 1995.
Kirk previously ran for county judge in 1998, losing to current judge Danny Scheel. He also ran unsuccessfully for the Precinct 1 seat on Commissioners Court in 1996 and 2000.
In this race, he said he could bring an analytical approach to solving the county’s problems, and would work to trim the budget and spend taxpayer dollars only when it can be done without issuing debt.
“One of things that is dragging American down all across the country, and in Comal County as well, is credit,” he said. “Government should be setting the example of not borrowing money.”
In addition to paying cash for projects, Kirk’s central campaign promise is to lower the county tax rate, which already is one of the lowest in the state of Texas.
He said he would meet with department heads to cut unnecessary programs and expenses in an attempt to lower that tax rate. The point, he said, is for the rate to be on par with appraisal district population increases so residents actually would pay less money to their county government than the year before.
“So when the guys writes a check, it’s a smaller check for the first time in history,” Kirk said. “It still generates more money in the end because of the growth in population.”
As a fireworks vendor, Kirk has filed at least one lawsuit against the county over bans on fireworks during times of extreme drought — and there have been several over the past five years.
As judge, he said he would approve partial fireworks bans if the conditions were sufficiently dangerous. He said he would not, however, approve a complete ban on fireworks, which has been ordered in the past by Judge Danny Scheel through an emergency declaration of disaster.
“I would create safe zones that have been successful in Bexar County,” he said.
Kirk’s other point of contention with the county has been his Freedom of Information Act requests.
He has sent so many requests that the county has lobbied the Texas legislature to try and clamp down on what county officials have termed “abusive” requesters like Kirk. He said the issues they’ve had in the past could have been easily avoided.
“The best way to deal with a guy that you think is harassing you is to sit down and talk to him,” he said. “How can we solve our differences if we can’t talk?”
He said governments are bound to abide by the Open Records Act, and it would be no different if he were in office.
What would be different, he said, would be his emphasis on the county’s growing outlying areas.
“Traditionally, Comal County has been centered on New Braunfels,” Kirk said. “But what’s happened is that we’ve got these other communities that have grown up that are kind of being ignored.”
And with him the race, he said it would lead to more dialogue and, should he win, a more conservative county judge.
“I think had I not entered the race they would have talked about the courthouse. People would have voted based on that single issue,” he said. “(My entry) now gives the public a choice to do something about a bloated, bureaucracy-growing government that they see not just in Comal County, but in Austin and Washington, too.”
http://herald-zeitung.com/story.lasso?ewcd=54347e2850179522
Douglas Kirk surprised many people with his last-minute filing to run for Comal County Judge. In the process, he added some intrigue into what was a two-man race.
The Bulverde-based newspaper publisher fought his share of battles with Comal County government in recent years, and has used his newsprint to wage those battles — often evoking heated responses from residents and county officials.
“The name Douglas Kirk produces a visceral reaction in most people,” Kirk said Saturday at the New Braunfels Republican Women’s candidate forum. “People either love me or they hate me, which is OK, because I’ll represent all of you.”
He said he chose to join the race on the last day of filing to inject some true conservatism into the Commissioners Court.
“I looked at the people that were going to be on the ballot and I could not see a conservative in the race,” Kirk said, citing proposed wage increases and debt-funded projects supported by his two opponents. “It appears as though the elected officials measure their success by the things they create, budgets they grow, money they spend, and I’m tired of that and I think the electorate is tired of that.”
Kirk owns Morton Falls Publishing, which produces the Bulverde Standard and the Canyon Lake Week. He is also the owner of Bunker Fireworks and has worked as a research and marketing and development analyst.
He served on the Board of Trustees for Comal Independent School District from 1992 to 1995.
Kirk previously ran for county judge in 1998, losing to current judge Danny Scheel. He also ran unsuccessfully for the Precinct 1 seat on Commissioners Court in 1996 and 2000.
In this race, he said he could bring an analytical approach to solving the county’s problems, and would work to trim the budget and spend taxpayer dollars only when it can be done without issuing debt.
“One of things that is dragging American down all across the country, and in Comal County as well, is credit,” he said. “Government should be setting the example of not borrowing money.”
In addition to paying cash for projects, Kirk’s central campaign promise is to lower the county tax rate, which already is one of the lowest in the state of Texas.
He said he would meet with department heads to cut unnecessary programs and expenses in an attempt to lower that tax rate. The point, he said, is for the rate to be on par with appraisal district population increases so residents actually would pay less money to their county government than the year before.
“So when the guys writes a check, it’s a smaller check for the first time in history,” Kirk said. “It still generates more money in the end because of the growth in population.”
As a fireworks vendor, Kirk has filed at least one lawsuit against the county over bans on fireworks during times of extreme drought — and there have been several over the past five years.
As judge, he said he would approve partial fireworks bans if the conditions were sufficiently dangerous. He said he would not, however, approve a complete ban on fireworks, which has been ordered in the past by Judge Danny Scheel through an emergency declaration of disaster.
“I would create safe zones that have been successful in Bexar County,” he said.
Kirk’s other point of contention with the county has been his Freedom of Information Act requests.
He has sent so many requests that the county has lobbied the Texas legislature to try and clamp down on what county officials have termed “abusive” requesters like Kirk. He said the issues they’ve had in the past could have been easily avoided.
“The best way to deal with a guy that you think is harassing you is to sit down and talk to him,” he said. “How can we solve our differences if we can’t talk?”
He said governments are bound to abide by the Open Records Act, and it would be no different if he were in office.
What would be different, he said, would be his emphasis on the county’s growing outlying areas.
“Traditionally, Comal County has been centered on New Braunfels,” Kirk said. “But what’s happened is that we’ve got these other communities that have grown up that are kind of being ignored.”
And with him the race, he said it would lead to more dialogue and, should he win, a more conservative county judge.
“I think had I not entered the race they would have talked about the courthouse. People would have voted based on that single issue,” he said. “(My entry) now gives the public a choice to do something about a bloated, bureaucracy-growing government that they see not just in Comal County, but in Austin and Washington, too.”
http://herald-zeitung.com/story.lasso?ewcd=54347e2850179522
posted by jessi at
7:06 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home