Sunday, March 5
LONGVIEW NEWS-JOURNAL

Campaign needs more decorum

Why can't candidates or PACs campaign on their own merits and back off the Louisiana-style mudslinging? The less-than-truthful attacks on Tommy Merritt are disgraceful.

I don't know Merritt's opponent from sic-em, but my mama would wash my mouth out with soap if I said half as many bad things about a good man as have bombarded Gregg County.

Merritt has stood up for Gregg County, has listened to his constituents and was voted accordingly. He votes his conscience, not by which puppet string is pulled.

It's obvious this race has been targeted by special interests in San Antonio and Austin. We don't need their big money trying to buy votes in our district — we need to keep Tommy Merritt, and we need a little more decorum in this campaign.

—Sam Satterwhite, Longview

Merritt diligent worker on education issues

It is amazing that one person can have so much say in an election that would take him seven hours to drive to even if he was eligible to vote. I am talking about Dr. James Leininger and his puppet candidate for House District 7, Mark Williams. While I do not intend to justify the lies Williams is allowing to have aired and printed, I would like to offer some insight from a teacher that has worked on legislation with Tommy Merritt for six years. At a time when the state began ignoring public education, Merritt tried to bring to the forefront issues that he knew would be paramount for today. His battle to increase funding for vocational education programs was hard fought. He knew that it was important to graduate students with experiences that would help them find good jobs in an economy that desperately needed experienced workers. The state's leadership, on the other hand, has gone the opposite direction cutting funding from the state's portion of the bill forcing schools to cut programs that benefit the majority of students.

Merritt is not for sale. He votes his district regardless of what is said in the attack ads. He authors and sponsors legislation regularly regardless of what is said in the attack ads. As a matter of fact, look into who the first person offering a fairly logical school finance program to the House. It was Tommy Merritt.

A few regular sessions back he partnered with a well-known Harvard economist in an effort to restructure a failing school finance system. What happened to it? Leininger's friend, Rep. Kent Grusendorf, chairman of the House Public Education Committee, only gave it time to be heard on a day when the educators of Texas were giving the TAKS test to the students. There was no opportunity for real testimony to be given to help improve the system. Grusendorf did not see the need in discussing school finance at that point. Merritt cannot help the fact that he was ahead of his time. I may not always see eye to eye with Merritt on every issue, but I can count on the fact that he will stick by the students of his House district regardless of outside pressure. His ability to see what is right is the type of leadership King Solomon was referring to in Proverbs when he wrote, "The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, but those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty."

Merritt is that diligent leader.

I urge you to vote for Tommy Merritt as State Representative, House District 7. His vote will be for us and not a multi-millionaire doctor in San Antonio.

—Scott S. Floyd, Gladewater

Williams' commercials insult ET voters

The political commercials for Mark Williams are insulting to the voters of East Texas. His newest commercial alleges that Tommy Merritt is unfit for office because he encourages speeding through school zones. This allegation is untrue and insulting to the intelligence of the voters of East Texas. No person would ever encourage speeding through a school zone, and that includes Merritt. The mere fact that Williams would think any voter would believe that a politician was encouraging speeding through a school zone is ludicrous. Williams' allegation shows that he will stoop to any level to get himself elected to office to do the bidding of the handful of out-of-district supporters who have funded his campaign.

Merritt is not the perfect politician and he has his faults, but encouraging speeding through school zones is not one of them.

In addition, at least Merritt has raised most of his money from people who actually live in the district. If Williams will bear these falsehoods against his neighbor Merritt, imagine what he will do to raise further monies from out-of-district sources.

—Douglas C. Monsour, Longview

Massive campaign not fooling East Texans

Why is this Yankee doctor spending so much money to spread these lies about Tommy Merritt? The good citizens of East Texas are not fooled. Tommy has been been good for East Texas.

We have all heard "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Well, it ain't broke. A vote for Merritt is our voice in Austin.