Update: David Bellow
has been endorsed by many conservative organizations and people such as Judge
Paul Pressler, Pro Life Nation, American Gun Rights, Texas Home School
Coalition, and many more!
Hardin County, Texas needs a new face instead of the insider
tax and spend group currently in control. Hardin County needs someone who is
not afraid to say no to tax increases. Hardin County needs a Strong Christian,
conservative leader. This is why I, David Bellow, am running for Hardin County
Judge. My opponent, Wayne McDaniel Jr., is a lifelong Democrat. He ran on the
same ticket with Obama and Hillary in his most recent election. He recently
switched over to Republican, along with all of the other county officials. Worst of all, in response to my campaign against tax increases, my opponent says he cannot say he will not raise taxes. The
same Democrat, good old boy mentality is still here, even though
everyone is Republican now.
Fact: Hardin
County Raised Taxes this Year
Fact: Hardin
County is spending millions of dollars more than it brings in.
Fact: Hardin
County is spending money wastefully. Not everyone working for the County needs
a new Chevy Tahoe (at the rate they are buying them it seems like they want everyone to have one), and the County should not be giving themselves pay raises by
raising taxes on people who are not getting pay raises.
Fact: Hardin
County is not financially transparent. None of their records are in digital
formal for taxpayers to be able to look through the finances.
Why I am Running For
County Judge: Letter to the People of Hardin County
After spending many months in deep thought and prayer, I have
decided to run to be your next County Judge of Hardin County now that
Judge Billy Caraway has decided to retire.
I do not want you to consider voting for me because you like
my signs or because someone you know told you to vote for me. I want you to
really know me. I want you to know my heart. The most important thing
you can know about me is that I believe in Jesus as my Lord and Savior and
I put God first in my life.
As Judge, I will serve you with unwavering
conservative values that will drive me to be an advocate against wasteful
spending so that we can keep taxes from going up. I want you to know that I
will strive for transparency in government because the people have a
right to know what is going on behind the scenes. I am a strong
defender of our Constitutional rights. I am unapologetically pro-2nd-amendment
and pro-life.
Before I get into the issues facing Hardin County, let me
introduce myself and my background.
My wife Courtney and I are residents of Hardin County and
Lumberton. We have one child, Michael, and next to God, my family is my
number one priority in life.
My brothers and I operate a successful small business, Eden
Pro Services, and the company serves customers from Lumberton to College
Station and employs several people.
After graduating from Lumberton High School, I earned
a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Texas A&M
University and a Master’s Degree in Theological Studies from Liberty
University.
After college, I joined the military, rose
up the ranks from Private to Sergeant, and was honored as “Soldier of the Year”
twice. I became a law enforcement officer because I
wanted to protect the community, graduating with honors from the Federal Law
Enforcement Training Center. I worked my way up to be a Senior Officer and have
always looked for ways to change policy to increase efficiency and better
protect my fellow officers.
I am a lifelong Republican because I have always known that
the conservative values of the Republican Party were the values I believe
in. Long before Obama was elected I was working to promote conservative
values and help Republican candidates win. My Christian, conservative
foundation gives me the passion and desire to serve you and to work with you
and the other elected officials to keep Hardin County an amazing place to live,
work, and raise a family.
Hardin County is facing big challenges. The County
has been spending more than it brings in. From October 2011 to October 2013 the
County Spent $1.98 MILLION more than it brought in. Hardin
County recently approved the budget for Oct 2013 to Oct 2014. In the new
budget, the County wants a tax increase and more
deficit spending of $1.04 MILLION.
This deficit spending is unsustainable and must be addressed
now instead of just being pushed down the road. The go-along, get-along
politicians don’t understand that this is taxpayer money and deficit spending
is something that goes on in Washington, but should not happen here.
I will make the tough decisions based on solid conservative
principles and with the best interest of the community in mind. I will
work with the leaders and residents of Hardin County to cut the budget and to
find ways to increase revenue such as attracting new industry and jobs to the
County.
I was previously elected to be on the board that runs the
Republican Party organization for the entire State of Texas. I helped
manage and govern the multi-million dollar budget for the State Party.
When I got on the board, the Republican Party was facing massive debt.
While on the board, I was part of the Republican
leadership that bought the Party out of debt and into a surplus. From
starting a small business to helping lead the statewide party out of debt and
into a surplus, I am uniquely qualified to step in and help lift Hardin County
out of the current financial crisis. I will fight to keep your taxes
from going up.
We have such a great future ahead of us. Hardin County does
not need the same gang of free-spending courthouse crony leaders to just
continue to push the problems down the road. Hardin County needs new, forward-looking
leaders to take on these problems and bring new ideas based on strong
conservative principles.
Hardin County is our home. I am a lifelong resident
of Lumberton, TX. Even through college and military service, I stayed
VERY involved in Hardin County.
When the Kountze Cheerleaders had their religious rights
attacked, I got involved and stood up for the constitutional rights of
these innocent students.
When Obama signed Obamacare, I filed one of the first
lawsuits against Obamacare in order to stop the unconstitutional mandate form
being imposed on us all.
When Lumberton ISD was trying to pass a bond that was not
completely needed and would have raised taxes 24% in a recession, I
stood up and fought back and defeated the tax hike. I am completely
for our kids and making our schools better, but a new school on 421 would not
have provided better education and would have taken too much money away from
families. LISD developed a better plan after the bond failed and the schools
are doing great.
Speaking of schools, I stood with the majority of
teachers and parents in Lumberton and in the area who did not like or want
CSCOPE curriculum. This secretive, expensive curriculum made a mockery
of our values. One lesson even referred to the Boston Tea Party patriots as
terrorists. I helped defeat the curriculum statewide.
Many years ago, I wanted to promote patriotism and wanted
to help out the American Legion in Lumberton. I went to them with an
idea to raise money and promote patriotism at the same time. The idea was to
line the streets in Lumberton with full size American flags and business would
donate money each year to the project and the profits would go to the American
Legion. The fundraiser was a success and happens every year in
Lumberton. The Legion and the Boy Scouts do a great job of lining the streets
with flags!
I want a better future for my wife and son. I grew up in a
large family here. I mowed yards as a kid to make money and learned the value
of hard work. My parents brought me up in Christ and taught me great family
values.
I felt the horrible effects and devastation of the
Hurricane Rita in 2005. I, like many others, lost everything. I had to
leave college to help rebuild. My job was gone and the small business I started
creating positive Christian youth events was destroyed.
I was young and bankrupt. I did not give up though.
Falling to the bottom gave me the best lesson I have ever had. It made me
strive to be better and smarter. It made me strive to be more fiscally
conservative. I rose up and finished college and started a business. I
served in the military and law enforcement and was an EMT. I got more involved
in helping others because I know how it feels to not have anything. I decided
to live a life of service to others. I especially want to make sure that the
government starts being more fiscally conservative, does not overspend, and
stops raising taxes on the already overtaxed people who might be struggling
like I once did after Hurricane Rita.
Will you to support me for Hardin County Judge in the
March 4th Election? Please contact me with any issues,
questions or comments at
www.BellowForJudge.com
After posting this article, one of the County Commissioners contacted me today and said that Hardin County was making good financial decisions because they cleared their audit. BISD passed their audit. Does that mean Beaumont ISD's finances are good? NO. They have had multiple people stealing millions of dollars and have made very liberal tax and spend decisions. Passing an audit just means that no one is stealing money and the county has paid the bills (based on the records provided to the auditor). Passing an audit does NOT mean that fiscally conservative decisions are being made. Passing an audit does not mean that it was wise to spent a million on a dome that looks pretty and you vote in. Passing an audit does not mean that raising taxes on people is good. The commissioner also told me that the county was transparent because they posted the budget and audit online. That is not transparent. Those two things show very little. They just show the overall numbers but no one can really look into the breakdown of the finances. I can go to Lumberton ISD or the City of Lumberton and get a cd with all the daily financial transactions. Hardin County does not offer that level of transparency. If you wanted to see all the financial transactions for the county you would have to pay the county to print out thousands of pages.
