THE ISSUES: Representation, Respect, and Recusal

Trust is incredibly important between the citizen and his or her government. It is as big a deal locally as it is on larger scales. Trust is the bond the candidate swears to uphold if elected.

Trust is about three fundamental things:  representation of the city as a whole, respect for the voters' ultimate decisions on referenda, and recusal when there is even a possibility of conflict of interest.

On Representation:

All council members have different perspectives, different backgrounds, different political affiliations, et cetera, but what should be paramount in their representation is first and foremost the city of Stephenville.  Not Tarleton, not Erath County--Stephenville.  

Rusty Jergins claims he is running "to give back to this community," (Stephenville Empire Tribune, "Eight File to Run for Stephenville City Council")...but which community does he mean?  The following is from Tarleton's Texan News:

"According to both sources, Jergins said during his announcement that the reason he is running for city council is that he wants to represent Tarleton at the city level." (TSU's Texan News, "University Reviewing Incident Involving Vice President for Student Life Rusty Jergins")

On Respect:

Respect for the voter's decisions is an even bigger issue, for in addition to destroying confidence in the city's governing body, it can impact the future of a town for years to come.

For example, in 2000, with one of the larger voter turnouts in local issue history, nearly 87% of Stephenville voters decided against the water bond which held as its cornerstone our infamous "Proctor Pipeline."  Eighty.  Seven.  Percent.

In 2004, council members Jergins, Elliott, Burns, Petronis Horton, and Corbin voted in favor of circumventing the will of the people by issuing the $7,160,000.00 in certificates of obligation which led to the building of the Proctor Pipeline, anyway.  Pleas to allow the citizens to vote on the decision again as a referendum were ignored.

What's done is done, and there has been much hue and cry that this was for "the greater good," despite indications now to the contrary. What cannot be debated, however, is that a group of individuals sworn to represent the voters clearly did not.

"What could we do other than go to Proctor?  How do we get people to understand..."  -Rusty Jergins (Empire Tribune, 2004 "Water Finance Gets OK")

What else could we have done?  Well, respecting the will of the people would have been a fantastic place to start. 

On Recusal:

We've heard a lot about the appearance of impropriety as well as a few airy, condescending dismissals of the same, but the hard fact is that it exists.  In a small town like ours, it is inevitable that we will have relatives, friends, neighbors, and employers bringing issues before zoning committees and council.  That's great!  But--in my view, it is imperative that someone who chooses to serve on the council be incredibly sensitive to any conflict of interest he or she may appear to have, and recuse himself or herself from voting.  I've spoken about this at length to the city council; you can watch it here.

Regarding the streets abandoned to TSU in 2007, I'll let the council minutes speak for themselves:

Ordinance No. 2007 -10 abandoning and closing certain streets and conveying same to Tarleton State University 

Jergins voted "aye," while fellow Tarleton employees Murphy and Cross abstained due to the conflict of interest.

TSU is a wonderful boon to our community, but abstaining from votes in TSU's interest is a must if a council member's paycheck comes from the same.

A final quote:

"I do not support individual council members having specific agendas." --Jergins, from Empire Tribune Q&A, 2014

Now on that one I'll agree, which is why I, Sherry Zachery, am asking for your vote for City Council, Place 7.