Victor For Collin County

Wall St vs Car St

2009-01-16T10:01:00.000-06:00

I’m still aghast at how much we look down on the one group of people in America who still actually MAKE something for a living.

I am, of course, talking about the American Auto Industry. It’s a group of people who I feel we’ve very badly mistreated over the last couple of months. And how did we mistreat them? For starters, let’s look at the difference between Wall Street and Car Street (for lack of a better name).

On Wall Street, we singled out the group of people whose bad decisions and horrible diligence caused the single greatest collapse of the world’s economy since the Great Depression. Because of the problems created by Wall Street, the United States has lost well over 2 TRILLION Dollars in net worth over the last year. Then we allocate $700 Billion to give these same people so they could fix the very problem they created. Let’s recap. Wall Street causes problem, we leap to save them.

So along comes the trio from Car Street, hat in hand, seeking help because the damage made by Wall Street execs has hit them unbearably hard. Not because they manufactured cars that were unprofitable, but because no one has any money left to buy the cars they made. US Car manufacturers have lost over $70 Billion in sales, and are asking for $35 Billion in loans to make it through the next several months. So having spent 700 big ones on the finance sector, we refuse 35 big ones for the little guy. Let’s recap. Car Street’s problem caused by someone else, we refuse to save them.

So when the financiers from Wall Street fly in their private jets to explain how they screwed up our economy, we give them the biggest bail out (per GDP) in the history of the US.
And when the guys who ACTUALLY MANUFACTURE SOMETHING for the US fly in their private jets to ask for a freaking loan, we send ‘em packing.

Anyone want to explain this one?

My Dirty Little Secret

2008-10-06T10:42:00.000-05:00

I’ve got a confession to make: I’ve been hanging around Republicans for the last six months. And I can’t stop.

Oh, it started innocently enough. During the Primaries the only debates were held for Republican audiences. Then several people kept telling me they liked my viewpoints and speeches so much that if I ever turned Red, I’d have their vote. Even high-ranking Republican ladies started to introduce me as "the nicest Democrat in Collin County".

But after March I just couldn’t stop. I started hanging out at Republican strongholds like Celina and Farmersville, chatting them up in my spare time. Heck I even wore a red shirt every once in a while.

You don’t have to tell me, I know it’s futile. I know Collin County’s so red it makes stop lights look pink, and Joe Jaynes has ten times as much money as I do, and he’s been in for twelve years. He even won 52% of the vote in his Primary. But I just can’t stop. At the Debate Watching Party last week, I spent half an hour talking to three people wearing McCain/Palin t-shirts.

Now it’s become a habit. No longer satiated with my own party, I talk to literally every citizen I can find, not caring who their presidential choice may be, just wanting to engage them in discussions on the issues. I’ll talk with anyone about how we can bring DART further into the County, what we need to do for water planning, and how we can encourage strong business development.

Other Democrats think I’m nuts, but I no longer see Republicans as The Enemy. They’re just fellow voters with a different view on how their government should be run, and that’s okay by me...

As long as they vote Victor, of course.

Thoughts from the Campaign Trail

2008-09-15T11:30:00.000-05:00

Why are politicians weird? Because politics is insane.

I have block-walked beneath the gibbous waxing moon. I have broken bread with men who would rather spit on me. And I have kissed babies who were, let’s face it, ugly.

A close friend of mine walks about 10 miles a day at his job in a micro-chip factory, running between computers and manufacturing systems. I asked him if it ever got annoying, and he simply said, “It’s my job.”

I now understand what he means. Elections are all about getting in front of voters, and you can do that one of two ways. Either buy all the signs, postcards, and matchbooks you can, or hit the pavement all day, every day. And the larger the election, the more people you have to meet. I’ve got roughly 350,000 folks in my district we call Precinct 3. Since I don’t have the collected corporate interests of the county in my back pocket, I walk a lot, every day. It’s my job.

This is the world of politics – the challenges of running for office. It’s hard at 4:30 in the morning when you’ve had one hand’s worth of sleep and can’t believe you promised to drive thirty miles for breakfast. But it’s all worth it when someone says, “My hard-core Republican friend said you were the nicest Democrat she’d ever met and that I just HAD to vote for you!”

Every day brings new challenges, from learning that yes, you actually have to ask for money from people, to an opponent who won’t debate you because he knows you have better answers than he does. Whether you’re campaigning for a month or two years, there is a never-ending stream of people who are waiting to tell you that what you did yesterday was wrong. Fortunately there are several people who don’t mind helping figure out what you can do tomorrow to make it better. But in the end of any election, the toughest part is realizing that 70,000 people who hardly know you will pull a lever to decide how nice of a person you are, and how much they trust you.

I Walked The Line

2008-09-07T09:29:00.000-05:00

Fourteen miles on a train is pretty much enough time to make a few phone calls and drink your tea. Fourteen miles on foot is quite a bit longer.

I left the crowd at the Parker DART station at 6:40am on Saturday morning with five supporters who felt as strongly about the need for rail expansion as I did. Even at that early hour, the Plano Parker station was full of people who were travelling to Dallas for a day’s work or arriving in Plano for their job. With 750,000 citizens in Collin County, never a day goes by without industry making its mark.

We walked along the path of the proposed rail line, talking to voters and concerned citizens about the desire to see mass transit grow beyond the city of Plano. Our path took us along the side of the old Southern Pacific Rail - a line of train tracks that extends all the way north into Sherman. DART purchased the entire line in April of 1988, with an eye towards the future. They understood back then that as Dallas, Denton, and McKinney grew, they would need more than simple bus transportation to get them past the year 2000.

We talked about the growth patterns in the North Dallas and Collin County area. Plano was all horse ranches and cornfields when my family moved to Texas in ’76, but now it’s corporate headquarters for several global companies like JC Penny, Frito Lay, EDS, and Cisco. Collin County continues to grow north, with McKinney, Frisco, and Allen passing around the title of "Fastest Growing City In The Nation" over the last five years. The next wave of super-growth is already started in Melissa, Anna, Prosper, Princeton and Celina.

In the end we agreed that cities could not sustain the growth without rail and bus transportation. Will the DART Rail system ever rival the transportation systems of Atlanta or Washington, D.C.? There’s no need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to mass transit - the key is simply to compare what we’re doing to the rest of the world and find what works best for us.

It was just past noon when we arrived at St Mark’s Church in McKinney to a welcoming crowd. People are excited about the chance to make a difference in their world - the idea that we can create change in our own society has once again caught fire in America. A few swigs of Gatorade and a pat on the back, and I felt right as rain.

I stood on Sharlene’s pickup and reminded the crowd, "A few years from now when this rail line is finished, you’ll be able to ride in ten minutes what took us all morning to walk. And you can tell your friends that you were here. You helped bring the DART Rail to Collin County for our future!"

Thanks to my fellow walkers: Julie and David Cuniglio, Carman Marshall, Larry and Lou Ann Jackson, Ang and Christian, and Edward and Winter Manuel (my kids). Thanks to everyone who came out in support of what we’re trying to accomplish for our future. Thanks also to my wife Suzi, my manager Sharlene, and my friend John for your support - I couldn’t do it without you!

Transit for the Masses

2008-07-10T11:55:00.000-05:00

I stand amazed that our elected officials continue to be short-sighted and hands-off when it comes to long term planning in Collin County.

We are faced with a light rail mass transit system from DART that will cost hundreds of millions to extend from Plano into Frisco, McKinney, and beyond. The estimates are that it would take roughly $20 million to build 1 mile of rail line. This would place the dream of DART Rail expansion from Plano to McKinney? at over $200 million if we started now. Even Frisco would cost almost half of that amount. A rail line that services even half of the county could run into the billion dollar range.

The need is here today because gas is at $4 a gallon, but we need to plan for tomorrow, even if gas goes down in price. It takes more than knee-jerk reactions to the morning newspaper to build a better future for the county. We need a vision for all of our cities that will serve as a guideline for the future.

The benefits to rail expansion are very real. We are faced with the prospect of doubling the citizenship of Collin County by the year 2030, yet we have NO county-wide mass-transit system. In Dallas, the value of office properties that reside near DART Rail increased 53% more than comparative locations without rail service. Residential neighborhoods serviced by rail increased 39% in value more than other locations.

The University of North Texas Center for Economic Development and Research estimated more than $8.1 billion in economic activity stemmed from the North Texas region’s investment of $4.86 billion to build the current and planned rail systems. When we consider the growth potential of our future, it’s vital to consider how much the entire county will benefit from this planned expansion.

This is project that benefits the entire county, so we need to treat it as such. Can we afford it? Yes. Collin County’s Transportation Budget for 2008 is less than one fifteenth of the $255 million annual budget. This year’s budget increased only 1.84% over 2007, while the county’s revenue increased 11%. Even if we doubled that amount to support a bus and rail system, we would be well within our fiscal guidelines for the county.

The solution is simple. In order to kick off mass transit for Collin County, we need to concentrate on a bus system first, that allows all citizens to enjoy the benefits of mass transit while preparing for the rail system. And our County Commissioners need to step up to the plate and be prepared to use some of the windfall in our County budget to kick-start the rail system.

These facts and figures are available at DART.org and at Co.collin.tx.us.

Our Children Lose Out

2008-06-14T11:47:00.000-05:00

This month, the County Commissioners decided to fire the Teen Court coordinator. Not because of his work, which has been exemplary over the last two years, or his budget, which has been well within the County's needs. No, they fired him over the fact that he's gay.

Justin Nichols is an openly gay administrator for the County's Teen Court, a group whose goal is to keep high school kids out of the system by giving them a jury of their peers, and to introduce teens who are interested in our court system to how justice works. His work on the Teen Court inspired thousands of students over the years to stand up for their rights and respect our legal system. It is a shame that the selfsame Commissioners who commended Justin for his work this time last year have seen fit to remove him purely out of bigotry. If we cannot have justice for the Court Coordinator, can there really be justice in our Teen Court?

Justin’s accomplishments in the Teen Court have been exemplary. He worked with Mothers Against Drunk Driving to create a pair of scholarships for the students who worked on Teen Court. His leadership helped them win the North Texas Teen Court Competition this year. His leadership and dedication will be sorely missed in Collin County. And I see it as yet another reason why we need change on the Commissioner’s Court this November.

Oh, What A Day... And Night!

2008-04-03T12:56:00.001-05:00

'Twas an amazing experience at the Democratic Party Convention on March 30th. The Campaign Staff arrived in full force, and we gathered more information and talked to more voters than you could shake a stick at. In all, there were over 3,000 delegates and alternates at the convention - and that doesn't include the hundreds of guests (and politicians!)

I had the opportunity to address the convention that evening, and was well received. We spoke with several groups who had some incredible ideas for the race, and many more who had opinions on how the issues of the day need to be handled.

The convention started at 9 in the morning and went on into the night in order for the party to conduct its Primary caucuses. In fact, the final work did not get completed until 7:00am the next day! All in all, it was an amazing experience for both old and young Democrats alike.

The Last Supper Debate

2008-03-10T14:55:00.002-05:00

The First Baptist Church of Melissa hosted Collin County’s final Commissioner’s Debate on February 28th, with the help of Star Papers and 90.5 FM. Trey Graham moderated a panel of three journalists, with additional questions from the Internet and from audience members. It was a two hour debate that went by incredibly fast, thanks to Trey’s deft handling!
Alas, it was my last debate with Corbett and Joe together – this Primary season has been spectacular. The three of us have really taken the time to hash out a framework of the issues that face Collin County. It’s given me a powerful understanding of the problems we all face, not just as citizens, but together as a county and as Texas.
The challenges coming out of the Primary are many, but our campaign is ready to face whichever contestant is necessary in order to come out on top in November. Onward and Upward!

Princeton High Forum

2008-02-22T08:49:00.002-06:00

On Thursday, February 21st I had the opportunity to participate in a Candidate Forum sponsored by the Princeton High School Debate Team and the Princeton Chamber of Commerce. Princeton’s debate team, coached by instructor Kyle Brenner, is in The People Speak’s contest, and has a chance to go to New York for the United Nations Foundation.

This was a good, yet brief, opportunity to debate with Joe Jaynes and one of Corbett Howard’s representatives, and respond to questions from the audience and from students in the crowd. The audience was interested in how we County Commissioner candidates would tackle the growth of the area and how we would face the impending water shortages that are certain to plague Collin County.

After the debate, I had a lively conversation with several members of the Debate Team. We discussed everything from local politics and the growth of Princeton to how Collin County could best tackle our green space issues. These teenagers are excellent speakers and were very well informed on the topics of today! I look forward to speaking with the Princeton Debate Team again, as well as other high school groups throughout Collin County!

Victor Manuel,
Candidate for County Commissioner, Pct 3

MLK Parade in Plano

2008-01-19T10:59:00.001-06:00

To help celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., we joined the Democratic Party’s group with our own pair of PT Cruisers! Thanks to Deloris LaJoy, I had the opportunity to ride in style and visit with the throngs of supporters who lined Plano’s Avenue K in remembrance of the sacrifices Doctor King made for all Americans who want to live in harmony.

We topped off the parade with a presentation from the Mayor of Plano, and then went to raise voter awareness with a Voter Registration drive that lasted throughout the day. All in all, it felt good to connect with friends from all walks of life, and to ensure that people remembered the rights that all people of color have won in America!

Time With The Kids

2008-01-04T01:05:00.000-06:00

What could possibly be more important than spending time with our children. As the Primary season grinds on, the time I get to spend with all four of my children is ever more precious. With Patrick in college, Anthony at high school, and Ed & Winter in elementary, every moment with them truly counts.

To say Christmas has been the calm before the storm is only slightly right; Christmas has seen its own share of parties and festivals for my family. It’s really been kind of the mini-storm before the Big Storm in February.

Winter and I took a moment here to go over one of the family picture albums and remember how she got to be such a precocious nine years old, then it’s off to bed for her!

Christmas With The Democrats

2007-12-27T12:15:00.002-06:00

The Democratic Party of Collin County held their annual Christmas Party at the Spaghetti Warehouse in Plano this year, and it was a blast! Everyone was there, from Dan Dodd, the party chairman, to Tom Daley, candidate for U.S. Congress District 4.

It was a great chance to sit and speak with several of the party members and celebrate Christmas with close friends. Politics took a back seat to remembering the reason for the season, as they say. Merry Christmas to all!

A loss for Collin County - and its employees

2007-11-30T00:48:00.000-06:00

After almost twenty years of receiving annual bonuses based on longevity of service within the county, our county employees will now have their own bonuses reduced, and any new hires to the county will not receive them at all. Commissioner Hoagland, who had his longevity pay severed last year after it became a political issue, has finally succeeded in decreasing this benefit to the employees of the county.

But what did they lose? More than anything else, a motivational tool for hiring and retention of county employees. Longevity pay was touted as unneccesary because Collin County is 'agressive' in their salary system. But being agressive as a government entity is near impossible unless you take into account annual bonuses and benefits that private sector employees receive. And longevity pay USED to do that for the county.
It was a retention tool and a morale builder because it not only gave employees a reward for sticking around, it gave them something to look forward to in the far future. Now in five short years, we'll have two classes of employees - those who get big checks at the end of each year, and those who wonder what the heck they're still doing working for the government.

Winners and Losers in the 2007 Bond Package

2007-11-06T22:25:00.000-06:00

In today's bond election, voters agreed to disagree with Keith Self about expansion and maintenance for Collin County's roads. We gained a leg up on the inner-city congestion and poor infrastructure of roads in nearly every city of the county. Even parks throughout the county received a boost, although by the time $17 million gets spread out over every city in the county, no single park project will be totally funded.
There was one big loser, though. Keith Self led a one-man crusade to stop progress in the county, and he kept citizens from understanding what the real problems were until it was almost too late. Fortunately, labelling vital infrastructure needs as "pork" didn't quite resonate with voters, and it looks like Collin County will move into the next phase of its development after all.

Another area of progress is the School Board bond packages for Prosper and Lovejoy ISDs, and the tax increase for Blue Ridge ISD. These school districts need funding to increase their capacity for our ever-growing county, and we're fortunate that the voters recognize how fast their cities are growing.
As we continue on, with our oasis of home price increases and new home building, Collin County is going to need forward-thinking citizens more and more.

If Keith Self doesn't trust himself, should we?

2007-10-03T13:19:00.000-05:00

The argument about whether or not to vote for our November County Bond comes down to one of trust. Both sides say that they’re certain money can’t be raised by any other means than by a bond package – the Commissioners say the cities need money, the Judge says the main thoroughfares need it. But both can’t be right, can they?

Well they’re both correct about who NEEDS the money, because the cities desperately need more infrastructure at the local level to handle the increase in population – McKinney, Allen, and Frisco have all grown at phenomenal rates over the last five years, and Prosper, Melissa, and Celina are expected to grow at equally high rates over the next five years.

Yet at the same time, we have a definite need for money to build up Hwy 75 north of Allen, as anyone who lives north of 121 can easily attest. The wait in traffic to arrive in Dallas at 8am from the town of Prosper already requires you to leave home at 6:30 in the morning on a good day! Let’s just imagine what five years of continued growth would do to that commute.

So it’s a question of who should the County help FIRST and who has to wait. If the cities wait, we in McKinney will have to foot a higher tax bill over the next five years to pay for an increase in municipal infrastructure. The local mayors seem ready for the challenge either way, although who wouldn’t be happy with getting half the bill when the tab is twenty million dollars?

If the highway upgrades have to wait, who’s going to foot the bill for them? The Texas Department of Transportation just spent $3 Million on a campaign to inform people that they’re out of money. Write your own joke there, but we know for certain that TxDoT is out of the picture. Can the North Texas Toll Authority pay for it? The NTTA is giving the North Texas Council of Governments $2.6 Billion to pay for expansions in the area. But counties from Waco to the Red River have submitted over $8 Billion in requests for their local projects. What’s the chance of Collin County to have Hwy 75 and surrounding projects actually receive the needed funds? Very slim, indeed.

Greetings and Salutations!

2007-09-22T00:55:00.000-05:00

Greetings and Salutations, my friends and fellows!

The time of change is drawing upon us, and I have decided to make my mark in the very fabric of Collin County's government. I have announced my candidacy for the Commissioner of Collin County, in Precinct 3, and will be campaigning from here to November of 2008!
Our first major event will be gathering signatures at the Plano Balloon Festival this weekend, so if you have a chance, please stop by and say hello. The width and breadth of my family and friends are gathered to support this campaign; it is not mine alone, it is our campaign for Collin County Commissioner!
I have a blog and website debuting Friday at www.victor4collincounty.com and will even have video of my introduction speech by this weekend. Stop by and see what's changing in our universe. Cheer us on, donate to the cause, or just say 'hi' as we campaign all the way to 2008!

Thank you all for your support,

Victor Manuel,
Candidate for Collin County Commissioner, Precinct 3

www.victor4collincounty.com
<http://www.victor4collincounty.com/>

Maybe I just like Underdogs...

2007-09-20T22:31:00.000-05:00

After a thorough review of Keith Self's presentation, Joe Jayne's blog, and the Collin County Engineering Web Site, I've decided that Keith is on the ball here. The projects that are suggested with this $235 Million bond are concentrated on cities that can handle the load of municipal construction already. Even McKinney has more than enough tax base to run its own share of the construction projects until after the County has taken care of the main highways.

We need to be pro-active in getting Highway 75 and SH 380 up and running. Everyone from local citizens to area trucking companies already complain that this entire section of highways is a mess. With Collin County slated to expand to nearly double its size in the next 10-15 years, we cannot begin soon enough to complete the expansion of our major transportation arteries. If you live in the area and don't see the traffic on our highways, you're riding a bike to work. At night.

My only regret in all of this is that he couldn't keep the Commissioners wrangled into their May agreement with the State to do the Pass-Through financing in the first place! Keith and the Commissioners had a deal several months ago to use bond money to fix the highways and get paid back from the state. Even with a 4-year turnaround of the $180 million that Texas promised us, we'd be ahead of the 8-year time limit that this bond package proposes!

If we agree to this bond, we agree to no construction on 75 and 380 for many years to come – TxDoT will be busy with constructing Hwy 121, and we’ll be left holding the bag on Central. If the cities are that concerned about traffic in and around their civic centers, I have one word for them, and it's a dirty word around these parts... Dart!

In the end, we need more long-term vision and a committment to the issues that matter in Collin County. When four Republican Commissioners and their Republican County Judge can't agree, the tree just needs a bit more shaking.

Ever Onward,

Victor.

Bond... _County_ Bond

2007-09-12T19:41:00.000-05:00

The Commissioners and County Judge are at odds over a $329 million bond package that goes up for a vote in November. The County Judge says it's too much, and that we should fix the highways. The Commissioners say it's just right and that we have to fix the infrastructure of the cities first.

I'm going to have to dive deeper into this to make sense of it... both sides make it sound so simple that you just can't take it at face value. The County would contribute $235 million to support road projects countywide, and have almost $200 million of that matched by city funds. A group of $420 million in road projects without a tax increase is more than any one entitiy could do by itself.

But Keith Self is reminding them of the promises made in April of this year for the County to step up and finance the expansion and construction on Hwy 75, SH 380, and SH289 (Preston). The cost to the County for the project depends on who you ask, but it's estimated to be at least $160 million in funds. The only problem with Keith's position is that now he's at the point of asking voters to say "no" to an existing bond package, with nothing for them to say "yes" for.

I'm going to attend not only Keith's meetings on the issue, but also the presentations of Joe Jaynes and Phillys Cole to find out more about the issue. I suggest you do the same!

... and we're live!

2007-09-07T12:25:00.000-05:00

Today is the release of our web site for the race. You can check out the updates for the campaign at http://www.victorforcollincounty.com/ from now on. I refer to this as "our campaign" and "our race" because this project belongs not only to me as the candidate, but to my family, friends, and the team of incredible people who are helping to put this all together.

Thanks to Suzi, Patrick, Anthony, Edward, Winter, Joel, John, Steve, Richard, Julie, Doloris, Sonya, Allison, and everyone else who's going to be joining on. Together we are going to make a change for the better in Collin County, Texas!

Groundbreaking... in more ways than one

2007-08-29T14:00:00.000-05:00

Tuesday I enjoyed the groundbreaking ceremony for the new additions at Collin County Community College in McKinney. Central Park campus was the first built, and the most recent to be expanded. This is a needed addition for the students in the northern half of the county, and the college is definitely getting their money's worth.

It was interesting to watch the Commissioner's Court discuss the budget as well on Tuesday. They requested comments on the budget for 2008, and heard quite a few. A State Trooper argued the need to keep a clerk within their department instead of moving the position to one of the County Courts. It was denied, and we'll have to see exactly what impact that's going to have on the ability of our local enforcers to keep on the streets. The sergeant wasn't very happy about the prospects, though.