The Republican criminals in Wiliamson County

[Joanne98]

The officials in this county are 99% corrupt.

Petty Nastiness in WilCo
BY PATTY RULAND
http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A397736

Williamson Co. Sheriff James Wilson (left) stands accused of misconduct relating to a feud with his predecessor, Jim Wilson.
Photo By Patty Ruland

Did Williamson Co. Sheriff James Wilson demote two lieutenants because they publicly supported his political rival, former Sheriff Jim Wilson, in the county's contentious 2004 sheriff's race? Were the demotions retaliation for their making allegations of illegal activities by one of the sheriff's right-handmen? Or, were the officers simply demoted for poor performance?

After more than a year of legal wrangling, a federal judge earlier this summer set the date for a federal jury to decide whether Wilson demoted former Williamson Co. Sheriff's Office officers Barry Simmons and Ralph Fisher from supervisory positions to patrol deputies in retaliation for their having reported wrongdoing within the department and/or for exercising their right of free speech by supporting Wilson's political rival. "The freedom to support and vote for the candidate of your choice is a fundamental right that belongs to every American. No one, not even the sheriff of Williamson County, should be able to take that away," states Derek Howard, attorney for the plaintiffs.

Six plaintiffs, including Simmons and Fisher, originally filed suit against Wilson and Williamson Co. in March 2005; after a round of mediation, four plaintiffs settled, leaving Simmons and Fisher, who will head to federal District Judge Lee Yeakel's courtroom in February for trial – where jurors will more than likely be offered a front-row seat to a Williamson Co. political parade of shame.

The Simmons-Fisher saga began back in December 2003, with the resignation of former WilCo Sheriff John Maspero, who left office under a cloud of allegations of public intoxication and official misconduct – including a charge that he bit a dancer on the thigh while drunk and pretending to be a dog at the Penthouse Men's Club. In the wake of Maspero's departure, Williamson Co. commissioners appointed former Co. Constable Jim Wilson (no relation to James Wilson) to serve out Maspero's term. As Wilson was preparing to take over, several officers – including Simmons and Fisher – came forward to report alleged misconduct by a handful of WCSO employees – many of them tight with the disgraced Maspero – including then Capt. Shawn Newsom, who had been accused of sexual harassment, the unauthorized use of a tractor, and theft of WCSO property. (A grand jury ultimately declined to indict Newsom on all charges.) When Wilson formally took office in January 2004, he fired about 22 employees, including Newsom. His decision to clean house triggered an internal uproar, prompted Newsom and several others to file suit for wrongful termination, and quickly served as fodder in the GOP primary race for sheriff, where Wilson was opposed by four candidates, including James Wilson. Wilson had retired in 1996 from his post as director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, shortly after the Legislature censured him for spending $915,000 (seized in criminal investigations) on land for a DPS firing range in Florence.

The contentious sheriff's race also sparked the creation of an anti-Jim Wilson Web site, NotJimWilson.org, on which numerous posters – many using aliases, such as "Dirty" or "Bullet" or "Lucy-fer" to cover their identities – railed against the appointed sheriff, as well as a number of officers, including Simmons and Fisher, who had first reported the alleged wrongdoings by Newsom and others. The Web site persisted after James Wilson was elected, says attorney Robert Schmidt – one of the lawyers representing Simmons and Fisher – apparently to "rub in the victory." Many postings were purely personal digs, including one calling Simmons "Crispy Critter" for his childhood burn scars. Many others gloated over supposedly surefire dismissals: One posting, by "Bullet," pictured the cover of the book, The Complete Job-Search Handbook, with the caption, "Jim, you and the boys might want to get a copy of this to read." Schmidt cites a posting signed by Newsom himself that read, "We cannot forget the problems at the sheriff's office are few and can all be fixed with the stroke of a pen. The Calvary has crested the hill and back up will soon be there." Schmidt argues that "This statement on a clearly political Web site indicates clear retaliatory intent by Shawn Newsom against our clients."

http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A397736

[Joanne98]

1. It's Just Business

Eye on Williamson
Keeping An Eye On Williamson County, Texas
08.23.06It’s Just BusinessPosted in Election 2006, Around The State at 12:52 pm by wcnews

http://eyeonwilliamson.org//index.php?p=444

My father has a friend who moved here from the Middle East in the late ’80’s early ’90’s, he is a Christian. I say that because of the story I’m going to tell. My father’s friend was a businessman when he lived in the Middle East and he’s a businessman now in the United States. My father got to know this man after he retired in the early ’90’s and started doing handyman work for him. They would travel together to buy tools, parts, etc. This particular story my father told was about them driving down the road and passing a building that was under construction, it was a church. His friend said, in his accented English, as they passed the building under construction, “Ah, business”. My father tried to correct him saying, “No, it’s not a business it’s a church”. He then looked at my father then back at the building and said, “Yes, business”.

The reason I tell this story is to point out that what some people think is a house of God others may interpret differently. And what some might think of a political party others may interpret differently as well. If you read these two recent articles, one from the DMN and the other from the SAEN, it becomes painfully clear that Gov. Perry is just using the Republican Party for something other than what it’s intended for. Why would a governor, of either party, be for a plan that his natural constituency (rural voters and farmers) is against, that a plank in his party’s platform is against, and that elected members of his own party are coming out against? We could speculate all day about why, but reads these two articles can figure out that it has nothing to do with what’s right or the Republican Party, it’s just business, “Yes, business”.

[Joanne98]

2. kick

[Lithos]

3. Not surprised

Not surprised at all.

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