As I’ve said in the intro to all of the video interviews in the race to replace Rep. Steve Stockman in CD-36, the district is geographically very large and includes deep East Texas and the Clear Lake area. The population is very diverse and I’ve asked each of the candidates that I’ve talked to about the differences between voters in Clear Lake and those in Woodville/Jasper because it seemed to me that there are little similarities.
So this quote of candidate Chuck Meyer in the Texas Tribune in an article by Aman Batheja caught my eye:
Near the end of the forum, candidates were asked how they would represent a district that includes part of urban Harris County and stretches across several rural counties. While some candidates spoke about the importance of balancing the needs of the district’s urban and rural residents, Meyer took a different approach.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I want to represent southeast Texas in Washington, D.C. I don’t want to represent Harris County,” Meyer said. “Harris County is in the district, unfortunately, but they have plenty of representatives there to represent that part of the district.”
After reading that, I noted on Facebook that Chuck Meyer had lost my vote. Meyer objected, saying that the quote was taken out of context. So I contacted the reporter, Aman Batheja, to see if Meyer was correct. Batheja did change a couple of words in after listening again to the audio recording of the forum and updated the article, which now reads:
“Ladies and gentlemen, I want to represent southeast Texas in Washington, D.C. I don’t want to represent Harris County,” Meyer said. “Harris County is in the district, unfortunately, but they have plenty of congressmen down there to represent the interests of that district.”
As you can see, instead of “representatives there” the correct quote is “congressmen down there”. That is such a minor difference it isn’t worth noting.
Batheja also sent me the audio recording of Meyer’s statement and if you listen to it, it clearly confirms that Meyer said he does not want to represent the Harris County part of the district. In fact, he repeats the idea a couple of times. Take a listen:
At about the 2:16 mark, this is what Meyer says:
This seat does not belong in the hands of someone from Harris County. Sorry, ladies and gentlemen, it does not. There are plenty of congressmen and congresswomen down in Harris County to take care of the needs of Harris County.
Meyer then talks about the needs of Southeast Texas and ends that line of reasoning by saying those needs are very different from those of Seabrook (I happen to live next door to Seabrook). And then he says, “Ladies and gentlemen, I want to represent Southeast Texas”. Those are his words, not the reporter’s and not mine. And the reporter got the context completely accurate. It is clear that Meyer thinks that “Southeast Texas” doesn’t include Harris County.
So folks, if you want to vote for someone that says publicly he isn’t going to represent you, that is your right. I want to vote for someone that will represent the entire district and understands that from a federal perspective, the issues of “Southeast Texas” and “Seabrook” are one and the same. I want smaller government, freedom from government, and a restoration of the 10th amendment. When I interviewed Chuck, I was impressed – he has a diverse background and seemed to know the issues. But after finding out he wants to leave my portion of the district out of his plans, I’ll find another candidate.
David, I once admired most of your views until today with this. You clearly have lost it. First you say Norman is solid, while he took Mostyn money that funds Battleground Texas. Now you are INTENTIONALLY taking a quote out of context to further the agenda. You want a candidate to cater to only Harris County. Yes, it’s easy to forget all of us in the Eastern District. But, time and time again we bring the win, not you guys. CLEARLY, as he always does, Chuck works with all the parties and republican groups throughout all of the counties. Sorry your feelings are hurt a little that he won’t only cater and campaign to Harris. As usual, Harris will not get behind only one or two good candidates. You’ll all fight over 4-5 of them which waters down the vote strength you could have. Eastern Counties will generally back one to two of them. Shame on you for taking remarks out of context. Meyer simply meant his job is to represent SETX as a whole, not just one county alone. You know this is what the comment meant. Last I checked Harris was still part of SETX, not a district unto its own.
Can I try to spin it a little? I think he meant to say he didn’t want to represent Harris County “alone” and his reference about they have enough Congressmen to represent “the county’s interests” (not District) by referring to the Democrats who are elected? Okay, maybe not the best spin-job, but he is way better than many of others in the race.
Wow – he doesn’t want to represent over 40{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} of the district? Then forget him.
And I wonder – what does he feel about the nonHarris parts of the district that are part of the Houston metropolitan area? Does he intend to ignore them, too?
Funny the question that was directed to each candidate was how we could reassure those in East Texas who are outside Harris County will be represented in Washington isn’t mentioned. Imagine that Big Jolly playing political gaming.
Hey David Jennings, I would like to invite you as my guest to the Greater Houston Partnership’s State of the County Address by County Judge Ed Emmett, Thursday, February 27, 2014 (10:30 AM – 1:30 PM), Hilton Americas, 1600 Lamar. I assume you would like to attend this important Harris County event. This will give you the opportunity to grill me face to face about my commitment to Harris County rather than this back-and-forth on Facebook about an obvious misstatement on my part. Please let me know by calling my office, either 281 296 1680 or 409 673 4366, if you accept my invitation.