No, Jerry, you don’t.
I have the right to work and make a living,” Eversole said. “And I’ll say that the person who has a problem with me is (County Judge) Ed Emmett.
Texas may be a right-to-work state Mr. Eversole, but THAT phrase applies to governance (not governments) of contractual agreements between employers and labor unions that specifically prevent them from excluding non-union workers. Unless, of course, you are in complete agreement with those who espouse the “from each according to their abilities, to each according to their needs” philosophy.
Citizens like me have a problem with you, Mr. Eversole and you can credit Roy Morales. Mr. Morales didn’t stand up at this Downtown Pachyderm Club meeting and claim HCDE’s purpose was to educate children. He asserted the purpose of HCDE was to function as a business.
HCDE, in actuality, functions in a manner ANTITHETICAL to free-market capitalism.
True venture capitalism starts with the belief in individualism and private property rights; the harvest of my personal sweat & labor. I then voluntarily, not under the force of government rule, risk my harvest (my private capital) to provide good or services that people actually want to buy. That is not the principle being applied. HCDE’s services could be provided by private citizens who voluntarily wish to contribute THEIR harvest (not forcibly make me contribute mine), expand competition & create student choice and then let the free-market oversight by parents and family members create the ‘control”.
So, no Mr. Eversole, you don’t have “the right to work”; and I hope more elected officials get thrown out of office for spewing forth anti-capitalist, anti-free market rhetoric such as yours.
Yvonne,
I usually have to scratch my head when I read some to the things you put to print. I do agree that
the former Commissioner and current felon (aka Jerry Eversole) should not be employed by the county, state, or federal government. At least not yet! He needs to demonstrate that he can be trusted. I only accept the word of Joe Izuzu; politicians should never be trusted.
I agree with him that he has a right to seek employment and work within the confines of his probation agreement.
Jerry was guilty of the following:
1. Campaign Finance violations. To me this was a B.S. charge. Folks should be more careful of the
gift monies that they give to politicians. You know…you gave it to him or his committee. I suspect there are a dozen legal ways to siphon off funds and still be within the law. In this case Mr Eversole is guilty of breaking faith with his supporters; then injured parties did not include all of the citizens of Harris County.
2. Giving preferential treatement to a campaign contributor. This is more serious because the injured parties were the citizens of Harris County and he clearly broke faith with them. I do believe people can learn from their mistakes and be rehabilitated, but this is just a little too soon.
3. Lying to a Federal Agent. This is the actual felony that caught him. He made a mistake and he needs a track record before I would trust him with my money again.
The actual villian in this sorry mess is not Mr Eversole, but rather the judgement challanged individual who hired Jerry as a consultant on the County’s nickel?
Simple
Ms. Larsen,
As you know I was ask to speak at the Downtown Pachyderm about my time at the HCDE. I was prohibited by board policy to speak on behalf of the HCDE. And yes, I have always talked about the purpose of HCDE is about the children. From the board room to debates. You apparently claim to be a Republican. If you are a Republican then what is Reagan’s 11th commandment? I have worked hard for this party all of my life and sacrificed so much. I have served my country, county and city with honor. I am very disappointed that you would have the audacity of mentioning my name in association with the hiring of Mr. Eversole by the HCDE. Your negative statement leads me to believe that you are attempting to prevent me from earning a living. This is nothing more than malice by you and a few others. Be Warned!
Roy Morales
Lt Col, USAF (Ret)
I will seek legal action if this continues.
Mr Morales should check out the documents that Mr Eversole filed with the Texas Ethics Commission. Mr Eversole listed Mr Morales under the “names of persons who determine lobby policy.” for Mr Everdole .(Form REG Schedule A page 2)
Roy Morales has no legitimate beef with Yvonne Larsen regarding her mention of his statement made at the Downtown Pachyderm Club about HCDE being in business. Morales didn’t deny he said it and you have to admit that his statement does call into question HCDE’s legitimacy. I was at a HCDE Board meeting, with member Morales present, where there was an open discussion about HCDE’s operation of businesses to earn extra money. The businesses were not identified.
HCDE operates business ventures for the purpose of making a profit and using the money they bring in as they see fit. HCDE claims to have over 1000 clients NATIONWIDE. One of the things HCDE does with the profits is pay ex-board member Don Elder about $100,000 per year to serve as a “consultant” for their business operation called Choice Partners.
HCDE’s board recently approved using $1 million of our county education dollars to start up a new business venture in cloud computing.
I am sure it is just a coincidence that two divisions of a technology company which has contracts with HCDE’s business ventures filed “conflict of interest” forms with HCDE stating that Mr Morales is a “Business Development Consultant – Independent Contractor – COMMISSIONABLE” for their company.
I have often wondered if the business ventures HCDE operates are for children or for the adults who find a way to make money off of them.