MILAM COUNTY TRANSPARENCY

 Well, finally blog time again.  My last blog was in January, and after posting it and considering the various options I had to blog about I decided to wait until after the election.  Some of the facts that I will share could have been taken as political rhetoric against Steve.

Now that the election is over there are a lot of facts that are finally coming to light that were known back in January.  Had Steve been truly transparent, as he touted in his campaign ads, he would have shared the facts during the campaign.

One of the issues I mentioned in my January blog was a formal complaint filed against Judge Young with the Milam County District Attorney’s Office.  To cut straight to the point it deals with Steve deciding to give away furniture and fixtures in the hospital building being renovated for the new county annex.  It was done in violation of the Local Government Code Chapter 263.  Specifically, Chapters 152, 153 and 155.  The complaint was filed in July, 2021.

Basically, the law says the county has to notice and take bids on any county property it wants to get rid of.  The law states the “Commissioners Court shall” not may or can, but shall follow certain procedures to dispose of county property.

The DA’s office has made all kinds of excuses for Judge Young.  Citing the property was private property even though common real estate law says anything left behind becomes property of the buyer.  Further Texas Property Code Sec. 72.104, says personal property found on county property becomes property of the county after 120 days.

The DA’s office has protected Steve time and again with excuses for why the law did not have to be followed when giving away the hospital fixtures and furniture.  They have termed it junk, of no value, private property and other excuses.  I wonder if the fact that Torrey was a BIG supporter of Steve had anything to do with the cover-up.

 It is very strange that during the Commissioners Court meeting on March 14, Assistant DA Kyle Nuttall informed the commissioners that before giving away soil from ditch cleaning, they must take bids on it.  This is soil that has bottles, cans grass and other foreign matter that makes it pretty much worthless must be stockpiled, and bid notice given in the newspapers to allow the public the right to bid on it in accordance with the law.  Yet the Judge could give away desks, medical equipment, hospital beds and other items without following the law?  Guess Judges are treated differently than Commissioners.

 Another interesting fact is that there has been an ongoing investigation into the giving away of some millings from the old hospital parking lot.  This material according to several sources has absolutely no value to the county, yet the DA is looking into possible violations of the same law quoted earlier in this blog.

 Judge Steve Young and Milam County Transparency at its finest.  Stay tuned there is more to come.

 

 

 

 

 

 

WHAT TO DO WHAT TO DO

 

Okay, I have said I was back and I am.  I have just been having a REALLY hard time trying to focus on my first topic for my blog.  Should it be on the formal complaint filed against Judge Young in July of 2021 that is being held up by the DA’s office.  Or should it be all of the things that are happening in Milam County that Steve is taking credit for, but actually had nothing to do with.  Yes, he was Judge while they came to fruition, but the fact is that much of what is happening now began long before his election.  He even stated in one of his early commissioners’ court meetings, “there is not a whole lot the county or judge can do to make it happen” referring to the events occurring at the Alcoa property.  Now he is taking the position that he did it all.

 Maybe it should be about the issues with the 2022 county budget which have been brought to his attention yet nothing has been done.  Or perhaps his supporters contacting supporters of his opponent and telling them to urge Whitmire not to run because Steve will spend whatever it takes to win.

 Or maybe I should write about the calls Steve’s supporters are making to candidates for commissioner that basically have said if you support Judge Young your campaign funds will be taken care of.  If you don’t believe me, ask them.  He has already bought one commissioner.

 Or maybe I should share his referring to himself as the “only conservative” candidate.  Check his background in Harris County.  BIG TIME DEMOCRAT, and big time liberal.  Or could it be how hard he has fought crime in Milam County?  Possibly we could discuss how he has kept taxes low.

 How about all the jobs he has created, how he has increased funding to schools, or maybe the “opportunity” he has created.  All of these claims, and they are only claims, not facts are on his re-elect Steve site. 

 Now all this being said I am not anti-Steve.  Take a look at my blogs in 2019 right after Steve took office.  He was truly a breath of fresh air.  I was excited about the potential that was there after eight years of gloom and doom.  However, I now have a much better view of what he is and where he is going.

 Having worked with attorneys for 18 years as a Judge I have learned that attorneys have one goal in mind.  That goal is to convince you of their position.  James Gray Robinson’s October 2021 article in the ABA Journal states, “A great deal of practicing law is persuading someone to believe, act or agree with your client’s position, whether it is in a courtroom, a boardroom, a negotiation or at a dinner table. We seek to persuade juries, judges, colleagues, friends, family or the press that we are right and that others are not”.  This is a guy who has spent the last fifteen years training and researching how to persuade people effectively.  I do believe that Steve took his class. 

 Steve is a smooth operator and can suck you in before you know what is happening.  I truly believe he could sell a load of cow manure to a feedlot owner.  He is a fantastic marketer.  He sells himself well, but once you really get to know him and see him in action you quickly come to believe he is not all he tells you he is.  He banks on people believing his rhetoric and not being aware of the reality we are experiencing in Milam County

 Stay tuned.  I’ll be back with the real story on some of the issues I have mentioned.