Latest news with #BigCountryPolitics
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
McAlister battles to keep his seat in Abilene City Council runoff
ABILENE, Texas () – Incumbent Abilene City Councilmember Kyle McAlister is heading into a runoff election against challenger Miguel Espinoza for the Place 5 seat after neither candidate secured more than 50% of the vote in the May election. The runoff is set for June 7. Place 5 race not over yet: McAlister, Espinoza gear up for runoff McAlister, with more than a decade of experience representing Place 5, says he's seen a pattern over the years: whoever takes the early lead often wins. 'When those first early numbers come in, usually, if candidates are more than 10 percentage points apart, that's usually the way it will stand, because with the number of people who early vote versus those who actually show up on election day, it's that 10% swing is pretty hard to pull,' McAlister explained. 'So when the first numbers came in, I was right over 50%, Miguel was right under 50%, and then Cynthia was down here. I kind of got that feeling that's where we were going, because it was, it wasn't quite enough… The last numbers came in, and it said 49.78%. I was like, okay, you know, a little disappointed, but I still feel like we're in a really good place heading into the runoff, just because of the number of votes I need to make up.' Abilene People: Kyle McAlister McAlister says his mindset hasn't changed: always campaign like you're behind. 'The worst thing that I could do, that my supporters could be, is, 'Oh, you got this. No problem.' No, no, we start all over, and it's a clean slate,' McAlister shared. 'There are opportunities to reach out to some of the people who may not have voted for me. We take a look at the polling data. We can pull names of voters and things like that, and find out which precincts we did well in. We want to really focus on those precincts where we didn't do as well.' BIG COUNTRY POLITICS: Runoff momentum, HB 1375 debate & one candidate's takeaway from it all Low turnout was a theme in this election. Last week on Big Country Politics, McMurry Political Science Professor Dr. Paul Fabrizio said only a small number of voters showed up. McAlister says that's exactly why every vote counts. 'I've often told people I don't want people to know I'm on the city council because it's an ego thing. I want people to know that I'm on the city council because they are involved in their community,' McAlister said. 'Well, when you're looking at like a national race or state race where millions of people vote, you might think, Well, my vote doesn't matter, I'm one out of, you know, 6 million or whatever, like that. Hey, as we've seen, one vote matters. Every vote matters… It is important that people take the time to have an input into their government, because this is our tax money that we're spending.' Espinoza, a first-time candidate, is a fresh face on the ballot, while McAlister says his experience sets him apart. 'The answers are things of my experience that I have done for many years, the experience of knowing how the process works, the experience of being able to get things done, and knowing how to listen, I think, is very important, and I want people to know that. I want to be able to listen to what they have to say, that I'm concerned about their issues, because, again, I live here. I'm a homeowner, I'm a taxpayer,' McAlister shared. 'I want to make sure that we get the job done, as far as making positive changes to the city, and then if we need to make some tweaks and go the other direction. What I want folks to understand is what I bring to the table, is that experience and that knowledge of how Abilene has worked, and how I think we can continue to make it work well and make it work even better.' Abilene People: Miguel Espinoza In the same election, voters approved a $20 million bond for airport improvements by a slim margin of 52%. 'With the airport, we felt like that was a big enough ticket item that we wanted to have the voters have that chance. And they did… Now, one of the things that we will do as we are setting the tax rate is that we will understand that people's taxes are going to go up because of the bond, because when the bond is voted in, then the taxes go up,' McAlister explained. 'So then what we can do is we can come in and look at the tax rate and either keep it the same or lower it, in fact. I think I was looking at maybe five or six of the last budgets, we've actually either kept the tax rate the same or lowered it, knowing that people are going to pay more because, in a lot of cases, their homes are worth more.' Abilene voters pass $20 million bond for airport upgrades McAlister urges residents to stay engaged, especially during budget season. 'Is it going to cost you more? Yeah. I mean, and it cost me more, too. But we try to make sure that we are cognizant of the fact that if we can lessen the impact as much to people's tax bills and their tax, like an escrow and things like that, that we want to do, that we will start that process in July for the next year's budget,' McAlister added. 'We have budget workshops, and I encourage everyone to come to those. I mean, I tell people all the time. I want to see you there, and I want to see you at the tax hearings. I want you to tell us what you want and what you don't want. That allows us to decide where we need to spend our money the best.' Longtime Abilene Councilman Kyle McAlister to defend seat in May election He says public feedback isn't just welcomed — it's necessary. 'A lot of times, when things go wrong, the first time we hear about it is on social media, but if people just let us know, then we can work on it. If a street needs repair, or if there's a hole here, whether we may not even know about it, but you know, I do see the good and the bad, and that's fine. If I see something bad and say I can work on that, then I'm more than happy to jump in, because I want people to feel like that if they ask me a question, I'm going to listen to them, and I feel like I do listen to them, and we'll do what I can to to either resolve it,' McAlister shared. 'Sometimes there is no resolution. People just want to be heard, sure, and I understand that. I really do. I mean, I want to be heard. Sometimes people just want to feel like they can talk to you. I hope that people know that I'm always like that. You know, if you catch me in the grocery store, if you catch me at Walmart, wherever, let's talk. If I don't have time, then here's my card. Send me an email. Let's see what we need to get taken care of.' McAlister and Espinoza will face off in the June 7 runoff election for the Place 5 seat. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Big Country Politics: Abilene bookstore owner discuses concerns of House Bill 1375
BIG COUNTRY, Texas () – In this week's episode of Big Country Politics, Arlene Kasselman, owner of the bookstore Seven and One Books, discussed House Bill 1375 and her concerns. House Bill 1375 is legislation in Texas aimed at regulating businesses that distribute obscene content. Censorship concerns rise over Texas bill; Abilene bookstore pushes back 'The thing that caught my attention was the wording on the bill because it actually says, 'anything that is deemed harmful.' But there's not an excavation as in harmful or in bullet points on what this could be. And so when you try to parse out what that means as a bookseller, I'm going, 'Oh, so now it's up for definition,' because it's not just, I think you use the phrase obscene, but I think the language is: is this harmful to a minor?' Kasselman said. Kasselman mentioned that it's scary that this bill allows people to sue businesses based on what they're selling. She noted that book stores are striving, but their profit margins are small. 'If an independent bookstore like mine gets sued, I can't afford the legal fees. I can't afford the potential payouts, and what we noticed is that, in a few cases with certain bookstores that have come under scrutiny, they've tried to settle out of court. We can't afford that either. A bill like this potentially has the effect that small bookstores will close their doors because they can't afford the lawsuits. And the other option is to try to avoid the lawsuits; we either have to close our doors to minors entering the bookstores, or we would have to card people as they are buying things,' Kasselman said. Kasselman expressed her concerns about what qualifies as harmful content, particularly in relation to 'obscene content.' She noted that if a teenager visits a bookstore and their parents discover this, it could potentially lead to a lawsuit. Kasselman also highlighted several important books, including The Diary of Anne Frank, writings by Toni Morrison and Octavia Butler, George Orwell's 1984, and Fahrenheit 451. 'And if a parent deems that it is harmful, we're not talking pornography, I'm a mother, in fact, I'm a Christian mother. And I'm not out there to put things in the hands of children that are developmentally inappropriate or that would be harming them. But, it's this idea that we're going to censure what a book is allowed to carry,' Kasselman shared. Kasselman sees this issue as a form of censorship and explains how she lived through censorship of books and TV when she lived in South Africa. 'I think if we can depoliticize some of these conversations and make them human again, we are probably more similar than we are different. I think the desire is to protect children, and from a bookseller, we're saying, 'Yes, let's make sure children have access to books and bookstores have similar experiences we had as children,' and we would never have something in the store that is directly harmful to children. We are opening a world to children where they can explore, and families can pick… We're not forcing anybody to buy anything, but as a private business, we have multiple options and can invite people in so they can find their own representation in the bookstore, but we're not forcing anybody to buy something against their will,' Kasselman said. Seven and One Bookstore provides a diverse selection of books, including bestsellers, essential historical reads, and current titles that reflect shoppers' trending interests. Kasselman describes the content of each book to ensure that customers feel confident in their choices. While she prefers not to inquire about what someone is purchasing, she is always open to discussing the content of the books. 'We are not screening books; going 'oh, that book has got, this book is written for adult romance that adults will purchase.' I'm not going to say 'you shouldn't buy that book.' I'm going to let you pick that because I feel like that's your right as an American to have that kind of choice. But the way we have the store laid out, I don't have young adult books with my adult romance books; they're put in a separate part of the store,' Kasselman said. Kasselman believes that the vagueness of HB 1375 is problematic and could result in frivolous legal actions. 'What if I have somebody come in who picks a book in my faith section and takes that home? And they have a parent who is not of a faith perspective who feels like everything to do with faith is culty or harmful because they have church hurt? And they may want to sue over that… And then I have another child or young adult who picks up a clean, closed door, which is the term we use when there's nothing sexually explicit in it, a romance book, and takes it home, and that parent doesn't like it, and then they sue? It could be coming from both sides. So what we're saying is, let's have these conversations in bills that specify certain very specific things if you have to have a regulation, or let's have people able to come and make their own decisions in a private business,' said Kasselman. Texas HB 1375 is left pending, and will continue to follow this story as it develops. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Big Country Politics: School vouchers & teacher raises under the microscope
BIG COUNTRY, Texas () – On this week's Big Country Politics, we're delving into the debate over school choice and hearing from both sides: Governor Greg Abbott and Bob Popinski, Senior Director of Policy for . WATCH: Gov. Abbott says Big Country will benefit from school vouchers, other legislative priorities Teacher pay has repeatedly been labeled an emergency item at the Capitol, and as lawmakers continue through the 89th legislative session, Governor Abbott says relief is finally on the way. 'I did make it an emergency item, because there are several criteria that lead to the best education. One of the foremost is having good-quality educators. To make sure we have those educators, we want to pay them and pay them more. We will be providing an all-time record amount of pay for teachers this session,' Abbott said. Popinski agreed that improving teacher pay is a priority, not only for Abbott but also for many in the Texas House and Senate. 'Texas ranks number 30 in the nation in teacher salaries, we're about $8,800 below the national average. So over the last handful of years, you've seen it harder and harder to attract and retain quality teachers in our public schools,' Popinski shared. 'There are some bills out there that will help increase teacher salaries. The Senate already passed Senate Bill 26, which would provide anywhere between a $2,500 raise and a $10,000 raise, depending on years of experience and the size of your school. The House has House Bill Two, which has some escalators in there for teacher salaries as well. So they're definitely paying attention to it.' Big Country Politics: Rep. Stan Lambert discusses hot topics in Texas, including school vouchers & healthcare monopolies With 5.5 million students and more than 380,000 teachers, Popinski says the top priority should be increasing the basic allotment in House Bill Two, which would set a higher per-student funding amount for public schools. 'But in order to do that, you need roughly $20 billion over the next two years just to give school districts the same purchasing power as they had back in 2019 and right now the bills moving through the process, I mentioned House Bill Two on the House side and Senate Bill 26, don't come close to that $20 billion amount,' Popinski explained. 'But at the end of the day, we are now competing with a voucher bill, Senate Bill Two, moving through the process that has a billion-dollar price tag on it. The first year of implementation is the 2627 school year, and it escalates to a cost of $4.8 billion by 2030.' However, Governor Abbott insists school choice and public school funding don't have to compete. 'We can have both. It's not one or the other. We can fully fund our public schools, which is what we're going to do, while at the same time providing a school choice option for parents across the region. We find it to be very effective in rural areas as well as suburban and urban areas,' Abbott said. 'The scope of this school choice program is smaller than that of one-quarter of charter schools. You haven't seen charter schools disrupt public schools in Abilene. Neither will you see school choice disrupt public schools in Abilene, San Angelo, or any other place like that.' Rep. Stan Lambert discusses election integrity, school vouchers & future goals for West Texas Popinski pushed back, arguing that public schools already offer a wide variety of options — with a level of oversight that private schools don't have to follow. 'We already offer great public school choice with great accountability. Students who go to public school-choice schools like Magnet programs or CTE programs have to follow the same rules as everyone else does. They have to follow the STAAR test. They have to follow the A through F accountability rating system. The school districts have to submit financial integrity ratings,' Popinski shared. 'When you go to a private school, they don't have to do any of that if they accept a student with an ESA program. Right now, the only thing those accredited private schools or vendors would have to do is provide a nationally normed reference test to those students in grades three through 12, and this bill, and that's kind of it. The comptroller has some accountability measures over them, but nothing compared to public schools.' As this legislation moves forward, Popinski stressed the financial strain districts are already facing. 'As you've seen in both the House bill and the Senate voucher bill program, is that over the course of just four years, it expands the $4.8 billion. If you look at the teacher pay raise bill right now, that the senate is offering, that's about the same they're offering for public school teacher pay raises,' Popinski said. 'Remember, there's 380,000 public school teachers and so we want, as we kind of move forward in the last 60 days, to make sure that that the legislature does its job, and make sure that the school districts have the resources needed so they can continue to provide a great education for our 5.5 million students.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
