Published: September 07, 2006 04:17 pm         

Campaign trail brings Van Os to Gainesville

Rocking the boat is not something this candidate is ashamed of doing.

David Van Os, the Democratic nominee for Texas Attorney General, said in a speech from the Cooke County Courthouse Wednesday afternoon the nature of the attorney general’s job is to “shake things up” and challenge wrongdoing in business and in governmental affairs.

The Republican nominee is Greg Abbott, a two-term incumbent whom Van Os described as a “robber baron” and a resident of the “ivory tower” corporate establishment. He accused Abbott of being “bought” by corporate donations and protecting his campaign donors.

He made no mention of Libertarian candidate Jon Roland.

Van Os took a shot at his own party, criticizing the state-level leadership and advocating their removal from office.

“I raise hell inside my own party when I think they’re not doing something right,” he said, meeting applause.

Alternating from comments on the alleged influence of large oil and insurance corporations on government to his opposition to the Trans-Texas Corridor, Van Os rallied a group of about 30 Democrats and curious county office workers on the shaded and recently renovated east side steps of the courthouse. His campaign team brought in hand-drawn protest signs for the audience to hold.

He also discussed the nature of the attorney general’s office and cited certain powers granted to it by the Texas Constitution.

Ron Melugin, chairman of the Cooke County Democratic Party, said more people would have been present if Van Os had scheduled a later rally.

“They had to work,” Melugin said of his fellow Democrats.

In his speech, Van Os said Texas government has “gotten off track” in many ways, beginning with several criticisms of Trans-Texas Corridor 35, a proposed multi-lane, multi-modal, quarter-mile-wide toll highway planned to span the area between Laredo and Gainesville.

Van Os said the plan would “scar the land.” He said the plan calls for foreign ownership.

“The profit would go to a greedy corporation from Europe, and not even leave the money circulating in the Texas economy,” he said. “... There’s something drastically wrong with that.”

He said the project would be the largest instance of the state using eminent domain authority.

“Although you are in the bulls-eye beam of this monstrosity, you are not alone in this fight. Everyone is against this,” he said to limited cheers.

He said TTC-35 would “fundamentally alter checks and balance system between individuals and the state,” as did the recent federal Supreme Court decision Kelo vs. Connecticut which ruled property may be taken by the government for economic development purposes.

“I mean what I say when I fight the Trans-Texas Corridor,” Van Os said, holding papers in his hand.

In a rare move for a candidate, Van Os presented an “affidavit for public record” listing opposition to TTC-35, the taking of private land for private sector development and corporate monopolies.

He recruited the services of Vicki Barnes, Commissioners Court secretary and a registered notary public, to sign and stamp the affidavit. He later filed the affidavit with the County Clerk’s office, and answered questions about the state of the state child support enforcement system.

Van Os said he advocated decentralizing the state bureaucracy and relegating enforcement and administration to the county level.

He said he has visited 168 out of 254 courthouses in Texas, and plans to visit even tiny Loving County in West Texas.

The candidate said greeting the people of Texas is more important to him than fund raising. He decried the major media outlets’ coverage of campaigns, saying that most political reporters focus on the amount of money raised by a candidate as an indicator of their likelihood of winning an election.

“This is a constitutional democracy, and we have the power,” he said. “There is no politician that can’t be fired.”

This is not Van Os’ first run aside Abbott on the November ballot. In 1998, Abbott ran against Van Os for a position on the Texas Supreme Court. Abbot won with 60 percent of the vote.

In 2004, Van Os again sought a Supreme Court seat but lost to GOP incumbent Scott Brister.

According to a press release from the campaign, Van Os was born and raised in Kilgore and attended the University of Texas on scholarship and received his law degree from in 1976. He now owns his own law firm in San Antonio where he practices constitutional law, labor and civil rights.

Van Os was the general counsel for the Texas AFL-CIO labor union from 1983-89.

On the Net:

Van Os campaign Web site: www.vanosfortexasag.com

Abbott campaign Web site: www.gregabbott.com

Roland campaign Web site: www.jonroland.org



Reporter Andy Hogue may be contacted at andyhoguegdr [at] ntin.net