Texas Grassroots Coalition Calls for Ban on Red Light Cameras

Request for Special Session Call

June 29, 2017

The Honorable Greg Abbott Governor, State of Texas Dear Governor Abbott:

Republican Party of Texas Platform Plank #42 calls for a statewide ban on

photo traffic enforcement cameras – “Photo Traffic Enforcement

Cameras- We oppose photo traffic enforcement cameras in the State of

Texas.” Now, Republican and liberty grassroots activists from all over the

state are coming together to ask you to include this plank as an official

item for corrective legislation in the upcoming special session.

Many of your special session issues deal with overreaching municipal

authority and with out-of-control spending at the local level. The cities

holding these contracts with red-light camera vendors say these cameras

are for safety and not for revenue. If that is truly the case, then they

surely would not mind contributing 100% of the camera profits to the

state budget where needs are greater. We all know how strenuously

they would object to that!

Governor Abbott, those of us who have been in the fight against red light

cameras will attest that these cameras are not about safety, but are yet

another unconstitutional overreach by these municipalities. Since the use

of these cameras was first slipped into Texas statutes through unethical

wheeling and dealing, Texas drivers have seen:

● Increasing accidents;

● A federal bribery scandal;

● Denial of the right to a trial by jury;

● Denial of the right to confront ones accuser;

● Interference with Texas elections when citizens petition for

redress; and,

● Violations of the presumption of innocence.

Despite all of the demonstrated abuses by the local municipalities and

the many years a traffic camera ban has been supported in the Texas

GOP platform, the legislators in Austin have saved the cameras by either

watering down or killing legislation that would protect Texas drivers.

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Governor Abbott, you made red light camera legislation part of your

original campaign platform when you released your “We the People

Policy Plan” on November 12, 2013. Your Plan reads, “Big brother is not

only collecting and selling your information, he is also watching you as

you drive through traffic lights. Both the advocates of red light cameras

and detractors have a point. One emphasizes safety, the other privacy.

But I believe it should be up to you the people to decide whether red

light cameras are right for your community. So I propose changing

Texas law to allow voters the option to repeal red light camera

ordinances by voter-initiated referendum.”

Governor Abbott, while citizens have the ability to gather petitions to try

to force a referendum, municipalities find every reason to reject citizen

petitions for voter referendums on traffic cameras. We need your

support to ban red light cameras, period.

We, the undersigned, respectfully ask you to go further in supporting the

Texas Republican Party platform by including a ban on red light cameras

in your official proclamation for the 2017 Special Session of the Texas

Legislature. Our collective members from across the state of Texas

support this effort and look forward to hearing that this needed

legislation will be included in the special session.

Sincerely,

Kelly Canon, Republican Leadership, and Co-Founder of SE Tarrant Tea Party

JoAnn Fleming, Executive Director, Grassroots America – We the People PAC

Dr. Ron Paul, Chairman, Campaign for Liberty and U.S. Congressman (Ret.)

Cathie Adams, Board, National Eagle Forum; Past President, Texas Eagle Forum

Trayce Bradford, President, Texas Eagle Forum

Byron Schirmbeck, State Coordinator, Texas Campaign for Liberty

Faith Bussey, President, Citizens for a Better Arlington

Ron Wright, Tarrant County Tax Assessor

Julie McCarty, President, NE Tarrant Tea Party

Aaron Harris, Executive Director, Direct Action Texas

James Ashby, Tarrant County Precinct Chair, Pct #3335

Ed Brown, Tarrant County Precinct Chair, Pct #1311

Kent Kallmeyer, Tarrant County Precinct Chair, Pct #1378

Bill Hussey, Founder & Past President, Llano TEA Party

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Georgia Stapleton, Tarrant County Precinct Chair, Pct #4070, charter member,

Project Ft. Worth

Dorie O’Brien, Tarrant County Precinct Chair, Pct #2466

Christine Welborn, Tarrant County Precinct Chair, Pct #3570

Anne Coker, Republican Leadership, Arlington, Tarrant County

William Busby, Arlington GOP Leader, Former Tarrant County GOP Area Leader

Ray Myers, Chairman, Kaufman County Tea Party

Jan Shedd, Events Chair/Webmaster, Kaufman County TEA Party

Dwayne Stovall, Director, Get Off My State, LLC

Terri Hall, Founder/Director, Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom (TURF)

Maggie Wright, founding member/past president, Texas Patriots TEA Party

Republican Liberty Caucus of Texas (group support)

Jeff LeBlanc, Chairman, Republican Liberty Caucus of Texas, Liberty County

Precinct Chair, Pct #29

Suezette Griffin, President, Clear Lake TEA Party

Terry Holcomb, Sr., State Republican Executive Committeeman, SD 3

Tammy Blair, Republican Party County Chair, Cherokee County

Matthew Stringer, 2016 Presidential Elector, Odessa

Betty Anderson, President Montgomery County Eagle Forum

Barbara Harless, Founder, North Texas Citizens Lobby

Jeremy Blosser, State Republican Executive Committeeman, SD 10

Kelli Cook, Coordinator, Texas Campaign for Liberty, Montgomery County

Texas Young Republicans (as a group)

Brett Rogers, Founder, Mutually Pledge

Pat Tibbs, President, Montgomery County Tea Party PAC

Deborah Grimes, Communications Director, Project Ft. Worth

Adam Cahn, Austin Political Blogger, Cahnman’s Musings

Tanya Robertson, State Republican Executive Committeewoman, SD 11

Mary & Dale Huls, Past President & Current Executive Committee members,

Clear Lake TEA Party

Jeremiah Hunter, Chairman, We the People – Longview TEA Party

Mike Olcott, Co-founder, Parker County Conservatives

Alex Kim, President, Tarrant County Republican Club; 2016 Presidential Elector

Richard Pell, Dalworthington Gardens Alderman, former GOP HD94 Area

Leader, Arlington Republican Club Board Member

Corpus Christi

TEA Party Patriots

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Delores Pell, Republican Women of Arlington Board, Past President of RWA and

Reagan Legacy RW, former TFRW Deputy President & District Director SD 10

Tim O’Hare, County Chair, Tarrant County Republican Party

Dwayne Wright, County Chair, San Jacinto Co; Regional Director, TRCCA East

Toni and Tom Fabry, Chairman & Treasurer, Frisco TEA Party

Dana Hodges, Republican Party Precinct Chair, Orange County, Pct #9

Joseph Miller, Conservative Leadership, North Texas

Leland Freeman, Board Member, Central Texas Republican Assembly

Jackie King, a Founder, Conservative Society of Navarro County

Donald King, Member, Conservative Society of Navarro County

Carol Doucet, a Founder, Conservative Society of Navarro County

Penny Story, Founder, Constitutional Conservative Activists

Dr. Laura Pressley, Founder, Save Our Texas Vote

Matt Armstrong, Founder, Williamson County Conservatives

Larry Korkmas, President, TFIRE

Peter Batura, Vice-president, TFIRE

Kyle Biedermann, State Representative, House District 73

Suzanne Guggenheim, TEA Party Patriots State Coordinator – South Texas;

Programs & Events Chairman, Corpus Christi Patriots TEA Party

Dr. Dwayne Collins, Founder, Edom TEA Party

Dean Wright, Co-founder/Director, New Revolution Now & Austin TEA Party

Pastor Greg Young, Nationally Syndicated Radio host, Chosen Generation

Sue Evenwel, State Republican Executive Committeewoman, SD 1

Maria Espinoza & Timothy Lyng, Founders, THE REMEMBRANCE PROJECT

Josie Schoolcraft, President, Cherokee County Republican Club

Joe Harrison, Founder & Organizer, Cass County Patriots

Judy Kent, President, Republican Women of Northeast Texas

Naomi Narvaiz, State Republican Executive Committee, Senate District 21

Anna Bartosh, Treasurer, San Angelo TEA Party

Ann Hettinger, Director, Center for Preservation of American Ideals

Trevor Dupuy, a Founder & Past President, Highland Lakes TEA Party

Terry Wade, President, Collin Country Conservative Republicans

Carroll Maxwell, Past President ; Board Member, Collin County Conservative

Republicans

Don Dixon, longtime transportation reform activist & blogger, San Antonio

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Stacy McMahan, Executive Director, East Texans for Liberty

Ruth York, President, TEA Party Patriots of Eastland County

David Carter, Bell County Election Judge, Precinct 311

Dr. Carole Hornsby Haynes, Educator, Education Policy Analyst

Bob Farris, Park Cities/Preston Hollow Leadership Forum

Emmanuel Lewis, Irving Conservatives

Sheri Edwards, Republican Brazoria County Precinct Chair

George Rodriguez, El Conservador, Broadcast Activist

Gary Gentz, Henderson County TEA Party

Marty Rhymes, Vice-Chair, Gregg County Republican Party

Susan Lucas, Denton County Conservative Coalition

Matt Long, President, Fredericksburg TEA Party of Texas

Rick Jackson, Steering Committee, Kaufman County TEA Party

Jim Stanley, Henderson County TEA Party

Ernie Clark, Past President, Grassroots America – We the People PAC

Bill Bingham, Spokesman, Bryan/College Station TEA Party

Brian Newman, Leader, McKinney TEA Party

Bill Gallagher, Primadata Liberty Center, Mabank, TX

John Alaniz, former President, Central Texas TEA Party

Dr. Ivette Lozano, Past President, Dallas Co. Republican Assembly 2015-2017

Mary Joe Cason, Organizer, Kaufman County TEA Party

Mike and Cindy Schwartz, Co-Founders, We The People-Longview TEA Party

Organizational names are for identification purposes only.