Friday, June 19, 2009

When content partners collide: McKinneyNews.net interviews Bill Baumbach of the Collin County Observer

By Staff of McKinneyNews.net

Bill Baumbach

He’s a frumpy dude with a short ponytail -- the kind that makes a statement, but in a measured, controlled sort of way. He drives one of them big-ol’ Dodge Rams to which are affixed not one, but two Democratic Party bumper stickers.

Inferences one might make relative to his automobile advertisements aside, he reserves a special loathing, he says, for the shortsighted political ideologues among us who see nothing but substantiations of their political opinions everywhere they choose to focus their attention. Government, he insists, should neither be “starved,” nor “fattened.” It should drop just enough money to make sure its citizenry is taken care of, the basic needs of the community met. Indeed, the opinionated and freethinking Bill Baumbach, the proprietor and sole investigative reporter (and opinion generator) of the Collin County Observer, ain’t your typical Collin County resident.

In 2006, the 57-year-old Baumbach, who hails from Wylie, challenged Precinct 2 county commissioner Jerry Hoagland for his job. As part of his preparation for candidacy, Baumbach did his homework, submitting innumerable open records requests for access too the inner workings of the Collin County political machine, discovering along the way a system of government pocked by routine opaqueness and inaccessibility. Though Baumbach lost to Hoagland, the defeat, he says, was minimal compared to the bounty of often troubling information he was able to uncover and bring to light during his candidacy.

When the political contest was over, Baumbach’s passion for digging -- and telling -- didn’t die. Today, almost two years after his first Observer entry, he continues to burn the midnight investigative oil long after he’s returned from his day job in Dallas as a printing company manager. Chances are, if it’s happened in Collin County – particularly if something’s happened and it smells of fish -- Baumbach has either written about it or is preparing to write about it.

McKinneyNews.net: What’s the biggest Collin County story that nobody’s heard about?

Baumbach: Well, if you’ve read my site, if you go to my site, you’re going to know about these things, but there are two things: poverty –- there are a lot of poor people living in Collin County and the other is the Fusion Center.

McKinneyNews.net: I’m ashamed to admit it, but I know nothing about a Fusion Center. Care to explain?

Baumbach: The Fusion Center is a domestic intelligence operation designed to coordinate various policing agencies in an effort to glean intelligence for national security. There are many sprinkled across the county and we’ve got one right here in Collin County. It’s problematic on several levels, probably most problematic because it’s brimming with nepotism. Sam Johnson’s son and Johnson’s daughter-in-law, operating a two-man firm out of New Mexico, were the prime beneficiaries of over $1.2 [million, we think] that Johnson funneled to them through the Patriot Act. There was also $100,000 awarded to Johnson’s brother-in-law related to the center. Second thing, who’s running the show? There’s no direct supervision of the place, it’s owned and operated by Collin County and run by the commissioners’ court and I don’t think they’re qualified to run an intelligence organization. Also, it could be a threat to civil liberties, nobody knows. How can you know? Nobody knows what exactly they’re doing other than connecting to various police databases, trying to sniff out national security threats. Again, who’s watching the store? Who’s watching the watchers?

McKinneyNews.net: You watch the county commissioner’s court like a hawk. What’s that all about?

Baumbach: I started watching because at the time, nobody else was. We don’t have two parties in Collin County. I don’t care if you’re talking about Democrats on the Rio Grande border or Republicans in North Texas. When you have one group or party in complete power for a long time without a significant challenge, democracy suffers, government becomes mediocre and ultimately becomes corrupt. I’m not accusing local leaders of corruption, but we certainly have our share of mediocrity.

McKinneyNews.net: You ran for county commissioner in 2006 as a Democrat against Republican incumbent, Jerry Hoagland. You lost. Uh, have you noticed Democrats aren’t allowed to win anything in this county?

Baumbach: There’s nothing stopping Democrats from running except themselves. I lost big time, but the point was to bring out the issues and try to return the area to two-party politics. It’s not about “allowed.” Democrats lose and it’s their own damn fault. Some of the local media pundits talk about waiting for the demographic to change around here. That’s garbage. Most of the people who voted for me were middle class white folks. Democrats have to offer credible alternatives. We have big hill to limb, but we have to do it if we’re going to win. We have to have knowledgeable candidates who appeal to the people.

McKinneyNews.net: What kind of candidate would appeal to the people?

Baumbach: Somebody with strong roots in the community. Someone who’s been active in the community. Someone who’s been successful and has some good ideas to present to the people. There are a lot more people in Collin County that are [more] ready for change than is commonly believed. I think it’s up to the Democratic Party to come up with good candidates, finance them properly, and run like hell. We can win.

McKinneyNews.net: Why didn’t you just run as a Republican offering the tried and true, “I won’t raise your taxes” line? Wouldn’t that have virtually guaranteed your election?

Baumbach: That’s half the problem here. The people who run the government refer to themselves as “elected officials.” And they are right. Elected officials work hard to get reelected, and that’s the problem in Collin County. What the county needs is elected leaders, leaders who will go to the people when taxes need to be cut as well as when they need to be raised. The people that scare me most in government, are the ideologues, they read a book – Ayn Rand, maybe -– and from there they have a philosophy, and everything that happens subsequent gets molded into that philosophy and answered in those terms; they succumb to a kind of political tunnel vision.

McKinneyNews.net: Government openness and accessibility are big deals for you. What is the government trying to hide that upsets you?

Baumbach: The county has come a long way, but they have a long way to go. For example, the county puts all information packets on the county Web site before the commissioners’ court meetings. Minutes now are posted promptly. The commissioners’ meetings are broadcast on the Web and recorded so you watch them at your leisure. And, the court has recently moved into a room that’s big enough to hold some people -– the last one was like a broom closet. But I attend a lot of city council meetings in Wylie and they’re better attended than the commissioners’ court meetings.

McKinneyNews.net: Why?

Baumbach: First, Wylie meets at predictable times, routine times. Second, the council meets at night when working citizens can attend the meetings. Yet every three to four months, the Collin County Commissioners’ Court schedules changes. They meet during day when citizens can’t attend and meeting schedules are set up for their convenience not for the citizens. They set things up according to their convenience, not the public's.

McKinneyNews.net: Commissioner pay/job perks -– this stuff bothers you, right?

Baumbach: The commissioners’ consider themselves full-time and pay themselves accordingly -- over $100,000 a year. I think they’re overpaid. Commissioners don’t have any administrative duties. They take a policy role rather than an administrative role something akin to city council members. They’re not punching a time clock, so who can tell how much time they’re actually putting in? I do know they attend four meetings a month.

McKinneyNews.net: “I believe our County Commissioners should lead by word and deed in improving the health care safety net for the working poor and truly indigent residents of Collin County,” you have stated. Come on, Bill, everybody knows the poor are poor because they deserve to be poor. Or, if they don’t deserve it, it still ain’t the government’s business to get involved.

Baumbach:I think it’s in everybody’s interest to have a community that’s healthy, safe and well run. And I think it’s a legitimate function of government to help achieve those aims. Keith Self talks about core functions of government, that’s been his by-line. And by his definition, building parks wasn’t a core function of government: He opposed the 2007 open space bond issue. I believe the health of the community is a core function of government. Healthy neighborhoods make for a healthy community. We need to provide reasonable, minimum safety nets for the working poor, for example.

McKinneyNews.net: Have you ever tried to crack open a conservative mind (metaphorically speaking, of course)? If so, explain the process … what have you discovered?

Baumbach: Conservatism is being a good steward of the tax dollars while meeting the needs and priorities of the community. I think the majority of people in Collin County don’t want, for example, to see poor people doing without basic medical care. I think the majority of commissioners are waving the flag of conservatism in a disingenuous manner. What they want to do is not spend any money. But at the same time, they’re willing to potentially spend $1 million for a hiking trail behind the new courthouse. I guess my point is all government decisions are based on priorities. And in Collin County, we put the needs of the people who are struggling at the bottom of priority list.

I also want to say that when it comes to local issues, the label of liberal or conservative becomes much less important. We’re not arguing the big national issues: abortion, war -- things like this. What we all should be looking out for is the safety, health and prosperity of our community; we should all be investigating the role of local government in terms of its insuring a stable and healthy community of neighbors. There’s a philosophy out there that government should be starved and I don’t agree with it. I don’t think it should be fattened necessarily, either. It should be adequately funded to meet the needs of the community.

Pegasus News content partner - McKinneyNews.net

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Comments

Travis Bush Verified

Keep up the good work, Bill!

4 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )