Posted 2:55 am Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Walker Withdraws Election Contest
By KELLY GOOCH
Staff Writer
Republican Brian Walker has formally withdrawn the election contest he filed last week.
Staff Writer
Republican Brian Walker has formally withdrawn the election contest he filed last week.
Alexis DeLee, communications director for Texas Speaker of the House Tom Craddick, said the withdrawal was filed Monday and nothing had been decided in regards to the election contest before then.
"We had not had a chance to look at it to form a committee yet," she said.
Walker's decision to withdraw had nothing to do with the merit of the allegations in the original petition contesting the election, said Cory Kennedy, campaign consultant for Walker.
"I called (Democratic incumbent) Chuck Hopson and conceded the election after I had my attorneys in Austin withdraw our election contest petition. It was a tough decision, but I believe it is best for the people of East Texas to put this election behind us," Walker said in a statement. "Many of my supporters have encouraged us to continue this protest so that we can find some answers to many troubling questions, but they can be certain that my investigation will not (yet) end ..."
Hopson said he received a copy of the original petition last week and sent his response to it Friday.
"We just responded to all of (the allegations). Basically, we told them we thought this was frivolous," he said.
In regard to the petition, Hopson said he did not like that a lot of the allegations reflected on the election officials.
"They're honest and hardworking," he said. "They're not going to cheat on anything."
Cherokee County Clerk Laverne Lusk said she discovered Walker withdrew the election contest Monday night and echoed Hopson's thoughts.
"I feel like our election was conducted properly. The recount was conducted properly," she said.
Walker ran against Hopson in the November General Election for the chance to represent Cherokee, Panola, Houston and Rusk counties.
Walker lost the General Election by a little more than 100 votes and officially asked in November for a recount.
After being canvassed by Governor Rick Perry, recount votes showed a 121-vote difference -- Hopson with 26,055 and Walker with 25,934.
Kennedy previously said contesting the election was the only way they could get answers to questions.
The petition cited problems with the way Cherokee County handled various election issues and alleges the county violated the Texas Election Code.
It stated that "more than 900 electronic ballots cast in Cherokee County were not properly sealed nor kept in a locked box until Dec. 2, 2008, almost a full month after the election," and that "Box 36 was the only precinct in Cherokee County that relied solely on paper ballots as opposed to voting machines due to an alleged malfunction of the voting machine."
It also stated that "when Box 36 arrived at the courthouse at 9:45 p.m., witnesses allege that the box had no padlock to secure the ballots there were several other boxes not padlocked in Cherokee County as is required," and "the seals on Box 36 were broken after Election Day, as were others, allegedly to remove provisional ballots; a logic and accuracy test of the program and equipment was not conducted prior to the recounting of electronic ballots in Cherokee County."
In a previous interview with the Tyler Paper, Kennedy said the allegations in the petition are based on different sources, including eyewitnesses from the Walker campaign.
In regard to the election, Hopson said he is pleased it has come to an end.
"Our campaign prevailed on November 4 and again after a full recount. While we were confident we would prevail and that the election process in all four counties was administered competently and fairly, we are pleased that this election has come to a conclusion," he said in a statement. "Now we can better focus our attention on the many issues facing Texans and their families during the 81st Legislative Session, which starts on January 13, 2009."
ΓΆΒ?Β?During the upcoming session, Hopson said he plans to be involved with legislation that would make it harder for the government to seize land and legislation that would increase homestead exemption.
"I heard from East Texas families throughout this election and they made it perfectly clear that they want me to focus my attention on creating jobs to improve our economy, expand educational opportunities for our families, and provide access to affordable healthcare all the while keeping taxes low and government efficient," he said in a statement. "I will continue to make these important issues a priority along with preserving individual property and water rights."
Hopson said with the number of Republicans and Democrats in the Texas House this upcoming session, it will be necessary for the two parties work together.
"To get anything done this time, we're going to have to work together," he added.
