Posted 9:06 pm Sunday, February 19, 2012
Divisive Alcohol Sales Issue Requires Transparency
Is this the best we can do?
A group of so-called “community people” have been meeting to discuss the possibility of an alcohol election in Tyler. Community people? When was the last time you saw a significant public policy referendum led by people who hid behind their agendas? Doesn’t inspire much confidence, does it?
The effort seems to be led by Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce President/CEO and Tyler Economic Development Council Tom Mullins. We say “seems to be” because we know little about the group, not even its membership. But more on that later.
According to Mullins the group has been meeting for “several months” to explore the feasibility of beer and wine sales in Tyler. Mullins says a decision could be made by this spring, as early as March — conceivably in time for a May referendum.
This raises several troubling points.
A group of so-called “community people” have been meeting to discuss the possibility of an alcohol election in Tyler. Community people? When was the last time you saw a significant public policy referendum led by people who hid behind their agendas? Doesn’t inspire much confidence, does it?
The effort seems to be led by Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce President/CEO and Tyler Economic Development Council Tom Mullins. We say “seems to be” because we know little about the group, not even its membership. But more on that later.
According to Mullins the group has been meeting for “several months” to explore the feasibility of beer and wine sales in Tyler. Mullins says a decision could be made by this spring, as early as March — conceivably in time for a May referendum.
This raises several troubling points.
The first is whether this is the best use of time by the Tyler Economic Development Council and the Chamber of Commerce?
We are losing employers. Carrier announced earlier this month it’s closing its Tyler plant, and that means hundreds of jobs lost. The TEDC’s involvement? It helped negotiate the severance packages.
Mullins himself compared what possible effect Carrier’s closure could have on the local economy to an impact analysis conducted of the Goodyear plant closing. Carrier would be about 40 percent of that effect, so he estimated its yearly impact to be $400 million to $500 million on the local economy.
He can’t be blamed for Carrier’s decision, of course, but the TEDC’s focus should be on bringing in new, high-quality businesses and industries, and keeping the ones we already have — not on bringing up a divisive issue.
We are losing employers. Carrier announced earlier this month it’s closing its Tyler plant, and that means hundreds of jobs lost. The TEDC’s involvement? It helped negotiate the severance packages.
Mullins himself compared what possible effect Carrier’s closure could have on the local economy to an impact analysis conducted of the Goodyear plant closing. Carrier would be about 40 percent of that effect, so he estimated its yearly impact to be $400 million to $500 million on the local economy.
He can’t be blamed for Carrier’s decision, of course, but the TEDC’s focus should be on bringing in new, high-quality businesses and industries, and keeping the ones we already have — not on bringing up a divisive issue.
Divisive it would be. Is the local sale of beer and wine a moral issue? Individuals must come to their own conclusions. It has proven to be a decades-old contentious issue.
We’re still seeing the effects of that contention in Winona, where just last month it was announced two residents are awaiting legal action by the Texas Attorney General’s Office regarding illegal votes cast in the 2009 alcohol election.
You’ll remember that election split the town right down the middle, with a 94-94 outcome. A new election had to be called for later that year. It, too, proved divisive.
Tyler needs to be united at this time. We have schools to build, children to better educate, infrastructure to improve and an economy to shore up.
This is not the time to raise a contentious issue that has long divided residents.
The other issue is the identity of the committee members themselves. Anyone advocating change — and this would be a significant change — must demonstrate transparency. And that begins with a public disclosure of who is advocating the change.
Who is pushing this issue? What are their interests? We don’t know. And therefore we cannot even begin to consider the question, much less weigh its merits.
It has been said the effort would “cure the hypocrisy” of Tyler being the “wettest dry town in Texas.”
But isn’t it hypocritical to call for an end to hypocrisy, from behind closed doors?
We think it is time for the “community people” Mullins refers to so protectively to stand up and be identified. Otherwise, it looks like they have something to hide, in addition to the agenda they are so anonymously promoting.
We’re still seeing the effects of that contention in Winona, where just last month it was announced two residents are awaiting legal action by the Texas Attorney General’s Office regarding illegal votes cast in the 2009 alcohol election.
You’ll remember that election split the town right down the middle, with a 94-94 outcome. A new election had to be called for later that year. It, too, proved divisive.
Tyler needs to be united at this time. We have schools to build, children to better educate, infrastructure to improve and an economy to shore up.
This is not the time to raise a contentious issue that has long divided residents.
The other issue is the identity of the committee members themselves. Anyone advocating change — and this would be a significant change — must demonstrate transparency. And that begins with a public disclosure of who is advocating the change.
Who is pushing this issue? What are their interests? We don’t know. And therefore we cannot even begin to consider the question, much less weigh its merits.
It has been said the effort would “cure the hypocrisy” of Tyler being the “wettest dry town in Texas.”
But isn’t it hypocritical to call for an end to hypocrisy, from behind closed doors?
We think it is time for the “community people” Mullins refers to so protectively to stand up and be identified. Otherwise, it looks like they have something to hide, in addition to the agenda they are so anonymously promoting.
