| A batch of political signs paid for by Fort Bend County Precinct 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers has drawn the ire of local Democrats, one of whom claims they are "hate" messages.
The signs, a few of which were posted this week, include the messages "Support the Terrorist - Vote Democratic" and "Want More Illegals - Vote Democratic." Democrat Don Bankston in particular took offense to those messages, and issued a press release calling on Republican candidates to denounce them.
Bankston said the signs represent an attempt to "play to our fears and prejudice." Meyers said they are based on factual statements of Democratic office holders and are intended to show the effects of a Democratic takeover of the U.S. Congress.
No Republican candidates have asked him to take the signs down, said Meyers, but Fort Bend County Republican Party Chairman Gary Gillen did ask him to remove one from in front of the party's headquarters near Ellis Creek on U.S. 90A. Meyers said he complied.
Gillen said the Republican Party has a wide array of opinions on issues, and the signs in question do not represent the opinions of the party as a whole.
"I think they went into this with the best of intentions, but the results were not what they expected. I think it's in all our best interest that they remove those offending signs," said Gillen.
Another sign, placed outside Garcia Middle School, was removed by the school's principal.
Meyers said he purchased 75 signs and has "many more" remaining, but currently is too busy to place them throughout the county. He said, however, that he may have time on Monday evening, the night before election day, to post the signs.
The signs were funded through the Republican Victory PAC, which is run by local Republican activist Jaime Pressler.
According to the Texas Ethics Commission, Meyers on Oct. 26 gave a $2,800 donation to the Republican Victory PAC, which Pressler said was for the signs. Records show a purchase of $2,435.63 was made by the PAC that day at a local printing shop.
"Commissioner Meyers approached me and asked if he made a contribution (to the PAC), could we make signs. He really wanted to counter the Democrats' effort with signs that say 'Had Enough,'" said Pressler. "He wanted to use the PAC as a vehicle."
The Fort Bend Democrats, a Rosenberg-based organization, has posted signs throughout the county asking if voters have "Had Enough?" The Republican Party currently holds all countywide seats, but four Democrats are running in county-wide races.
Pressler said he had no involvement in the placement of any of the signs, saying Meyers was in charge of the effort. For his part, Meyers said he did not take down any signs to place one of his own, refuting a rumor spread on the Internet.
A third sign had been created which did not cause as much controversy. The sign reads "Want Higher Taxes - Vote Democratic." The lack of outcry over that particular sign, claimed Gillen, shows Democrats do not disagree with its message.
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Also in District 22, a series of fliers attacking write-in candidate Don Richardson has raised a number of eyebrows, since Richardson is not considered a serious competitor in the election.
Paid for by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the fliers say that "Republican Congressional write-in candidate Don Richardson is too conservative for Texas."
Richardson is running as a write-in candidate in the race for the upcoming term for District 22. Fellow Republican write-in candidate Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, however, is widely considered the primary challenger to Democrat Nick Lampson for he post.
Sekula-Gibbs has been supported by the national and local Republican parties, unlike Richardson, and a recent poll shows her and Lampson receiving the most support in the district.
Lisa Dimond, the spokeswoman for the Sekula-Gibbs campaign, said the ads represent a "dirty campaign trick."
"They know Lampson is weak." she said, "so they believe the only way for him to win is to try to confuse voters."
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