In less than 30 minutes you can be the most informed voter in your neighborhood for the 2011 Fort Worth City Council Election and Mayoral Election! You can use the same procedure for State elections in November.
This is 2011 and every political candidate from local to federal elections should have a website and social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for the purpose of open and honest dialog, communications and supporting transparency in government.
1. Determine what issues concern you the most.
For example, air quality, flooding, taxes, city’s budget deficit, $700 million underfunded pension fund.
2. Find your District.
Type in your last name and first name. Click Send Request.
You will get a screen that looks like the one below. Click your VUID Num.
You will get a screen that looks like the one below. Look for City Council on the right hand side, where the yellow circle above is located. It will give you the city, in this case FW or Fort Worth and the district number. In this case it is District 7.
3. Visit the candidate websites and Facebook pages.
How do they compare? Do they clearly articulate their position on the issues that concern you the most? If they don’t, do they have a way for you to contact them so they can address your issues? What accomplishments have they made in life? Are their accomplishments only in government or have they experienced life like those of average voters?
This is 2011. If they don’t have a website or Facebook presence that clearly articulates their positions, take that as a red flag. If we missed a site, please send us the link through our Contact form.
◦ Fort Worth Mayoral Candidates
◦ Fort Worth City Council District 7 (Open, no incumbent)
4. Campaign Contributions
Campaign contributions can come from individuals as well as Political Action Committees (PAC). Elections can be expensive to run and lucrative PAC contributions can help a candidate. But it is also a double-edged sword. It can also sway a candidate to vote in favor of a PAC’s desires. Here are some of the local PACs in the Fort Worth area.
Where is your candidate getting there money? It’s easy. Just Search Campaign Finance Reports by Name
Follow these easy steps for determining where the Fort Worth City Council receives their individual and Political Action Committee (PAC) donations:
- Go to the Texas Ethics Website
- Transaction Type – Select Expenditures
- Search Type – By Contributor/Payee
- Date Type – By Years
- The bottom will expand after you select By Years. Under Expenditure Years – select ALL from the dropbox.
- Enter the Payee Last/Entity Name – last name of the candidate in your district.
- Enter the Payee First Name – first name of the candidate in your district.
- On your keyboard hit the Enter or Return key.
Other Financial Statement Resources:
- Current Financial Statements and other election information on the city’s website (these should be updated prior to the election)
- Past Financial Statements on the city’s website
5. Vote!
The first four steps don’t matter if you don’t vote! In the last 2009 Fort Worth city council elections, only 6% of the people voted. Let’s make this election different. Share your research with your neighbors, friends and family. Encourage them to get out and vote.
Early voting is June 2 through June 10, 2011. Election day for Fort Worth City Council is Saturday, June 18, 2011. Don’t put it off! Unforeseen circumstances can arise, so vote in the early elections.
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Early Voting June 2nd – June 10th
Even if you did NOT vote in the city wide election, ALL registered voters are eligible to vote in the runoff election.
Election Day – Saturday, June 18th
Jon Perry
Office: (817) 754-0001
Campaign Website: http://jonperry.biz
Campaign Facebook: http://jonperry.biz/fb
Twitter: dfwcard: http://twitter.com/dfwcard
LinkedIn: Connect With Me http://www.linkedin.com/in/jonperry
