Objectives and Reasons

I keep getting asked "When are you going to run for office?" Quick answer is "I'm not." The question is becoming so frequent, I need to give an explanation.

I first got involved actively in politics during the last sales tax campaign. Built the website and did a number of ads and articles. It was a great learning experience. After reflecting on the campaign and digesting the results, ConchoInfo.org was born.

I got involved because I wanted to make a difference. One of the first articles posted was this one by Jim Ryan, one of our other bloggers.

There were two big lessons I learned from the sales tax campaign. First was that information is critical to any issue. Complete information. Information that people can use and understand. That's much more than a laundry list of facts. That includes some analysis and explanation of how these facts are connected, and what the real impacts are. That is my primary goal with this site.

My second lesson was on preparation. In the sales tax campaign the side with the best preparation won. I learned that if an issue is important, you don't wait until it's on the ballot or makes the news to start researching it. Be proactive. Get prepared. Get informed.

Combine these lessons with my belief that truth is essential to freedom, and you have the reason why ConchoInfo exists. It is a very small, open information, volunteer think tank that concentrates on San Angelo and the Concho valley. We look at issues at all levels of government, and provide facts, analysis and some opinions. We also supply ideas as the mood strikes us. This is important to me. ConchInfo needs to be an outside, objective observer, analyzer, and chronicler of the issues we face here. It needs to be totally independent. That is the main reason I don't run for office.