Democrat Barnwell to challenge Burgess for Congress
Democrat Barnwell to challenge Burgess for Congress
By Stephen Webster
Investigative Reporter
Publication date: Jan. 20, 2006
To listen to a podcast of the candidate's platform, click here.
Tim Barnwell is fed up. After attending the Denton County 2005 Donkey Fest and discovering how few candidates the party had put forward, he decided to run. “When I went to see who was running for Congress in District 63, I found out it was me,” he says. “Even though I have never run for public office before, I know I can do a better job than the person we’ve got. It is time for some change, and I think the voters will agree with me on that.”
Barnwell, an independent-minded Democrat and resident of Aubrey, has over 20 years of history with the party, previously serving as a precinct chairman. “I’m not really attached to the party line,” he admits. “If gun control worked, I’d support it. But it doesn’t, so I’m not for it. […] But I’ve always been on the liberal side of things. Have I always been a Democrat? No. I became a registered Democrat about 20 years ago. Before that, I prided myself, like so many do, on being fiercely independent.”
The holder of a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Dallas, Barnwell claims his love of civic participation and working for the betterment of his community is what drove him to run. “I get great enjoyment out of helping others and serving in the community,” he said. “I wanted to find a position where I could do that for a living. I believe that position lies at the end of this campaign.”
However, Barnwell faces what many would see as an uphill battle, running against a multi-term Republican incumbent in a district dominated by the Right. “I recognize that this district has voted Republican for the last 20 or so years. Prior to that it was a Democratic stronghold,” he said. “Today, I believe we stand a chance of getting our message across. Air America radio has helped us reach out and get a voice of our own in the area. […] When you take my message one item at a time, you’ll see that by and large I fit within the mainstream of our community.”
“I noticed that about 65 percent of [Dr. Burgess’] money comes from political action committees,” said Barnwell. “He also received money from Tom DeLay. Am I saying Burgess is corrupt? No. What I am saying is that he lacks judgment for the position. You just can’t take money from anyone and everyone. I will run on small donations from individuals, not PAC’s or corporations. I will reach out to the voters through the internet. I think that method has been shown to work, and work well. I’ll probably only have half the money as Burgess, but that is something, and the contributions will be from concerned citizens, not faceless entities.”
Barnwell’s views of the recent Abramoff influence-buying scandal will be a primary issue to his campaign. “Know this: Abramoff did not contribute a single dollar to any Democrat, despite what Fox News may tell you,” he claims. “This culture of corruption is a serious problem, and it has exclusively infected the Republican Party. Corruption is brought about by absolute power, which the Republicans currently hold. We must maintain a balance of power in Washington. The Republicans that are in office, by and large, with notable exceptions, are not doing the job of investigating, policing or maintaining checks and balances.”
Also close to the core of Barnwell’s campaign is the ongoing education debacle. “My number one issue is the federal involvement in our public education system. It is ill-conceived; it is not working,” he claims. “When I was in school, the report card was the be-all and end-all. That is no longer the case. […] If you open a teacher’s file cabinet and you will find 15 or 20 confidential files that dealt with students’ specific needs that must be met. Entire classrooms would stop for almost six week so that students could be taught the test they will be taking. Every day you are taught a test is a day that you are not learning the subject matter. […] We have to return authority to the classroom by getting rid of this bureaucracy that is so counter-productive to the school system. We pay more money to administrators than teachers. That is wrong. In Michigan, public school teachers get over $60,000 a year. Here, they get about $30,000, if they’re lucky.”
“I am committed to representing the people, not corporate interests,” says Barnwell. “I aim to help restore our system of checks and balances. How will I help accomplish this? To start, I will support an independent investigation into whether President Bush broke the law by ordering domestic wiretaps without warrants, without court oversight. If he did, it is absolutely reprehensible, and I will support the remedy to an executive who has crossed the line one too many times. […] If I am elected, I will work to return creditability to our government and balance to its powers.”
By Stephen Webster
Investigative Reporter
Publication date: Jan. 20, 2006
To listen to a podcast of the candidate's platform, click here.
Tim Barnwell is fed up. After attending the Denton County 2005 Donkey Fest and discovering how few candidates the party had put forward, he decided to run. “When I went to see who was running for Congress in District 63, I found out it was me,” he says. “Even though I have never run for public office before, I know I can do a better job than the person we’ve got. It is time for some change, and I think the voters will agree with me on that.”
Barnwell, an independent-minded Democrat and resident of Aubrey, has over 20 years of history with the party, previously serving as a precinct chairman. “I’m not really attached to the party line,” he admits. “If gun control worked, I’d support it. But it doesn’t, so I’m not for it. […] But I’ve always been on the liberal side of things. Have I always been a Democrat? No. I became a registered Democrat about 20 years ago. Before that, I prided myself, like so many do, on being fiercely independent.”
The holder of a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Dallas, Barnwell claims his love of civic participation and working for the betterment of his community is what drove him to run. “I get great enjoyment out of helping others and serving in the community,” he said. “I wanted to find a position where I could do that for a living. I believe that position lies at the end of this campaign.”
However, Barnwell faces what many would see as an uphill battle, running against a multi-term Republican incumbent in a district dominated by the Right. “I recognize that this district has voted Republican for the last 20 or so years. Prior to that it was a Democratic stronghold,” he said. “Today, I believe we stand a chance of getting our message across. Air America radio has helped us reach out and get a voice of our own in the area. […] When you take my message one item at a time, you’ll see that by and large I fit within the mainstream of our community.”
“I noticed that about 65 percent of [Dr. Burgess’] money comes from political action committees,” said Barnwell. “He also received money from Tom DeLay. Am I saying Burgess is corrupt? No. What I am saying is that he lacks judgment for the position. You just can’t take money from anyone and everyone. I will run on small donations from individuals, not PAC’s or corporations. I will reach out to the voters through the internet. I think that method has been shown to work, and work well. I’ll probably only have half the money as Burgess, but that is something, and the contributions will be from concerned citizens, not faceless entities.”
Barnwell’s views of the recent Abramoff influence-buying scandal will be a primary issue to his campaign. “Know this: Abramoff did not contribute a single dollar to any Democrat, despite what Fox News may tell you,” he claims. “This culture of corruption is a serious problem, and it has exclusively infected the Republican Party. Corruption is brought about by absolute power, which the Republicans currently hold. We must maintain a balance of power in Washington. The Republicans that are in office, by and large, with notable exceptions, are not doing the job of investigating, policing or maintaining checks and balances.”
Also close to the core of Barnwell’s campaign is the ongoing education debacle. “My number one issue is the federal involvement in our public education system. It is ill-conceived; it is not working,” he claims. “When I was in school, the report card was the be-all and end-all. That is no longer the case. […] If you open a teacher’s file cabinet and you will find 15 or 20 confidential files that dealt with students’ specific needs that must be met. Entire classrooms would stop for almost six week so that students could be taught the test they will be taking. Every day you are taught a test is a day that you are not learning the subject matter. […] We have to return authority to the classroom by getting rid of this bureaucracy that is so counter-productive to the school system. We pay more money to administrators than teachers. That is wrong. In Michigan, public school teachers get over $60,000 a year. Here, they get about $30,000, if they’re lucky.”
“I am committed to representing the people, not corporate interests,” says Barnwell. “I aim to help restore our system of checks and balances. How will I help accomplish this? To start, I will support an independent investigation into whether President Bush broke the law by ordering domestic wiretaps without warrants, without court oversight. If he did, it is absolutely reprehensible, and I will support the remedy to an executive who has crossed the line one too many times. […] If I am elected, I will work to return creditability to our government and balance to its powers.”
