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Voters Will Decide Ordinance Issue In Farmers Branch

By Bill Zeeble, KERA reporter

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-586680.mp3

Farmers Branch, TX – Bill Zeeble, KERA 90.1 reporter:
5 candidates vying for 2 open Farmers Branch council seats cannot compete with the flash point power of Ordinance 2903. They site other issues in this suburban town of nearly 30 thousand. But both Place 1 opponents say those barely matter.

Jose Galvez, Place 1 candidate, Farmers Branch: Well, the top issue is obviously ordinance 2903. I wish it would be something else. I wish it would be things that really mattered to the city

Zeeble: Jose Galvez, who manages a cement business, opposes the ordinance. Meanwhile, Tim Scott, who works for an air conditioning company, favors it.

Tim Scott, Place 1 candidate, Farmers Branch: The key issue in this race is ordinance 2903. The ordinance is on the ballot, and essentially has been a lightning rod or rallying point for most of the citizens.

Zeeble: A year or so ago, illegal immigration here was NOT a concern to anyone, anywhere, according to the other Place 1 candidate Berry Grubbs. The engineer & former Farmers Branch council member also opposes 2903.

Berry Grubbs, Place 1 candidate, Farmers Branch: There was no outcry from the community relative to the potential illegal immigration problem. There was no input from the stakeholders who would be impacted by 2903.

Zeeble: There is now. Landlords, who could be fined 500 dollars a day if they rent apartments to illegal immigrants, have sued the city. Many Farmers Branch Hispanics, who comprise at least 40 percent of the city's population, actively oppose it. Ana Reyes works the phones for Place 4 candidate Tony Salerno, a software consultant.

Ana Reyes, anti-2903 activist, volunteer: High Mr.... I'm Ana a volunteer for Tony Salerno. Tony is running for Farmers Branch city council place 4 and we're wondering if he'll have you're support May 12th.

Zeeble: 31-year Farmers Branch resident Reyes says she loves her town which needs her now. Because this ordinance is dividing it.

Reyes: A man recently called me wetback. We definitely hear the bigotry, hear the racism. And it's so personally offensive as a U.S. citizen this ordinance brings out the ugliness in people.

Zeeble: Reyes's choice for city council, Tony Salerno, hopes to reverse that.

Tony Salerno, Farmers Branch Place 4 candidate: Farmers Branch is poised for revitalization and I believe the whole illegal immigration ordinance has been a huge distraction for Farmers Branch, and don't think we need any more council men on there that support that. We need council men who use analysis to solve problems rather than stir up the pot of illegal immigration.

Zeeble; Salerno's opponent David Koch, an attorney, says there IS room for more illegal immigration proposals. The 17-year attorney who was born here in 1961 also says Ordinance 2903 is not only good for the city, but will stand up in court, after others have said it will not. With fellow ordinance candidate Tim Scott, he campaigned at a recent house party.

David Koch, Farmers Branch Place 4 candidate: I did a lot of legal research on the issues before I decided to back it. I'm firmly convinced, given all the cases I've read and people I've talked to, that the city is on firm ground in trying to assist the government in what we're doing. We're trying to enforce the immigration laws.

Zeeble: In this room of about 30, he has near unanimous support. Many fear illegal immigrants are sapping city resources and hurting home values. Last year, council man and ordinance author Tim O'Hare warned illegal immigrants were partially to blame for increased crime, falling property values, and lower school scores. While others now say facts do NOT back those claims, folks here, like plumber Frank Mages, believe otherwise. He defends 2903 to neighbors.

Frank Mages, plumber: I think it'll do a lot to stem illegal immigration. I think it should turn into House Bill 2903, myself.
I've had one of them tell me well we have no illegal immigrants standing on the corners here in Farmers Branch. But there are, that I see, anyway.
Zeeble: And what's the difference between someone standing on the corner, and someone standing on the corner who's illegal? How can you tell?
Mages: I can't tell. I'm assuming.

Zeeble: Councilman Ben Robinson, who's hosting this gathering, says undocumented immigrants create an additional problem, one that hadn't been mentioned before.

Ben Robinson, Farmers Branch Council Member, event host: We've got to do something to stop the overcrowding. And this is one thing we're doing. And we think this is a start of revitalization of this entire community. It's a health and welfare issue, if you will.

Zeeble: It's even more than that if you talk to pro-2903 volunteers at Farmers Branch city hall. Linda Subjeck said it's about American values threatened by illegal immigrants

Linda Subjeck, pro-2903 volunteer: We're a nation of laws. That's what this country is built on. They are basically thumbing their nose at our laws. They're showing no respect to our nation, our flag, and our language. If you're going to be here, you learn English. I mean, you go to any other country in the world. They speak English.

Zeeble: Fellow 2903 backer Sam Aseves is with a Hispanic group supporting the ordinance

Sam Aseves, Farmers Branch resident: My grandparents came here legally. If we all sit back and let the federal government do nothing, they'll keep on doing nothing.

Zeeble: He says Farmers Branch must send a wake up call to Washington. But current mayor Bob Phelps, who's led this town for the last 11 years, says D.C. already knows it has a problem. Whatever Farmers Branch does, he says illegal immigration solutions rest with the federal government. Period. Yesterday, he urged a vote AGAINST 2903, calling it the worst ordinance ever considered by the council.

Robert Phelps, Mayor, Farmers Branch: We're spending a lot of your tax dollars but don't know if we're accomplishing anything or not. Because it's still got to go through the courts and will cost us more money. I hate to see us waste tax dollars on something that's really not our responsibility.

Zeeble: In the letter mailed to Farmers Branch voters yesterday, Phelps, former mayor David Blair, and ex-city manager Richard Escalante, all said that instead of wasting tax dollars and dividing the community with an ordinance no one had studied, the council should aggressively lobby Washington in immigration issues. Phelps said he didn't decide this sooner - before early voting ended - because he wanted to stay neutral as long as possible, and needed to weigh the issues. Election day's this Saturday, May 12th. For KERA 90.1 I'm Bill Zeeble
Bzeeble@Kera.Org