JIM HIGHTOWER ENDORSES ‘PUBLIC TREASURE’ NELDA WELLS SPEARS
Texas Populist Icon Praises Tax Collector as “Smart, Progressive, Dedicated, Honest, Effective, Democratic”
(AUSTIN) — With Early Vote set to start on Tuesday, Texas populist and progressive icon Jim Hightower today endorsed incumbent Travis County Tax Collector Nelda Wells Spears, saying she makes “our whole community proud” and calling on voters to “keep this public treasure in office.”
“Smart, progressive, dedicated, honest, effective, Democratic — sounds like a job description for a great public official,” Hightower said. “And that’s just what Nelda Wells Spears is.”
Hightower, the former two-term Texas Agriculture Commissioner who is now a popular national radio commentator, writer, public speaker, and author, urged Travis County voters to make a special effort to be at the polls when they open at 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday to vote for Spears.
“She makes our party and our whole community proud, giving us the best tax office in Texas,” Hightower said. “Please vote to keep this public treasure in office.”
Hightower broadcasts daily radio commentaries and a weekly video blog, oversees the monthly newsletter “The Hightower Lowdown,” and will publish his latest book, Swim Against the Current: Even a Dead Fish Can Go With the Flow, one week after the March 4 primary election.
In addition to Hightower’s influential endorsement, Spears is backed by diverse community groups, from the Austin Central Labor Council and Austin Women’s Political Caucus to the Black Austin Democrats and West Austin Democrats. She has also been endorsed by a long list of local leaders, including former State Comptroller John Sharp, former State Senator Gonzalo Barrientos, former State Representative Wilhelmina Delco, Travis County Judge Sam Biscoe, former Austin Mayors Frank Cooksey and Gus Garcia, and former state representative and White House adviser Sarah Weddington.
For a complete list of endorsements, visit: http://neldaspears.com/supporters/
Spears’ office achieved a 99 percent tax collection rate for the second consecutive year, the best record of any county in Texas, and a voter registration rate of almost 95 percent during the last presidential election, higher than any other urban county in the state.
The top vote-getter of any candidate on the Travis County ballot when she was re-elected in 2004, Spears has helped lead the fight against a sustained campaign by outside special interests to engineer a county contract to privatize the collection of unpaid taxes.
Certified by the State Board of Tax Professional Examiners, Spears previously served as chief deputy to Tax Assessor-Collector Cecelia Burke and personnel director for State Comptroller Bob Bullock and Land Commissioner Garry Mauro.
Spears this year received the prestigious Best Practices Awards for Exceptional Delivery of Services from her peers in the Texas Association of Counties Leadership Foundation for technological innovations and customer service. She was also awarded the 2007 ComputerWorld Honors Laureate for the application of the latest technology to improve access for taxpayers with visual impairments.
