Tomorrow, we have a unique opportunity to reinforce that legacy by using the power of our vote to create a better future. It doesn’t require a march this time or the courage to confront riot police. All it takes is a few moments to cast your ballot for the kind of steady leadership that will continue to give modern expression to the traditional values that made us great.

You can find your polling place by clicking here. (more…)

“She’s a quiet, dignified woman doing a quiet, dignified — and quite competent — job,” the paper noted. “We urge voters to stick with Nelda Wells Spears in the March 4 primary. She runs a clean operation free of partisan politics.”

To read the full editorial, please click here. (more…)

(AUSTIN) — After a long season of negative ads, embarrassing revelations about his lack of knowledge regarding the office he seeks, and disturbing evidence of his willingness to do anything and say anything to get elected, Travis County Tax Collector Nelda Wells Spears today said that her opponent’s latest false attacks show a profound disrespect for voters and the democratic process.

“My opponent should file political bankruptcy,” Spears said. “His latest false attacks highlight his sad, hollow campaign of Republican-style personal smears and show a profound disrespect for the democratic process and the voters he is asking to support him.”

Spears noted that her opponent, political consultant Glen Maxey, has leveled repeated charges that proved false, including his latest — an absurd allegation that the tax collector is failing to block vehicle registrations for those who owe delinquent child support, based on a law Maxey claims to have sponsored a decade ago while a member of the Texas Legislature. (more…)

(AUSTIN) — As Travis County voters begin heading to the polls, the woman they re-elected with record numbers last time she was on the ballot launched a TV ad asking for them to put aside her opponent’s relentless negative attacks and vote for the steady leadership and progressive ideals that have built the most successful county tax office in Texas.

“With so many false attacks and misinformation coming from my opponent in this campaign, I want voters to know why I’m running and why I think I’ve earned their support,” Spears said. (more…)

(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.” (more…)

Nelda has built the most successful county tax office in Texas, and these community leaders overwhelming back her re-election bid and reject her opponent’s personal smears and politics of personal destruction. (more…)

Like many, I owe more than I can express to the courage he showed and the standard he set for the kind of sustained public service that makes a lasting difference in people’s lives. (more…)

“I’m deeply honored by Labor’s support,” Nelda said. “I was taught the union way by the late Mr. Earl Davis of the national Committee on Political Education, and my office continues to do its best to live up to the standards he and other leaders set for the workplace.”

The Central Labor Council vote follows on the heels of Nelda’s endorsement by the West Austin Democrats, one of the oldest and most respected Democratic clubs in Central Texas. (more…)

Performance matters. Nelda’s office has once again achieved a record 99 percent tax collection rate — the best in the state — and Democrats appreciate it.

Best of all, she did it without privatizing the county’s collection services. That means every dollar goes to paying for public education, public health, and public safety — not private collection firms.

YOU CAN HELP KEEP NELDA IN OFFICE!

Despite having the best record of any county tax collector in Texas, Nelda is being challenged by a political consultant in the primary and a Republican activist in the general election.

Your financial contributions to her campaign can help make the difference. Please contribute online so she can continue her efforts to bring you the best tax office in Texas!

By Marty Toohey
Austin American Statesman
Friday, July 13, 2007

Travis County is not putting East Austin residents out of their homes through tax foreclosures, according to a University of Texas professor heading a study of housing markets in East Austin.

The charge surfaced in a March community forum. A UT graduate student working on the wide-ranging study stated that 72 percent of tax foreclosures in Austin happened east of Interstate 35. Austin City Manager Toby Futrell said that and other statistics presented that night caused her shame.

But the researchers later learned that all 30 of the East Austin foreclosures in question were on vacant lots or houses deemed uninhabitable by the city, according to a May letter to county officials from Robert Wilson, the UT professor heading the study. (more…)