Third and Final Judge’s Forum In La Grange Hits on New Topics
An overflow crowd filled the meeting room at the Frisch Auf! Valley Country Club in La Grange on Saturday for the third and final forum of the Fayette County Republican County Judge candidates.
Three of the four Republican candidates appeared at the forum. Lori Berger was absent due to illness, according to a statement she issued to the Fayette County Republican Party (FCRP).
The remaining three – William Bernsen, Dan Mueller and Craig Moreau – answered 10 questions prepared by the organizers and another seven from the audience. Zack Ezer served as moderator.
Folks who attended the previous two forums in person or watched the Record’s livestream of the events have gotten to know the candidates’ backgrounds, qualifications and broad views on County government.
This time, the candidates fielded several questions aimed at more specific policy issues.
Harvey Homes
One of the first questions focused on a topic that the audience could almost see outside the window of the Frisch Auf! Clubhouse.
“It’s been almost five years since Hurricane Harvey,” Ezer told the candidates. “There are still condemned, vacant vandalized homes in the Frisch Auf! area. Why is Fayette County still waiting for recovery funding from the Texas General Land Office? As County Judge, what might you do to resolve this issue?”
Moreau, who serves as both the Fayette County Emergency Management Chief and as a captain in the Houston Fire Department, answered first: “I’ve responded to Hurricane Ike, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Harvey, multiple floods, I’ve got extensive training in hazard recovery and dealing with FEMA and the GLO. Let me tell you very clearly, they don’t do things well.”
Moreau called the situation on Country Club Drive “an abomination” and said “it should not have happened.”
After Hurricane Harvey in 2017, Fayette County officials prevented owners of flooded homes around the golf course from making repairs. County leadership at the time applied for federal grants to buy out the owners and turn the properties into perpetual greenspace. The affected property owners are still waiting to recover their losses while their abandoned homes decay around the golf course.
“If that happened again today, the last place I would go to is the federal government,” Moreau said. “The first place I would go would be to our citizens and community, our volunteer organizations to take care of that problem here, locally. If that could not happen, I would then look to local government, and if necessary, state government.
“We have seen the ineptitude that comes from the General Land Office, from HUD, from FEMA in dealing with these kinds of things,” Moreau said. “I guarantee you, if this happened again today, we could bring our citizens together. Those houses would be taken care of, have a greenspace that we can enjoy, have a place we can go with our kids and maybe listen to some live music. It would not be the abomination it is today.”
Bernsen, who owns a land surveying business, said the County should not have interfered with the landowners.
“The first mistake that was made was that the government tried to get into the real estate business,” Bernsen said. “I don’t believe they should have tried to purchase the real estate and turn it into greenspace. Then the next mistake they made was applying for federal grants. I’m not sure what people expected to happen. Generally speaking, the government doesn’t do things well. If you’re going to involve those levels of government, you’re going to have to deal with the red tape.”
Bernsen said he believes most of the homes would have been repaired or rebuilt by now if the County government had not been involved.
“There was a lot of overreach and pressure by the government,” Bernsen said. “Initially they were very helpful, but then they were very unfriendly to the landowners – threatening arrest and daily fines if they went on their properties.
“The GLO (Texas General Land Office) is not used to being a funding source,” Bernsen said. “They had to enlist the help of CAPCOG (Capitol Area Council of Governments), and that involved another layer of government. Then, of course, with all the shutdowns of 2020 that complicated things more. It seems to have gotten better under the new administration. I’m hopeful that they will finally get that matter cleared up and those folks will be able to recoup their equity and go about their lives.”
Mueller also said he would not have turned first to the federal government for aid.
“Not only were these owners prohibited from going back to their homes, they were prohibited from hiring Fayette Electric or the water company from working on their homes,” Mueller said. “It’s a real tragedy what happened there. It’s a good example of how government, sometimes, does not work. I would not have called on the federal government to help out here, because, as Mr. Moreau and Mr. Bernsen have said, they turn out to be more of a problem than a solution to the problem.”
Mueller said he would have formed a local committee to find a solution.
“Personally, I would have called a group of 12 or 15 individuals who I admire their intellect,” Mueller said. “I would have formed some kind of committee to figure out the proper way to resolve this. We ran into this 12 years ago, the same thing happened. This one has dragged on even longer.”
St. Mark’s Future
The candidates were also asked about the County’s role in supporting the local hospital, St. Mark’s Medical Center.
Ezer asked the candidates: “In 2019, the voters of Fayette County defeated by 80 to 20 percent of the vote a proposed hospital tax district. In hindsight, do you believe that tax was needed? Also, was it fair to burden only Fayette County tax payers when many residents of Lee County also use St. Mark’s Hospital?”
Bernsen said he was opposed to the tax and said he calls for the elimination of all property taxes.
“It’s one of the most offensive forms of taxation there is,” Bernsen said. “I’m just very opposed to any increases in that in general. The hospital has operated without that tax and I believe it should be able operate without that tax. If it’s a matter of funding, I believe funding should come from charity. Government welfare is not charity. Charity requires free will. I love the hospital. I’d gladly donate to the hospital, but I’m not willing to support a tax for that purpose.”
Bernsen said Texas law offers other ways for counties to support a hospital.
“I did notice when reading the statutes that the County actually has the authority to set up a hospital authority,” Bernsen said. “They could actually run the hospital, operate the hospital, issue revenue bonds to pay for the hospital. None of those things require taxation. A lot of people like to talk about privatization. But some things ought not be privatized, certainly the kinds of things we depend on most like water service, sewage disposal, and maybe hospitals are better not handled by the private sector.”
Mueller said he considers the matter settled following the 2019 vote.
“The exact figure was 81 percent to 19 percent,” Mueller said. “It was clear that Fayette County voters were opposed to this tax for the hospital. The hospital is a big plus for La Grange, but obviously, the taxpayer said ‘no.’ The public has spoken on the issue. I would like to see some kind of way to help St. Mark’s, but taxing the people of Fayette County who are already taxed so much, I would not attempt to get some sort of a tax passed to keep the hospital afloat.”
Moreau said he supports free market solutions to keep the hospital doors open.
“I don’t think that tax was needed, and I don’t think it’s a good thing,” Moreau said. “If you think the government having a hospital district and running your healthcare is a good idea, find a veteran and ask them what their experience has been with the government running their personal healthcare. That’s how we treat our veterans, how do you think they’re going to treat the rest. The government should not be running our healthcare in any form or fashion. However, the free market should be.
“You are six times more likely in Fayette County to die of a vascular event than you are in places that have high-level healthcare for strokes and heart attacks,” Moreau added. “You are three times more likely to die here of a cancer event than you are in places that have high-level care for cancer. Our median age is 17 years higher than the average for Texas and we have one of the highest per capita net worths in the state. If that’s not a formula for running a hospital with all of our services well, then I don’t know what it. We have to do better with our hospital.”
Moreau said Fayette County needs more healthcare services.
“Those may be within St. Mark’s or they may be (outside) St. Mark’s,” Moreau said. “There’s some models to do it. (Medical) research may be one of those models. People in this County need to be able to find high-level health care in this County if we do it right. The government should not be running our healthcare ever.”
More on Page B4 today.
Watch the complete forum on the Fayette County Record’s Facebook Page or YouTube Channel.