A Sign of Change

The smallest county in Texas is apparently big enough for its very own political feud.

For the past year or so, an anonymous sign has hung near one of Rockwall's busiest intersections. While its owners have been something of a mystery, its messages have been crystal clear. From blasting local elected officials to commenting on the electronic voting machines used during the last election, the sign's lettering has been changed regularly to reveal its owner's positions on county affairs. Currently on property owned by a Brakes USA and flanked by smaller signs that read "nohighertaxes.com", the sign has undergone several changes in an effort to stay in accordance with city and state code on political signs.

I spoke with an owner of the sign and the website, who is a member of the "No Higher Taxes Group" (as they refer to themselves), on condition of anonymity. She described a veritable witch hunt in which local government sought to abridge her group's constitutional right to free speech by constantly threatening citations for not having the sign up to code to the letter of the law.

"It had been 4 or 6 months, and [the county code enforcement officer] had said nothing," she said. "Then we got a citation."

A city official confirmed that the owner of the property the sign was on did receive one citation, which was rescinded when the sign was taken down. The sign was put up again a short time later, up to code and current with all city and state rules. The official told me that to the best of his knowledge, there were no plans to issue another citation.

I talked to Councilman Matt Scott, Mayor Pro Tem of Rockwall. On the group's site, Scott is accused of calling the Brakes USA upon whose property the sign is located and harassing an employee. He paints a different picture.

"If it's legal, let them say what they want," he said.

"I did call Brakes USA, because I wanted to get my facts straight," says Scott. In a recent letter to the editor in the Dallas Morning News, Scott describes his call:

"If a 30-second phone call to Brakes USA trying to find out who was responsible for the sign constitutes harassment, then I guess I'm guilty. Indeed, the gentleman who answered Brakes USA's phone said he'd have the manager call me back, and I left my name and telephone number. That was it."

Scott told me he was calling to find out who owned the sign, because he wasn't happy with the fact that they were attacking candidates while keeping their identities secret. In the same letter, Scott says this:

"For the record, my reason for inquiring about the signs was their incredibly ugly way of doing business, hiding behind a yellow sign while engaging in personal attacks having nothing to do with a candidate's fitness for office."

No names are listed anywhere on the sign, and I had to scour the site to find the handful of names I did. Most of the time, when a name is mentioned, it belongs to a candidate that some anonymous editorialist is lambasting, such as Rockwall County Commissioner Bruce Beaty. The group apparently takes serious issue with Commissioner Beaty, as his name was mentioned on their sign prior to the last election, in which his wife ran for county treasurer. It read, "Two Beatys in the courthouse too many." I contacted Commissioner Beaty to see if there was any reason he might be at odds with the group; he said he could think of none. He also said he has never contacted the city about the sign or its code violations.

On the group's site, some fairly serious allegations are leveled against Beaty and a host of other officials, as well as against the city council in general. While I wholeheartedly support the group's constitutional right to free speech, I too find it a bit underhanded to publicly attack candidates and officials while remaining nameless. Also, some of the messages posted on their sign have been rather extreme. For a while last year the sign read "Electronic voting machines - Rockwall's Katrina." I too have my doubts about the recent shift towards electronic machines, but that is a rather crude comparison. However, that is my personal opinion, and as long as the sign stays up to code, I believe they have a right to it.

As to the allegations on the site, who knows? In researching for this article, I found no indications whatsoever that there was a campaign to get the group's sign removed. On the contrary, the majority of city and county officials I spoke with were quick to defend the group's right to free speech, even if they disagreed with the message. But the site outlines countless other accusations, some of which could very well be true.

At its heart, I believe this is a conflict not about signs or websites, but about transparency in government. As Rockwall has grown, so has its city hall, and by necessity its organizational complexity. This has been a common problem among the outlying suburbs of the Metroplex.

As Councilman Scott puts it, "Rockwall isn't a 2,500 person burg anymore." Whether the No Higher Taxes group's complaints are real or imagined, they represent an important step in the evolution of a prosperous community: growing pains. The group, which has worked to defeat every bond proposal that has occurred since their inception, is mainly composed of older residents of Rockwall. I think such mistrust of progress is inevitable when a city undergoes the rapid rural-to-urban transition that Rockwall has. Other communities should watch, and take note: growth isn't easy, but is often inexorable. Take care to preserve your roots, and incorporate them as best you can into the infrastructure you build for tomorrow.