I've said on many occasions that as the Mayor of Lewisville, I will fight for you. I might be jumping the gun, but I'm going to start a little early. I won't stand idly by while voters and potential future leaders are intimidated? Let me share with you an email I received so you'll understand what I'm talking about.

"Dear Mr. Edmondson,
I met you about 17 years ago when you used to work at the pet store next to LHS. We bought our first cockatiel from you. The issues you want to focus on are the issues that I care most about, and you'll get my family's votes. I know most of my neighbors very well. I was going to host a coffee party to talk about you, and even see if you could stop by and meet everybody. I've got a few neighbors, but really one main one that is friends with Mr. Uekert. She said that Dean has voted in every local election and it's not right for someone to run if they haven't voted or to vote for someone like that. I think that's a bunch of baloney, but I don't want to get into the middle of it with her, because this will be the first time for me to vote. I'm always complaining about the schools, and if it comes up that I haven't voted, I don't want people telling me to hush just because of it. So instead of a coffee party, I would like to give you the addresses of people I know that feel the way I do about the city, and maybe you can just go pay them a visit."

I sent a long email response to this citizen, but let me thank her again, publicly, for her support. I can't tell you how many times I've read this email. It angers me that a Lewisville citizen has been made to feel this way because my opponent is willing to overlook the ramifications of his actions and statements in order to score cheap political points. The manner in which he denigrates every citizen that can't match his perfect record of attendance at the polls is reckless. Since less than 1,000 of the approximately 93,000 individuals that live in Lewisville typically vote, it's an awfully large verbal net Dean is using to cast aspersions on people. It's not exactly a pep talk, if motivating potential voters to make it to the polls is the goal. It does, however, make for a good whisper campaign. It would be one thing if this was just about what a few Dean supporters were saying. I'm not bothered by Dean's overzealous friends that are able to make sure that the first question asked at each of the forums is about Dean's amazing, blemish free voting record. If, for some reason, I decided to support a candidate that was on the wrong side of issue after issue, even ones that I claim to care about, I would probably try to throw up some smoke and mirrors, too. It's the candidate that feels he has the leadership skills necessary to be Mayor that I'm disappointed in. A true leader would think twice about uttering these types of remarks about 90,000+ Lewisville residents.

Dean's response to a question about his flawless voting record included these comments about the U.S. soldiers fighting around the world in order for us to be able to vote, "For us to choose not to vote, to consciously make that decision, 'I am not going to take time to vote', are we honoring those citizens the way we should?" He went on, and on, and the implication was clear- If you haven't voted in local elections, you're a waste of space, not worthy of looking straight into the eyes of our soldiers, much less holding any public office.

I disagree. I encourage everyone to vote. It's a great way to play a part in the direction your city, state, and country take. Government is most effective when elected officials are held accountable for their choices. Voting is, by no means, the only way to show your concern for your community, though. To imply that those that haven't voted in local elections don't care about their community and are unfit to lead is disingenuous and un-American. Does Dean really believe that perfect attendance at the polls is a prerequisite of leadership skills? To my knowledge, I'm the only candidate in this race that has a college degree specifically relevant to the job as Mayor, a bachelor of arts in Government and Politics. Will the knowledge tools I have as a result of my education help me if I become Mayor? Absolutely. I would never in my wildest dreams, however, suggest that candidates that don't have a college education, or that didn't specialize in government aren't worthy of public office. Voting attendance and candidate education levels are valid factors for voters to consider, but candidates that focus on topics like these are often compensating for a deficiency in their alignment with the values of voters. If politicians disagree with you on the issues, they simply avoid talking about the issues.

Dean has, on several occasions, been in uncontested city council races. He of all people should understand that it's hard enough to get the strong leaders in our community to step up and run for public office without these discouraging words. Inventing requirements of office that don't exist will result in even more uncontested races, which we can all agree is bad for the community. I challenge Dean to conduct himself in a manner worthy of the office of Mayor. Let's talk about issues that are important to citizens. Let's talk about our values so that potential voters can determine which of us they are more closely aligned with. Let's encourage our supporters to ask useful questions, not repetitive ones that are designed for nothing other than scoring cheap political points.

There are more than enough differences in the values, skills, and ideas that each of the candidates bring to the table for us to have meaningful debates between now and election day.