By Ronnie Lewis
Tisha Crow true to form showed voters her real self this week. After months of refusing a public discussion on Ector County Republicans right to vote, Tisha came out of hiding to attack me.
Last week I detailed the makeup of Tisha’s Republican Executive Board, I told how Jeff Russell and Mayor Joven lost their precinct chair races and she appointed them anyway. I laid out that Mayor Joven has two family members also on the board.
Most shocking, I let voters know that Tisha Crow appointed a man who broke into a home and brutally assaulted a young woman. I informed voters that Tisha appointed a man on her board with petty arrests and the night she appointed him he was given a set of brass knuckles.
All this is shocking coming from a group that constantly reminds us of their piety. Did Tisha Crow, council members Mark Matta, Denise Swanner or Mayor Joven speak out regarding the brutal family violence, the cronyism, the brass knuckles?
No, only Tisha Crow made a statement, she accused me of working with local democrats. Nothing, nada on family violence, disregarding the will of the voters etc. she whined that I reached out to local democrats.
Well, I did! When Tisha and her cabal backed Wayne Woodall for ECISD Board, I made a couple texts and a private messages to get some Democrats I know to get out and vote for the incumbent Donna Smith.
I’ve watched over the last two years how Tisha, Joven and Jeff Russell are stacking every Board in our County. I knew then and I know now they have to be stopped or Ector County will become Joven County or Crow County. I will not let that happen.
I will not apologize for trying to mobilize a few local democrats to help prevent a candidate from getting elected if they are endorsed by Tisha, Joven or Jeff Russell.
What is really hypocritical is Tisha herself must be working with Democrats in order to get the couple screenshots of texts that I sent. Yeah, read that again. That particular Democrat is probably enjoying the mayhem that Tisha, Joven and the city council are creating. Thinking it makes Democrats look like better options locally. Who knows?
But to prove my point Woodall won the place on the ECISD Board and just this week his wife Jennifer Woodall who is the secretary of Tisha’s Executive Board and also an appointed precinct chair announced a run for JP, trying to unseat Carlos Chavez a retired Odessa policeman.
What happened to Back the Blue? A little hypocrisy here because Jennifer Woodall has no qualifications to be a JP but she has harped for months on the radio and social media how important qualifications are to be Republican County Chair.
The audacity is mind boggling. What’s worse is the silence from Swanner and Joven but when Mark Matta was informed of the brutal family violence by the Vice chair, Matta replied “it was dismissed.” It was but only after a plea of guilt and 5 years community supervision.
As for the family violence, The Ector County Republican Party Executive Board is saying look here not there.
Other than Richard Pierce and Judy Barker all the the precinct chairs so far have refused to sign for Donna Kelm in order to be on the ballot against Tisha.
New candidates will run on the right to vote for precinct chairs, restoring civility in our elections and condemning bullying and fake Facebook accounts by Board members. I’ve been out talking to voters for months and I know our community is ready for change, ready for fairness.
In the March Primary we can and will vote to stop this madness. In the upcoming campaigns voters will be reminded who denied you, your God given right to vote and which candidates conveniently brushed off a brutal family violence assault all for political gain.
Tisha and her Executive Board are exactly what is wrong with politics, their stubborn lust for power has to be checked. Let’s remind them, this isn’t Joven County or Crow County.
Thanks again for all the support and encouragement. Merry Christmas Ector County, I’m taking a political hiatus to enjoy my family and the Holidays. Be back after the new year.
Ronnie Lewis is a longtime Odessa businessman and founder of Dos Amigos.
