Voters send message to TCC board
From the Star-Telegram Editorial Board:
Bedford business analyst Joe Hudson's victory in the District 2 race for the Tarrant County College board of trustees sends the message to other members of the board that, at least as far as voters in Northeast Tarrant County are concerned, spending has gotten out of hand.
District 2 encompasses Richland Hills, Bedford, Grapevine, Colleyville, Southlake, Westlake and parts of Hurst and Euless.
Hudson rode to victory on the back of hefty campaign contributions from businessman Larry Meeker and a message criticizing spending on TCC's planned multimillion-dollar, 38-acre campus in downtown Fort Worth.
Retired economist Jerry Pikulinski carried much the same message and enjoyed similar contributions from Meeker in his race for the Arlington-based District 3 seat, but he was defeated by incumbent Kristin Vandergriff.
Construction of the downtown campus, expensive and beset with complications as it is, is unlikely to be halted by Hudson's election. Work already is too far along to turn back -- at least not without more cost than that kind of reversal probably would be worth. Still, the message on spending is loud and clear.
The board will be doing some significant reorganization as a result of the election: The District 2 seat opened up because longtime President J. Ardis Bell stepped down.
But even with a new president, the mission shouldn't change: making a solid college education affordable for Tarrant County residents, providing targeted job training for employers and ensuring that taxpayer money is spent wisely.
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