By Ronnie Lewis
The future of Odessa is at a crucial crossroads in this election cycle. Public records show that one family alone, the Saulsbury family, has donated the enormous amount of over $215,000.00 to Mayor Joven and Council members Denise Swanner and Mark Matta in an attempt to get them reelected.
That amount is likely to go up considerably. But why? Neither Joven, Swanner and Matta have much, if any, personal achievements, we can’t even be sure they have jobs. What makes one family in Odessa so determined to keep them in office by spending over $215,000.00? That’s an incredible amount of money. It’s more than probably 80% of Odessans will ever accumulate in their lifetime.
This is the end of the month, most families are shuffling their budgets in order to make car payments and pay for basic needs. Most people don’t have an extra $100 in their checking account. Keep in mind the Saulsbury family lives in a wonderful world of private jets, yachts and African safaris. Hats off to the patriarch of the family for building such amazing wealth and all his philanthropy. It’s the true American Dream.
Unfortunately that wealth has also been used in the last several elections to fund historically negative campaigns like Casey Gray against Odessa’s most popular public servant Brooks Landgraf. To my knowledge, not once has anyone in the family condemned the awful nasty posts from Jamie Tisdale’s Odessa Accountability Facebook page or the fake Facebook bully accounts. The Saulsbury’s have funded three PAC’s. The horribly negative PAC “Save Odessa” stooped so low as to drag my 10 year old daughter into their attacks. The PAC “We Love Odessa” deceivingly copied the Odessa Chamber of Commerce logo and completely ignored a cease and desist letter demanding they stop using the logo.
A couple of days ago Bubba Saulsbury lashed out at me in a very late night keyboard rant about using his family name in “innuendo”, he went on to call me a coward for not using the Saulsbury name. I had been posting and replying on comments that most everyone in Odessa is saying or thinking that Mayor Joven is on the Saulsbury payroll, since there is absolutely no proof Joven has a job. Bubba Saulsbury has confirmed Joven is not on their payroll. So Joven’s source of income is still an unknown. Bubba also insisted that I “use the family name”.
Let’s talk about Bubba calling me a coward. I don’t consider myself a coward, I’ve stood my ground many a night while operating my former business Dos Amigos Restaurant & Bar for 20 years.
I’ve walked the streets of Caracas, São Paulo, Guatemala City, Havana, Rio De Janeiro alone. I drove from the border of El Salvador through Guatemala and Mexico back to Odessa alone. And I’ve been fighting this political machine for 4 years.
But Bubba got me to thinking…was I not using their family name out of respect…or was it fear? Fear of a very powerful and wealthy family. Should we fear this family? Should we fear retaliation for speaking up against their candidates and their campaign tactics?
Considering the immense amount of money the Saulsbury family has donated to Mayor Joven, Denise Swanner and Mark Matta they too would certainly fear to vote against the wishes of the Saulsbury family regarding City business. It’s just human nature to fear the wealthy and powerful.
Lucky are the few that are able to stand up to power and speak out against something they see as wrong or in this case beneficial or not beneficial to Odessa.
So, readers as you’re preparing to pay your monthly bills and going to vote on Election Day please ask yourself why would one family spend a small fortune to elect 3 people that have no personal or professional achievements, apparently do not have regular jobs and have contributed to and promoted the vicious campaign tactics we see over and over.
Odessa has an opportunity to say no to these mean and hateful campaign tactics, including the dishonest paid out of state political activists and a clear attempt to buy an election. Odessa is not for sale. Let’s get back on track.
Vote for Odessa’s future. We must prove once and for all these campaign tactics don’t work. If not who will ever be willing to run for office and put themselves and their families through such a brutal process? We can all agree the Saulsbury family is a name that garners great respect but it should not be a name that can buy elections. Vote Cal Hendrick for Mayor, Craig Stoker, Eddie Mitchell and Steve Thompson for City Council. Let’s win this!
Ronnie Lewis is an Odessa businessman who founded Dos Amigos. He is also an elected GOP Precinct Chair.
