Consistent. Principled. Action.

Citizens,

There is growing excitement in the Republican ranks in Collin County! If you attend a club in Collin County, you must be aware of the tremendous energy building across our county.

As I attend various clubs, I meet new folks at every meeting, and I hear similar stories from other clubs. Tracy and I just met a young lady who recently moved into Collin County, googled Republican clubs, and was attending her first club meeting. She had previously not been involved, but plans to do her research and join the club that most closely mirrors her energy and enthusiasm. And there are other stories just like her's.

I believe that the last presidential election and a growing awareness of the massive amounts of debt that every level of government is piling on our children and grandchildren are responsible for this growing excitement, that in many respects, government is out of control. More and more people are realizing that inaction is not an option - that entrenched politicians listen only to direct and vocal action by an informed and engaged citizenry.

This is exciting stuff! The fiscally conservative and openly patriotic message that you and I have proclaimed for years is taking hold across our county! People are deciding that the Constitution is actually important, and that the words in the Constitution have meaning.

There are clubs that are holding their elected officials accountable for how they vote on issues - our investments in transparency and open government are making a difference. There are those who talk about asking Republican candidates where they stand on Republican issues. This is exciting stuff!

This is the time to get your neighbors to come with you to a political meeting. This is the time to join one of the clubs that is growing, the clubs that are building the grassroots army that it will take to defeat the counterattack by those who believe that citizens should just shut up and pay the taxes demanded of them. And believe you me, the counterattack will be fierce and personal, so strap on your spurs and join the team! There many more like you joining our conservative team.

You may have heard of the tea parties happening across the country. There will be five tea parties across Collin County this evening, April 15. This is a great place to start. Come out between 5 - 7 PM at one of the following locations and see what happens when concerned citizens get involved. The parties will be at Park/Preston (Plano), Parker/Preston (Plano), Gaylord/Preston (Frisco), Lebanon/Preston (Frisco), Eldorado/Craig (McKinney). Come stand on a street corner and wave a sign - should be fun!

I'll see you there!

Sincerely,
Keith

Citizens,

The events of the past week prove that my re-election campaign will rely upon traditional grassroots activism to counteract personal attacks and negative campaigning.

I would first like to thank all of you who wrote to Tracy and me, expressing your support for us. We are deeply grateful for your encouragement.

The re-election campaign will depend on you, the grassroots of the Republican Party, to carry us to victory. You are the lifeblood of the movement to keep our taxes low and release our energetic and dynamic citizens to achieve their best. At times I believe that you are the only thing standing between us and over-powering government. As this past week as proven, we need to prepare now for a robust and active campaign.

I will maintain my consistent, principled, action-based focus on the issues.

I ask that you continue your strong support for tax relief, public accountability and transparency, and opposition to big-government solutions that rob you of your freedom and individuality.

In the meantime, we need to gather as many dollars as we can prior to the start of the campaign season. If we face significant special interest funding, we can overcome it by hard work and good policies, but we do need as many contributions as possible in order to counter the negative campaigning that we experienced this week, and will experience over the next year.

On my web site at www.KeithSelf.com, there is a "Donate" tab on the left side. Under that tab, you can contribute through the PayPal button if you prefer on-line contributions, or you will find an address if you prefer to send a check.

If all of us contribute something, we can gather enough to counter the opposition, even if we get outspent. I know these are tough times for you. I know that I am asking a lot of you to contribute at all. It doesn't have to be much, and if you cannot, I understand, and value your support during the campaign in some other tangible way. I value and need your hard work as much as your financial contributions.

Together, we can accomplish this. We can continue the reforms of county government that we have started; reforms to keep spending low, to provide easy on-line access to commissioner's court meetings to every citizen, to allow public review of our checkbook.

Come with me as we continue this great experiment of whether or not open and limited government can be sustained in Collin County. I believe that it can.

Sincerely,
Keith