Sunday, October 29, 2000

County GOP making good on its pledge

By Bill Whitaker

Three days before George W. Bush and Al Gore slide for home in one of the tightest presidential races ever, Taylor County GOP chairman Paul Washburn will be devoting his energies to a local mayoral race.

Except in this case the contestants really are dogs — a bulldog named “Boz” and an Irish wolfhound named “Devlin,” competing to reign as mayor over next Saturday’s Dog Bone Festival.

Although the kinetic 51-year-old mobile-home park owner stays deeply involved in day-to-day political intrigue, Washburn has been true to his word of putting aside presidential politics this year and leading efforts to help nonprofits.

You see that when visiting his office, which he shares with a Dachshund puppy saved through the Rescue the Animals group he founded.

At another office he set up at 4620 N. 1st St. for Rescue the Animals, volunteer Donna Cosby works alongside a 4-foot homeless iguana dubbed “Iggy.”

Call me a skeptic, but when Washburn and state Sen. Troy Fraser first talked of shelving politics as usual and urging GOP loyalists into nonprofit activities around town, I had doubts.

But Republicans and even community-minded Democrats have come together to accomplish much, including:

-- Helping coordinate funding for repair of Plum Street United Methodist Church, which Washburn learned had not been fixed almost a year after a joy-riding motorist crashed into it. Ultimately, the Dian Owen Foundation contributed about $6,000.

-- Working with Texas Land Commissioner David Dewhurst to place computers at Abilene Child Centered Educational Support Services for at-risk youngsters in the Sears Park neighborhood.

-- Providing massive, database-driven e-mail and faxing services for nonprofits such as Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Mental Health Association, YMCA, Boy Scouts and the Buffalo Gap Volunteer Fire Department.

-- Championing ACU Young Republicans, who erected a “Vote for Abilene” booth, signing up more than 100 students interested in working for nonprofits.

-- Amassing a dedicated volunteer base for Rescue the Animals, working daily with the city’s Animal Shelter to find homes for numerous unwanted pets.

Adoptions numbered about 700 in 1997, before Washburn led Republicans and Democrats alike in forming the organization in 1998.

This fiscal year, 2,069 animals were adopted — an amazing turn-around.

Of course, all this is possible because Bush is expected to win between 60 and 70 percent of Texas voters on Election Day, rendering local GOP efforts on his behalf mighty insignificant.

No one expects the do-gooder dynamics to remain at current high levels when new electoral match-ups surface in 2002 and 2004. But we can always hope.

Meanwhile, Washburn and other political activists may manage something that hasn’t been done often in our republic’s 224-year history. They may actually give politics a good name.

Contact associate editor Bill Whitaker at 676-6732 or whitakerb@abinews.com. Check out Bill’s previous columns at www.brazosbill.com. His column runs Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.