Social Movements & Civic Participation
Galveston Gets Kinky
By Scott O. Shaffer
Jun 6, 2005, 11:05

Richard “Kinky” Friedman, Independent candidate for governor, wants Galveston Island Republicans’ help in winning the 2006 race.

The humorist, singer-songwriter and mystery novel writer recently asked approximately 90 Pachyderm Club members and lunch guests to skip voting in the Republican Primary on March 7 and sign a petition on March 8 to put him on the ballot.

Texas Republicans Gov. Rick Perry, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn are considering the 2006 GOP primary.

Friedman, smoking a jumbo cigar and wearing his trademark black hat and duster, asked for the groups’ support saying, “I can’t screw things up any worse than they already are.”

The candidate told his audience Texas is in a race to the bottom with Mississippi in funding public education. He said the Texas legislature recently took more funds away from Texas’ high school students wanting to go to college, “even though we were dead last in that category.”

Friedman pointed out 25 percent of the state’s children live in poverty. Only West Virginia, New Mexico and Arkansas have more children living in poverty. The candidate asked how this could be happening in a state that would be the fifth largest county in the world if it succeeded from the union.

“How’s that working for you?” Friedman asked.

When asked how he would fund Texas’ public schools, the candidate said it might be possible to solve the problem by offering advertising rights in public schools to companies like Nike and Wilson in return for the companies paying all the costs of the state’s public school athletics programs.

“My campaign for governor, folks, is a spiritual one - not a political one,” he emphasized.

Friedman said he does not want to see any more human beings dying in the back of cargo container trucks in Texas. He suggested possibly bringing back the Bracero Program to address immigration problems and stop the deaths. The program, which began in 1946 and ended in 1964, allowed Mexican citizens to take temporary agricultural work in the United States.

Friedman is not against Texas’ death penalty but is against killing innocent people.

“2000 years ago we executed an innocent man, Jesus Christ, and what have we learned?” he said.“A real Texan cares about all the people of the world.”

Friedman will go to the Holy Land in November with Farouk Shami, his business partner, to donate all the profits from their olive oil company to Israeli and Palestinian children affected by the conflict.

He reminded the group that things could be funny and important at the same time. “I want you all to know that I support gay marriage. I believe they have every right to be as miserable as the rest of us.”

Rubye Brown, president of the Pachyderm Club, was supportive of Friedman’s run for governor. “ I think it would be a good mix to have him in the race,” she said.

Casey Farris, a member of the club and owner of Go Dog USA, liked what Friedman had to say. “I agree with him that the spiritual issue is the most important. He impressed me.”

Friedman will have 30 days from the end of the primaries to gather the state-required 45,540 signatures from registered voters who did not vote in either the Republican or Democratic primary in the spring. Kinky wants 90,000 signatures according to his website, www.kinkyfriedman.com, “How to Get Kinky on the Ballot.”

Laura Stromberg, press secretary for the campaign, reported that funding for the campaign has come primarily from individuals in small donations. According to Stromberg, Friedman is not accepting any corporate sponsorships and will announce his campaign’s major contributors July 15, 2006, as required by law.

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