Taxpayers Deserve Answers – We’re Going to Get Them

Taxpayers Deserve Answers – We’re Going to Get Them

May 14, 2026 | GAWTP Blog, GAWTP Featured Post, SC Featured Post, Smith County, Uncategorized

Tuesday, County Judge Neal Franklin, retiring Commissioner John Moore, Commissioner Scott Herod, and Commissioner Ralph Caraway refused to support a $135K forensic and compliance audit on 2017 and 2021 Road Bond Projects. Since the County is sitting on tens of millions in unencumbered cash (over taxation), there was plenty of money to find answers.

It is clear they don’t want answers!

Only Commissioner Christina Drewry fought to get answers for you so that the County can fix this mess! 

We spent hundreds of hours over the last 13 months inspecting County documents to get answers.  What we found was horrifying—a case study in mismanagement!  No oversight!  Not even an update on the projects until we brought it up in Feb. 2025!

Smith County’s own records reveal:

🚨 Core Problems

  • Massive Cost Overrun — A program sold as $84.5M is now projected at ~$185M. What caused overruns far beyond inflation?
  • 5‑Year Plan Now in Year 12 — No timeline. No public discussion. Refuse to hold evening town halls. No plan to finish your roads.
  • Regular Budgets Still Flowing — Road & Bridge received ~$120M in operating funds. Where are the improved pavement ratings?
  • Untracked Supplements — $14.5M in extra appropriations show no audit trail.

⚠️ Quality & Documentation Failures

  • Missing Engineering Records — No pre‑engineering, in‑project, post‑project, or warranty testing for 73% of the bond project files! The county engineer admitted he had no inspection documentation signing off on completed work!
  • No Verification of Work — Claims that “only a few hundred dollars are unaccounted for” are false, but also ignore the real issue: There’s no documentation to prove many roads were repaired or met standards.

🚧 Questionable Use of Bond Funds

  • Bond Money Diverted — $3.2M in bond funds went to a new road (Centennial Blvd.), not existing roads as promised.
  • Unauthorized Projects — 25 projectscharged to Phase 1 weren’t on any Commissioners Court approved priority list.
  • Policy Violated — These projects were sold to the voters as reconstruction projects with external contractors for arterial/collector roads with the Road & Bridge Department refocusing on maintaining and repairing roads. The County broke this promise.
  • “In‑House” Work Billed to Bond — County crews rebuilt roads internally while charging only materials to the bond (not labor & equipment) — hiding the true cost to taxpayers…but worse…
  • Missing Purchase Orders — $8.2M in purchase orders for “in‑house” work had no discoverable audit trail! 

📉 Misreported Deliverables

  • Reconstruction Miles Overstated — Smith County claimed 99.7 miles of reconstruction. Atkins Engineering records show only 55 miles were true reconstruction — the rest were overlays.

Bottom line:

This isn’t transparency.
This isn’t accountability.
And it certainly isn’t over!

Grassroots America will not “move on” until the Commissioners Court explains how they plan to fix this!

Taxpayers deserve better.

Dumping any more tax dollars into Road & Bridge without reforming the entire thing from top to bottom is like flushing your tax dollars down a sewer! Stay tuned! We aren’t done with this!

Protect What’s Yours – VOTE!

Protect What’s Yours – VOTE!

May 2, 2026 | GAWTP Blog, GAWTP Featured Post

Saturday, May 2, 2026

Today is Election Day!

Polls open 7 AM – 7 PM

Last chance across Texas to vote into office those with the power to tax you, regulate you and your property, and add debt to what you, your grandchildren and great-grandchildren (including the unborn) will owe the government over decades!

Your ballot today may include candidates for the offices of State Senate District 4 (special election), Mayor, City Council, School Board Trustee, Community College Trustee, Water/Drainage Control/Development/Special Taxing District members and Bond Elections (increase taxes/debt on the born and unborn).

What’s at Stake:

  • Citizen-First vs. Special Interest “Insider” Spending

  • Transparency vs. Back Room Shady Deals

  • Wholesomeness vs. Culture Rot funded by your tax dollars

  • Wise Planning/Management vs Foolish Governance

  • Keeping more of your money

  • Keeping more of your liberty

Protecting What’s Yours for Your Family!

Don’t know about your local elections?

Find your voting precinct # to determine where you vote today: click here and fill in the Are You Registered? section.

Find your county’s website, by clicking here and then scrolling down to the middle of the page to find County Sources. Click on your county to find your county’s posted election information for sample ballots, early voting/Election Day dates, times, and locations.  If your county’s link has not been updated, that’s your County Government’s fault. Instead, search for “_______ County, Texas, Elections Office” or “What’s on the ballot in _____ County, Texas today?” 

Smith County (our home base) Election Day info is here.
Grassroots America’s endorsed candidates for Smith County only:

John Nix

for Tyler Mayor, proven conservative, votes Republican

Cody Levrets

for Tyler ISD District 4, proven conservative, votes Republican

TJC Bond:

Because no volunteers have stepped up to invest the time in regularly attending TJC Board meetings, Grassroots America’s Board of Directors takes no official position on the bond proposal. Instead, our board members Tom and Toni Fabry worked with TJC officials toward more transparency. Regular engagement of trustworthy volunteers is a requirement before we will spend money on any campaign.

5 Facts about Bond Elections

Get the FACTS

How Do I Know if May 2nd Candidates are Republican or Democrat?

By law, city, school board, community college, and special purpose district races are non-partisan on the ballot; therefore, there will be no party designation listed there; however, you can find out which party primary they vote in, if they vote at all, or if they are only general election voters (which means there’s no way to tell what they are).

Click here to find your county’s Republican Party Chairman to see if he/she published the voting history of the candidates for the May 2 elections in your county!  

Click here for a GREAT example of what Republican Party County Chairs should do to help voters avoid voting a leftist into office! Checking voting records to determine if a candidate is Republican or Democrat or doesn’t vote at all is the minimum first step in determining who should get your vote. This is how your Republican Party County Chairman can help you keep socialists and cultural Marxists from taking over local government. The next step is to determine whether a candidate who votes Republican will actually govern as one. That’s where local conservative groups can help voters.

Recommendations & Endorsements: Sadly, due to an excess of conflicting information, we cannot share endorsements and recommendations from local conservative groups as we have in the past. We have no time to mediate conflicts among conservatives over their local ballot choices; therefore, we cannot risk sending out flawed information.

Protect what’s yours today

VOTE before 7 PM today!

Statewide May 2nd Texas Election Alert!

Statewide May 2nd Texas Election Alert!

Apr 14, 2026 | GAWTP Blog

Statewide May 2nd Texas Election Alert!

Gov’t Fuzzy Math:

Seniors, Bond Elections & Property Taxes

Local governments love to say
“Over 65 taxpayers won’t be affected!”
when they push new bond debt. The facts tell a very different story.

Fact 1

“It won’t cost you anything” is a shell game.

When officials say new debt won’t raise taxes on over‑65 homeowners, what they’re really doing is shifting the tax burden onto younger families — the very people trying to buy homes, raise kids, and build a future. And the burden doesn’t stop there: local businesses get hit too, which means higher prices on goods and services for everyone — including seniors.

Fact 2

The “monthly cost of a cheeseburger” pitch is misleading.

Those “average monthly cost” numbers are calculated using the entire tax base, including seniors whose tax bills are capped. If seniors make up a large share of the district’s tax base, the “average” is artificially lowered — meaning younger taxpayers may pay far more than the advertised number in bond campaign materials. That’s not transparency. That’s tax creep disguised as a snack‑sized bargain.

Fact 3

Seniors’ taxes are capped, not erased.

The over-65 exemption freezes the maximum a senior can be charged. If a taxing entity pays off debt, refinances, or lowers the debt repayment portion of the tax rate, seniors’ tax bills can actually go down. But when new debt is added that possibility disappears! The claim that bond debt “doesn’t affect seniors” is flat out false.

Fact 4

Many seniors are renters, and rent follows taxes.

When landlords get higher tax bills, those costs don’t magically vanish. They show up as higher rent, fees, or reduced maintenance. Seniors on fixed incomes feel it immediately — and so do younger renters.

Fact 5

Higher property taxes raise prices across the board.

Most small businesses can’t absorb repeated tax hikes. They’re forced to cut wages, cut workers, delay investments, or raise prices on everyday goods and services — including those famous “cheeseburgers.”

— BOTTOM LINE —

Bond debt doesn’t skip seniors. It shifts tax burdens, hides real costs, and eliminates the chance for tax relief for everyone — seniors, families, renters, and local businesses alike.

Voters deserve the full picture.

#TaxpayerWatch

No Joking Matter – Illegal is illegal

No Joking Matter – Illegal is illegal

Apr 2, 2026 | GAWTP Blog

Mass Illegal Occupation
of Texas and the US is no joking matter.

Time is running out.
Talk without Action Solves NOTHING!

Here’s THE Plan to remove as many illegals as possible to prepare for a post-Trump America.

Grassroots America is a partner in this Coalition.

Its mission is necessary and righteous.

Bottom line up front:

With little over a year of Trump’s second administration completed, the time for first phase deportations—“the worst first,” should come to an end and advance to phase two: a mass deportation program.

To push for phase two, the Mass Deportation Coalition formed in February 2026 in direct response to political, operational, legal, and physical attacks on deportation operations. These attacks come from both the Left and the Cheap Labor Lobby Right.

Purpose:

Support President Trump’s signature campaign promise to “carry out the largest deportation operation in American history.”

Background:

The Mass Deportation Coalition is composed of immigration law and policy experts, former senior and rank and file law enforcement officials, advocates, and supporters who will provide a permanent support base for mass deportation.

Dangerous Facts:

Trump 47’s first year should be celebrated as a success for highlighting the dangerous qualityof the criminal population removed, but the less than 350,000 actual deportations, (according to scarce data produced in connection with detention management), don’t represent a victory in quantity!

Recent disclosures that only 72,000 deportable aliens completed their use of the CBP Home app demonstrate that self-deportation is not happening at the rate advertised. Illegals are encouraged to “wait it out,” by rogue judges, Democrats, the deranged Left, and Trump officials aligned with the Cheap Labor Lobby.

WHY we are stepping up the pressure
with the Mass Deportation Coalition:

  • American sovereignty depends on this.
  • Saving Texas & the US from the Red/Green Axis (united Communists & Islamists) depends on this.
  • The American people were PROMISED this.
  • The American people overwhelmingly voted for this.
  • Failure to deliver will cause Trump supporters to STAY HOME during midterm elections, giving Democrats power to stop Trump in the last two years of his Presidency.  Massive violence and unrest will break loose across the US.

Remember the promises…

Our detailed Plan will help you debunk every single media lie and the propagandist campaigns of the Left and the Surrender Wing of the Republican Party:

  • Start with the 21-point Executive Summary graphic below.
  • Review the details for each of the 21 recommendations in our Mass Deportation Playbook found here.
  • Especially note the recent poll results at the end of the MDC Playbook.

Big “thank you” to the Texas Grassroots Coalition Partners who answered our call to join the MDC with us! See all groups here.

What you
can do:

  1. Follow, like, share the Mass Deportation Coalition @Phase2Deport, Mike Howell @MHowellTweets and GAWTP @GAWTP on X
  2. Post your support on social media, using any of the points made in the mass deportation plan.  Be sure to tag your US Congressman, US Senator, State Senator, State Rep. and Governor Abbott and Lt. Gov. Patrick in your posts!  See their social media contacts here.
  3. Call your federal and state officials.  Leave a message.  Contacts are all here.
  4. Write a letter to the editor for any newspaper that still exists in your area.
  5. Call local conservative talk shows, using the Plan’s supporting talking points.
  6. Pray for our country and leaders.   God is ALWAYS bigger than all the world’s “giants” put together.

Faithfully fighting for the Liberty our Founders intended,

JoAnn Fleming

JoAnn Fleming
Executive Director
Grassroots America – We the People PAC

Time Suck Traps & Landmines

Time Suck Traps & Landmines

Mar 8, 2026 | GAWTP Blog, TCGC Featured Post, TCGC Posts

Truth and Integrity First!

Don’t be a Karen, a Darren, or a Validation Junkie

“Be not deceived:
evil communications
corrupt good manners.”

1 Corinthians 15:33

Those of you who know me well…

know that I detest the social media sandbox—where IQs and decency go to die.

Of course, I do “follow” those with proven common sense who speak with authority from facts, but I do not spend endless hours doomscrolling through every nitwit comment that obviously comes from a person with no intellectual curiosity, no respect for others, and who follows any trendy herd or hive. 
No. Thank. You.

Getting down on the level it takes to correct “Karens and Darrens” is like trading squirts with a skunk. You won’t win the fight; you’ll be stinky too; and it’s just too much of a time suck. Don’t address these irrational, fact-challenged people in small-minded ping pong. Instead, persuade “thinkers” by making your case with well-articulated, concise facts that contradict lies.

Emotional objections to laws and policies that we don’t like might make us feel good, but feelings and emotion alone will never fix any problem. They make it worse.

Shouting at local officials to take action to change federal law and then walking away is a fool’s errand.

Screeching in emails and on social media about how stupid, unwise, silly, or unlawful you think a local, state, or federal policy is won’t change it either.

Spreading misinformation to low information people makes you part of the problem.Please, don’t.

If it matters enough that your blood pressure shoots out your ears – take logical, problem-solving citizen action.

How?

The steps are easily understood, but the work is hard, which is why so few people do it!

First, get the documented FACTS. That means original sources – not how someone else interpreted “information” they got third, fifth, or twentieth hand that likely originated with a complete doofus posting on social media.

Second, take personal responsibility—know your subject! Use your gathered facts to crusade for the change you want to see.

Third, develop an action plan of logical steps and objectives to reach the reform you seek.

Finally, recruit like-minded people to your cause; build a team.

Stick with it until you win!

Of all the things in this world that break my heart…

Conservative grassroots activists allowing themselves to be used by paid propagandists, deceitful government staffers, and conniving political consultants is #1.

A close #2 is watching activists who are so breathlessly eager to become “influencers,” that they cast Biblical principles, honor, and truth aside just to be first, to get on a stage, to break a story, and to be “recognized” by elected officials.

The flesh’s desire to be noticed will overshadow wise, thoughtful, diligent, effective action every single time—if you allow it!

My role is not to confront or correct unless such an activist is already in an authorized leadership role with GAWTP or our Texas Conservative Grassroots Coalition. I’m not a den mother. Instead, my prayer is they’ll return to Truth—and sometimes—warning messages like this are the result.

One does not become a respected Subject Matter Expert through emotion and self-promotion.

Grassroots America’s long-time Subject Matter Experts earned credibility and respect by keeping their heads down—sacrificing years of their lives to become knowledgeable, stable, credible sources. They understand that learning never stops. These mature leaders take time to listen to those who understand the right way to ask questions, but they won’t waste time on emotional, screeching Karens and Darrens—and neither will I.

With a loving spirit, comes my plea to you:

  • Shun mob mentality.

  • Reject crowd psychology.

  • Stop bowing to FOMO (the fear of missing out).

  • Avoid idolizing ANY elected official. Appreciation is one thing, but slavish, drooling, groupie behavior that overrides your brain, commonsense, and Biblical values is most unbecoming.  Human nature being what it is, you might well wake up one day to find your ladder has been leaning against the wrong building. Even the mighty can fall under the weight of their own egos.  

  • Back off the dopamine abyss of social media—the time suck of infinite scrolling, the addiction to engineered reward systems (likes & comments), and user interactions that provoke dark emotions. It will rot your brain and your character. It will waste your life.

Instead, invest your time in actually making a difference in God’s Kingdom by serving His people.  If you are called to the political arena, invest your time in the four steps outlined at the beginning of this message.

You’ll be better for it. Your family and relationships will be enriched. Your outlook will improve.

You will become a problem-solver and an overcomer!

Who knows what God will do next with an obedient Kingdom-focused servant?

JoAnn Fleming

JoAnn Fleming
Executive Director
Grassroots America – We the People PAC