Alcohol Election Stirring Little Debate

GRAND SALINE—For such a controversial issue being put before Precinct 1 voters in less than a month, the debate front on the Nov. 3 local option election has been unusually quiet.

For Jimmy Pickens, the man who engineered the original petition for an election, it is a sign that most voters have already made their decision.

"I’ve had lots of people ask me how it’s all going, and my reply is that it will be on the ballot and whatever happens will be up to a vote," Pickens said.

However, he admitted that the general absence of discussion from either side of the issue is a bit surprising.

"I haven’t heard too many people talking about it much either way…I really figured there would be more opposition, but I guess just time will tell what the citizens of Van Zandt County want," Pickens said.

If there is any changing of minds to be done about the issue, time for that is quickly running out. Early voting begins next Monday, Oct. 19, and continues through Oct. 30 Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Van Zandt County Courthouse in the law library downstairs.

Precinct 1 voters will decide on three possible options for alcohol sales: one that would allow beer and wine sales for off-premise consumption, one that would allow all alcoholic beverages for off-premise consumption and one that would allow mixed beverages to be sold in restaurants.

Meanwhile, Pickens said he has noticed a couple of indicators that the local option election is nearing. One of those is contacts from area beverage distributors.

"I have missed them twice, being out of the office, but (the distributors) were wanting to talk to me and different businesses around town, probably to see what everybody’s intentions are," Pickens said. "Evidently, they feel like there is a good chance the precinct will be going wet."

He also said a few people have told him they had been contacted by telephone by someone asking pre-election survey-type questions, but added, "I don’t know who was behind it."

Pickens said he believes there will be more of a pre-election presence, for and against the measures, toward the end of October.

However, one person is more than ready to speak out against alcohol sales now. James "Buzzy" Daniel, a Myrtle Springs resident, said he is not in Precinct 1 but is opposed to legalizing alcohol sales.

"If it passes in (the Precinct 1 portion of) Canton, I’m just two miles out. People are going to pass by my house and they are going to drive through Van Zandt County," Daniel said.

A former resident of Duncanville and Midlothian — two formerly dry cities — Daniel said he believes too many people are overstating the economic benefits of allowing alcoholic beverage sales.

"If every community eventually has alcohol, there is not going to be a benefit from the taxes for any community…There is no benefit in that way in the long run, only in short run," he said.

Daniel continued by saying that he has witnessed the dark side of alcoholic beverage availability, stating that it leads to ruined lives and families.

"I had two friends who both were alcoholics," he said. "One never did conquer it and the other eventually did. One of them lost two families because of alcohol.

"If I am to love my neighbors as I love myself, why would I want him to be tempted in that regard," Daniel added. "I think we are looking at selling out the prosperity of the county for too little gain."

Daniel, 66, said his last drink of alcohol was 25 years ago.

"When I used to drink, the easier it was to do, the more I would do it…I think if this passes, it is not loving our neighbors, but putting love of the dollar above the love of our neighbor," he said.

Daniel recently paid for an advertisement spot to publish the first page of names on the petition for a local option election. His explanation was, "We write lots of things down, but sometimes we may go back and be ashamed."

Pickens, whose name was on that first page of the petition, is not expressing any regrets about bringing the issue to a vote of Precinct 1 citizens. He got between 854-861 signatures on each of the three option petitions.

"I think the people are ready to decide. To get that many signatures, and everyone knowing it is a public record, to me that shows it’s time to put it before the voters," he said.

He added that he hopes all the effort on the petition will be rewarded with a strong voter turnout, whether for or against the measures.

"This was the biggest undertaking I have ever took on in my life," Pickens said. "I didn’t realize how hard it was going to be.

"It was like a big weight off my shoulders when I knew I had enough signatures. I and 30 other people worked real hard to get this done," he added.