The race for the District 17 U.S. House race this year is a refreshing change from recent years, one we hope sets the tone for future races.
Rob Curnock of Waco, the Republican challenger, is running a positive campaign, one based on issues rather than personalities. Unfortunately for him, he is receiving virtually no financial support from the national Republican Party. That is a marked change from recent elections in which the party recruited candidates -- some of whom had to move into the district to run -- and provided substantial funding in an effort to defeat incumbent Democrat Chet Edwards.
Edwards, a Democrat, serves a district that is 64 percent Republican, and the national Republican Party has yearned to replace him since redistricting moved Brazos County into the district early in the decade.
The simple fact is that Edwards continues to win because he does exactly what a congressman should do. He represents the people of this district well.
Over the past two years, Edwards has brought more than $78 million in federal funds to Brazos County. He points to three projects that have benefited from his efforts, including restoring funding for the important National Emergency Response and Rescue Training Center at Texas A&M after the Bush administration tried to gut the program. The center is responsible for training first responders to meet man-made and natural disasters and it is needed now more than ever.
Edwards also received funding for the nuclear engineering program associated with the Bush School to train engineers for what he says could be a "renaissance in nuclear energy" to generate electricity.
He also points to funding he secured for a joint program at A&M's College of Medicine, the Veterans' Administration hospitals in Temple and Waco, and Fort Hood to study post-traumatic stress disorder in our brave service members returning from Iraq, Afghanistan and other trouble spots around the world.
Curnock and many others are critical of Edwards' use of earmarks to bring federal funds to his district. In a perfect world, earmarks would not exist, but that isn't the way Congress works. As long as it functions the way it does, we are delighted Edwards is able to secure funding for projects important to this community.
Curnock is critical of Edwards' vote against the surge in Iraq and his support of Barack Obama in the March primaries and again in the upcoming election. Edwards said he voted for a non-binding resolution against the surge because, he said, Iraq's political leaders were unwilling to take charge of the reconciliation of their own people.
While Edwards said he voted in favor of the recent federal bailout plan because it was critical that something be done to rescue the economy. He said he worked to impose congressional oversight on the bailout as it progresses, to eliminate golden parachutes given to corporate executives and to build in taxpayer protections.
Curnock said he isn't sure how he would have voted on the bailout, but he said Congress should have taken longer to study the bill thoroughly before voting.
Edwards points with pride to his efforts on behalf of America's veterans, noting that he authored the largest veterans appropriations bill in history. He also takes credit for saving the Veterans Administration hospital in Waco.
Rob Curnock is bright, vigorous and committed. He is running the right kind of campaign.
That said, he does not make a good case that he would be better for the people of this district than Chet Edwards, who has a track record of serving the people of Central Texas for more than 20 years. He knows and understands us. He is an Aggie who has made countless visits to Brazos County in the years he has represented us. Further, he has achieved the kind of seniority that can make a huge difference in Congress.
The Eagle recommends a vote for Chet Edwards for another term in the U.S. House of Representatives.
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