WillCo #TXLEGE: Flannigan's a known liability...but GOL-LY James Talarico

"They have all turned aside,
They have together become corrupt;
There is none who does good,
No, not one."
Psalm 14:3

James Talarico is a Democrat state rep from Round Rock who got swept in during the 2018 wave.  He's best known as a chump who took promises from Dennis Bonnen at face value.   Nevertheless, to this point, we've expected Talarico would win re-election fairly easily.

But this is insane:

Talarico disclosed the $2,500 donation in a June 3 post on Facebook, in which he also called on others to donate to Austin Justice Coalition and included a link to its website. Valdez commented, “It’s obvious that Rep. Talarico stands on the far left and opposes anything law enforcement does to protect the citizens of Williamson County and the citizens of our district.”

Asked his views on defunding the police, Talarico told Honest Austin, “Our system of policing is deeply broken. We must replace it with something new and something better.”

“As they have throughout our history, the voices in the street—particularly Black voices—are calling us to imagine a different world. We expect protestors to be nonviolent. But what if we expected our government to be nonviolent? What if we stopped bringing a gun to every emergency?”

Talarico continued, “What if we called a three-digit number to summon highly-trained crisis interventionists to address a problem in our neighborhood? What if we made rehabilitation, reconciliation, and restoration our operating principles?”

“We need to invest in community-based solutions that cure the societal ills that we ask the police to treat: poverty, homelessness, substance abuse, mental health disorders… We must empower our communities, not police them. Only then will we have true public safety.”

Besides donating to the Austin Justice Coalition, Rep. Talarico also made a $50 personal donation to the reelection campaign of Jimmy Flannigan, an Austin City Council member who helped lead the charge to slash $150 million from the city’s police budget.

Talarico explained that Flannigan, who chairs the Council’s Public Safety Committee, was “a long-time friend of mine and a selfless public servant,” noting that he supported Flannigan’s positions on transportation, affordable housing, and government transparency.

That's just such an astounding thing to read: A sitting state rep, in Williamson frickin' County, just endorsed the Austin city council's "send a social worker" approach to public safety.

Understand something: People move to Round Rock is to escape the jurisdiction of the Austin city council.   That's the only reason why Round Rock is a thing.  Pledging to bring the worst aspects of Austin's approach to public safety hardly seems promising in WillCo.

It's...quite something.

Furthermore, let's not overlook the whole Flanngan connection. We get it: They're friends (although that, in and of itself, is revealing). And James Talarico wants to support his friend. Still.

Like it or not, James Talarico's friend was a primary ringleader of Austin's policies related to police defunding and (let's not kid ourselves) homelessness.

Like Austin's homeless encampments?!? Vote James Talarico!!!

Bottom Line: This race just moved from "Leans D" to "Tossup."