Jim Foster Says They're Out to Get Him. Whatever Gives Him That Impression?

By Robert Wilonsky Wed., Feb. 25 2009 at 6:13 PM

Categories: News

If this screengrab were at all legible, you'd see Dallas County Judge Jim Foster on the left speaking before the Senate transportation committee today

Perhaps you read Schutze's column "Democratic County Judge Jim Foster May be the Latest Target in the Inland Port Battle" in last week's paper version of Unfair Park. An excerpt, for those who did not:

Foster took a tough stance against [state Sen. Royce] West and [Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley] Price in defense of the "inland port," a shipping and warehousing development in southern Dallas County. He told me last week that West and Price are involved in what he called a "shakedown" of the main developer, The Allen Group. Foster says that's why West and Price are out to get him.

Which is important to keep in mind, because down in Austin today, Foster went in front of the Senate Committee on Transportation & Homeland Security to talk about S.B. 368, Sen. John Corona's proposal "relating to the denial, suspension, or revocation of a motor vehicle inspection station certificate or an inspector certificate." But before Foster could get a word out, Corona lit into the guy -- said, "I had no idea you existed," a real neighborly howdy-do. Emily Ramshaw has the transcript, but the video's a must-see -- begin at the 30:55 mark and let it roll.

So, why the nasty reception? Writes Ramshaw, "Foster said his opposition to an inland port project in southern Dallas has put a target on his back. Dallas lawmakers, he said -- led by Democratic Sen. Royce West -- are out to get him." To which West responded, "If this wasn't so ridiculous, it would just be pitiful."

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