Sunday, March 30, 2008, 12:00 AM CDT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 30, 2008

Dallas Morning News

"We Recommend: Phyllis Cole"

Dallas Morning News again endorses Commissioner Phyllis Cole for another term. With 17 years on the court and pervious service on the Plano ISD school board, Ms. Cole is "A pragmatic conservative, her planning has kept county on right path. Dallas Morning News, Sunday, March 30, 2008"

Phyllis Cole is a pragmatic conservative who has vastly improved the public health care available to the indigent without asking taxpayers for new money. She has been part of a team that has planned carefully for roads, facilities and open space, and she will continue to be a fighter for lower taxes and vision if voters return her to office in the April 8 runoff election for Precinct 1 on the commissioners court.

Ms. Cole, 61, is opposed on the ballot by Matt Shaheen, 42, a Plano technology professional, who has never held or sought public office before. He plays up his lack of experience, which contrasts sharply with Ms. Cole's 17 years on the court and pervious service on the Plano ISD school board, as a positive. We respectfully disagree.

Although we would welcome a new voice to the commissioners court, especially someone with a background in technology, his opposition to the recent bond election for roads is deeply troubling. He casts himself as a Reagan Republican, but the Gipper never would have shirked the nation's top priority: defense spending. Similarly, we would not expect a true Reagan Republican to stand in the way of new roads in one of the fastest growing counties in the nation.

Mr. Shaheen said he opposed the bonds because Plano did not get a proportionate amount of funding based on its population. That mindset could cripple future planning efforts. Imagine if he got his way and Frisco could only build a fraction of the roads Plano was building. That would be disastrous.

He also opposed the bond that called for partnerships with cities to encourage the preservation of open space, an approach that has been heralded as a visionary plan to keep Collin County from straying too far from its natural heritage.

Not only has Ms. Cole been on the right side of these planning issues, she has been a leader on the court on the issue of health care. Although this newspaper believes more can and should be done, without Ms. Cole, it is unlikely the county would have created the Indigent Health Care Task Force and made significant, meaningful reforms that have expanded access to care for poor people and helped prevent disease.

Ms. Cole has been there for the residents of Collin County for two decades, looking out for their quality of life and their pocketbooks. Voters should be there for her on April 8.