10 December 14 - 20, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents officials making these kinds of statements.” Abbott began making his threats publicly when it became patently obvious his so- called “education savings account” school voucher plan would continue to face hearty GOP opposition no matter how many spe- cial sessions he called. As far back as early October the governor began telling folks that he might “go after” Republicans who did not back his voucher plan. Fast forward to last week, and Abbott has continued to carry out his threats of incum- bent opposition, but he’s got another GOP heavyweight adding his clout to the cause. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz has also joined the Ab- bott side of the Republican civil war over school vouchers. Cruz, a proponent of school voucher pro- grams he often refers to as “school choice,” has never been shy about throwing his opin- ion into state politics, even when other U.S. senators often steer clear. “My basic rule is, if you have supported school choice and you are otherwise relatively conservative, you’re quite likely to get my sup- port,” Cruz said recently on the Chris Salcedo Show, a conservative radio program. “If on the other hand, you voted against choice, the odds of getting my support are zero. And I am very likely to endorse your primary opponent.” As was the case with Paxton and Abbott, Cruz’s words, in this case at least, weren’t hollow. Last week, Texas Tribune reporter Patrick Svitek wrote on X that Cruz has en- dorsed Mike Olcott in his race for House District 60 against incumbent Glenn Rogers. Rogers, who rep- resents parts of Palo Pinto and Parker counties, is a classic example of the type of small-town Republican who has always opposed sending public funds to pri- vate schools in just about any form. And he is a genuine conservative, not a “RINO,” as evidenced by his stances on abortion (against) and a number of other traditional Republican platform bullet points. In a 2022 statement, he referred to voucher programs as a “slippery slope,” add- ing, “Under the guise of promoting choice, proposed ‘school voucher’ programs are a Trojan horse attempt to privatize Texas’ edu- cation system, and drain our already under- funded public education of necessary resources for millions of children.” As for the governor, he took a slightly dif- ferent approach. In late November, Abbott endorsed a number of Republican incum- bents but none of the 21 GOP lawmakers who voted to block his prized voucher bill. The 58 Republicans he did endorse all sup- ported his voucher plan. The fourth special session recently ended without any movement on an educa- tion bill incorporating vouchers. While we wait to see if a fifth special session will be called, one thing is for certain: What’s good for the governor is not always the same as what’s good for the incumbent. Still, Ab- bott’s and Paxton’s moves are low-risk for the state GOP, as their targets are in districts unlikely to be won by Democrats. “If you are in a seat that generally is be- tween 55–60% within control of your party in terms of the voters that turn out to vote,” King said, “you can afford to use these kinds of strategies because it’s a ‘safe seat.’” ▼ DALLAS COUNTY TECH SCAM WINDFALL DALLAS COUNTY LOST $2.4 MILLION IN APPARENT SCAM. BY JACOB VAUGHN I t has been quite the year for Dallas County government when it comes to information technology. The county is now out some $2.4 million after an apparently fraudulent wire transfer. Dallas County started investi- gating the fake payment after it became aware of it on Nov. 17, County Administrator Darryl Martin told The Dallas Morning News. According to the News, the investigation has since been turned over to the FBI. Who- ever was behind the scam was able to use a fraudulent business email impersonating one of the county’s partners and “engaged in social engineering,” Martin said. Besides the investi- gation, Martin wouldn’t say what measures were being taken as a result of the scam. How- ever, he did say the scam has nothing to do with the October ransomware attack against the county. This is just one of the county’s latest IT failures. At the beginning of the year, the county auctioned thousands of lap- tops that still had personal data on them, according to the News. Then, in mid-May, Dallas County employees started receiving in- complete paychecks, a problem that was blamed on the rollout of a new payroll sys- tem. It affected sheriff’s deputies, correc- tional officers, expert witnesses and other positions in the county, and led to a U.S. De- partment of Labor investigation. Dallas County is also still dealing with problems related to the rollout of new court management software called Odyssey. Just weeks after the new software was launched, prosecutors, public defenders and the county probation office all reported having limited access to county criminal case files. The issue stemmed from the migration of files from the old system to the new system. The problem brought the county’s criminal justice system to a near standstill and led to inmates lan- guishing in jail longer than they should have. As a result, the jail’s population has been near 90% of capacity, and it costs about $1 million more per month to run compared to last year. One of the latest IT failures came in the form of a hack in October. Hackers stole Dallas County data and threatened to re- lease it if not paid a ransom. The hackers claim they’ve already released some of the data because the county hasn’t paid up. Wikimedia Dallas County is out more than $2 million thanks to a fraudulent online transaction. Unfair Park from p8 West Village 214-750-5667 • www.avalon-salon.com Reveal your best, with the best. Your first wax is FREE* Addison Walk | (469) 726-4464 Casa Linda Plaza | (214) 320-4929 Old Town | (214) 368-4929 Preston Park Village | (214) 778-1434 Preston Royal | (214) 987-6995 waxcenter.com *First Wax Free offer: First-time guests only. Valid only for select services. Additional terms may apply. Participation may vary; please visit waxcenter.com for general terms and conditions. European Wax Center locations are individually owned and operated. © 2021 EWC Franchise, LLC. All rights reserved. European Wax Center® is a registered trademark. *First-time guests only. Valid only for select services. Additional terms may apply. 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