Levin: 'I'm Running a Positive Campaign'

Dear Editor,
   I appreciate ACC union leader Mark Goodrich's complimentary statement about my approach to labor issues at ACC ["ACC Run-Off: Levin Defends His Record," News, June 4]. He also referred to my campaign as a "stealth" campaign ["Postmarks," June 11], which I will also take as a compliment.
   The focus of my campaign in this nonpartisan race has been on my positive vision for the future of ACC, not on partisanship or on issues like global warming that have no relevance to ACC. More down-to-earth environmental issues should concern ACC, and I have advocated better promotion of recycling on campus.
   Perhaps my campaign is "stealth" because of my genuine and long-standing support for affordable higher education. I worked against tuition deregulation and have voiced disapproval of cuts in community college funding made in the last legislative session. While I am a strong advocate of fiscal responsibility and believe that ACC's internal auditor should report directly to the board so the board can verify that taxpayers' money is being spent wisely, I feel strongly that funding of higher education is too important not to be a bipartisan issue.
   Finally, I would note that many of the characterizations in the Texas Freedom Network attack on me are either inaccurate, misleading, or taken out of context. For example, I have never advocated racial profiling of Arabs. My article advocated subjecting to greater scrutiny citizens of countries designated by the U.S. State Department as state sponsors of terrorism when they attempt to enter this country.
   The Freedom Network was also highly selective, leaving out parts of my record such as my successful free speech lawsuit against the University of Texas with the help of the ACLU and my published articles advocating mandatory rehabilitation, rather than prison time, for some minor, nonviolent drug offenses. Indeed, in the same editorial in which I criticized the Kyoto global warming agreement for completely exempting so-called developing countries like China, I also advocated repeal of the 1872 federal law that allows private companies to mine federal lands for minerals while compensating taxpayers at rates far below market value.
   Perhaps it is "stealth" to run a positive campaign focusing on the real issues facing ACC and to contribute independent thought to a wide range of public policy discussions. If so, I am going to continue to fly high above misleading negative attacks on issues irrelevant to ACC.