North Texas bond election heats up with an arrest and an old school bus turned rolling campaign sign
GRANBURY — It's called the No School Bond Bus Tour.
Opponents of a $161 million Granbury ISD bond package have staged their yellow school bus decorated with a campaign banner at intersections around town.
Hood County Republican Party Chairman Steve Biggers leads the effort and is usually driving the rolling billboard.
"It was going great," said Biggers. "We're making a difference."
That was until Friday when Biggers was pulled over by a Hood County Sheriff's deputy and arrested.
The temporary license plate on Bigger's school bus was seized and the 66-year-old was held in jail for six hours charged with a felony count of tampering with a government record.
"Immediately when I passed this intersection I was pulled over and they said they had a warrant for my arrest," Biggers said.
Authorities say Biggers didn't have proper permits to drive the school bus around town when he was first pulled over and issued tickets two days before his arrest.
They say he later gave false information to the tax office when he tried to get the proper registration.
In a statement, Hood County Sheriff Roger Deeds says Biggers also b"...provided additional false information indicating the gross vehicle weight of his vehicle was under 10,000 pounds, however, records showed it to have an empty weight of about 10,300 pounds."
"There was nothing malicious I was planning on doing with this," said Biggers.
Biggers insists he filled out the registration forms in good faith and believes his arrest is retaliation for successfully campaigning to get two previous referendums rejected by voters and his current work on making it three in a row.
"I believe it's political gameplaying and I believe, also, that it's weaponizing the law enforcement in this county," Biggers said.
Biggers points to a recent posting by the sheriff expressing support for the school bond referendum that would pay for a new elementary school and renovate others.
Granbury resident Kenny Lammons is a supporter of the bond proposal.
"This bond addresses a lot of the needs for us to keep up with the infrastructure we have for our kids," said Lammons.
But Biggers and his No School Bond Bus Tour argue that it's a waste of tax money.
It's a campaign built around a school bus that continues despite multiple traffic stops and violations, led by a local party chairman who's back behind the wheel while facing serious criminal charges.
"For a temporary tag I think it might've been a little bit overkill," Biggers said. "That's a third-degree felony punishable by 2-10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine ... The fight is not gone in me."