Houston Oil Man Builds Solid Conservative Base in Waco

Conservative voters seem to be delighted with Bill Flores'
Republican politics.

They proved it with a turnout of more than 100 voters at an
informal meet and greet event held Saturday afternoon at the
Texas Sports Hall of Fame on the Baylor University campus.

The numbers don't lie.

Vote tallies in the Republican Primary show that the two
runoff candidates in the U.S. Congressional District 17 Race
are not only matched evenly in voter appeal, the challenger
from Bryan/College Station is actually in the same notch
with the hometown favorite in the Waco area.

McLennan County Republican voters went for Bill Flores, a
retired Houston oil executive, in a big way, showering 5,376
votes on him to Rob Curnock's 6,131. Mr. Curnock is a
former sports anchor at KWTX Channel 10 and the proprietor
of a Waco video service.

He performed nowhere near as well in Mr. Flores' home
territory of Brazos County, garnering 2,891 votes to the
Texas A&M Alumni Association President's 6,644.

In all 12 counties comprising the Congressional District,
Mr. Flores received 21,852 to Mr. Curnock's 18,624 out of a
total of 64,852 votes cast for five candidates in the
district's 12 counties.

It's in the message that one finds the appeal of the Flores
campaign.

In his stump speech, he points out that he has actually
provided many new jobs in his career as a Chief Financial
Officer to Marine Drilling, an offshore oil production
company he and his team made profitable before he moved on
to the CEO slot at Phoenix Exploration where he attracted
$250 million in investment capital from The Carlyle Group,
matched it with an additional $100 million and bought up
many square miles of petroleum leases throughout Louisiana's
bays and bayous, Gulf of Mexico offshore territory, and in
blocks of submerged Texas Gulf Coast oil fields stretching
from the Louisiana border to High Island near Galveston.

"I know what it's like to meet a payroll," he told the
throng of supporters in his appearance. "I know what it's
like to repay debt."

"You can count on us to stand up for our values," he said,
remembering his decision to stand for election to the most
conservative Congressional District in the Lone Star State
in an effort to defeat Democrat Chet Edwards.

"I decided America doesn't look like the America I was
raised in."

A 9th generation member of a family which has hailed from
the Panhandle since the 18th century, way before Texas was
Texas, his 30 years of experience in the energy sector began
after his graduation from Texas A&M with a degree in
accounting. He earned an MBA from Houston Baptist
University where he is a member of the Board of Trustees.

His posture on America's energy dependence on foreign
countries is based on a notion of protecting the nation from
foreign aggression.

"If we dont' have energy security, we don't have national
security."

He went on to tick off his conservative core values.

"I believe we have to adhere to that document, the
Constitution.

"Life begins in the womb, upon conception.

"Marriage is between one man and one woman.

"Freeze the economic stimulus bill. I'd like it not to have
another birthday.

"This election is about protecting our children and
grandchildren from overwhelming debt.

"If they pass Obama-care, it ought to apply to everyone in
the government other than the military, including the
Congress. If they felt the same pain, I believe they would
see things differently.

"Health care should be provided in a free market system."

As to the national debt question, he reminded voters that
his opponent "is the same Chet who voted to increase the
national debt ceiling twice since I filed for office."

His opinion on the rights of gun owners?

"I'm a life member of the NRA and the Texas State Rifle
Association. What does that tell you?"

He announced that he and primary candidate Chuck Wilson, a former
CIA station chief who served in African nations and helped
bring the terrorist Carlos the Jackal to justice, are now
working together "to beat Chet Edwards."

Candidate Timothy Delasandro, a former National Security
Agency Russian language expert who now works as an RN on
Bryan/College Station intensive care units, has joined the
Rob Curnock campaign while Dr. Dave McIntyre, a retired U.S.
Army Colonel who long taught at the National War College and
ran a Homeland Security doctoral program at Texas A&M, is
waiting to throw his support to the winner of the runoff
election, said Mr. Flores.

After winning 6 of the 12 counties in the district outright,
he is focused on improving his score in the ones where he
came in with the rest of the pack. "We will spend the most
time in the counties where we lost."

How does his promise to voters stack up against Chet
Edwards'? He told the voters that Mr. Edwards' strongest
area is in providing constituent services.

"You'll have no less drive from Bill Flores than you have
from Chet Edwards."

Mr. Edwards' strongest area? His attention to the well-
being of veterans tops the list, said Mr. Flores.

He plans to bring his full attention to seeing that veterans
are treated well and fairly under the rules of the VA
system.

"We need to remember our troops in our prayers."

The votes he got in McLennan County are a "testament" to his
commitment, he declared. By checking his website, voters
will be able to see the things he has done on behalf of
veterans to date.

"We did these things from our hearts," he concluded.