Retired Oil Executive Upbeat About GOP Future

He sees continued devaluation of the dollar as a tax

Fresh from a resounding victory in his re-election bid as
McLennan County Republican Chairman, Joe B. Hinton spoke of
his plans for the future and his fears for his nation.

"This is the first time in my life that I have been afraid
of our government," he told The Legendary in a wide-ranging
phone interview. He is convinced that, left unchecked, the
Federal government will continue to devalue the worth of the
dollar. He sees deficit spending and runaway inflation, the
economic recession and the resulting high rate of
unemployment, as a hidden, back door tax on working men and
women.

He is the retired Vice President of Exxon/Mobil for European
Operations

Turning to the future of local GOP politics, he spoke of the
uncertainty of State Senator Kip Averitt's intentions
following his victory over challenger Darren Yancy as he
rode the crest of heavy voter turnout some attribute to
Democratic crossover to the Republican Party.

Asked what would occur if the Senator resigns, he said, "I
don't know for sure that he's going to resign. I'm part of
the effort to persuade him to stay on. He won hands down."

If he should make a decision to resign his Senate seat due
to health concerns brought on my diabetes and congestive
heart disease, "The group of 10 party chairmen would get
together and talk over how we would fill the ballot."

Both Republican and Democratic Party Chairmen in the ten
counties that make up District 22 would have a hand in
candidate selection.

Regarding the future, he asserted, "We just had a meeting
about brining in all nationalities. We want to grow the
party...We're looking at how we can find new candidates to
fill future positions."

He spoke of the state picking up new judgeships such as the
County Court-At-Law in Bosque County and the possibility of
the Legislature creating more.

"I want to be assertive about all that."

Last week following the Senator's swooping to victory in his
party's primary, "I found him out in Lubbock and he said he
would be back in Waco to make an announcement. He has not
as yet and we are just waiting to see what he has decided."