I do not know either of them on a personal level, but I’m fairly certain that neither is Tomball Mayor Gretchen Fagan a communist, nor is Councilman Derek Townsend a racist.

But listening to the influx of talking heads who recently have descended on Tomball to stir up a hornet’s nest, you wouldn’t know that.

Fagan and Townsend, of course, were on opposite ends of the debate on whether or not to keep Tomball’s hotly-contested day labor site open. Fagan, and perhaps more importantly, council members Mark Stoll, Rick Brown and Preston Dodson, have either expressed their desire to keep it open, or voted to do so.

Townsend is an outspoken critic of the facility and has introduced several measures, nearly all of which were voted down by the city council, that are considered “anti-immigration” measures.

Not surprisingly, emotions have run high the past few months in Tomball. Also not surprising is the level of interest this issue has generated across Houston.

What has come as a surprise, however, is the vitriol being spat from factions on both sides of the debate. As with any hot-button issue, there has developed a lunatic fringe.

They are the ones on the far, far end of either side, making irrational claims, illogical solutions and life in general difficult for those who are truly trying to do what’s best for the citizens of Tomball.

Fagan and members of the City Council have heard from both sides of these fringe thinkers: “Welcome all of the illegal immigrants with open arms into your city,” and “You’re an un-American Marxist Communist Nazi if you vote to keep the site.”

And those are just a summary of the comments I have heard that are fit to print in a family publication.

Do they have a right to these opinions? Of course they do. Are they being taken seriously? I’m not so sure.

What seems to be lost on those who sit in the back rows at city hall and cough “Commie” to the opposition, or those who claim at rallies that Tea Party members are also Klansmen, is that the average Tomball resident can’t identify with that message.

What many seem to forget is that the citizens of Tomball, the mayor and members of the city council are, for the most part, quite conservative in their viewpoints and generally in favor of stricter illegal immigration laws.

They want increased border security to stop the flow of illegal immigrants into America. If an illegal immigrant is arrested, they want him or her deported. They want legal workers getting jobs over illegal workers, even if it is at a higher cost.

But, they also aren’t naïve in thinking a closed day labor site will rid Tomball of all of its illegal immigrants. They want to walk to a local antique shop or restaurant and not feel intimidated.

They want federal laws upheld, but they also want their hometown to feel safe. Having dozens of workers, legal or not, roaming the streets of Tomball looking for work is not good for anyone. If the day labor site were to be closed, will all of those who flocked to the city decrying its existence stick around to help in the clean up?

Fagan, and the majority of city council, agree. But in doing so Fagan has earned the ire of political activists who have made absurd claims that she is a communist. Thankfully, Joseph McCarthy isn’t around to hold any hearings.

Meanwhile, Townsend has spearheaded efforts to, generally, make life difficult for illegal immigrants so that they will feel less welcome in Tomball and either choose not to live here or find life in Mexico, or wherever they may have come from, more opportunistic.

Townsend has been labeled as a racist for his “the law is the law” viewpoint on stricter immigration statutes.

Fagan has stated herself on several occasions that she is not in favor of illegal immigration. Townsend has said he is not a racist. Those reassurances, however, seem to have fallen on deaf ears for the fringe thinkers.

Clouding the issue even more now are recent reports that both Fagan and Townsend are the subjects of inquiries by the Texas Ethics Commission after political finance watchdogs filed complaints, alleging each took contributions from a corporation.

Both deny the claim, but at least for Fagan, the allegations have given new ammo to the Tea Party, the Minutemen and the like. What everyone needs to be reminded of is that these are only allegations. Fagan and Townsend have not been found by the TEC to be in violation of anything.

That’s certainly not to say the allegations are not serious. The TEC and the Texas laws exist for a reason. They are designed to keep elected officials’ hands out of the cookie jar. But I’d be willing to bet a year’s pay that Fagan’s and Townsend’s hands have not been anywhere near the cookie jar.

Besides, just ask current and former local elected officials like Barbara Tague, Bill Webb, Jimmy Thornton, Sammie Scott, John Bramlett, David Hill and Matt Masden how easy it is to mess up a campaign finance form.

At least for now, though, the day labor site debate has abated. Now that the city council has voted on the issue, it cannot be brought back for a vote for 90 days, and the opinion of council is not likely to change in that time.

Let’s hope everyone realizes this, and lets the city get back to running a city without the threat of blanket accusations.

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