4 August 2021 | prestonhollowpeople.com
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VOTERS WEIGH IN ON LEGISLATURE IN STATEWIDE AND LOCAL POLLS S U R V E Y S AY S Keep track of the state legislature (and see the full results of our survey) at peoplenewspapers.com/ tag/txlege-2021/.
By Bethany Erickson
bethany.erickson@peoplenewspapers.com
T
he Texas Legislature’s regular session ended in May, with promises of additional special sessions to address items Gov. Greg Abbott felt were neglected — including bills designed to address how we vote, critical race theory, and more. Shortly after that, the Texas Tribune and the University of Texas conducted a statewide poll asking constituents how they felt about the progress (or lack of progress) made by the Legislature. We followed up with a small survey of our own to take the temperature of our readers about some of the same subjects. We asked about the Legislature’s actions in the regular session and subjects we felt reasonably confident Abbott would include in his agenda for the special session in July.
Critical Race Theory While a bill passed in regular session,
Abbott made no bones that he felt restrictions on teaching critical race theory (which experts said is not taught in public schools) in the bill did not measure up and that he would be adding it back to the special session. In statewide polling, voters were split on whether limiting how teachers discuss racism in public schools was a good idea — 44% said they did support limitations, while 44% said they did not. In our poll, which surveyed 90 readers, 52% said they supported the use of teaching materials that address racism in history, while 31% did not.
Voting Both the Tribune poll and ours asked voters the same question: “Do you think that the rules for voting in Texas should be made more strict, less strict, or left as they are now?” On July 12, state Democrats left the state to deny a quorum in the Texas House. At the heart of the controversy are two companion bills — House Bill 3 and Senate Bill 1. Both address what the Republicans call election security, and what Democrats say is an attempt to prevent typically disenfranchised voters from heading to the polls by making it more difficult to do so.
In both statewide and local polling, voters said they didn’t see the urgency for new voter restrictions — or the logic. On July 13, advocacy groups flew a banner over the state capitol to show their opposition to additional voting laws. (PHOTO: COURTESY VOTO LATINO) Statewide, 35% said they felt laws needed to be more strict, 29% said they should be left as they are now, and 26% said they should be less strict. Locally, our readers were divided almost equally in three ways, with 32.6% saying laws should be more strict, 30.3% saying they should stay the same, and 36% saying they should be less strict. When asked how often they felt voter fraud was committed, 14% of statewide
voters said often, while 6.7% of local readers said the same; 29% statewide said sometimes (32.6% in our poll); 37% statewide said rarely (51.7% local); and 7% said never (9% local). Our local respondents were predominately White (94.4%) and said they watched the Legislature closely (40.4%) or somewhat closely (55.1%). Most identified as either Independent (33.7%), Republican (30.3%), or Democrat (22.5%).
HP Developer Facing More Sex Crime Accusations
Lawsuit, California charges follow Hutchinson’s Dallas County arrest
William Hutchinson was arrested on July 6. (PHOTO: HIGHLAND PARK DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY)
By Rachel Snyder
rachel.snyder@peoplenewspapers.com
Highland Park developer William Hutchinson faces sex-crime charges in Dallas County and California and a lawsuit in Dallas County detailing additional allegations. Authorities in Highland Park arrested Hutchinson, 63, the founder of commercial real estate
firm Dunhill Partners, which developed Virgin Hotels Dallas, July 6 after he was accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl at his Highland Park home. The Dallas County arrest warrant for Hutchinson was signed on June 29, and Hutchinson was released from jail on a $30,000 bond. Orange County, California, authorities filed one felony count of rape of an unconscious person
and five misdemeanor counts of sexual battery against him on July 9. Hutchinson pleaded not guilty to the California charges during a court appearance on July 13. He’s due back in court in California on Oct. 22 for a pretrial hearing. In his arrest affidavit from Highland Park, authorities say they spoke with another minor who alleged similar behavior by Hutchinson at his home in Laguna Beach, California. Dan Hagood, an attorney representing Hutchinson in the criminal cases, told the Dallas Morning News that his client “absolutely denies the charges that have been leveled against him.” Also, on July 9, a lawsuit filed against him in Dallas County detailed additional allegations. In the lawsuit filed in Dallas County, a university student alleges she began conversing with Hutchinson on social media. She
asked him for career advice and forwarded him her resume at his request. In June 2020, Hutchinson arranged to meet the student in Dallas, gave her alcoholic drinks without confirming whether she was of legal drinking age, then took her to an apartment where he attempted to “force himself onto her,” according to the lawsuit. “Hutchinson assaulted our client while she was intoxicated, although she clearly rejected Hutchinson’s advances both in messages and in person,” attorney Michelle Simpson Tuegel said. Dunhill Partners and Virgin Hotels Dallas are also named as defendants in the lawsuit. Hutchinson told the Dallas Morning News that he was “stepping aside” from his professional roles, including at Virgin Hotels Dallas and W Hotel, amid the
allegations against him. “Virgin Hotels takes any allegations of this type extremely seriously,” Virgin Hotels Dallas told People Newspapers. “Mr. Hutchinson is one of several investors in Virgin Hotels Dallas and has now agreed to step away from his role in the hotel ownership group. He will no longer be involved in any capacity with Virgin Hotels Dallas.” The company declined to comment further, citing the active investigation. People Newspapers also reached out to Hutchinson and Dunhill Partners for comment, but we had not heard back by press time.
FOLLOW THE CASE Visit peoplenewspapers.com for continuing coverage.
