Jack Browne, Wichita Falls Times Record News
Sunday, September 6, 2026
Ready. Fire — Aim.
That backward sequence shows up more often than we admit. In business, in community work, and especially in election season, we sometimes pull the trigger before we’ve even looked downrange.
Opening day of dove season here in North Texas always reminds me: success comes from knowing where the birds are going, not where they were.
Clients, donors, voters — they all jink, shift, and change direction long before they settle on a path.
Texas is shifting too. Of our 254 counties, one-third are growing as roughly 1,000 new residents arrive daily — half to DFW, a quarter to Austin/San Antonio, and a quarter to Houston. Another third hold steady. The final third are shrinking.
Growth begets growth; shrinking begets hard choices.
As my dad used to say when he bought property in the early ’60s, “They aren’t making more of it.”
But value is realized by arriving early where others want to be.
Inflation pushes costs up daily, and communities with declining tax bases face a future filled with “no.” No new services. No new amenities. No new investments.
Former Mayor Stephen Santellana once told me about nearly being T‑boned in a rural county seat because the intersection had no stop signs.
When he asked a local why, the reply was, “We can’t afford them.”
That’s what no-growth looks like. Not safer. Not simpler. Just fewer options.
Yet some candidates run on “no” — no to past decisions, no to current proposals, no to anything that requires vision.
During 2020–2023, my own council representative voted no on nearly everything — and never once could meet with me to explain why.
“No” isn’t a strategy. It’s a reflex. And reflexes don’t build communities.
Hunters know better. Preparation takes more time than the hunt itself, but proper preparation prevents poor performance.
You scout the watering holes. You learn when the birds arrive. You understand the terrain.
Elections work the same way. Study the issues. Learn the solutions. Compare where candidates stand with where you stand.
Don’t be swayed by volume or clever quotes. Save your powder for the right shot — the one that counts.
And when you join the hunt, don’t be dead weight. Shooting too early or too often scares off the birds and frustrates everyone around you.
Communities thrive when people contribute — not when they disrupt.
Seek the watering holes. Look for the candidates who know where the doves gather — and who understand where the community is going and how to help it get there.
Those folks earn my vote. Those who don’t, don’t.
Keep moving forward. Make good new history. Don’t relive past history.
Jack Browne is a community activist and former technology executive who believes in the power of connection, service, and lifelong learning.