Seawall debate draws personal attacks

The debate regarding seawall parking in Galveston seems to be getting more unsavory as the May 14 vote approaches.

Those who oppose the proposed fee to park along the seawall apparently fear losing (an unscientific galvnews.com poll of more than 500 readers shows “yes” votes ahead by a margin of roughly 58-42). The NOPE arguments have each week grown more frantic, conjuring imagined conspiracies of all kinds.

They often call names. They mock and demean opponents. They seek to damage the reputations of good people, to pit neighbor against neighbor and to exploit class envy and paranoia.

Finally, if they can’t win any other way, some have resorted to old-fashioned hate speech.

Ask David Colombo, 49, a Galveston dentist. Colombo supported the beach-user fee in 2004, and he supports it today. He believes the money is needed to develop and to maintain a more beautiful and visitor-friendly Seawall Boulevard.

Colombo has been outspoken in Internet discussions of the fee, pointing out misinformation and numerous factual errors. He has tried to do so with grace and humor, but that has gotten harder as attacks on him have grown more outlandish and more personal.

On April 7, he received an old-fashioned paper letter at his home in Galveston. It was addressed to “Davie” Colombo. No one addresses him as “Davie,” but opponents of seawall parking have adopted such cutesy, vaguely demeaning nicknames in their Internet dialogues (example: I’m often Dolphie, or sometimes Adolph, which isn’t my name).

Here’s the text of the letter, edited for a family newspaper:

“David Colombo remembered as: He was a one-trick pony tooth-puller with way too much time and money. Jesus, go back home and leave the rest of us the f--- alone, you f--.”

Not surprisingly, the letter was mailed anonymously.

“When I first read it, I thought, ‘Oh gosh, not really,’” Colombo said. “It’s just nasty, and it’s got the slur in it, and it kind of read like an epitaph. Was it a threat or just someone blowing off steam? It’s obviously from someone very, very angry about this issue. That last little dig at the end is like an exclamation point.

“I’ve got kids; they know what came in the mail. They heard us talk about it. What message is it sending to them that you’re out there advocating something, and then you receive a letter like this?”

Colombo was born in New Jersey, but he came to Galveston with his family when he was 7 years old. He owns a home and owns business property on Seawall Boulevard that houses his dental practice and two tenants.

Colombo’s crime is that he wants his neighborhood and town to be a better place. He expects some disagreement with his views, but he doesn’t understand the intense anger and bitterness.

“I just want people to understand that all we’re trying to do is to make improvements in a very neglected part of our island (Seawall Boulevard), which is really our front row,” Colombo said. “We’re not taking people’s first-born child or cutting off their left arm. It’s not that big a deal — not to warrant something like this.

“I told my 15-year-old that this experience is just a lesson that sometimes you have to stand up for something you believe in, regardless of the consequences.”

You can send a message to people who would employ hate as a political tactic. Stand up to the forces of no. Vote yes to improve Seawall Boulevard.

Dolph Tillotson is president and publisher of The Daily News.

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At A Glance

Early voting for the Galveston special election on seawall parking begins Monday and runs through May 10. Election Day is May 14.