Norwood is using his own distaste for stores that sell pornographic material as a pulpit from which to win votes from other locals who share his view. However, Norwood is also taking his anti-porn political campaigning a step further by parlaying votes from people Norwood claims to have "reformed" from his covert method of taking drive-by photographs of porn patrons.
Norwood, the pastor for the Oakcrest Family Church, has openly admitted that five months ago he began the practice of cruising the area for porn stores and then snapping pictures of people's cars parked outside.
Norwood would then access their public vehicle registration information, find out who they were and where they lived, and mail a notice to their home. According to local reports, one side of the postcard included a photo of the person's car, and the other side urged them to visit their local church.
"Observed you in the neighborhood," is the typical wording on the mailer. "Didn't know if you were aware there is a church in the area."
There is also a map on the mailer that shows the proximity to the nearest church.
Norwood has stated in previous interviews that he doesn't pass judgment on the porn customers, he just wants to open people's minds and change hearts. He also wants to drive all adult business out of town.
Norwood has so far managed to document the private actions of an estimated 300 people. The pastor claims that his invasive techniques for spotlighting porn patrons has so far yielded five new members to his congregation, but that number could increase at the polls as voters cast their votes in favor of Norwood's attempt to wipe out the porn industry in the small town of Kennedale.
"The message that we want to send as a community is, you know, number one, this church is here to help if they want some assistance with their problem of sexual addiction," Norwood told Fox News.
However, Norwood faces formidable competition from current Mayor Mark Wright, who has also been vocal in his ire over porn, and several townspeople who think that Norwood is unfairly targeting porn shops in an attempt to bolster his political career.
"You've got sexually-oriented businesses in Fort Worth. You've got sexually-oriented businesses in Dallas, in Houston, just about every metropolitan area. I represent some up in Utah. It doesn't seem to affect those towns," said attorney John Gamboa, who is opposed to Norwood's porn scare tactics. "What people don't understand is that it is a regular business that pays its regular real estate taxes, employment taxes, sales taxes, liquor taxes."
The results of the Kennedale mayoral race will be announced in the coming weeks.
