As the runoff for Texas House of Representatives District 1 nears, I feel impressed to do something I have never done before. I feel I must publicly endorse Gary VanDeaver to be re-elected to serve our district in Austin. I feel he is the candidate who truly has the best interests of the residents of this district in his heart as he represents us. Many of the statements made by his opponent show clearly that he is concerned more for Austin and large cities than District 1. His endorsements are more Austin-centered than Rural East Texas centered. I believe Gary VanDeaver represents East Texas values. He understands what is needed here for our area to flourish. As a person who has given his life to serve the children of our region as an educator and school administrator before being elected to the Texas House, he understands that the success of local rural school districts is more likely to come not through what will serve urban and suburban district and not through taking money out of districts already suffering due to financial constraints but through decisions that reinforce local values and strengths.
The idea of lowering or removing property taxes is something that I welcome as a taxpayer, but as a small town mayor I know local communities and school districts cannot survive without that income or something that replaces it. In some cases that is as much as 60 percent of their budget; maybe even more when manufacturing is the backbone of the community.
When someone mentions bills that were voted against, I am reminded of the difference of state bills and local ordinances. The sausage making that is a state bill contains many items rather than only what the bill may be named. After markups, amendments, and changes made to reconcile House and Senate versions, there may be more negative in the bill where a local district is concerned that makes the original legislation that was so attractively named become unsupportable. And finally, the topic of taxpayer funded lobbying sounds so repulsive, but if the ban was passed, the region of Northeast Texas would lose help from Texas Municipal League, Texas Association of Counties, Texas Association of School Boards and other groups who advocate for their members. Limit the multi-million dollar law firms lobbying on behalf of the large cities, but don’t throw away the groups that give the otherwise unheard a voice.
