Texas Republicans and Democrats will be choosing their nominees follwing the primary elections on March 2.
As of now, current governor Rick Perry, U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson and Debra Medina are the Republican candidates, while the Democratic party has seven candidates including Bill White, the former Mayor of Houston; Dr. Clement Glenn, who is running as a statesman; and Farouk Shami, a businessman who is the CEO of Farouk Systems—the haircare line that created the CHI flat iron.
Since there are no term limits in Texas, Perry is able to run for a possible third four-year term. He has held the office since December 2000 and is the second longest-serving current governor in the United States.
Libertarians include Steve Nichols and Ed Tidewell, while Independents include David Carpenter and Stephen McGee.
Though analysts do not believe that Medina has a chance against Perry or Hutchinson, it is believed that she can cause much damage for the Republican Party even if she loses. She has been receiving much attention, after not being allowed to participate in the Jan. 29 debate in Dallas, because she did not meet the sponsor’s criteria to participate. However, a recent Rasmussen poll showed that Medina’s support had gone up, which qualified her to participate in the debate.
Two main issues for Medina are property tax and gun ownership. She believes that eliminating property taxes and broadening sales tax can help lead to new jobs. Medina is also known for her comments about seceding from the nation.
Glenn is an associate professor in the College of Education-Graduate Programs at Prairie View A&M University, where he received his BBA and Masters of Business Administrations.
“I’m a statesman, not a politician,” Glenn said. He said a statesman is someone who governs expertly with shared governance. Glenn feels that issues in Texas are not being handled thoroughly.
“Many of the critical issues that we need to get solved, never get solved to the degree that they need to be solved,” Glenn said. He believes in a comprehensive education, which includes four skill sets: academic, technical, social and values.
Though Governor Perry has been in office since 2000, he has been criticized for turning down approximately $555 million in stimulus for unemployment insurance. He also recently elected not to submit an application for Race to the Top—a stimulus for education that could provide Texas up to $750 million for education. Forty states, as well as the District of Columbia, submitted applications on Jan. 19 to be considered for stimulus funding from the Race to the Top program.
Race to the Top is a $4.35 billion initiative geared towards improving the quality of education in the United States. Reform would include states to adopt national standards and assessments; build systems that measure student success and inform administrators on how instruction can be improved; recruit, develop, reward and retain effective teachers and administrators—teachers will be paid based on how well their students do on tests; and low-achieving schools in the state would need to be turned around and show improvement.
However, Perry stated in his press conference on Jan. 13 that there is no need to change Texas’ education curriculum to that of a national standard that has not yet been created and is set by what he called “distant bureaucrats.”
Texas taxpayers would possibly pay up to $3 billion to restructure the education curriculum that is currently in place to fit national standards. Restructuring would include purchasing new textbooks, testing materials, and teacher development tools.
In his press conference on Jan. 13, Perry stated he is not applying for the federal aide “…because our state and our communities must reserve the right to decide how we educate our children and not surrender control to the federal bureaucracy.”
There are five categories of nonbinding budget ranges that break up the states that are determined by each state’s student population. California, New York, Florida and Texas were the only four states in Category 1 that could be awarded $350-$700 million.
However, Glenn doesn’t agree with Perry’s choice in rejecting the stimulus funds.
“I’m in disagreement with most, decisions that Governor Rick Perry has made in the last several years,” Glenn said.
Instead, Glenn wants to create programs that introduce college students to be entrepreneurial, and funding for these programs will be from state funding, private foundation as well as federal funding, which Perry is known for rejecting.
The Paisano attempted to contact other gubernatorial candidates, but was unable to secure interviews before going to print.
DEMOCRATS
Alma L. Aguado
Abortion: Supports the legality of abortion
Education: Expand grants for higher education
Guns: No background checks at gun shows
Immigration: Grant citizenship to 12 million undocumented immigrants already in US
Felix Alvarado
Abortion: Only in special circumstances
Education: Increase teachers’ pay
Health Care: Hospital in the Rio Grande Valley
Immigration: Grant citizenship to those with a clean criminal record
Bill Dear
Economy: Start manufacturing in Texas
Education: Increase teachers’ pay
Guns: Supports the National Rifle Association
Immigration: Texas must have a secure border by any means necessary
Clement E. Glenn
Education: Emphasize life skills in schools
Economy: Prepare people for careers instead of jobs
Health care: Provide quality care for elderly, children, disabled and Military Vets
Star Locke
Abortion: Against abortions
Economy: Stop outsourcing jobs
Military: Approves of Middle East foreign policy
Immigration: Tighten border control for National Security
Farouk Shami
Abortion: Against placing restrictions on emergency contraception
Economy: More opportunities for small businesses
Education: Increase vocational training in schools
Guns: Restrict the carrying of concealed weapons
Immigration: Build a fence between Mexico & US
Bill White
Economy: Invest in infrastructure
Education: Reduce barriers to higher education
Health care: Reduce costs of insurance
Energy: Diversify sources of energy and reduce dependence on foreign oil
REPUBLICANS
Kay Bailey Hutchison
Abortion: Only for maternal life
Bankruptcy Reform: Prevent home foreclosures
Education: Educational Savings Accounts
Guns: No background checks at gun shows
Immigration: Build a fence between Mexico & US
Debra Medina
Abortion: Life begins at conception
Tax Reform: Eliminate property tax in Texas
Guns: Protect gun ownership
Immigration: promote healthy immigration and trade through the legal ports of entry.
Rick Perry
Abortion: Only for rape, incest or maternal health
Bankruptcy reform: Limit Chapter 7
Education: Start a pilot voucher program in Texas
Guns: For concealed handgun ownership
Immigration: End the notion of sanctuary cities
For complete list of candidates: http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/index.shtml
Sources: Associated Press, Ontheissues.org, Freedom Watch and candidates’ websites
