After 16 years in Austin, my opponent has had his chance to lead. But despite being a part of the current Republican Majority, and being one of the longest-serving members of the House, he is neither the chair or vice-chair of any House committees. Recently, he couldn’t even recall all the committees he serves on while making an argument for re-election based on his seniority.

My opponent hardly authors any bills, didn’t even co-sponsor and immigration reform bill last session, and recently said he won’t do anything more on immigration if elected to another term.

To change Austin, we need new leadership. I want to address border security and immigration enforcement, provide fiscally conservative leadership on taxes and spending, improve education, and provide tougher penalties for domestic violence. We need effective leadership, which means we need new leadership. I ask for your vote.

I believe this is a critical moment for West Texas, and that the time to secure our future is now. We need strong leadership in Austin!

1. I will be a strong leader in Austin who will work to protect our local water rights. West Texas must be able to count on water availability, and we should not be forced to subsidize water projects in other Texas municipalities.

2. I will work to ensure that future economic growth and diversification continues to be a priority. The oilfields are booming, but history has taught us that it a temporary situation. Without a strong voice in Austin championing projects for West Texas, we could find ourselves right back in a post-boom recession.

3. I will be a strong voice in Austin working toward making certain that we have local control of our school systems, and continued funding for West Texas higher educational institutions. Austin has been taking jurisdiction away from local educators, and relying strictly on statewide testing for quality control. Without a effective advocate in the state Capitol, we stand to lose more control and we could see a cut in funding for our local Colleges and Universities.

Vote Tryon Lewis
For
State Representative

We cannot have effective immigration reform with a comprehensive commitment to border security. That’s why I support empowering local law enforcement to secure our border and enforce immigration laws.

Give Law Enforcement the Tools to
Secure the Border and Stop Illegal Immigration!
We need a stronger law enforcement presence along the border to cut off common crossings for illegal smugglers. We need to use technology to detect, track and deter narco-terrorist operations. And we need to give local officers G2987 training so they are not dependent on federal officials to detain and process illegal immigrants.

End Sanctuary City Policies!
Today several large urban areas have a sanctuary city policy that in effect provides a safe haven for illegal immigrants. This policy prevents law officers from asking about someone’s citizenship status when they have reason to believe they may not have legal status in the United States. No city should have an ordinance or a policy that prevents law officers from enforcing all of our laws, including federal immigration laws. If cities won’t stop providing safe sanctuary to those who broke our laws to enter our country, than I believe they should lose access to homeland security funding. Why homeland security funding? Because an unsecured border is an open invitation to terrorist organizations. When cities turn a blind eye to illegal immigration, they risk turning a blind eye to our homeland security needs.

Oppose Welfare Benefits for Illegal Aliens.
While I believe those need in emergency services should receive help regardless of their citizenship status, I do not believe we should offer illegal liens the same welfare benefits we offer legal residents. This simply perpetuates the problem, creating incentives for more people to migrate here illegally.

We need to put state government on a diet. Since my opponent took office, the budget has more than doubled, growing by an additional $80 billion. And even the property tax relief approved in 2006 (which is not included in that $80 billion figure) has been eaten up by appraisal increases and rate increases by school boards, not to mention the fact that many business face a large tax increase due to the new business margins tax, which my opponent admitted recently is an income tax. But that didn’t stop him from voting for it.

Real Tax Relief
With a surplus of $9 billion or more expected in the next legislative session seniors, homeowners and small businesses deserve real tax relief. I want to raise the small business exemption so fewer small businesses have to pay the onerous margins tax. I also believe that at least a portion of the surplus should go toward substantial tax relief for the homeowners who shoulder the burden of paying for our schools, and seniors who were sold short when tax relief was approved last session.

Restrict the Growth in Government and Spending, Provide Real Taxpayer Protections
With spending more than doubling since my opponent took office a little more than 15 years ago, it is clear that state government needs to go on a diet. At a minimum, we need to check the growth of government so it is more closely aligned to population growth and inflation rather than allowing huge budget increases like occurred in 2005. Agency budgets should start from zero each session, not the previous year’s appropriation, because we need to re-examine whether programs funded in the past are worth funding in the future. And taxpayers deserve a greater say over tax increases on the state and local level.

My philosophy is that we should empower local districts to make decisions about what’s best for local schoolchildren. Our greatest asset in the education of our children are good teachers, not high-stakes tests. We need more of our education dollars poured into the classroom, not bureaucracy. And we need more education for our money, and not just more money for education.

Restore Sanity to Testing and Accountability
While I agree we should measure student progress, we have gone down the slippery slope of over-emphasizing test results at the expense of a well-rounded education for our children. Let’s end high-stakes testing, which causes an over-emphasis on test-taking skills without enough emphasis on whether students can think critically. Lets continue to test and measure progress, but focus our resources on quality teachers and a stronger curriculum.

Better Funding for Classroom and Teachers, not Bureaucracy
I believe more of our education dollars need to go directly to the classroom and teacher salaries. While there is an obvious need for administrative costs, our operating premise must be that the more we put directly into the classroom, the better our children will perform. I support pay raises for teachers, and better pension contributions for retired teachers. Let’s reward our best and brightest in the classroom, those who mentor younger teachers, and those who develop a certified expertise in key fields of learning.

End Robin Hood and Improve how we Fund School
My opponent helped give us Robin Hood when he first got to the legislature, a law that has deprived districts inn Andrew and Winkler counties millions of dollars that could have been spent locally but instead went to other districts. This divisive funding scheme needs to end, and the state needs to pay a greater share of education costs. We can provide needed funding to property-poor districts without punishing districts with high property revenues tied to the energy industry when many of the families in those districts are struggling to make ends meet.