Issues

I am running to offer voters a principled choice for District 50. This election is about our freedom and our future. As your state representative, I will work for policies that grow Texas’ jobs and economy, lower taxes, help pursue excellence in education and defend our shared Texas values and liberties.

I will bring smart, principled leadership to the challenges that face this district and the state of Texas. I will represent my neighbors in north Austin and Pflugerville. Let me go to work for you.

JOBS & PROSPERITY

I will work for pro-growth policies that incentivize job creation and a prosperous economy: low tax rates, fiscally responsible Government, a well-educated workforce, affordable energy, and technology innovation. We have lost significant jobs across America in the past few years, and we will not have permanent job creation and long-term economic growth with more Government spending programs. I believe we need less government interference, because businesses will create jobs only when the government gets out of the way and stops over taxing and over regulating.  We need to foster the spirit of free enterprise and reduce Government dependency.

FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY

Texas needs a fiscally conservative approach to state budgeting, saying no to Federal mandates and higher state spending that we cannot aff ord. Institute taxpayer protections and real caps on spending, to ensure the state budget is not balanced on the backs of working taxpayers.

TAX RELIEF

I am for lower taxes and protecting taxpayer's rights. We need to reduce property taxes so property owners aren’t taxed out of their own homes. I believe we can protect property owners by capping appraisal increases at 5%, and I support other property tax reductions and reforms. I also favor an increased exemption for the margins tax to help small business and startups, and I will work towards reducing the burden of this tax.

I have signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, that promises to never support any tax increase. We will face many challenges in the next budget cycle and we need someone who is willing to make choices that don't balance state budgets on the backs of overstretched taxpayers and working families.

EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION

Educational excellence starts with focusing education on what’s best for the child. We spend significant Federal, state and local tax money on schools and education, but with high dropout rates, and hundreds of thousands of school children in failed schools, we need to do a better job. I will work for this district to make sure we make smart educational policy decisions so that money is not wasted, but goes to the benefit of children.

As a parent I know that greater parental involvement is vital to improving education.  We need greater local control, accountability in schools and more parental choice to ensure a better education system. We need to empower parents to choose the best school for their child. We should end charter school caps to increase schooling alternatives,  and we should empower and reward teachers to be their best. We should hold schools accountable for spending decisions and learning results, but free local schools from non-essential mandates.

TOP 10% RULE

The unintended consequence of the top 10% rule has harmed opportunities for children at top notch high schools in our area, such as Westwood High School in Round Rock ISD.  We need further changes to allow more merit-based acceptance into the University of Texas. More of University of Texas students should be accepted based on academic merit. Changes were made so that some students who are accepted outside the 10% rule, but the number was limited and this is not  enough. Let's replace the 10% rule with more merit-based admissions to help students in our best schools succeed in higher education.

AFFORDABLE ENERGY

By pursuing new energy technologies through market-based innovation, Texas can succeed as a 21st century energy leader. To get there, we must stop misguided mandates, regulations and subsidies that are economically unsustainable, raise electric bills and burden taxpayers.

TEXAS VALUES AND TEXAS SOVEREIGNTY

I will defend our Texas values  - life, family and freedom - as your legislator. We need to recognize and support gun owners' rights, property owners rights, and rights of parents. As people of compassion we must defend the rights of the most vulnerable, including the unborn and those on the margins of life. As a free people, we know that our country's greatness is built on our freedom, and so I will defend our traditional freedoms and individual rights.

I will affirm Texas state sovereign under the Constitution's 10th Amendment, and support legal challenges to unconstitutional Federal healthcare mandates.

TRANSPORTATION

I oppose increasing gas taxes, and I believe toll roads, while sometimes necessary, should be used as a last resort and we should never turn existing roads into tollroads. So then, how to address congestion and road needs? A 3 point plan: First, end diversions of gas tax monies to non-road purposes. Second, have full transparency and accountability to track every dollar spent and eliminate waste. Third, prioritize investments in areas that do the most to relieve congestion. Doing those three things and we will be able to do much more with what we already have.

GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY

I support complete transparency at all levels of Government, to help ensure an accountable Government. Reforms have been instituted at the state level, and I would like to see these extended to all state and local entities in Texas. We also need to open the books on higher education institutions.