March 2, 2010

TNLA-PAC Primary Election Results

What a great night for the TNLA-PAC and the Green Industry in Texas. We were extremely successful in the races TNLA-PAC participated in; two of the races are headed to a runoff April 13th. The good news is that our candidates hold a pretty nice lead. If you live in Lubbock, please consider voting for Rep. Delwin Jones or Mark Griffin if you reside in their districts.

With the infusion of the Tea Party, at times it was difficult to gage the impact their votes would have not only in the Governor’s race, but the House and Senate races. Looking at the numbers right now I have to draw the conclusion that the Tea Party did not have the force once projected, but they did add additional voters in the Republican Primary. At this point it is difficult to gauge the impact they will have in the General Election this November.

There were a few surprises last night, and I am very thankful that the TNLA-PAC did not endorse the incumbent. Railroad Commission Victor Carrillo was trounced by newcomer David Porter with a margin of 20%.

In the Texas House, State Representative Tommy Merritt fell by 10% and Rep. Betty Brown was narrowly defeated by 108 votes by one her former staffers. In a weird hotly contested House race in Houston, former State Representative Boris Miles defeated Rep. Al Edwards by eight votes. Both the Houston race and the Betty Brown race will probably have a re-count.

We won the Governor’s race and key races in East Texas and North Texas. Our Green industry friends fared very well thanks to your support of your PAC. Your contributions are an investment into your own business.

I would like to thank the TNLA-PAC Trustees for their leadership on their endorsements. Some of these decisions are difficult to make, but by picking winners it helps your TNLA Legislative Team better represent you in Austin, Texas.

Our only loss came from South Padre Island where Rep. Tara Rios Ybarra was defeated due to personal matters. We will miss her on the House Agriculture Committee. I am happy to report that Rep. Charlie Geren and Rep. Vickie Truitt won; and we are especially happy with Rep. Chuck Hopson winning his hard fought primary battle.

At the composing of this document, there are still two precincts not reporting totals somewhere in Texas. The numbers listed below are unofficial.

Here are the endorsements that your TNLA-PAC Trustees made in late 2009 and early 2010:

Governor

Rick Perry

Governor Perry has been a strong advocate not only for the Green Industry but small and large business in Texas. Over the last two legislative sessions he and his staff have worked closely with TNLA on issues that affect our industry. Perry 51.08% Hutchison 30.32% Medina 18.58%. No runoff, so Governor Perry will now face Bill White in the General Election in November.

Senate

Steve Ogden District 5 – Bryan, Texas, Chair- Senate Finance

Senator Ogden will be returning to the Texas Senate and probably once again Chair the Senate Finance Committee. He defeated Ben Bius with over 68% of the vote.

Florence Shapiro District 8 - Plano, Texas, Chair-Senate Education

House

Chuck Hopson District 11– Jacksonville, Texas, Chair-General Investigating & Ethics

Chuck switched from the Democrat Party to the Republican Party last December. Chuck represents a large portion of TNLA’s growers, he is a friend of TNLA and he is a friend of mine. We are extremely happy that he received 60% of the vote and will not have to participate in a runoff.

Tara Rios Ybarra District 43 – South Padre Island, Texas, Member of Agriculture & Livestock

Rep. Ybarra could only manage to get 43% of the votes. Her replacement is J.M. Lozano and he does not have a Republican Primary Challenger so he will be the new state representative from House District 43. TNLA Staff will take time to get to know the new freshman.

Edmund Kuempel District 44 – Seguin, Texas, Chair-Licensing Administrative Procedures

Rep. Kuempel has been extremely supportive of our landscape contractors and agriculture in general. He won with almost 75% of the vote.

Patrick Rose District 45 – Dripping Springs, Texas, Chair-Human Services

Pat has no problem with his primary challenger. He received 79% of the vote and will face his Republican challenge in November.

Sid, Miller District 59 – Stephenville, Texas, Member of Business & Industry

Sid is a nurseryman from Stephenville, Texas who is always supportive of our industry. He was able to fend off a doctor from one of his biggest counties with over 55% of the vote. We are very happy to have him coming back to Austin since he has no opponent in November.

Burt Solomons District 65 – Carrolton, Texas, Chair-State Affairs

Rep. Solomons had a rough time winning last night and captured 53% of the vote. He is a friend of ours in many ways, but last session he helped us tremendously by stopping anti-business legislation regarding immigration.

Delwin Jones District 83 – Lubbock, Texas, Chair-Redistricting

Delwin is one of the biggest proponents of agriculture in the Texas House and serves on the House Licensing & Administrative Procedures Committee. He takes the time to return calls TNLA members when they contact his office to support or oppose an issue. He garnered 39% of the vote and one of his two opponents received 29% of the vote. He is headed to a runoff on April 13th, so if you live in his district, please consider giving your support to him.

Mark Griffin District 84 – Lubbock, Texas (Running for an Open Seat)

Mr. Griffin is the only person TNLA-PAC endorsed who was running in an open seat. This seat was held by Rep. Carl Isett, but he decided not to seek re-election. Mark received 49% of the vote and one of his two opponent received 43%. This race is headed to a runoff on April 13th. If you happen to live in House District 84, please consider voting for Mark.

Vicki Truitt District 98– Keller, Texas, Chair-Pensions, Investments & Financial Services

For the last month we were convinced that this race would probably end up in a runoff with four people seeking this seat. Thankfully we were wrong and Rep. Truitt pulled it out with 52% of the vote. She is pro-business and it will be nice to have her back in Austin.

Charlie Geren District 99– Ft. Worth, Texas, Chair-Administration

On Monday of this week I spent the day block walking for Charlie in his Ft. Worth District. He probably did more for TNLA last session than any other elected official. He won with 58% of the vote and hopefully will not have an opponent next year.