Background on the Candidates

Jeff Wentworth:
Senator Jeff Wentworth is serving his seventh term in the Texas Senate where he was president pro tem in 2004 -2005 and where he was inaugurated as Governor of Texas for a Day on November 20, 2004. Senator Wentworth, a fourth generation Texan, was first elected to the Texas Senate in 1992 after serving nearly five years in the Texas House of Representatives. He represents the nearly one million people of District 25, which consists of Comal, Hays, Kendall and Guadalupe Counties as well as north Bexar County and south Travis County. He is chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Open Government, and serves on the Select Committee on Redistricting; Higher Education; Administration; Transportation and Homeland Security; and Intergovernmental Relations Committees. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Natural Resources Foundation of Texas, the Board of Directors of the Austin Community College Center for Public Policy and Political Studies. Jeff’s public service prior to the Texas Legislature includes one year as a university system regent, six years as a county commissioner, two years as a city attorney, three years as a Congressional assistant, and three years’ active duty as a United States Army counterintelligence officer.

Elizabeth Ames Jones:
A sixth generation Texan born in San Antonio in 1956, Elizabeth Ames Jones was elected to the Texas House in 2000. She challenged an entrenched establishment incumbent in the Republican primary and was elected in 2-1 landslide to represent District 121, Northeast Side of Bexar County. Jones was re-elected in 2002 and 2004. During her 2nd term, Jones was elected the first woman to a leadership position in the House Republican Caucus. She was Chair of Budget and Oversight subcommittee of the Energy Resources Committee and as a member of the Appropriations Committee, she was on the front lines of crafting a budget that cut state spending for the first time since WWI without raising taxes when Texas was faced with a $10 Billion budget shortfall. She also served on the Select School Finance Committee, Local and Consent Calendars and was awarded the “Fighter for Free Enterprise” designation by the Texas Association of Business. As Republican Caucus Vice Chairman, Elizabeth was on the front lines of ensuring passage of what Forbes magazine called Texas’s “Ten Gallon Tort Reform” legislation to put the brakes on frivolous lawsuits. Because of her conservative credentials and energy expertise, Gov. Perry appointed her to an unexpired term on the Railroad Commission of Texas, the state’s energy oversight agency in February 2005. Jones was elected to a 6 year term the following year and is only the second woman elected to the energy oversight agency in 120 years. She is currently serving her second stint as Chairman of the Railroad Commission. Elizabeth is a staunch defender of our 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms and she knows how to use them. A 1978 graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, a Daughter of the American Revolution (DAR), Elizabeth and has been married to Will Jones, a New Braunfels native for 28 years. They have a grown son and daughter.

Donna Campbell:
Donna was born Sept. 17, 1954 in San Diego while her father was in the Navy. The family soon after moved to Oklahoma, where her father continued his public service as a highway patrol trooper and her mother worked in factories before earning her GED and becoming a registered nurse. No stranger to hard work, Donna began working at the age of 13, worked through high school and put herself through college. After earning her undergraduate degree in Oklahoma, Donna went to Texas Women’s University in Dallas and received her MS in nursing. She graduated with her M.D. from Texas Tech and completed her residency in ophthalmology at the University of Texas, Houston. She is double “boarded” (certified) in ophthalmology and emergency medicine. Dr. Campbell is emergency department medical director for Columbus Community Hospital, and periodically serves the emergency departments of other hospitals in Texas. Donna Campbell is a woman of faith who has volunteered her medical knowledge with a Christian eye ministry, performing surgeries in Africa to bring sight back to hundreds. Donna and her husband, Stan, have four beautiful daughters and live in New Braunfels.

Senator Wentworth opened his remarks attacking Railroad Commissioner, Elizabeth Ames Jones, through her husband, Will, an Austin attorney, whom he accused of being an unregistered, paid lobbyist, and creating a conflict of interest that would cause permit applicants to the Railroad Commission to be intimidated because Will’s wife was chairman. He attacked Jones’s residency as not being in the 25th District, since she has a home in Austin.
Commissioner Jones countered that her husband was not a paid lobbyist and not required to register as such. (See below for my interview of her after the debate on this subject.) Jones cited Constitutional lawyers who said that she met the requirements of living within the District.
Dr. Donna Campbell said she is against Obamacare, is pro life, and a conservative.
Senator Wentworth identified himself as conservative, anti Obamacare, and “not pro abortion” but supporting a woman’s right to choose. He says he prefers adoption over abortion. On other issues, Wentworth is in favor of term limits, a line item veto, and the right of nullification if 2/3 of the states disagree with a federal law.
Commissioner Jones favors block grants and state compacts to let states control medical costs. She favors term limits at the ballot box.
The three candidates were asked about gambling as a revenue producer for Texas. Wentworth favors local choice. Jones favors job creation to generate revenue, not gambling. Campbell is against gambling based on constitutionality, unreliability, and the risk of union influence.
Regarding toll roads, Senator Wentworth says he wants to reduce congestion without toll roads. He claims credit for killing the trans Texas corridor. Commissioner Jones stated that the gasoline tax should not be “peeled off” for other uses besides roads. Campbell is against toll roads and regards toll roads created on existing right of way constitute double taxation. She went on to say that if a toll road is authorized, it should be built and operated by a domestic contractor.
Regarding illegal immigration, Wentworth attacked Jones for favoring a tax subsidy to illegal immigrants in education. Jones countered that The Supreme Court requires public education K-12 be provided to all. She says that the federal government should be living up to its obligation to secure the border so that Texas does not have to pay the price for Washington’s failure also enforcing the immigration laws on the books. She does not favor giving illegal immigrants subsidies and she admonished Wentworth for being in the legislature for so long and doing nothing to curb the existing in-state tuition benefit that in 2001 generally had no restrictions regarding residency of Texas school children when they were accepted at a Texas university. She said the in-state tuition fee schedule needs reforming as it gives too many groups the tuition break that should be reserved for Texans. .
Campbell agrees about no subsidies to people here illegally and wants to secure the border.
Asked what is the most corrupt or dysfunctional state agency, Senator Wentworth said redistricting was dysfunctional and should be handled by appointed representatives of the Parties. He said TxDot was the most dysfunctional agency. He does not favor election of the TxDot director.
Commissioner Jones believes that redistricting is an inherently partisan process and the outcome represents the will of the voters through their elected Representatives in the Legislature. She disclosed that California’s appointed redistricting board has a high level of legal challenges as well and that appointing a board to draw the lines is no less complicated but there would be no accountability. She thinks that school financing through property taxation is the most dysfunctional aspect of our state tax code. She says we need property tax appraisal reform. Regarding electing the TxDOT Chairman, she recognized the concerns but was not convinced would solve the problems. She feels we can control the Transportation Commission within the Legislative process and with their funding and must hold our elected Governor- who appoints the TXDOT Commissioners -and members of the Legislature accountable.
Dr. Campbell favors auditing TxDot, rebuilding TxDot , and electing the director.
In conclusion, all were asked why they felt they were the best candidate for State Senator. Wentworth claimed endorsement of himself by the NRA. He cited his seniority and committee chairmanship as valuable to retain. Commissioner Jones favors zero based budgeting and voted for tort reform. She said she is running for a cause, not an office. Dr. Campbell presented herself as a conservative candidate with fresh ideas and not a “career” politician.　

For more perspectives, other San Antonio Tea Party supporters in attendance were George Rodriguez, Sharon Hall, Steve Baysinger, and Bruce Ballio. It is a good thing when Tea Party representation at events like this debate signify to the parties, candidates, and the general public that we are watching and voting.

I welcome and invite your comments.　

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