The race for state representative

By Lindsay Landry
KETK News

Story Updated: Oct 17, 2008 at 4:06 PM CDT

EAST TEXAS-KETK continues its Decision 2008 coverage with the race for a spot in Austin. Three spots are up for grabs in East Texas for state representative.

The Texas legislature will convene for the 81st regular session on January 13, 2009. And it's our job to make sure East Texas is well represented in Austin. KETK's Lindsay Landry sat down with the candidates in Districts 6, 7 and 11 to hear their platforms.

District 6, which encompasses part of Smith County, has two candidates running. The Republican incumbent, Leo Berman, is running for his sixth-term. If re-elected, he said he has a resolution for the problem of illegal immigation. "I wrote another bill that would tax the $6 billion a year that illegal aliens send from Texas to Mexico," Berman said.

Berman's opponent, Libertarian Gene Moody, said he has no prior experience in politics, but is active in other areas. "The representative are not sent to Austin to see how much they can get send back to the county, but to see how much money they can keep in the county from being sent to Austin," Moody said.

The Republican Tommy Merritt's trying for a seventh-term at the District 7 seat. He said he's worked on natural disasters, securing the border and the budget. "The governors saying we should tighten the budget and yet the governor has a $250 million fund for economic development," he said. "I think we should put that back in the legislature to serve the public."

His opponent, Libertarian Joey Stroman, said he wants to completely cut corporate spending out of the budget and put any surplus into property tax relief. But his main issue he wants to stop is ghost voting. "If would be called voter fraud if we did that," he said.

Finally, Democrat Chuck Hopson is serving his fourth-term in District 11. As a pharmacist by trade, most of his accomplishments have been health-related. This includes helping to pass generic prescription drug laws and providing necessary vaccines for children. "We have to have an educated work force, we have to have economic opportunity and we have to have water for the future," Hopson said. "So those things are things I concentrate on every year."

Libertarian candidate, Paul Bryan, was not available for an interview Friday.

Republican Brian Walker said he wants to address illegal immigration, the state tax climate and education. "One of the things that sets me apart from my opponent is my willingness to take on the establishment in Austin," he said. "I think leadership sometimes requires more than just being buddies with the other guys."

Remember starting October 20th, Texans can start casting their vote early. The last day to vote will be November 4th.

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