Pulse On Policy: Texas 21 Congressional Forum With Video

On Wednesday, May 2, the San Marcos Area Chamber of Commerce partnered with the Austin Chamber Commerce to host and sponsor a forum for the Texas 21 Congressional runoff candidates…

On Wednesday, May 2, the San Marcos Area Chamber of Commerce partnered with the Austin Chamber Commerce to host and sponsor a forum for the Texas 21 Congressional runoff candidates.

The four candidates hope to replace Congressman Lamar Smith. Smith was first elected to Congress in 1986. He announced his retirement from Congress in November 2017.

He currently serves as Chairman of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee and continues to serve on both the Judiciary Committee and the Homeland Security Committee. He is the former Chairman of the Judiciary Committee and the Ethics committee.

Democratic candidates Mary Wilson and Joseph Krosper, as well as Republican Candidates Matt McCall and Chip Roy, attended the event to discuss issues from the recent Tax Reform bill to immigration and education.

The date for the primary runoff election is May 22; Early voting begins Monday, May 14, and ends Friday, May 18.

FINAL CLOSING STATEMENTS

PATRICK SVITEK: We want to give the candidates an opportunity to give a one minute closing statement now. And I think rotation puts us at Joseph to start with and then we’ll go to Chip, Mary and then finally Matt for closing statements.

JOSEPH KOPSER (D): In 60 seconds, it will be hard to convey how excited I am about this opportunity. A once in a generation lifetime, to bring in a new generation leadership that understands how deadly important national security is from someone who has been there and done that, and seen the reality at the tip of the spoon.

A once in a generation opportunity, to not only unleash the innovative spark necessary to take Texas to the next level, but somebody who has been a part of the economy, growing and building jobs right here in the district.

It’s a once in a generation opportunity to tackle issues like healthcare and taxes, and immigration, not from the standpoint of rhetoric, not from the standpoint of grand standing, but someone whose been in the arena. Whose actually had to get it done at the end of the day, despite the rhetoric, despite the tone and that’s what I want to do to Washington D.C. representing this district.

Is fix problems where I see them and represent you in a way that hasn’t been done in decades.

CHIP ROY (R): Sure, we do have the opportunity of a lifetime. We’ve got a growing consensus that we need to challenge the status quo in Washington. We need to change things and take a different direction, and I think we’re on the right path if we can come together and do that and unify as a country behind our core constitutional ideals.

And make sure that we return power to the people and focus the federal government where it should be on defending our nation, creating an environment for strong economic growth and then getting out of the way.

We didn’t talk on one big issue which is health care. And in this closing minute I just want to say, if you want a right shift of the United States of America, look no further than what we need to do to reclaim health care freedom for our family and for the next generation of Americans.

So we’re not crippled by triple insurance premiums under Obamacare. One-third of American county’s where you can only get access to one insurer. All because we’ve allowed the federal government to have too much influence on our healthcare system, and now we’re heading, potentially down the path of us, half-step behind our friends in Europe.

What we just witnessed with Alfie Evans, which is a human tragedy. And that is leaving life in the hands of bureaucrats and judges instead of the parents that love their child.

That’s not the direction to go. If you want to reclaim the United States of America, get control of our national debt, start with healthcare freedom and make sure that we can grow our economy again, getting the burden of healthcare off the backs of our economy and the American people.

It’s stifling their ability to perform. That’s why I’m running for Congress. God bless y’all, thank y’all for being here.

MARY WILSON (D): So, where I’m coming from is probably best described by my childhood. My parents and grandparents before then and great-grandparents before then, were farmers in rural southern Missouri.

My parents grew up on a farm in one of the poorest places in the country during the depression, and they came to the Saint Louis area, met each other, got married, raised five kids on working class incomes.

My father was a machinist at McDonnell Douglas building the aircraft and the Mercury and Gemini space capsules.

My mom worked at the local junior high as a secretary. We lived paycheck to paycheck. And so what I know, from that experience, is there are people who work hard every single day of their lives, all day long and never have a dime to show for it but the work itself.

And their own integrity is what they are proud of, not the money. And so where I come from, all of this is a place of what opportunities did I get because my parents and grandparents and great-grandparents before them were hard workers.

I had opportunities that they didn’t have because I had a good education. I start and begin with good education because it is a pathway out of systemic poverty. The life I have now is far better than the life my parents ever imagined that they could provide.

I want that for my children and grandchildren. But if we don’t have a good education system, that is not going to be possible.

I want to represent this district, and I want to represent this district because I want to let everybody know that I hear, listen to, and respond to those who are on the bottom rung. And if we can’t lift them up, then none of us are going to excel. And we need to start at the very bottom and give people hopes and dreams for their future just like I have.

MATT MCCALL (R): Thank you again, all of you for coming and those of you who are viewing on Facebook live we certainly appreciate it. And I am Matt McCall, and I’m running for Congress because I have two kids; and they’re real kids like your real kids.

And our country is in indeed in crisis. And it’s a crisis of leadership. And I want to go to Washington and fight for our constitution and our values to get our federal government under control. There’s one concept behind the constitution and that is that all men and women are evil and none should be trusted with power.

And that’s why we have separation of powers. And I believe as my parents taught me and no doubt yours did that, good morals are corrupted by bad company.

So I wanna go and fight for our values for six years and go home. And I think that you can make the difference when you take your skill set of running a business, and being in a business world for 30 years, of traveling around the world and go and fight for those values.

And get us back to our constitution and freedom and opportunity and growth. So if we are again the land of the free and the home of the brave, and not the land of the safe and the home of the equal.