With incumbent Elliott Naishtat announcing he will not seek re-election, seven democrats are vying to represent District 49 in the Texas House. Aspen Dunaway, Huey Rey Fischer, Gina Hinojosa, Kenton Johnson, Blake Rocap, Matt Shrum and Heather Way attended a Feb. 2 candidates' forum at Google Fiber in downtown Austin, hosted by the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce. Candidates were asked about their background, tax incentives for businesses and transportation funds.
All seven candidates are Austin residents.
During opening comments, lifelong Austinite and personal injury attorney Dunaway said his plan would help Austin homeowners being priced out of the city.
“My No. 1 issue—property tax cuts,” he said.
Fischer immediately differentiated himself from the other candidates by calling himself the “queer” son of a New Yorker and a formerly undocumented Mexican immigrant.
“I’m really not the kind of guy Greg Abbott wants to see up in that Capitol,” he said.
Fischer also called himself the most progressive candidate in the race.
Way distinguished herself as a law professor at the University of Texas. She said she was a local leader on affordable housing issues in Austin, and she has worked on the state level to establish property tax relief.
Hinojosa, an attorney, highlighted her experience on the Austin ISD school board. She said during her time on the board, all AISD high schools met state accountability standards for the first time in the district's history. As president of the board, she helped balance a nearly $1 billion budget, she said.
Johnson, a lawyer and municipal judge, said he was a socially progressive, but fiscally responsible candidate.
“We need to make better use of our tax dollars,” he said.
Shrum noted his experience working with the budget committee in the legislature. He is a former prosecutor and a criminal defense attorney with a law office in Austin.
Rocap, a health care attorney, said he has experience working in the legislature, assisting the American Civil Liberties Union and Pro-Choice Texas. Rocap said his experience at the Capitol would make him an effective representative.
Big business incentives
When asked about the Texas Enterprise Fund—financial incentives to attract new businesses to the state—many of the candidates said they are opposed in theory, but see the fund as necessary in practice.
Hinojosa said she was ideologically opposed to the fund, but since the state does not invest enough money in education or infrastructure, incentive programs can help. She said it was important to ensure the state requires businesses benefitting from the incentives to provide living wage jobs and partner with local schools.
Fischer said the fund had been abused under former Gov. Rick Perry, but that he supported the fund with sufficient oversight. He also said he advocated for a bill to establish smaller-scale incentives to help grocery stores open in food deserts. He said the bill had bipartisan support, but died because too few Democrats showed up to the vote.
Way said while Austin has reformed the incentive program to prevent abuse, many other cities have not. She said local governments should be empowered to get the incentives back if they are misused. She also said businesses should offer employee training for local residents under the program.
Johnson said he supported the fund, but he thought it was unfortunate that the fund exists. He said abuse of the fund has largely been remedied, but more oversight was needed.
Dunaway said he was against any deals with special interest groups because the middle class pays the price. He said he would only support the fund if its methods, strategies and goals were made transparent to residents.
“I don’t support closed-room deals or slush funds for politicians,” he said.
Rocap and Shrum offered more support for the fund. Rocap said the city should take advantage of the fund and require businesses to relieve some of the stress on infrastructure caused by the onslaught of workers moving to the city.
Shrum said Austin has the top economy in the state, largely thanks to its business incentives.
“Texas Enterprise Fund is a game changer and continues to be a game changer,” he said.
Transportation
When asked about Proposition 7, which increased the funds going from the gas tax into the transportation fund, Johnson said Austin was not getting its fair share of the funds when comparing its congestion problems to other areas of the state.
Johnson also proposed creating a new rail option for public transit in the city and making more flexible work hours to relieve rush hour congestion.
“We’ve got a smalltown mentality, but we’ve got a big city with big problems,” he said.
Shrum said Proposition 7 would help with congestion, but more investment in infrastructure and transportation options are necessary.
“I-35 is the most congested roadway in Texas,” he said.
Rocap said Proposition 7 only shifted funds from the general revenue fund to the transportation fund, leaving the state with less money for school districts and property tax relief.
“We’re too chicken to raise the gas tax that hasn’t been raised since 1990,” he said.
Rocap proposed raising auto registration fees.
Fischer proposed raising the gas tax.
“We haven’t done that since I think before I was born,” he said.
He also supported revisiting a bill that would have allowed state employees to telecommute to work. Last session, the bill passed the House and Senate, but was vetoed by the governor.
Fischer also supported an expansion of Capital Metro service and local and regional rail systems.
“We need regional rail from Georgetown to San Antonio,” he said.
Dunaway proposed asking the state to fund a light rail in Austin because it is the seat of nearly all state government buildings. He also said, if elected, he would aim to sit on the House Transportation Committee to find funding and come up with solutions for Austin’s traffic congestion.
“It takes a lot of joy out of living in this city,” he said.
Way agreed Austin was not getting its fair share of transportation funding. She also said more roads are not the answer to relieving traffic congestion.
“We need a transportation system that’s focused on the future,” she said.
Way said she supported raising the gas tax and vehicle registration fees.
Hinojosa said Austin needs more funding and more ideas to relieve congestion, but she would not support funding traffic solutions at the expense of public education or health and human service efforts.
She also supported revisiting the bill to allow state employee telecommuting. She said lowering fees for trucks to use SH 130 could divert more traffic off I-35.
The filing deadline for candidates was Dec. 14, and no Republicans filed for election. The primary election on March 1 will either determine the District 49 representative or send the top two candidates into a runoff election.
