Republican candidate Giovanni Capriglione is running for Tarrant County’s District 98 state representative.
He will run against Armin Mizani in the March Republican primary election.

Community Impact Newspaper sent Capriglione a series of questions on his candidacy. His written responses, edited for clarity, are below.

Q: What is your current occupation?

A: I am a private equity manager.

Q: Why are you running for District 98 state representative?

A: Serving District 98 in the Texas House of Representatives has been one of the greatest honors of my life. If re-elected, I promise to continue to fight for limited and efficient government while working tirelessly to ensure the voices of those living in House District 98 are heard. I have passed significant legislation over the past five years, including government transparency, cybersecurity, protection of life, border security, education reform and economic development. With the support of taxpayers in the area I will continue my effort to support property tax reform and public-school financing fixes.

Q: Why are you qualified for this position?

A: I am a small-businessman, a husband, a father and a taxpayer. Currently I am a subcommittee chairman for a House budget committee where I have saved millions of taxpayer dollars by reducing waste, fraud and abuse in our state budget. As the vice chairman of the Government Transparency & Operation Committee, I have worked to make sure that information on how the government spends your money is publicly available. I was proud to be named the Open Government Lawmaker of the Year by the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas. Over the course of my career I have spoken to thousands of constituents—I listen, I learn and then move forward to effectively pass your priorities.

Q: What issues do you feel the county will face over the next five years?

A: Rising property taxes, "Robin Hood" [recapture] and infrastructure challenges are the top challenges for our area in northeast Tarrant County.

Q: If elected, how will you address those issues?

A: Rising property taxes are a concern, and those are coupled with Robin Hood/public school financing issues. In the 84th session I supported and we passed a $10,000 increase in the homestead exemption on the ISD side. During the last session I co-authored and voted for [House Bill] 21, which would have returned nearly $2 billion of state dollars back to our districts, which would have lowered local property taxes and reduced Robin Hood. This past session I also supported property tax reform. I believe that we need to continue to try harder to make sure that your tax dollars come back.

Our area is growing rapidly, and transportation issues are a main concern. Over my career I have supported transportation funding by removing funding diversions and increasing the amount of the current budget that is dedicated to non-toll, road-related projects. Going forward we need to make sure that this money is used efficiently and appropriately—with an eye on future transportation needs.