Candidates in the Texas House of Representatives District 3, District 15 and District 150 attended a forum organized by The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce and moderated by Community Impact Newspaper on Feb. 22 at the chamber offices on Lakeside Boulevard, discussing some of the issues that inspired them to run for the seats.

Following are several excerpts from remarks the candidates made on the question regarding supporting small-business owners. Other topics discussed included property taxes, home appraisal values, transportation, COVID-19 and public education.

For the full context of the excerpted comments in the discussion, the full video of the forum can be found on The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce Facebook page. Candidates present at the forum are listed in the order in which they appear on the ballot.

House District 3

The Republican candidates in the primary election are incumbent Cecil Bell and Kelly McDonald. There are no Democratic candidates in the District 3 race.

Cecil Bell

“I think the best thing we can do for small-business owners is to keep [the] government limited [and] stay out of your way. ... If we tell you what the guidelines are [and] keep [the] government out of your way, you’ll be highly successful. It’s proven by the fact that we’re the ninth largest economy in the world. ... And it’s because of the folks in this room who create jobs.”

Kelly McDonald

“As a part of the government affairs of the Chamber of Commerce of Magnolia, my job was to go out and advocate for businesses—go out and find out what their challenges are, and then go sit to the city council and advocate for them [and] sit and speak to the state Legislature. ... Our economy will always thrive because of our small businesses and also our large businesses.”

House District 15

The Republican candidates in the primary election are incumbent Steve Toth and Maris Blair; the uncontested Democratic candidate is Kristin Johnson. Toth did not speak at the forum.

Maris Blair

“Some [issues] might be property taxes for them, but some things might just be location, mobility, transportation ... supply and demand—the list can go on and on. So, I need to learn about the list, and how I’m going to learn is by talking to small-business owners ... [and] coming up with a solution and how we are going to reach that solution.”

Kristin Johnson

“Legislation really needs to be specialized to the specific industries that it serves. Now, obviously we are going to need to have legislation that guarantees things like equal access, rights for workers, protections and things of that nature. But, the best thing that we can do as legislators [is] be a representative to the businesses and the people that we serve.”

House District 150

The Republican candidates in the primary are Bryan Le, Valerie McGilvrey, Debbie Riddle and incumbent Valoree Swanson; the uncontested Democratic candidate is Ginny Brown Daniel.

Ginny Brown Daniel

“I don’t believe that the government needs to be right on top of small-business owners, but [we] certainly need to provide the guidelines, policies and legislation in order to empower and equip you to be the business owners and leaders that you need to be, and the leaders that we need for the community.”

For candidate Q&A's, voting dates and important information about voting, visit the Community Impact Newspaper 2022 Election Guide.