Paul Bettencourt, Republican
The CEO of Bettencourt Tax Advisors, Paul Bettencourt served as the Harris County tax assessor-collector for 10 years. In addition to serving the position, Bettencourt held several offices for the county and statewide Republican parties. The nearly 30-year resident of the district founded his business in 2009, which helps residential and commercial property owners protest property tax valuations.
What made you want to run for this election?
The job of a senator is an important public policy position in the state of Texas. And I feel that at this point of time in my life—I've been a government official and now a business owner—the combination of that and raising a family puts me at a real good place to [use] all that life experience to make an impact in Austin on public policy.
What are your top two priorities if elected?
There's some things that really are important. One, to make sure we pass a good budget for the state of Texas with property tax relief. And also, two, to make sure our climate is good for job growth. I want to make sure we pass a good budget with property tax relief, and that we continue to foster a good climate for job growth.
If elected, what would you do to secure funding for transportation projects in your district?
One of the things we have to do is look at undiverting the motor vehicle fuel tax. I think that's important because one of the problems with the state is that the streams of money get crossed. Money that is levied as a transportation tax or fee should go to transportation. That's one of the things that I'll consistently beat the drum on as an economic conservative—to uncross these streams and get these dedicated fees where they need to be.
In what ways do you see yourself as an advocate for the residents you will represent if elected?
One of the special challenges of [Texas] Senate District 7 is that the city of Houston has gone on a limited purpose annexation tangent. And as a result, they have annexed the commercial property in [portions] of Northwest Harris County and bypassed all the residential subdivisions. I think it's important that we look for some type of governance for the subdivisions. Because basically now, besides the county commissioners court and state representatives, they don't have anybody. I think we should look at a township concept, like what's been successful up in The Woodlands as a way to fix that.
If elected, how would you propose to address immigration at the state level?
I think that both Sen. [Dan] Patrick and Attorney General [Greg] Abbott have staked out a really well known position on that. This summer, you've seen that even the incumbents, Governor [Rick] Perry and [Lt. Governor] David Dewhurst, have already triggered things like trying to bring the [National] Guard to the border. And as an economic conservative, we've got to figure out how to pay for it.
What is the biggest concern for the future of this district?
One of the big public policy issues [and] one of the things that attracted me to running is I knew [state District] Judge [John] Dietz was going to throw out school finance. Sure enough, he did. What that means is that sometime in 2015, the Texas Supreme Court will rule on that case. And then we'll have about once every generation—10–20 years—a complete reset of public education. We've got a chance to redo school finance. Right now, the fast growing school districts are in a real straitjacket because they're being held hostage by 2006 levels. So, I think we really need to take a really long [look at] how to change the school funding formula.
Jim Davis, Democrat
A resident of Spring since 1984, Jim Davis served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1975–79 and in Desert Storm as a reserve from 1990–91. He worked as an air traffic controller for 25 years with the Federal Aviation Administration before retiring four years ago. Davis is a member of the local post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and serves on the Mercer Society.
What made you want to run for this election?
I decided I wanted to make a difference. I've always been active in the community at the grassroots level. I was an election judge [and] precinct chair. I was persuaded by friends and family [to run], but I'm not a politician and I don't pretend to be all-knowing either. I don't have the credentials of my opponent, but I've worked and fought for where I am and for my nation. [I have] learned to take risks, and this is one of them.
What are your top two priorities if elected?
Education would be my top priority. The other would be health care and the expansion of health care. Education is the root. We've got to have first-rate education. You can't have growth or competitiveness without a top educated workforce. We need to recognize our teachers [and] our educators and recognize that our children are our greatest resource. An educated workforce brings in jobs and industry.
If elected, what would you do to secure funding for transportation projects in your district?
Our federal dollars are such that they've got to be utilized to their best effort. That's always going to be ongoing to secure the federal dollars as well as using state funds. We've made some good improvements here at [FM]1960 [and with] the Grand Parkway coming in. Keeping that in mind, the upkeep of the infrastructure, that's something that is antiquated now and needs to be upgraded. Those are areas that are vital to maintaining our strengths and vitality. I've been here 30 years. I've seen the growth firsthand, [and] you have to look at other options as well.
In what ways do you see yourself as an advocate for the residents you will represent if elected?
First of all, [I will advocate for the residents] because I am one. I've dealt with the issues. I'm not the privileged. I've worked for a living. I know what it means to get up and go to work. I will be representing the community to the best of my capacity. I'm not all knowing and I am open to suggestions. I try to be pragmatic and logical. Sometimes people may not see it, but if you were to ask me [a question], I would try to look at it logically and try to come up with a solution. Right now, at this stage in my life, I want to do the best that I can for this community. I've lived here. I've enjoyed the fruits of it. So I'm just giving back.
If elected, how would you propose to address immigration at the state level?
At the state level, I would say that you have to face a reality. If you build a wall, it wouldn't work. We have to realize that we do have certain amenities that others would like to come and partake in, but we have to be compassionate as well. If we tried to get an immigrant workforce program in place, that might also be helpful. We have a lot of industries that need help that are not being met by the current population. We are going to need unskilled laborers for unskilled labor. Immigrants do fill that need. I'm not saying we shouldn't have secure borders. We should, and everyone should get in line in terms of becoming a citizen. But I'm just looking at [immigration] realistically.
What is the biggest concern for the future of this district?
The biggest concern here is the growth. The Houston Metro area, we're going to see some changes. [The district will see more] low-income housing. That's growth—whether you like it or not—and we have to deal with that. And just rejecting everything isn't the answer. We need to come up with the solution. Growth is going to be the big issue for the district. It's a complex issue, [and] we have to be compassionate.
