Commentary
Y’All Answered: The Local Newspaper
Readers offer their insights and experiences.
11 Republican Texas Lawmakers Who Voted to Fund Transgender Social Transitioning
The Democrats don’t run things, but they often find enough Republicans to let them win on policy day after day.
Y’All Answered: ‘Impeach, Prosecute, Imprison’ Biden?
Readers offer their insights and experiences.
Y’All Answered: Keep or Abolish Tenure?
Readers offer their insights and experiences.
Commentary Archive
School Districts: Stop Blaming Others for Property Tax Increases
Many elected officials in Hays County have gotten into a very bad (and dishonest) habit of blaming others for property tax increases. The most recent example of this is when I had a public Facebook conversation with a Dripping Springs ISD school board trustee about...
Plano Council Raises City Taxes in Split 5-3 Vote
On September 10, Plano City Council voted 5-3 to raise our city property taxes again. As a result, the average Plano homeowner will see a 40 percent increase in their city tax bill in just five years. These increases are simply unsustainable. Yes, it’s true that most...
Politicians Blame God
Let’s face it, drainage is not an exciting subject to talk about. Realistically, not one person cares about it until there’s at least 20 inches of sewer water entering your home. June 20, the day after my birthday, changed my perspective of how I view politics. The...
Flower Mound Residents Want Property Tax Relief
Here at Empower Texans we talk a lot about property taxes. It’s the number one fiscal issue Texas taxpayers complain about. The Republican Party of Texas named it a top legislative priority for state lawmakers in 2019. Residents in the Flower Mound area agree. The...
Citizens Must Choose the Next Speaker
When legislators return to Austin next January, one of the first items on their agenda will be the election of a Speaker of the House. For the first time in decades there’s an open contest. Since current House Speaker Joe Straus announced he would not seek re-election...
Property Taxpayers Expect Fiscal Responsibility
Citizens expect their city officials to be fiscally responsible with taxpayers' money, prioritize spending, and live within a budget just as citizens themselves do. But too often city governments are tempted to collect and spend more and more tax dollars simply...
Burton: Conservatives Must Get Off The Sidelines
Over the last eight years the conservative grassroots in Texas have transformed state government. In 2010, when I was working alongside you in the grassroots movement, we couldn’t even get committee hearings on most of our legislative priorities. After each election...
Cruz Rebounds
A new Quinnipiac University poll (9/11-17; 807 TX likely voters) finds that Sen. Ted Cruz (R), after languishing in a rather prolonged syndrome where he was only posting small single digit leads over US Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-El Paso), has opened a much larger...
Inside the Black (Robed) Box of Judicial Elections
Unlike in our federal system, Texans are blessed with the ability to elect (and un-elect) our judges. But many struggle with what questions they should be asking judicial candidates. For many voters, judicial elections can be like a black (robed) box. Justice Jeff...