One of the centerpieces of Granbury ISD Superintendent Jim Largent’s campaign against conservative incumbent State Rep. Mike Lang (R–Granbury) is Largent’s complaint that Lang allegedly was unresponsive to him and others during the 2017 legislative session. However, documents uncovered by Texas Scorecard paint a very different picture.
In an interview with an Austin newspaper, Largent claimed his district “effectively did not receive representation in the state House last year.”
However, in a March 10th district-wide email, Largent had nothing but positive things to say about a meeting he had with Lang and his chief of staff when he visited Austin:
Rep. Lang listened, spent a lot of time with us, and we appreciated his comments. As this is his first session in the legislature, he is listening to anyone and getting all sides of issues, as he should. He seemed very receptive to the issues that we discussed with him.
Largent noted that he and the group of school board members and administrators who joined him on the trip were unable to meet with State Sen. Brian Birdwell (R–Granbury), but did meet with one of the senator’s staffers.
Throughout the school year Largent sent numerous emails criticizing Birdwell, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and other Republican officials but there was relatively scant criticism of Lang. In fact, only one of the other emails mentioned Lang, noting that he was one of 16 representatives to vote against a school finance bill that would have systematically underfunded public schools by pushing off a month of school funding to the next legislature.
Lang, a former law enforcement officer and constable, earned accolades as a Taxpayer Champion during his first legislative session, receiving a perfect 100 rating on the Fiscal Responsibility Index.
Since entering the primary against Lang on the filing deadline, Largent has faced stiff opposition from local Republicans. The Hood County Republican Party passed a resolution of no confidence against Largent, criticizing him for refusing to support the Republican Party platform and objecting to him running as a Republican.
Largent and Lang will face off in the March 6th Republican Primary Election.
