A heated race for House District 55 boils down to a small cabal of wealthy residents who want taxpayers to foot the bill for their pet project. The current state representative, a taxpayer champion, refused to go along with the tax hike, so the cabal is spending big money against her.
State Rep. Molly White (R-Temple) defeated liberal Republican Ralph Sheffield in 2014’s primary. She went on to become a 2015 Taxpayer Champion because of her willingness to put her taxpayers first.
When business leaders proposed a tax hike that would force citizens to pick up the tab for a private conference center, White stood up for the taxpayers. As a result, multi-millionaire Drayton McLane is backing a former legislator, Hugh Shine, to challenge White in the primary.
Shine is interested in office to help his cronies, not the citizens, telling the Temple newspaper “it’s a good time to return to Austin.” Taxpayers aren’t looking for guys seeking a good time in Austin; they want good representation.
It’s rumored in Austin that Hugh Shine and the good ol’ boys club for which he fronts will run a well-funded, aggressively nasty campaign against Molly White.
White, who has earned accolades for her representation from all corners of the conservative movement, isn’t going without a fight. She beat Sheffield with pennies on the dollar with a grassroots-focused campaign knocking thousands of doors personally.
No matter what they throw at her, Molly White is good for the fight.