Grassroots America We The People, one of the state’s largest conservative groups based out of Tyler and led by grassroots activist JoAnn Fleming, announced their endorsement of Trey Blocker for Agriculture Commissioner in his bid to oust current Commissioner Sid Miller.
Blocker and Miller recently appeared at a debate held by GAWTP, which the organization says helped them make their decision, according to a statement released this afternoon:
Without question, the record shows it’s time for a big change at the Texas Department of Agriculture. We believe Trey Blocker will right the Texas Department of Agriculture in a variety of ways. First, we are impressed with his plans to reform the agency, putting it back inside the bounds of the TDA’s purpose for being and away from the incumbent’s empire-building proclivities.
Second, we believe Mr. Blocker cares deeply about how and why the government spends tax dollars, and we believe he will listen to his constituents, bring service back to the agency, and bring transparency to the TDA.
Moreover, we believe Blocker knows how to set high standards for employees, how to decide which tools they need to do the job, and how to hold them accountable. Most of all, we believe Blocker knows how to set high standards for himself! Since he is a long-time ethics attorney, we don’t expect Blocker to rack up the number of fines Miller has with several ethics violations.
Now, to just a few of the reasons incumbent Miller needs replacing. As long-time activists, rarely have we seen an incumbent statewide candidate so ill-equipped to answer the most basic questions about how his agency operates, how decisions were and are made, and what he intends to do if re-elected. Frankly, Sid Miller’s debate responses were stunning…
The full statement from GAWTP can be read here.
Miller and Blocker will face off in a three-way primary election, which also includes former Democratic candidate Jim Hogan, on March 6th.
