One of my favorite Houston radio personalities, Dan Patrick of KSEV-AM, (no, not Dan Patrick of ESPN, though Houston's Dan Patrick is also a former sportscaster) has filed to run for the Texas Senate in SD7.

Radio talk-show host Dan Patrick signed off the air Thursday when he officially filed in the Republican primary for state Senate District 7.

Patrick's filing makes him the last of previously announced candidates to formally enter the four-way GOP race that also includes state Reps. Peggy Hamric and Joe Nixon and Houston City Councilman Mark Ellis. State Sen. Jon Lindsay is not seeking re-election in the heavily Republican district.

F. Michael Kubosh, a Harris County bail bondsman, has filed for the seat in the Democratic primary.

With the large field, the race is likely to be decided in a runoff between the top two vote getters. Several of Patrick's opponents have conducted polls, and each poll shows its candidate coming in second.

I think it likely that Dan Patrick will not need a runoff to win, given his high name recognition and grassroots support. One poll shows him with 54% of likely GOP primary voters supporting him. In addition, there are other signs of support.

* Of the 125 serving precinct chairs in Senate District 7, over 85 (or 68%) have endorsed Dan Patrick for Senate and have pledged to help get out the vote for Dan. More precinct chairs are expected to endorse after the filing deadline (January 2, 2006).

* More than 700 have signed on to volunteer for the Dan Patrick Campaign.

* The Dan Patrick for Senate Campaign has received contributions from over 800 individuals who support DanÂ’s message for change in Austin.

Here are the six points Dan has been emphasizing for years as a broadcaster, and on which he is running for the legislature.

1. Reduce the appraisal cap to 3% per year on all residential property

Texans are being taxed out of their homes. We must end the stealth 8–10% annual tax increase on homeowners. If local governments feel a need to raise revenue, they should do so by raising the tax rate; not by hiding behind an automatic appraisal increase. Voters can then determine if the increase was necessary and if those elected officials are worthy of re-election.

2. Illegal immigration – secure our borders now

The Federal Government has failed to protect our borders as they are constitutionally required. It is time we use Texas taxpayersÂ’ resources to protect our borders instead of providing services to those that entered this state illegally. It is time for Texans to protect the Texas border.

3. Reduce government spending now

We elected Republican majorities in the Texas House and Senate and expected them to be fiscally conservative. Our legislature has let us down. The most recent state budget includes a 20% increase in spending. We should focus on needs-based-budgeting, rather than revenue-based-budgeting.

4. Responsible education funding

School budgets and administrative positions have increased faster than student enrollment and classroom teacher positions. The legislature should require that 65% of school spending be dedicated to the classroom. We must focus education resources on the classroom instruction of our children.

5. Legislators should put tax cuts before their own pension increases

Legislators found the votes to increase their own pensions in the last legislative session, but after two special sessions could not find the votes to reduce your property taxes or lower the appraisal cap. We should focus first on cutting taxes before we increase legislatorÂ’s benefits.

6. We are the majority party and we should govern as such

I have called for an end to the so called “blocker bill” in the Senate. For years, this Senate tradition helped ensure civility in the upper house, but recently Democrats have used the practice to block meaningful legislation from being approved. We should end the practice of requiring 2/3 of the Senate to agree before a measure can be considered in the Senate.

I live on the opposite end of Harris County, in a different senatorial district -- but as the GOP Precinct Chair for Precinct 333, I would also like to offer my endorsement of Dan Patrick for Texas Senate District 7.

And speaking of my position as precinct chair, I'll be filing for reelection to that position on Monday afternoon.

Posted by: Greg at 06:31 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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