Election day is November 4th, 2014, and early voting is from October 20th to October 31st, 2014. Your last day to register to vote is October 6th. You can even register to vote online at http://www.rockthevote.com! Make sure the address on your registration matches the address on your Texas ID!
Without further ado, here are the candidates for Governor of Texas…
Wendy Davis (Democrat)
**The following information comes from Wendy Davis’s campaign website, as well as her voting record and Wikipedia.**
Economy and Jobs
“Texas is a place where people come to find their dreams. People come here, work hard, start a family and buy a home. Texas is a land of opportunity and advancement. But under the current leadership in Austin, these opportunities could fall out of reach for too many Texans.
“Wendy knows that we must put Texans first when we talk about jobs and economic growth in our state. We must strengthen our working Texas families in order to protect the Texas we love.
“On the Fort Worth City Council, Wendy took the lead on economic development. Working with community, political, and business leaders, Wendy’s efforts yielded $260 million in new investment, thousands of jobs, and revitalized communities.
As Governor, Wendy will…work to make sure Texas remains a leader in oil and natural gas, but also a leader in renewable energy like wind and solar.
“In the Senate, she authored a bill to put “Texas Jobs First” requiring the state government, when possible, to give Texas companies the first opportunity at contracts, and passed legislation requiring the Department of Transportation to grant preference to local contractors for certain Texas road projects.”
Military & Veterans
“Wendy has worked to make sure that veterans, service members, and their families are provided every opportunity for a quality education. This includes college tuition exemptions, more college counselors available to help veterans, and strong support for Hazlewood benefits.
“Our military offers some of the best job training in the world. In the Senate, Wendy helped change a law to require state agencies to provide credit towards occupational licenses for job-relevant training our veterans received in the military.
“Wendy Davis has pushed for and supported policies that would create jobs for our service men and women upon their re-entry into civilian life. In the 83rd Legislature, Senator Davis supported the establishment of the Veteran Entrepreneur Program, and wrote and co-sponsored laws to make it easier for service members to get their trucking, plumbing, and electrician licenses.
“As Governor, Wendy will continue to fight for those who fought for us. Whether it’s job training, mental health counseling, or funding for existing services, Wendy will continue to support programs for our veterans.”
Education
“Too many of our public schools and universities are overcrowded and underfunded. Far too many of our students never graduate from high school.
“In the Senate, Wendy has fought to improve public schools by reducing the number of standardized tests students are forced to take, and by negotiating the first cost-of-living increase for retired teachers in more than a decade. In 2011, Wendy filibustered a budget that cut over $5 billion from education funding and she has continued to fight tirelessly to restore that funding to education.”
“If elected governor, Davis said she would increase funding for public schools, colleges and universities, financial aid and support for early-college programs” (El Paso Times, 2013).
Health Care
In 2013, Wendy staged an 11-hour filibuster on a bill that severely limited women’s access to reproductive health care by increasing abortion facility requirements and prohibiting abortions after 20 weeks.
Immigration
Wendy Davis voted against increased voter identification requirements.
Equal Rights
Wendy Davis sponsored a bill in 2013 that required equal pay for women.
In 2000, Wendy voted for Fort Worth’s nondiscrimination ordinance based on sexual orientation, and in 2011 she authored the only LGBT-inclusive version of anti-bullying legislation and lobbied against an anti-transgender marriage bill. In 2013, she co-authored the Senate version of a statewide workplace nondiscrimination bill, co-authored inclusive insurance non-discrimination legislation, and she has expressed strong support for allowing same-sex marriage.
Gun Rights
Wendy Davis voted against campus carry legislation, though she expressed support for open carry laws in Texas that allow private property owners to determine whether weapons could be openly carried on their property. She voted in favor of tax exemptions for firearm manufacturers, and she voted for allowing university students to transport guns in locked motor vehicles on college campuses.
To visit Wendy Davis’s website, click here.
Greg Abbott (Republican)
**The following comes from Greg Abbott’s campaign website, as well as from Wikipedia. Very little concrete information about Abbott’s positions could be found.**
Economy and Jobs
No info
Military & Veterans
No info
Education
Abbot has promised to “tie outcomes to funding” for pre-K programs if elected to governor. He claims that universal pre-K is a “waste,” and he instead wants to limit funding to only those programs who meet certain gold standards.
Health Care
“As Texas’ Attorney General, Greg Abbott has defended Texas’ laws protecting the unborn as well as represented Texas and other states before the United States Supreme Court in defending the Federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act and the New Hampshire parental notification law.”
“In 2009, General Abbott championed legislative efforts to help make affordable health insurance available to hundreds of thousands of children who are served by the child support system. The new law allows the Office of the Attorney General to work with private health plans to pool coverage for children whose families do not have access to employer-based coverage. The new program, ChildLINK, does not impose new financial obligations on parents. Rather, it simply shifts their duty from an obligation to pay cash medical support to an obligation to pay health insurance premiums. Unlike typical government insurance programs, ChildLINK offers a free-market solution to the problem. And it comes at no cost to the taxpayers because parents, not government, pay the monthly premiums.”
Greg Abbott was one of 13 Attorneys General who filed suit against the Affordable Care Act.
Immigration
Greg Abbott joined 8 other Attorneys General in filing an amicus brief in favor of Arizona’s Senate Bill 1070, the strictest and most controversial anti-immigration bill in the nation, after the US Department of Justice filed suit against Arizona regarding its constitutionality.
Equal Rights
“Texas law defines marriage as an institution between one man and one woman. Attorney General Abbott has fought efforts to undermine Texas’ law and the basic family structure in our state. He understands that traditional marriage is the cornerstone for a strong and stable family.”
Gun Rights
Greg Abbott continues to protect 2nd Amendment rights by preparing to challenge potential federal laws that limit gun rights.
To visit Greg Abbott’s website, click here.
Battleground TX Koenig Team 