Rep. Charles Perry is the best candidate among the strong field of six candidates seeking to fill the District 28 Senate seat. Robert Duncan vacated it when he took the job of Texas Tech Chancellor.
Perry’s four years of experience in the House with an appropriations background gives him an advantage to help him be effective.
He would go in with a detailed knowledge of issues challenges ahead and with experience with the workings of the legislative system. He will also know many of the people involved in the Legislature and be experienced in working with them.
He impressed us with his knowledge of the state budget, ideas of carrying out his goals and willingness to work across the aisle. He said the biggest challenge of the next legislative session will be prioritizing the budget considerations and the issues faced by our state.
Texans who are concerned about the growing entitlement system will appreciate Perry’s focus on indigent health care and entitlement reforms as a priority.
Entitlements that were intended to be a temporary saftey net need to be phased into a work environment, he said. He used as an example a single mother doing well at her job who could be reluctant to accept a deserved raise because she could lose entitlements if she did.
Other priorities listed by Perry are education and truth in budgeting. Revenues should be spent for the purposes they are collected and not diverted for other purposes, he said.