Budget, education top issues at candidate forum

PLANO -- The state budget was the biggest topic of discussion at a candidate forum held in Plano on Thursday.

The forum was co-hosted by the Plano Rotary Club and the Plano Chamber of Commerce and featured candidates from state House Districts 67 and 88, as well as state Senate District 8. All candidates were given a few minutes to tell the audience about themselves, and then were each asked the same questions and given 30 seconds to answer.

District 67 was held by Jerry Madden for two decades before he announced he would not seek another term. It encompasses portions of Richardson, Plano and Allen. All six of the District 67 candidates said the budget was the biggest issue facing the state. When the topic of job creation came up, the candidates said more needed to be done, but had differing opinions on what was the best way to achieve that goal.

Mabel Simpson, a Richardson attorney, said forcing companies to use the E-Verify system would not only help create more jobs, but would also ensure the jobs already created go to people who have the legal right to work.

Two candidates, John Pitchford and Roger Burns, said the government should step back in order for more jobs to be created. Pitchford said business taxes should be lowered and the practice of over-regulating businesses should be halted, while Burns said firms are "drowning in rules" and there is too much "red tape."

Jeff Leach, an attorney, said the government doesn't create jobs, private companies do. He said more tort reform is needed for Texas to maximize its ability to attract new business. Jon Cole said taxes needed to be lowered and Jeran Akers, a former Plano mayor, said the state needs to continue to foster an attitude of being pro business and pro development.

District 88 is a Denton County district that includes a small portion of far west Plano and currently has two candidates seeking the Republican nomination: former Lewisville ISD trustee Amber Fulton and current Frisco Mayor Pro Tem Pat Fallon.

Both candidates agreed on the biggest issues the state was facing, but disagreed on what could be done to solve them.

"Illegal immigration affects two of the three main areas of the budget, education and health and human services," Fallon said. "We need to get a handle on it. To be fair, it is a federal issue. But we need to remove the incentives in Texas that reward illegal immigration."

Fulton didn't mention illegal immigration, but did say the state needed to get its spending under control.

"We need to prioritize our spending," Fulton said. "I don't think we have a revenue problem in Texas, as much as we have an issue with prioritizing our spending."

Education funding was also discussed, with all candidates agreeing that change was needed in the way schools were funded. Various ideas where thrown around, including merit-based pay, reducing administrative costs and finding ways to spend money more wisely, but all candidates seemed to agree that the current method of funding schools was not working.

Ken Paxton, who is seeking the Republican nomination for state Senate District 8, which includes Plano, Frisco, McKinney and Allen, was also present. Since fellow Republican Scott O'Grady has suspended his campaign for the seat and Democrat Jack Ternan was not able to attend, Paxton was not asked as many questions as the state House candidates.

He did, however, say he felt the three biggest issues facing the state were the budget, education spending and transportation. He said with the retirements of Florence Shapiro, the current senator for District 8, and Madden, the Collin County delegation was losing a lot of experience. Paxton, who has been the House District 70 representative for the past decade, said electing him, as well as state Rep. Jodie Laubenberg, who is running unopposed in District 89, will be key to ensuring the county maintains its influence in Austin.

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