Good morning, 

Here is today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Thursday, December 3, 2020
Modify your email preferences.

• Earlier this week, Texas Scorecard was the first news source writing about Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley seemingly breaking the guidance he wanted everyone else to follow. Yesterday, Whitley called in to a popular radio program – the Chris Salcedo Show – to defend himself, of course. Robert Montoya has the follow-up.
     
• Whitley says he has “not agreed with everything” the county health department – which reports to him and the commissioners – have said... So it’s OK for him to ignore them, but not everyone else?
     
• It was revealed yesterday that a video by Austin’s Democrat Mayor, Steve Adler, urging Austinites to stay home and not travel... was filmed while he was relaxing in Cabo, Mexico. “Now is not the time to relax,” Adler sternly warned Austinites from his vacation trip. Jacob Asmussen has the details.
    
• The ruling elite can always be counted on to not follow the rules they demand be applied to the citizens; they peddle fear while living the high life.

• When the state legislature returns to Austin in January, they will be facing a budget shortfall due in large part to Chinese coronavirus-related shutdowns. Will lawmakers grapple with that shortfall by cutting spending, or will they raise taxes? Brandon Waltens reports on the direction various lawmakers told Texas Scorecard they would be taking.
      
• “Since our constituents do not have the luxury of ‘increasing taxes’ to accommodate the shortfalls in their personal budgets, I believe we have a moral responsibility to decrease spending to deal with any budget shortfalls,” said State Sen. Bob Hall (R–Edgewood).
     
• “The best way to address our budget shortfall and emerge from this economic crisis is to empower the people—not the politicians—to spend, save, and steward their own hard-earned money.” – State Rep. Jeff Leach (R-Plano)
     
• Democrat State Rep. Ray Lopez (San Antonio) favors a different approach. He wants Texans to “put their 2 cents in” by raising the state’s tax on gasoline by 2 cents.

• More and more Texas families are leaving the government-run public school system and seeking new educational opportunities for their children, according to a new report from the Texas Home School Coalition. Jacob Asmussen has the details.
      
• “Data from the [Texas Education Agency] indicates that homeschooling in Texas has been growing at an incredibly fast pace over the last 20 years, and that was true before COVID-19,” said THSC President Tim Lambert. “By all appearances, homeschool growth is outpacing all other forms of education by incredible margins and has just become a mainstream educational option.”
      
• According to THSC, the number of Texans who have withdrawn from public school to homeschool has surged 228 percent since 1997. A recent survey from Real Clear Opinions found that 40 percent of registered voters were more likely to enroll their children in homeschool or virtual school after the coronavirus lockdowns end.

• Texas Scorecard has previously documented the self-described “vulgar Marxist” views of Jacob Aronowitz, the field director for Democrat Austin City Councilmember Jimmy Flannigan’s re-election campaign.
     
• Now, Adam Cahn reports, the operative has said out loud what many already suspected.
      
• “[W]e exert considerable political influence at least locally... Does that mean we have the power to elect explicit leftists to every branch of local government? Well, not yet, but quite obviously, we are much further along toward building a base of militated workers than quite a few socialists in the city.” – Jacob Aronowitz
      
• Flannigan faces pro-taxpayer candidate Mackenzie Kelly in the runoff election for Austin City Council District 6. Early voting starts today and runs through December 11, with Election Day on December 15.

• Speaking of local runoff elections... members of the True Texas Project have compiled recommendations for local runoff races in North Texas. As Robert Montoya reports, the organization is not endorsing these candidates but providing guidance based on the research of their supporters who live in Tarrant, Dallas, and Denton counties.

• Heading into the 2021 legislative session – with projected budget problems, redistricting, and a decade’s worth of conservative campaign promises left unfulfilled – it will be more important than ever for citizens to be informed.
   
• That’s what we do at Texas Scorecard. But we can only do it with your help. Please make a tax-deductible contribution as either a special gift or as a monthly investment in a stronger Texas. Thank you!

Your Federal & State Lawmakers