TYLER (TYLER MORNING TELEGRAPH) - Two area state lawmakers expressed cynicism toward the federal government and politics in general Monday as they answered questions as part of a political conversation series by online news site The Texas Tribune.
State Sen. Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler, and state Rep. David Simpson, R-Longview, talked about the state of the state, top policy concerns and the upcoming 83rd Legislative Session, with Tribune CEO and editor-in-chief Evan Smith moderating.
About 180 people attended the event, which The University of Texas at Tyler held at the Ornelas Activity Center.
Smith said public cynicism toward politics and public policy is rampant, but Monday's event turnout suggested great local interest in the process.
Eltife, seeking re-election to his third term representing Senate District 1, added his own cynicism toward the federal legislators' inability to find a solution to long-term debt and deficit spending. He said state leaders have been seeking re-election rather than long-term solutions to critical concerns such as water development, roads and public education.
Statewide elected officials "haven't worked together to solve anything," he said. "There are a lot of statewides that are working on their next office. I want to solve problems."
Eltife said he is willing to make unpopular decisions he believes will make the state better for everyone, including indexing fuel taxes to raise money for roads rather than issuing debt, but few others want to debate controversial policy moves.
Simpson, who will enter his sophomore legislative session in January, said he is optimistic that the legislative bodies' respective membership will be relatively new and conservative.
By November, there likely will be about 40 new members in the House and five in the Senate, meaning half the 150 member House and nearly a quarter of the Senate will be freshman or sophomore legislators.
"I see it as encouragement that there will be so many new faces in Austin this session," Simpson said. "And I think elected (state) officials heard from you this election."
Simpson said the environment opens the door for a change in direction. He said he hopes the same will happen in Washington, D.C.
Both legislators begrudged making $4 billion in cuts to public education, but similar decisions will be needed as the state continues to deal with a slow economy. Simpson said he will again seek to dismantle Gov. Rick Perry's Texas Enterprise Fund, about $500 million in taxpayer money available to lure employers to Texas, and put the money where it is needed: education and human services.
"We've got to end corporate welfare," he said. "It should end, especially when there are other places where the money is needed."
Simpson and Eltife differed slightly on continued talks about voucher programs, which would fund a portion of student costs at private and charter schools. Eltife said parents and students should have the choice to leave failing schools. Simpson said he believes parents and students should have the choice but that he does not believe public dollars should go to private institutions.
Both legislators said difficult decisions are ahead during the session.
Eltife said Texans and Americans are ready for politicians, from Washington, D.C., down, who will tell them the truth, good or bad, and then act based on conviction rather than politics.
"Every single American will have to share the pain in this," he said. "But right now, no party has the political courage to do what's right."
State Sen. Kevin Eltife (center) answers a question asked by Evan Smith, of the Texas Tribune (left), at The University of Texas at Tyler Ornelas Activity Center Monday in Tyler. Also pictured is state Rep. David Simpson.
