The Dallas Morning News Recommends Trey Blocker for Texas Agriculture Commissioner
The Dallas Morning News Recommends Trey Blocker for Texas Agriculture Commissioner
The article below was published on 1/24/18 by Dallas Morning News.
This contest isn't about who wears the cowboy hat and can shoe a horse, but who can be the effective and respected advocate for agriculture and rural Texas.
Ethics attorney and former lobbyist Trey Blocker is much more capable of handling the job than the incumbent, Sid Miller, whose first term has been riddled with missteps and controversy.
Blocker, 44, of Fredericksburg, demonstrates thorough, nuanced understanding of the department and the people it serves. That expertise -- and his ideas for reforming the agency -- is built on years of working for rural lawmakers and lobbying efforts for interests within the agricultural community.
For example, he vows to immediately roll back the fees on farmers and ranchers that Miller hiked early in his term. While Miller stands by the increases, we side with Blocker, based both on a state audit's harsh criticism of the oversized charges and the concerns of numerous legislators.
We are troubled by many other Miller decisions. Those range from awarding more bonuses to employees in his first nine months than his predecessor awarded in his first 2.5 years -- seemingly out of character for a conservative -- to his state-funded trip to Oklahoma during which he stopped off for a "Jesus shot" pain injection. While he ultimately reimbursed Austin for that travel, incidents like this -- along with his sometimes reckless social media barrage -- distract from the important work at hand.
Miller, 62, of Stephenville, has tried to make an issue of Blocker's lobbying work for chemical giant Monsanto. But Blocker not only has resigned from that position, he vows to completely divest from his firm if he wins the primary. We expect that as a long-time ethics lawyer, Blocker -- unlike Miller -- will steer clear of mishaps of judgment.
The third candidate, Jim Hogan, ran as a Democrat in the 2014 ag race. He neither responded to our interview request nor filled out a questionnaire. Recent campaign finance reports show he has raised no money.
The winner of this primary will face Democratic opposition in November.
This contest isn't about who wears the cowboy hat and can shoe a horse, but who can be the effective and respected advocate for agriculture and rural Texas.
Ethics attorney and former lobbyist Trey Blocker is much more capable of handling the job than the incumbent, Sid Miller, whose first term has been riddled with missteps and controversy.
Blocker, 44, of Fredericksburg, demonstrates thorough, nuanced understanding of the department and the people it serves. That expertise -- and his ideas for reforming the agency -- is built on years of working for rural lawmakers and lobbying efforts for interests within the agricultural community.
For example, he vows to immediately roll back the fees on farmers and ranchers that Miller hiked early in his term. While Miller stands by the increases, we side with Blocker, based both on a state audit's harsh criticism of the oversized charges and the concerns of numerous legislators.
We are troubled by many other Miller decisions. Those range from awarding more bonuses to employees in his first nine months than his predecessor awarded in his first 2.5 years -- seemingly out of character for a conservative -- to his state-funded trip to Oklahoma during which he stopped off for a "Jesus shot" pain injection. While he ultimately reimbursed Austin for that travel, incidents like this -- along with his sometimes reckless social media barrage -- distract from the important work at hand.
Miller, 62, of Stephenville, has tried to make an issue of Blocker's lobbying work for chemical giant Monsanto. But Blocker not only has resigned from that position, he vows to completely divest from his firm if he wins the primary. We expect that as a long-time ethics lawyer, Blocker -- unlike Miller -- will steer clear of mishaps of judgment.
The third candidate, Jim Hogan, ran as a Democrat in the 2014 ag race. He neither responded to our interview request nor filled out a questionnaire. Recent campaign finance reports show he has raised no money.
The winner of this primary will face Democratic opposition in November.
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