Texas Democratic candidates brought their East Texas Whistlestop Tour to Livingston July 9 for a meet and greet at Across the Tracks sponsored by the Democratic Club of Polk County and the Democratic Party of Polk County.
Five candidates addressed the crowd, including Polk County Clerk candidate Ida Bencomo, Texas House District 9 candidate Shelley Tatum, Texas Senate District 3 candidate Bobby Tillman, State Board of Education District 8 candidate Dr. Dana Van De Walker and Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 9 candidate Holly Taylor.
The Whistlestop Tour for East Texas is a 12-day, 25-plus county swing that brings Democratic candidates and East Texas voters together face-to-face in the towns where they live and work and every stop is open to the public. Tour details are available at whistlestopeasttx.us.
“Local voters will have a chance to talk with the candidates about issues that affect families, schools, courts, public records and life in rural East Texas,” Polk County Democratic Party Chair Carolyn Bischoff said. “East Texans deserve to be heard, and this event brings that conversational opportunity to voters right here in Polk County.”
Polk County Clerk candidate Ida Bencomo
“One of the best things about events like this is it reminds us that democracy still exists. I believe that democracy is strongest when voters have choices on the ballot,” Polk County Clerk candidate Ida Bencomo said.
State Board of Education District 8 candidate Dr. Dana Van De Walker
A lifelong educator, State Board of Education (SBOE) District 8 candidate Dr. Dana Van De Walker has taught all levels of education for over 20 years and is presently an administrator at Lone Star College.
“As a community college administrator and professor, I see what’s coming out of our public school system and I am running for a number of reasons. Our current SBOE member for District 8 has been unopposed for the past 12 years. There are six Democrats running for SBOE. If three win, we can flip the board,” Van De Walker said.
“What’s currently happening with the SBOE? They met at the end of June for their regular meeting and did a curriculum review that is deeply problematic, specifically changes to the essential knowledge requirements. There are 5.5 million students of all different backgrounds and teachers of all different backgrounds,” she said.
“A huge priority of mine is to recruit teachers, pay teachers and keep them here in Texas,” she said, adding that Texas eighth-graders’ English language arts scores are ranked 44th.
Texas House District 9 candidate Shelley Tatum
“They don’t trust us. The reason they don’t trust us is because they know that we are not beholden to the same billionaire donors they are,” Texas House District 9 candidate Shelley Tatum said of those in office.
Tatum said her three issues are data centers, water and public schools.
“Because of the failings of the Texas Legislature and the Republicans that control it, they have no power to help us. The legislature can do a lot and they should give your county government the power to investigate and say no to the data centers,” she said.
“Texas has a water crisis. They can’t trust us to manage our own water sources because we are not beholden to Kyle Bass and the private equity firms,” Tatum said.
“I was a public school teacher for over 30 years. They can’t trust us, our locally elected school boards, to spend money and educate our children in the manner that we see fit because their billionaire donors don’t want us to educate our children the way we see fit,” she said.
“The bottom line is whether we like it or not, they don’t trust us. We need to flip the they and the us,” Tatum said.
Texas Senate District 3 candidate Bobby Tillman
Texas Senate District 3 candidate Bobby Tillman is a small business owner and cattle rancher.
“I care. I want to protect our water from data centers. I want to protect our children. I want to get rid of vouchers and get rid of testing and give control back to the ISDs. I want to help our veterans with mental health. I am for cannabis use. I am for universal childcare,” Tillman said.
“I don’t like talking about things I don’t know about so I went and visited a data center. You can hear it five miles away. They have to have some kind of regulation. I want to contest the permits for water and electricity. If they can’t get water and electricity, they’re dead in the water,” Tillman said.
“I want the national guard in the schools, not as policemen but as a guard. I want to protect our children. That’s our future. If the presence of the national guard deters one person, then it’s worth it. Protecting our children is my number one priority – educating and protecting them. I don’t have all the answers. I just know that we can’t do nothing,” he said.
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 9 candidate Holly Taylor
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 9 candidate Holly Taylor said the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals handles important constitutional questions on a daily basis on issues that are critical.
“Our courts couldn’t be more important than they are right now. The courts are critical. The judicial branch is critical,” she said.
Taylor said she has spent over 25 years practicing criminal law. She said she defends people accused of crimes, but also spent 17 years as a prosecutor in Travis County.
However, five years ago, she started working with the conviction integrity unit in Austin. “We found that we had innocent people behind bars for crimes they didn’t commit. It was life-changing working to exonerate them. Doing this work revealed the cracks to me in the criminal justice system.”
