One Voter’s Checklist for Candidates for the New CD 36

This column originally appeared over at Big Jolly Politics.

Well, it’s that time of year again—the start of campaign season!

This time around it looks like we are going to have a lot excitement in Texas and local politics: Governor Perry may run for President and Lt. Governor Dewhurst may run for the U.S. Senate (or decide to wait and see about his chances to become Governor), which will start an avalanche of moves across the state by other elected officials to run for statewide offices; there is a wide-open U.S. Senate race for the first time in at least a decade, which is attracting a varied and interesting field of candidates; and we now have finalized redistricting plans, which have created four new congressional districts and many re-drawn boundaries. Adding to the sense of frenzy that is building is the new filing deadlines for the March, 2012 Primary, which now runs from mid-November to mid-December, 2011. That means everyone from prospective precinct chairs to U.S. Senate candidates will have to make their moves soon to start raising money, get petitions signed, and qualify for office.

My home has been drawn into the new Congressional District 36. Although I was not a fan of the boundaries of this new district because it split the Clear Lake region of the Houston Metropolitan Area into three districts and combined East Harris County with many rural communities whose ties are closer to Beaumont and Lufkin than to Houston, it is now a reality. This new district, which has a recent Republican voting strength of over 65%, should elect a Republican Congressman, which means that it presents our local GOP with a tremendous and rare opportunity to send our unique voice to Washington while shaping the future of the communities of this district for the next generation. We need to use this opportunity wisely.

Since the proposed map was unveiled, I’ve been involved in several conversations about the new district, including an informative presentation this past week by Eric Opiela to the Clear Lake Area Republicans during our June meeting. Because East Harris County comprises the largest population center within the new district, it is presumed that there will be a lot of interest from our area politicians in running for the new district, as well as in running for other offices that may open-up because their incumbents will run for the new district. Based on what I am hearing, I suspect that we will see at least 5 to 10 candidates on the Republican primary ballot, and there probably will be a run-off.

Before anyone approaches me for support or an endorsement, let me make this clear: for now, I am staying neutral. However, I have thought about this race a lot, and have developed my own checklist that I will expect any serious candidate to address during the campaign, and I am going to share my list with you.

First and foremost, don’t get into this race unless you are qualified to run. By this, I don’t mean that you have to have run for office or held public office in the past (though I am sure that would help). Here is what I mean:

* The Republicans in this district are culturally conservative. If you are not pro-life, if you do not support gun rights and personal property rights, and if you don’t believe that marriage should be between one man and one woman—regardless of your position on any other “social” issue—please don’t enter this race. You won’t win, and you’ll end up diverting debate time and campaign “talking points” to issues that are not really open to debate among these voters.

* Regardless of how many grassroots volunteers you think you can muster, it probably will cost between $500,000 and $1,000,000 to win this primary (and more to run the general election). If you don’t have this amount of money personally available to spend on your campaign without depleting your life savings, or if you can’t raise this amount of money within the federal campaign limits by mid-December, 2011, don’t run. First, you never get as much volunteer work as is promised; and second, the size of this district, and the fact that there are at least 3 major media markets (Houston, Beaumont, and Lufkin) and many other small markets, makes this race structurally expensive for any candidate to wage seriously.

* Unless you have the support of your family to run (and then to work in, or commute to and from, Washington every week if you win), and unless you have the support of your employer or partners (or have the means not to need employment) to spend the time to campaign, don’t run. A race like this, with the distances you will have to cover to mount a serious campaign, is a full-time job for several months—and if you win, for over a year through the general election.

* Unless you believe you can do this job as well or better than the other candidates, and unless you really want to work in Washington and commit the time and effort it will take to do the job correctly, don’t run. If you want to run or debate to promote an issue, or if you want to get active in politics, there are plenty of campaigns to work for, and local offices to run for, don’t start by running for this type of office—999 times out of 1,000 you will lose and you will probably burn yourself out in the process.

Now, if any candidate still wants to run after thinking about these basic qualifications, here are the substantive points I will ask them to address:

Do you know and understand the district and its voters?

A map of the district can be found here, and by then going to “Basic Plan” and clicking on “PlanC 185”. The district is comprised of East Harris County, and 8 other counties between here and the Louisiana border. Although Lufkin and Beaumont are physically outside the district, their media markets impact the towns in the district, which include Orange, Winnie, Vidor, Jasper, Kountze, Newton, Woodville, and Livingston, as well as closer towns in Chambers and Liberty counties that are part of the Houston metropolitan area.

The major employers and industries include two ports in Houston and Orange; the energy industry from the wellhead, to the pipeline, to the refinery, to electricity production; timber, farming and ranching; small manufacturing and businesses; and recreation and parks in the Big Thicket.

There are many small towns and school districts with local governments and diverse local needs, as well as larger cities and towns like Pasadena, Baytown, Cleveland and Orange. You will need to educate yourself on the diverse issues these communities face, and their diverse interests in and interactions with the federal government.

Do you understand the different responsibilities between the federal government and the state and local governments, generally, and as they affect this district and its voters?

We conservatives all say we want a strict construction of the Constitution and want respect for the 10th Amendment, but you will need to understand what that really means and how that affects the new district.

Remember that the Constitution has been amended at least 9 times to expand the scope of responsibility of the federal government to include, among other things, authority over civil rights issues and the power to impose an income tax. So, even a strict construction of federal authority must recognize broader limits than existed in 1789. Moreover, the people in this district live with the federal government in their lives on a daily basis, from environmental, agricultural, energy, and transportation regulations, to small business loans and taxes. When something goes wrong, or when a constituent wants action related to a regulated activity, they will look to you for action—theory about the 10th Amendment won’t matter to them at those times.

You will need to be able to articulate your plan for addressing the real issues that these constituents face, and how you will address them as their Congressman.

If you believe in reducing the size and cost of the federal government, what is your vision as to how the activities currently addressed by federal programs will be addressed in the future?

Now if the GOP is successful in finally reducing the size and cost of government through the Ryan Plan, or any similar approach, the next question your constituents will have is “now what?” How will returning power to states, local governments, the private sector and individuals affect them, their families, their schools, their towns and their businesses?

You need to have an understanding of this district as to what changes will impact the lives of your constituents, and you need to articulate a vision as to how these changes will improve their lives and their communities. Then you need to work with local leaders to help them create transition plans to maximize the use of the new responsibilities they will have in a way that improves their communities.

What are the most pressing issues facing our nation, which are within the scope of responsibility of the federal government to address?

These voters will want to know how you will use your vote in Congress to address the great issues of the day, including whether to raise the debt ceiling and how to control the national debt; what to do with Obamacare, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security; how to wind-down the foreign wars and return civil liberties that have been limited since 9/11 without jeopardizing our national defense and homeland security; how to address border security and illegal immigration while maintaining our historic openness to newcomers who want to become Americans, and many other issues.

You need to develop a list of the issues about which you feel strongly, and then be able to articulate in 30 seconds why those issues are important and how you will address them if elected. In a field of 10 candidates, you’ll be lucky to ever get 30 seconds to talk on any given issue, so you must be prepared to effectively communicate your views quickly.

How will you carry-out your work in Washington?

Finally, you need to soberly reflect on the fact that, if you win, you will have to actually work as a Congressman. What will you do, and how will you do it? How will you divide your time and structure the management of your office to simultaneously participate in legislative committees, educate yourself on pending legislation and vote, communicate with your constituents, and provide constituent service—all with the goal of accomplishing what you ran to accomplish? Where will you live, where will your family live, and how will you accommodate both?

Frankly, I don’t want to vote for someone who has not thought about this last issue, because if you have no experience or plan for running your office and managing your time effectively, you will not be an effective legislator for this district.

Well there you have it, my checklist for considering the candidates for the new congressional district. I am sure that each of you can think of other points to add to your own checklists as you evaluate the candidates over the next few months, and my list probably will grow and change during that time, but it reflects my starting point—that is, I don’t want to waste time educating someone, simply fulfilling someone’s life-long ambition to hold public office, or feed someone’s need for power and prestige. Instead, I want to use this opportunity to elect someone who will effectively represent us and actually promote the Republican agenda of returning responsibility back to individuals, communities and states. The time for talk and posturing is long over.