14
Texas Association of Builders
January/February 2015
HOMEPAC
N
ot only did the November General
Elections prove to be interesting,
but this entire election cycle has
proved to be quite entertaining to watch
at all levels of politics. With so many
contested races in the primary elections,
the May runoff elections ended up serving
as a better indicator of who would most
likely win their election, compared to the
general elections.
In this election cycle, HOMEPAC, the
political action committee of the Texas
Association of Builders, was involved
and supported over 170 candidates for
statewide, judicial, state Senate and state
House offices. With a 99.5% success rate
in the general election, our PAC trustees
are to be commended.
After 14 years under Governor Perry’s
leadership, the office of Governor will now
belong to Attorney General Greg Abbott,
who won his election against Senator
Wendy Davis. Senator Dan Patrick beat
Senator Leticia Van de Putte in the race
for Lieutenant Governor. Senator Van de
Putte recently announced that she will be
resigning from her current Senate District
26 seat, to run for Mayor in her hometown
of San Antonio. A special election in
December will decide who will fill her seat.
In the race for Comptroller, Senator Glenn
Hegar walked away a victor, which now
leaves his Senate District 18 seat up for
grabs in a special election held December
6th. This is the first time in years that the
statewide elections have produced such a
tremendous amount of new leaders.
Currently, the partisan makeup of the
Senate for the 84th Legislature is 20
Republicans and 11 Democrats. There
will be up to nine brand new Senators in
the Texas Senate. This also creates a bit of
an unusual shift in experience away from
the Senate since 29% of its members have
never served in that office, while only
16% of the House members will be new
to their position. At our last HOMEPAC
meeting during the Fall Board Meetings,
the HOMEPAC Trustees moved to
support Lois Kolkhorst who is currently
the Republican Representative for HD
13 (Brenham) in the special election for
Senate District 18 and we are proud to
announce she won with 55% of the vote.
The 2015 House will have over 25 new
members. The partisan makeup of the
House for the 84th Legislature is currently
98 Republicans and 52 Democrats. Last
session, the House had 95 Republicans
and 55 Democrats.
Being involved in over 170 candidate races
takes a lot of money. This cycle, HOMEPAC
raised and spent almost $500,000 to
support candidates that have demonstrated
an understanding of the issues that
affect the Texas residential development,
construction and remodeling industry.
Fundraising is a key part in having a
successful and effective PAC and it starts
at the local level. Each local association
is given a specific goal based on their
membership numbers which is multiplied
by $25. It is vital to support HOMEPAC
so that our industry can continue to work
with and educate members of the Texas
Legislature that share our concern and
commitment to meeting the future housing
needs of Texans.
HOMEPAC provides TAB members with
many benefits besides just the satisfaction
of supporting our industry. Being active
and involved in the PAC gives members
the opportunity to meet with their elected
officials to discuss issues concerning
their business and industry. Developing
good relationships with your legislators
is critical as TAB works to effectively
advocate at the Capitol on issues affecting
our industry. If you know of members that
are not involved in the PAC, encourage
them to start participating in politics at
a local, state, or national level. Getting
involved will provide members with the
knowledge and resources needed to work
with local and state officials on issues that
are of concern to the industry.
The strength of HOMEPAC is essential
to help preserve a positive political
climate for the residential construction
and development industry in Texas, and
this can only be achieved by the help and
support from our local associations and
members. I encourage you to get involved
and see the difference HOMEPAC makes
for you and your business.
For more information or to make a
contribution to HOMEPAC, please visit
Robert Wood is the volunteer chair of
HOMEPAC, the political action committee of
the Texas Association of Builders and owns
and operates his company Custom Homes by
Robert Wood in Lubbock, TX.
Statewide Officials
* Italics= Non-Incumbent
Lots of New Faces…Lots of Hard Work
By Robert Wood
OFFICE – NAME
PARTY
Governor –
Greg Abbott
R
Lieutenant Governor –
Dan Patrick
R
Attorney General –
Ken Paxton
R
Comptroller –
Glenn Hegar
R
Land Commissioner –
George P. Bush
R
Commissioner of Agriculture –
Sid Miller
R
Railroad Chairman – Christi Craddick
R
Railroad Commissioner – David Porter
R
Railroad Commissioner –
Ryan Sitton
R
Supreme Court Chief Justice – Nathan Hecht
R
Supreme Court Place 6 – Jeff Brown
R
Supreme Court Place 7 – Jeff Boyd
R
Supreme Court Place 8 – Phil Johnson
R
Chief Justice of the 3
rd
Court of Appeals –
Jeff Rose
R
