Ralph believes that “the children of Texas are our most precious resource and we must ensure they have quality schools that prepare them to succeed in life.”  Ralph knows that success begins with accountability in both the school administrations and in the classroom.

Ralph believes that Bell County communities should have more control over the decisions made about their children’s education.  He believes that most decisions should be made by local school boards, who are accountable to the people of our communities, not by career bureaucrats in Austin or Washington D.C.

Ralph will make it a priority in the Legislature to fight for smaller classroom sizes, greater accountability for your tax dollars in our schools systems, and teacher pay raises to attract and reward talented teachers.

Ralph believes that history has proven that best way to keep the economy growing; our standard of living rising and small businesses succeeding is to keep taxes low.  Ralph believes the Legislature starting moving in the right directions by cutting property taxes by 33% but he knows hardworking Bell County families need the Legislature to do more. 

That’s why Ralph will fight to reign in skyrocketing homestead appraisals so that you can have real, sustained property tax relief.  Ralph knows that as long as your homestead appraisals can continue to increase by as much as 10% a year that you will continue to see larger and larger tax bills. 

Ralph will make it a priority in the Legislature to reduce the amount a homestead appraisal can increase per year to 3% or 5% and institute reforms that will make appraisal districts more accountable to the people.  He believes city and county governments need to start being honest with their constituents and raise tax rates if they believe new revenues are needed instead of hiding behind stealth tax hikes like appraisal creep.

Small businesses and large employers in Bell County are realizing the benefits of property tax reform instituted by the Legislature but Ralph knows more reforms are needed to ensure employment continues to grow in Bell County.  Appraisal reform will help encourage large employers to expand here and make Bell County their new home.

Ralph also believes that any budget surplus should be returned to taxpayers in the form of tax cuts.

Ralph understands that private property rights are vital not only to our economy, but to the personal liberty of our citizens. In recent years, bureaucrats and politicians have become increasingly brazen, abusing their eminent domain powers with alarming consequences.

That’s why Ralph has always opposed the Trans-Texas Corridor and will stand with Bell County farmers and ranchers against any illegitimate land grab. It’s time that Austin listened to the voices of Bell County farmers and ranchers. We need to build consensus on transportation issues by relying upon local citizens.

In the Legislature, Ralph will work to reform the Texas Department of Transportation, making it more transparent and more accountable.

Ralph knows that you can’t have homeland security without border security. Ralph believes the State of Texas has an obligation to protect its citizens from the rampant violence and lawlessness created by a border that is out of control.

Ralph will fight for more support for border sheriffs, more resources and technology for our law enforcement and will take the political courage needed to confront this issue to Austin. 

Ralph supports Governor Perry’s efforts to assist law enforcement along the border through “Operation Linebacker” and “Operation Rio Grande” but he believes we must expand on these bold steps to better protect our border and enforce the law.

Specifically, Ralph supports deploying additional DPS officers along the border, including more specialized and highly trained DPS swat teams that will confront the lawlessness in some Texas border towns.  Ralph also believes we should expand the size and scope of DPS helicopter and airplane surveillance operations and make the necessary investment in the communication tools that will allow DPS, the border sheriffs and federal authorities to more effectively communicate and coordinate operations.

Ultimately, Ralph believes that the responsibility for a secure border falls to the federal government.

Ralph believes that the integrity of our elections is fundamental to a strong, vibrant democracy. Voting is one of the cornerstones of our free society, and it should be strictly safeguarded.

Voter fraud threatens to undermine confidence in our elections and our current system is susceptible to abuse. When illegitimate votes are cast, legitimate votes are nullified, stripping our cherished rights of their value. Ralph will work to secure the integrity of our elections by requiring photo identification to vote.

Ralph will fight for election reform in Austin, because our elections are too important to leave open to fraud.

Ralph believes that government can only maintain the public trust when it operates in the sunlight. He believes taxpayers should have greater access to information about the activities of their government. If a governmental entity spends tax money, taxpayers should have an absolute right to scrutinize every penny. Ralph will work hard to open up the government’s books for all citizens to audit.

In 2007, the Texas Legislature passed a bill that requires greater transparency and accountability from all state agencies by setting a timetable for agencies to place their records on the internet for anyone to see. While Ralph believes this step was important, he’ll spearhead efforts to make financial data more digestible and searchable so the public can better understand how their tax dollars are spent.

Ralph believes Texas can continue to lead the nation in open, accessible government if we take the right steps and implement common-sense technology to open the books up for everyone to see.