Texas House candidates debate

By Matthew McKee | Thresher staff

A Rice student running for the Texas House of Representatives election joined two other candidates to discuss public education, stem-cell research, the Trans-Texas Corridor and other issues in a debate Oct. 12 in McMurtry Auditorium.

The three candidates for the Texas House of Representatives District 134 seat, which includes Rice, are Republican incumbent Martha Wong, Democrat Ellen Cohen and Libertarian Mhair Dekmezian, who is also a Brown College junior. The College Libertarians of Rice University, the Rice College Republicans, the Rice Vote Coalition and the Rice Young Democrats sponsored the debate.

The race for the seat has been fierce as Wong and Cohen have raised over one million dollars in combined campaign funding, making this the most expensive state legislature race in Texas.

Cohen, who is the president and chief executive officer of the Houston Area Women’s Center, received strong audience support from the crowd of about 250, more than half of whom were students. Primarily going on the offensive, Cohen emphasized her commitment to crossing the divide of partisan politics.

“Partisan politics is why we are where we are today,” she said. “You can’t shake hands with a closed fist.”

Wong, a retired teacher and the daughter of Chinese immigrants, highlighted her accomplishments as representative during the debate and defended herself against Cohen’s accusations.

“I run to give back to the community,” Wong said.

Dekmezian faltered during some responses and primarily presented points with which the other candidates agreed. Dekmezian said he is a Houston-born moderate who is an alternative to mainstream politics.

“To improve society, we need to have more ideas out there,” he said. “It’s what I’m giving to everyone — alternative viewpoints and a moderate candidate.”

When asked how he manages a campaign while attending college, Dekmezian said he does not sleep.

Four faculty members asked questions of the candidates: Education and Sociology Professor Roland Smith, Jr. and Political Science Professors Paul Brace, Gilbert Cuthbertson and Bob Stein.

The candidates agreed on several usually controversial issues, such as abortion rights and stem-cell research. Wong and Cohen both said they support the decision in Roe v. Wade — while Dekmezian said he supports a woman’s right to choose in all cases — and all three candidates said they would support a non-partisan commission redrawing the Texas legislative districts. The three candidates also support stem-cell research, although Cohen said Wong did not stand up for investment in the Texas Medical Center’s stem-cell research programs.

When Brace asked about the state of health care in Texas, Cohen said $837 million in federal grants were not used for the state health care system, and she is concerned about the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which targets families who earn too much for Medicaid but cannot afford private insurance coverage for their children. Cohen said Wong had voted to reduce government funding for CHIP.

Wong said now more children are able to sign up for CHIP. She said the cuts were necessary to balance the state budget, something that is required by the state constitution.

The candidates were also asked about Texas public education.

Wong said she voted in favor of the $2,000 pay raise teachers received.

“That’s the highest pay raise for teachers in 10 years,” she said. “[Cohen does not] understand the issues.”

Cohen said Texas was the only state to lower per-pupil spending last year. She said property tax should be lowered only to $1.20 per $100 of value instead of Wong’s support of $1.00 to help pay for public education. Cohen also criticized vouchers allowing students to attend private schools.

“Vouchers are the death-nail of public education,” she said.

When asked about same-sex marriage, Cohen said Wong did not represent her district when she abstained from voting on the Texas constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. Cohen said she did not support the amendment.

“If we’re going to be truly a nation that respects individuals, we have to let people live in dignity and respect,” Cohen said. “The government should stay out of our bedrooms.”

Wong said polls had shown that District 134 was evenly divided on the issue, so she thought abstention would be the best response.

Cuthbertson brought up Texas’ drinking age to appeal to the students in attendance.

“There are suspicions that the 21-year old drinking age has not worked as intended,” he said.

Cohen said she would not vote to .lower the legal drinking age because the federal government would withhold highway funds from a state that does not maintain the drinking age at 21. Wong said the rest of Texas would not support a reduction in the drinking age even if she proposed such a bill.

Dekmezian said the Texas legislature should do what is best for the state.

“The rest of the country shouldn’t decide the drinking age here,” he said.

The Trans-Texas Corridor was also a point of contention for the candidates. Still in the early planning stages, the project would stretch highways, utility lines and railways across much of Texas, using large swaths of land.

Dekmezian called the highway an “ill-conceived plan” because it would take away land, require travelers to pay a toll just for crossing through an area and prohibit businesses from building around the corridor. He also criticized the state government for withholding paperwork on the planning of the project from the public.

Cohen agreed with Dekmezian, but Wong said the corridor would not take land from farmers.

After the debate, Smith said the candidates’ positions did not surprise him and that the debate should not end discussion between candidates.

“We need to continue to press the candidates on these issues,” Smith said. “Structured debate can’t get everything out.”

Christopher Schmidt, a linguistics graduate student, cannot vote in the District 134 election and does not support any candidate, but he said he thought Cohen had the strongest performance.

“We thought that both Wong and Cohen were good,” Schmidt said. “In the end, we thought Cohen had a little more personal charisma.”

Schmidt also said he recognized the amount of work Dekmezian put into his campaign.

“I hope his teachers cut him some slack,” Schmidt said.

Rice College Republicans chair John Stallcup said he thinks Wong presented herself well.

“[Her experience and knowledge] shows through every time she speaks,” he said. “Voters will respond to that. She is always very clear and concise and takes her job seriously.

In 2004, about 46 percent of District 134 voters supported Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, compared to 38.5 percent of voters statewide.

Election Day is Nov. 7, and the Grand Hall in the Rice Memorial Center will serve as a voting precinct.

October 27, 2006

The Student Newspaper of Rice University

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