– Texas House District 127 candidates square off  –

In the race are local physicians Dr. Martin Basaldua and Dr. Susan Curling, Humble ISD school board president Dan Huberty, and former Houston City Council Member Addie Wiseman.

Democrat Joe Montemayor will battle the GOP candidate who wins the nomination in the March Primary.

“I wanted to look at each candidate and have a chance to listen to their views,” said Atascocita resident Marie Duncan. “I haven’t made up my mind yet.”

Moderator Larry Lane, of the Kingwood Tea Party Society, began the forum with brief introductions of the candidates, followed by questions submitted beforehand by those attending the forum.

When asked whether or not they supported statutory term limits, Huberty was up first, and said that he believed that voters should determine who has earned the right to be in office. 

Basaldua added that the voter has the final say.

“They determine what the term limit is at the polls,” he said.

Curling presented a different point of view.  She conceded that the voters should have their say, but added that “the power of incumbency is so strong that the will of the people can be overcome by that,” she said to rousing applause.

Wiseman’s stance was that she would never advocate overturning the will of the people.

All of the candidates were in agreement that programs should be reviewed with an eye on the deficit.

“With a $12 billion deficit, every program will need to be scrutinized, and it will be important to have someone who has the courage to say no,” said Curling.

Wiseman said that she believed in sunsets and that every single program and agency would have to be “proven” to make the cut.

Huberty discussed some specifics, outlining how the insurance program should be streamlined, the travel budget cut, and how TxDOT needs to prove it can do the job.

Basaldua added that he believed strongly in sunset reviews and consolidation of programs.

Health care is on the mind of nearly every voter today, and the candidates were asked if they supported the concept of Texas guaranteeing health care for every citizen.

Wiseman summed up her views by stating, “I believe in free market, not free healthcare.”

Huberty said he would not vote for pay for coverage for all, because of how it would hurt small businesses.  He added that our goal should be to work on making it affordable for all.

Basaldua asked, “Where did we get the idea that the government had to guarantee anything?” to thunderous applause.

“I believe in personal responsibility,” said Curling, who added that she supported health care savings accounts, which puts the control in the citizen’s hands.

On the topic of a federal mandate, all four candidates expressed support of fighting for the sovereignty of our state.

Border security was another topic the candidates found agreement on.

“We have a hole in our roof that we need to patch,” said Huberty. “We need to stop sanctuary city policies.”

Basaldua said that we need to enforce the laws we already have on the books;  Curling’s concern is how it is wrong for citizens and their children to wait in line behind illegal immigrants for services.

Wiseman pointed out that she had fought the sanctuary city policy while serving on Houston City Council, and that she believes we need to enforce the laws we have on the books.

On the issue of education, Curling said that transparency was crucial when it comes to school funding. 

Wiseman believes that we need to open up education to competition;  Huberty countered that Texas was 44th in the nation in funding, and that we need to give public education a chance.

Basaldua agrees with Wiseman that we need competition in schools, and that charter schools can help minorities and the disadvantaged.

All four candidates expressed that local control was critical, and this feeling was across the board for every issue.

“I’ve been coming to these forums for 20 years,” said Kingwood resident Jim Harding. “This is the best array of qualified candidates I have ever seen.”

For election and voting information, visit www.harrisvotes.com, and continue to follow election coverage in The Tribune. For more information about the Kingwood Tea Party Society, visit http://kingwoodtps.wordpress.com/.

Photo: The Kingwood Tea Party Society hosted a candidate forum for the GOP contenders in the District 127 race.  From left, moderator Larry Lane, Dan Huberty, Dr. Martin Basaldua, Dr. Susan Curling and Addie Wiseman. Photo by Anne McIlhany