TX Gubernatorial Candidate Bill White Talks Education, Border in El Paso
Fresh off a rodeo parade in Pecos, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White was still wearing his cowboy boots as he sat alongside El Paso education leaders Wednesday afternoon.
His message for the roughly three dozen voters gathered for an education forum at El Paso Community College:
It’s time to stop teaching to the TAKS test. It’s time to get students truly ready for college. And it’s time to fix what he calls a school funding failure in Austin.
“I don’t think that simply spending more money is the answer,” White told ABC-7. “But if you under-invest chronically, then you’re not gonna get good results.”
White’s campaign stops across the state have been a family affair.
His daughter Elena, a student at Rice University, has been in and out of the Sun City, herself.
“I’ve actually spent a lot of time here,” she said. “I’ve been campaigning and meeting with the folks here in El Paso starting a year ago.”
Elena says she and her father know border security and the drug war are big issues in these parts.
While White is against decriminalizing any drugs, as per suggestion from some El Paso city leaders, he says he is willing to lend an ear to their ideas if he’s elected.
“I’ll be a governor who’ll listen to the local civic leadership, the police chief, the sheriff, the county officials, the district attorney — people who are actually doing the job on the border,” he said.
Republican incumbent Governor Rick Perry has spent the last 12 days on a diplomatic trip to Asia.
His position on the border includes a push for a law enforcement surge to include Texas Rangers.
As for education: Perry wants to make college prep classes mandatory for high school students.
Links to both candidates’ websites are provided below:
www.rickperry.org
www.billwhitefortexas.com
