North Texas delegates to the Democratic National Convention tell political reporter Jack Fink the message they want to hear from Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. Republican North Texas Congressman Roger Williams explains what he believes is a key economic argument for former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance.  Texas Representatives Brian Harrison and Mihaela Plesa discuss the ongoing school choice battle between Democrats and most Republicans in the Texas House. A controversial new policy at the State Fair over guns ends up with the Texas Attorney General threatening legal action against the City of Dallas. Jack Fink covers these stories and more in the latest edition of Eye on Politics (original air date: August 18, 2024). 

Democratic National Convention 

Delegates from across North Texas and elsewhere are convention-bound. They’re gathering in Chicago for the start of the Democratic National Convention on August 19. 

Here’s what you can expect:

• Citing a source, CBS News reports President Biden and former First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will speak Monday night. 
• Former President Barack Obama will speak Tuesday night, while on Wednesday night, former President Bill Clinton will address delegates before Vice Presidential nominee, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. 
• On Thursday night, Vice President Kamala Harris will accept her party’s nomination. 

The Vice Presidential candidates have agreed to a debate. Republican Ohio Senator JD Vance and Democratic Governor Tim Walz will square off October 1st on CBS News. 

Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris will face off in their first debate September 10th. Another debate between Trump and Harris may take place in October. 

In the six battleground states the Real Clear Politics average of polls has tightened. 

In Arizona, former President Donald Trump is leading Vice President Harris by point eight percentage points. Trump’s biggest lead comes in Nevada – where he’s up by 3.5% points. In Georgia, Trump is only up by 0.6% points. Harris leads in Wisconsin by 1% point. Her biggest gain over Trump is in Michigan where she’s up by 2.1% points. In Pennsylvania, it’s close to a tie, where Trump is up by 0.2% points. 

Jack spoke with four delegates from Dallas County who are heading to the convention: Carmen Ayala, Kathy Nealy, Tony Pham, and Jeff Strater. They discussed the messages they would like to hear from Harris and Walz at the convention.

Watch Jack’s conversation with the DNC Delegates below:

Congressman Roger Williams on Trump-Vance message

The Trump-Vance campaign is renewing its focus on inflation, affordability, and border security. 

They continue to criticize Harris for not holding a news conference or doing a formal, sit-down interview. 

Jack spoke with North Texas Congressman Roger Williams, R-25th Congressional District, who chairs the Small Business Committee, about the presidential race. 

Watch Jack’s interview with Congressman Williams below: 

School Choice battle

The controversial policy of taxpayer-funded education savings accounts, ESA’s, or vouchers returned to the Texas Capitol last week. 

The House Public Education Committee held hearings on this and other issues. 

State Representative Brian Harrison, R-Waxahachie strongly favors taxpayer-funded education savings accounts. “I want every parent to have education freedom because I believe every child deserves a quality education and the best way to do that, Texas should make up for being late to school choice by being bold. I want us to have a truly universal education savings account program so that every family has the opportunity to make a choice for their kid.” 

State Representative Mihaela Plesa, D-Plano, disagrees and says some rural Republicans in the Texas House will still join Democrats to try to block any legislation. “They continuously bring up that these voucher scams do not do anything to promote their districts and their schools. One of my colleagues pointed out that he represents almost 19 counties. I might be mistaken, but somewhere around 19 counties. Not one private school in any of those counties.”  

While lawmakers held a hearing, bills will start being filed in November for the next legislative session that begins in January.

State Fair fight over gun policy 

 A legal fight is brewing involving the State Fair of Texas over its new gun free policy. 

The Texas Attorney General sent the city of Dallas a letter last week threatening to sue over the new policy for this year’s event that won’t allow people who have permits to carry concealed firearms to bring them into the State Fair of Texas. 

In a statement, AG Ken Paxton said the policy, “that infringes on LTC holders’ Second Amendment rights is unlawful. Dallas has 15 days to fix the issue, otherwise I will see them in court.” 

The Fair begins September 27. 

Leaders of the fair made the decision in part because there was a shooting there last year that injured three people. 

The only exceptions to the new rule are for active police officers and certain retired officers. 

Some 70 Republican state lawmakers signed a letter and sent it to the State Fair’s Board of Directors urging them to change the policy. 

Representative Harrison was one of them. “Even if the State Fair’s intentions were pure there, it’s just a purely misguided policy. So, I very much hope they overturn it. Look, I’m proud to represent hundreds of thousands of Texans who believe in the Constitution. They believe in the Second Amendment, and they want their families to be protected. The good news is those things go together hand in glove. Even if the State Fair’s purported objective is to maximize safety, what they’ve done is to reduce safety.” 

Representative Plesa supports the State Fair’s new policy. “When I see my colleague sign on to, a letter, you know, condemning the State Fair of Texas for trying to keep their community safe after they saw gun violence in Fair Park, that’s crazy to me. I think that’s why most people are ready for commonsense gun legislation, making sure that people have to do a background check that we don’t have a situation where three people were injured last year.” 

Watch Jack’s interview with Representative Plesa below: 

Watch Jack’s interview with Representative Harrison below: 

City budgets 

Two of the largest cities in North Texas, Dallas and Fort Worth, have proposed budgets for next year. 

In Dallas, Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert proposed a $1.9 billion dollar general fund budget, which is up by more than $65 million dollars from this year’s budget. 

Some highlights include: the largest single year reduction in the property tax rate. It would lower the rate from 73.57 cents per $100 valuation to 70.47 cents per $100 valuation. 

The proposal would also increase the property tax exemption for those 65 and older and the disabled, from $139,400 to $153,400. The city would also hire 250 police recruits and add 63 firefighters and four paramedics. 

In Fort Worth, City Manager David Cooke has proposed a nearly $1.1 billion dollar general fund budget for next year, up $49 million from this year’s budget. 

Cooke said in his proposal that the city’s population could pass the one million mark next year. His budget would increase the property tax rate by half a cent from 67.25 cents per $100 valuation to 67.73 cents per $100 valuation.

In a July interview with Mayor Mattie Parker, she discussed whether Fort Worth could surpass the cities of Austin and Jacksonville in population, and a key element to make that happen. She also discussed the presidential race and U.S. Senate race in Texas.

Watch Jack’s interview with Mayor Parker below: