The March Republican primary ballot shows the District 73 race to be between incumbent State Rep. Carter Casteel and Nathan Macias, but it’s about much more than that.
This house seat race is about whether one person from outside this district can buy the election.
For two terms, Casteel has done an excellent job of representing District 73, which includes Bandera, Comal, Gillespie and Kendall counties. Most times she has voted with her GOP colleagues; occasionally she’s broken ranks because she felt it was best for her district.
That’s rankled the feathers of at least one major Republican donor, Dr. James Leininger of San Antonio. Since Casteel and four other GOP representatives voted against a bill supporting school vouchers, Leininger has contributed more than $550,000 into the campaign coffers of those five state representatives’ opponents, including Macias.
Casteel has said she could have supported school vouchers if there had been a provision for accountability, but this particular bill did not contain that provision.
The Macias campaign has misstated several of Casteel’s positions.
Here are five accusations from Macias’ Web site:
n Carter Casteel voted against increasing the homestead exemption from $15,000 to $30,000, resulting in higher property tax bills for homeowners (79th Second Called Session, Record Vote 18).
According to the House Journal, the vote was to table an amendment to House Bill 2 in regard to school funding that would have changed some of values in the bill in regard to homestead exemptions. Casteel was among the 74 bipartisan votes that got the amendment tabled.
Sixty-eight voted against tabling the item.
House Bill 2, like previous school funding reform attempts, got nowhere. Legislators could not decide on the best way to offer property tax relief while also funding schools adequately. To say Casteel was against giving taxpayers a break on property taxes by this vote is a gross misstatement. Casteel’s vote was the right vote for District 73.
n Carter Casteel voted for imposing a new payroll tax on working Texans (79th First Called Session, Record Vote 30).
Record Vote 30 was for tabling an amendment on House Bill 3, a school funding bill that would have closed many of the loopholes in the way businesses are taxed in Texas, according to the House Journal. By a vote of 96 to 47, the amendment was tabled, with Casteel voting against tabling the amendment.
A payroll tax as the Legislature was debating would have charged businesses for the people they employ and would not have been a deduction from employees’ paychecks. The payroll tax would have been imposed on businesses — not on employees — and is not technically an income tax. Casteel’s vote was the right vote for District 73.
n Carter Casteel voted for the legislation that would allow state government to convert free roads into toll roads, making you pay a fee every time you drive on it (79th Regular Session, HB 2702).
This bill further delineated the Trans-Texas Corridor, a mammoth transportation project spearheaded by Republican Gov. Rick Perry that is being set up as a series of toll roads. The bill allows regional transportation authorities to propose turning existing highways into toll roads, but only if local voters approve. The bill passed the House 120-9, with Casteel voting in the majority. The Senate also passed the measure, and Perry signed it into law.
Casteel’s support of the bill does not equate to her supporting tolls for existing local roadways. It simply backs local control of those roads. It’s better for voters in Comal County to determine whether Texas 46 is a toll road rather than the state Legislature. Casteel’s vote was the right vote for District 73.
n Carter Casteel introduced a bill to impose a 10 cent per gallon gas tax to pay for county roads (79th Regular Session, Record Vote 489).
The bill would allow county governments the option of implementing a 3 to 10 cent gasoline tax to fund road work. The bill currently is before the Local Government Ways and Means Committee.
Like most, we’d prefer not to see our taxes increase. But we also realize that many local governments are having difficulty securing funding for roadway improvements. We feel if a county sees the need to fund road improvements via a gasoline tax — and voters in that county agree to it — then that county should have the right to impose it. It’s about local control, an issue that, at least at one time, was a pillar of conservatism. Casteel’s vote was the right vote for District 73.
n Carter Casteel voted against reducing the tax burden on Texas families, but did vote to increase her own taxpayer funded retirement (79th Second Called Session, Record Vote 7).
The statement also is misleading, as House Bill 11’s primary purpose was to increase judges’ pay. As is current state law, the retirement benefits of legislators are linked to any increases in the judges’ retirement system. The bill passed 105 to 26, with Casteel voting with the majority.
And, as Speaker of the House Tom Craddick said Thursday in defending Casteel’s vote: “Very few members qualify for retirement anyway because you have to be in office at least eight years to receive the first level of benefits.” Casteel has been in office for four years.
If you’re a Republican who is thinking about sitting out this primary so you can sign Kinky Friedman’s or Carole Keeton-Strayhorn’s petitions, reconsider. Too much is at stake March 7. The District 73 representative should answer to us, and not to a single-issue Republican donor from San Antonio.
Carter Casteel should be re-elected to House District 73.
