Hispanic Republican in bid to unseat East Arlingtons Chris Turner
Texas Insider Report: AUSTINTexas The boundaries for
Texas House of Representatives District 101 located in Tarrant County includes communities in East and South Arlington as well as West and South Grand Prairie.
Carlos Charlie Garza is seeking to add the 101st District to the Republican Party. Garza 55 was the youngest of 18 children.
His father died when he was seven years old.
While the family was in need of state assistance Garzas mother vowed that her five sons and three daughters who remained at home would serve their country through the military and as educators. They did just that with the exception of one sister who Garza
jokingly calls the black sheep" became an Internal Revenue Service employee.
- Garza went on to join the United States Navy where he served for 20 years.
- In 2010 he was elected to the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) for District 1.
- He believes that education is and will be his strong point.
While neither candidate is afraid to tackle local issues local political analysts believe public education and adequate funding for it is the main issue.
And as local issues like public transportation child welfare reform predatory lending and education heat up the candidates are squaring off to campaign.
Garzas opponent
Democrat incumbent Chris Turner 43 is a former executive director of the Tarrant County Democratic Party. He is seeking his third two-year term in the district.
Turner from the suburb of Grand Prairie recently fought to crack down on predatory lenders in Texas specifically payday and title loan companies. Turner said the industry has a powerful lobby in Austin and operates unregulated charging exceedingly high interest rates sometimes more than 400
As far as predatory lenders Garza said companies that exploit people who have run on hard times" should not be allowed.
Also at the forefront of the race is an urgent state-wide issue child welfare reform. Texas State District Judge Janis Jack issued a court-ordered overhaul of the states foster care system in December declaring that children almost uniformly leave State custody more damaged than when they entered."
In regard to that issue Turner said changes are taking place within the system and he is optimistically hopeful" that positive results will emerge.
GOP candidate Garza who also resides in Grand Prairie with his wife Tammy and their 17-year-old son said he does not foresee any immediate change in the current system. If elected he says he will work to streamline the process of finding homes for those children.
We have got to work to find the good homes so they can get the proper training to become successful as adults" Garza said.
Although Arlington voters have repeatedly voted against public transportation the subject remains a hotly debated topic.
Garza says he has not seen any data showing that public transportation is cost effective and believes it would be an economic drain on taxpayers.
Turner a long-time supporter of public transportation has an opposing view. I have been an outspoken advocate for some form of transportation in Arlington and Grand Prairie" he has said.
With its 48-seat lead in its control of the State House of Representatives the Republican Party is watching closely to see if Garza can turn the district red and add to its count.
More than 17000 ballots were cast in the District 101 race in 2012.
I have known Charlie for over 35 years and have served with him at two different duty stations. I can attest first-hand to this mans strong moral character personal integrity dedication and good humor says Commander J. P. Sipes Jr. U.S. Navy (Retired) on Garzas campaign website.
He is a leader who always set the highest standards and set the example for others to emulate" Sipes said.
