spotlight: hegar vs. west

VOTER INFORMATION

As Texans head to the polls for the July 14 runoff elections, it is our civic duty to be prepared by researching the candidates’ positions on important issues before we walk into the voting booth. It’s not always easy to track down information about local and state races, so we’ve done some of the heavy lifting for you - we know you’ve all been busy protesting systemic racism and supporting your communities as well as your own families!

Texas US Senate Democratic Primary Runoff Race - Royce West vs MJ Hegar

The race at the top of mind for Texans is the US Senate Democratic primary, the winner of which will face off against long-time Republican Senator John Cornyn, who has held the office since 2002. The two candidates vying to challenge Cornyn on November 3 are Texas State Senator and attorney Royce West of Dallas and decorated Air Force combat pilot MJ Hegar of Round Rock. In recent days the gloves have come off, and the two candidates have gotten into some heated arguments resulting in accusations of racism and sexism, among other things.

MJ Hegar

MJ Hegar has been endorsed by Senator Elizabeth Warren as well as numerous unions and a number of major national organizations including the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Planned Parenthood, NARAL, End Citizens United, and Everytown for Gun Safety, among others. Hegar was also featured in a New York Times Op/Ed piece in May 2019.

Yet Hegar - with so much progressive political power behind her, and while painting a picture of herself as a motorcycle-riding, tattooed rebel Democrat - actually holds quite moderate positions on many hot-button issues, including stopping short of supporting the Green New Deal and Medicare for All. And as far as we know, she has not appeared at a Black Lives Matter protest since the most recent round of marches began at the end of May.

Hegar has never held elected office, but gained notoriety after suing to overturn a policy that prevented women in the military from serving in ground combat positions. Hegar is running on a platform of getting special interests out of Washington, and has pledged not to take money from corporate PACs.

In a recent debate, Royce West criticized Hegar for making a donation to their opponent John Cornyn in August 2011 via a PAC. However, Hegar said she made the donation "because I couldn't get a meeting with him if I wasn't on his donor list." Hegar went on to explain at a recent debate:

"That is when I made the commitment to run for office because it’s disgusting that you should have to write a check for $25 to get a meeting with your representatives. It’s a broken system — it’s a system [Royce West] is a part of, by the way... and it’s why I’m running."

"We have politicians — frankly, like you, Royce — who’ve become millionaires in office and have spent their time legislating in their own best interests instead of the interests of their constituents. I’m done with it, I’m tired of it, and so is Texas."

Royce West

Royce West has served as a Texas State Senator since 1993. His US Senate candidacy has been endorsed by the Congressional Black Caucus, The Dallas Morning News and Fort Worth Star-Telegram, several labor unions, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, and dozens of other local and state politicians.

As Hegar alluded to at the recent debate, West has received quite a bit of criticism over the past several years regarding dealings that have been characterized as conflicts of interest or potentially unethical. 

The Texas Tribune reported in September 2019 that Royce West holds “an investment in a tax consulting firm that business records show is jointly managed by West and Republican megadonor G. Brint Ryan’s company.”

The Tribune also reported on the many government contracts held by Royce West’s law firm, which include Dallas Independent School District, Houston Independent School District, City of Houston, City of Fort Worth, and Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority, among others. West’s firm has also served as bond counsel for Dallas Area Rapid Transit, Dallas College (formerly Dallas County Community College District), North Texas Tollway Authority, as well as several school districts and cities. Not only have these contracts generated considerable wealth for West, but they also pose ethical concerns and may represent conflicts of interest.

As a state senator, West can influence funding and policy decisions surrounding these organizations, which could lead to pressure on these clients to keep West on their payroll. According to a Texas Watchdog investigation, West omitted some of these clients from annually filed ethics forms. However, he amended the 2008 and 2009 forms after the Texas Watchdog report came out.

West is perhaps best known as author of the 2015 body camera law for Texas police officers. In a 2017 article, the Texas Observer called attention to issues with the body cam law, which has come under fire for a variety of reasons. One major problem lies in the wording of the bill, which is vague enough that many police departments are interpreting the rules to mean that all cops involved in an incident have the right to view every other cop’s camera footage before giving their official statements about said incident. This opens the door to possible collusion between officers to “get their stories straight” before they go on record about violent incidents.

West continues to be mired in controversy, as his son Roddrick attempts to get the green light to build private soccer fields under I-345 between Deep Ellum and the Farmers Market. Royce West is using the influence of his office to drum up public support to ensure that I-345 remains standing, an outcome which would directly benefit his son’s construction plans. At the end of 2019, West sent an email to his constituents urging them to fight against the tearing down of I-345 and painting this fight as one against wealthy private developers. However, West’s son’s soccer fields represent that exact kind of private development.

To add insult to injury, part of the land in question happens to be the current location of F.A.R.M., a non-profit organization whose mission is “to reestablish the meaning in the lives of veterans through agricultural therapeutic rehabilitation and training.” The repurposing of this land for soccer fields would essentially shut down the Urban Farm and halt the organization’s long-range plans for expansion.

Please get out there and vote friends. Turnout for primaries and runoff elections is historically very low, which means a tiny percentage of Texans are making decisions that affect all of us for years! 

The last day for early voting in Texas is Friday, July 10. Election day is Tuesday, July 14.