Murr visits county
State Representative Andrew Murr talks with local photographer Tessa Kolodny during his campaign stop at the Cracked Mug in Bandera. BULLETIN PHOTO/Tracy Thayer
Andrew Murr, Texas State Representative for District 53 running for reelection in the upcoming Texas Primary, visited Bandera on Tuesday, January 25, and spoke with over two dozen constituents about issues of concern in the county at the Cracked Mug Coffee Shop.
Several questions concerned the proposed solar farm planned for Bandera County. Murr answered questions about the “313” tax abatement agreement and encouraged listeners to contact school board members to register their concerns.
He stated the “313” tax abatement was created in the 1990s to encourage economic development.
He related his rural heritage and how his family had ranched their land for a number of years. He characterized the Republican Party as a party of personal responsibility.
Murr also fielded questions about election integrity and what was happening at the state level to make sure elections were conducted fairly, suggesting voters request paper ballots if they felt uncomfortable with electronic voting machines and saying it was still the voter’s right to use a paper ballot. He emphasized all votes were tabulated at the local level and then sent to Austin.
He also spoke about rules changes in the House that would deny chairmanship of committees to Democrats.
A popular topic was the vaccine mandate for healthcare workers. Murr said that it would be hard to overturn a federal mandate at the state level and specified the Governor’s office had not indicated that there would be a special session called to address this issue.
To end the session, Murr spoke about border issues and reminded the crowd more than just a wall was needed to stem the flow of illegal immigration. He said that the costs of illegal immigration were not quantifiable.
He remarked as a state legislator he had voted for 2.8 billion dollars to slow the tide. He cited increased manpower, technology and other assets as solutions to that situation.
Operation Lone Star was created to put state efforts in place. Murr said that without corresponding federal efforts, the state would have a hard time by itself handling the border issues.
After Murr spoke to the group, he talked with individuals who stayed to ask more specific questions.