Pegasus News election survey: James G. Baird, candidate for Texas State Rep. - District 105

Pegasus: What drew you to run for office?

Baird: I have been frustrated for many years with the current political landscape both locally and nationally. I was a supporter of the Republican Party for a very long time. In fact, as a youngster I was at the inauguration of the first Republican Governor of Texas for nearly 150 years, Mark White. I was able to vote for Reagan, and I was an enthusiastic supporter of the so-called “Republican Revolution” in the early 90’s. The problem, it seems to me, is that very little has actually changed since Reagan left office. The revolution fizzled, and the government has continued to grow, regardless of who had either the White House or the Congress. Locally, the education system here in Texas has grown financially, and has very little, if anything, to show for results. We have grown our own government here in Texas to the point that we can worry about whether a restaurant allows smoking or not. We have a prison system that has grown exponentially, but we are still under capacity to house all of these prisoners. We are continually taking on more and more people into our system, but we are disallowed to protect our borders to insure the efficient running of our public expenditures and the general safety of our citizens. It seems to me that a third party is important to voice these and many other concerns.

Pegasus: What are the platforms of your campaign?

Baird: My platform basically follows the Texas and National Libertarian Platforms. I believe that the very best protectors of our liberties are our citizens. We must have the right to own our property, businesses and homes with as little interference from the government as possible. That does not mean advocating anarchy, as I have heard so many times from critics. It means that I believe in the rugged individualism that made Texas what it was and what it is today. We need to get the Texas legislature out of the education business, for example. That has been, to this point, a dismal failure, and our local communities have become dependent on the State rules of teaching to the tests rather than teaching to the needs of the children of the individual communities. I think we should consider, for example, a voucher system. Another possibility is to actually lower our taxes so that ordinary people that wish to “opt out” and purchase an education have the ability to do so. That would also mean that the public educational system would have to actually compete for once. Witness the disaster that is the DISD and how much money they spend on each and every child, and then “lose” $84 million in one year. Yet, performance continues to fall.

I believe that we must discontinue the practice of placing those that commit “victimless crimes” behind bars while we still do not have room to pack in more inmates. The US currently has no peer in the world for the number of prisoners that we hold, and yet crime gets worse. Why? We have state educational systems that train beginners in crime to become members of gangs. There, they learn that it is not only possible to become members of these organizations, but actually HAVE to become members in order to survive the prison system. So we take a kid that has some dope on him, and according to the federally mandated “no tolerance” laws, place him in the company of truly dangerous people. There just has to be a better way to deal with chemical dependency than to train them into the membership of dangerous gangs.

Another issue of late has been the increase on taxes to business in the guise of reducing taxation on home owners. That has not worked out very well. Texas has not increased the sales tax on gasoline since 1991, and, if left alone, would still be more than enough to fund the public roads that we have. Instead, we move money from that fund to cover expenses in the educational system. (Remember when the State Lottery was going to fix all of those problems?) In summation, the State of Texas simply must balance its checkbook with money that it actually has rather than increasing our spending rates to meet the needs of the latest political whim. I like steak, and I would like to eat more steak. I have to consider my own expenses, though, rather than just go into debt to eat more steak. The same principle applies.

Pegasus: What are the concerns of the people in the community that you represent?

Baird: Of late, the great cry has been over immigration laws and how local communities handle the influx of immigrants THAT ARE NOT LEGAL. The City of Irving took the bold step of calling the INS when a police officer pulled over someone that could not produce a driver’s license or any other form of identification. The City broke in half. There were demonstrations calling the City a ‘racist organization’ and there were other protestors that supported the idea of maintaining the law. The thing I found interesting was that it was not racially bounded. There were many that supported the law and were not just “Anglos” that were “angry racists.” Likewise there were many that opposed this measure that were Anglos. This is not nearly as much a racial question as it is a political question. All of the local communities have been watching how the City of Farmer’s Branch reacted to the issue of illegal immigration and how the courts of law have been their antagonists.

Other issues, of course, center on the very high taxation rates in District 105 and how little there is to show for that high tax rate. Education falls into that category, naturally, but other things like public transportation and encouraging business development are concerns.

Pegasus: What are the sources of conflict in your election contest?

Baird:I am not sure about the exact meaning of that question, as we have a Democrat, an incumbent Republican and a Libertarian running for this office. Mainly, if I can venture, is likely money issues and coverage.

Pegasus: How do you differ from your opponents?

Baird: I am not an experienced politician for one difference. I am just a guy with a family and an interest in putting out an opposing viewpoint. I have expressed my opposition to the political views of the current incumbent in my platform comments. Mostly what I would like to bring to Texas is less of the “way things have been” and more of “what they can become.” I suggest we become reliant, again, on our own capabilities as individuals and move away from the great government hand-out system.

Pegasus: Do you have a favorite Presidential candidate?

Baird: I would be a great choice, but they have not asked me yet. Seriously, while I oppose many of the things that the Republicans have been doing, I am very afraid of a totally socialist agenda as put forth by the Democratic Party. This may not be the best year for a third-party candidate to even be considered, but I do favor most of the issues that Bob Barr has brought to the table.

Pegasus: How do you feel about the following newsy issues from the area:

* Convention center hotel

Baird: BAD idea.

* Switching freeways from free to toll-based

Baird: Not a bad idea for new roads, but it is a really BAD idea for roads that have already been built on the public dole. I have talked to many people that are very angry about having to pay a toll on HWY 121 when most of it has already been built.

* HOV lanes

Baird: If the city pays for them they can have them I suppose.

* DART rail

Baird: If the municipalities can afford them in their budgets, why not?

* Barnett Shale drilling

Baird: Sure.

* Cellphone use in cars

Baird: Either we stop micro-management from the government or we are all going to have to have a police officer in our cars to go anywhere. We have laws on the books already for driving recklessly, and I suspect we do not need more just to make ourselves feel good.

* Open internet access in public libraries

Baird: Put some adult blockers on them and all should be well.

* "Green" buildings

Baird: As long as I do not have to pay for them.

Pegasus: How do you feel about the following national issues:

* War in Iraq

Baird: (Ed. note: no response submitted by candidate.)

* Immigration

Baird: (Ed. note: no response submitted by candidate.)

* Energy sources (oil vs wind vs solar)

Baird: (Ed. note: no response submitted by candidate.)