Jerry Madden

Pegasus: What drew you to run for office?

Madden: Family has been a political family all my life. It is a duty I feel for my community.

Pegasus: What are the platforms of your campaign?

Madden: My record of leadership in the state.

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

Madden: I have groups that are working on issues now and would love to have you look at the blog at JerryMadden.net and you could see the wide range of concerns they have which we deal with on a regular basis.

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

Madden: None. I have met the Libertarian one time.

Pegasus: How do you differ from your opponent?

Madden: My many years of experience representing the citizens of the area.

Pegasus: Do you have a favorite Presidential candidate?

Madden: I support the Republican ticket.

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

* Convention center hotel in Dallas

Madden: I have not had a single constituent bring this up as an issue to them in the campaign. Good accommodations and a top flight convention center and hotel seem to be essential in most of the major cities I have visited.

* Switching freeways from free to toll-based

Madden: I generally support the North Texas Tollway Authority. I have heard some on this issue and I do not favor switching lanes from their current use, however I am open to talking about allowing a toll on the HOV lanes for those single drivers who would want to pay it. I do not favor elimination of HOV lanes so I think high occupancy vehicles should not have to pay a toll in these lanes, only those who are single occupants using the HOV lane.

* HOV lanes

Madden: I do support HOV lanes as an encouragement for sharing of rides and other initiatives.

* DART rail

Madden: We are supportive of DART and I was in the legislature when we totally changed their board.

* Barnett Shale drilling

Madden: I support more drilling but do not expect this to be an issue in the Texas legislature

* Cellphone use in cars

Madden: I have and use one but believe that the hands free phones are best in cars.

* Open internet access in public libraries

Madden: There needs to be filters and blockers for children. Otherwise I support free speech.

* Green buildings

Madden: We should encourage all environmental efforts but need to be careful not to make the kind of decisions that would have unintended consequences like ethanol has had on food prices.

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

* War in Iraq

Madden: I support our troops and think the surge has worked. We are on the brink of victory there.

* Immigration

Madden: It is not just a national issue. My committee in the House has some jurisdiction and is working on Immigration related issues for the coming session. I oppose sanctuary cities and think we should ask everyone arrested for a felony what their citizenship status is.

* Energy sources (oil vs wind vs solar)

Madden: I do not see this as an either/or, but as an all of the above. We have expanded the use of alternative sources here in Texas and I support that effort.