Where the candidates for Texas lieutenant governor stand on taxes, guns, schools
Dan Patrick
Did not respond.
Mike Collier
Political party: Democrat
Age as of November 8, 2022: 62
Campaign website: CollierForTexas.com
Occupation: Certified Public Accountant; Energy consultant
Education: Petroleum Land Management, University of Texas; MBA, University of Texas
Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought)
Lt. Governor
Please list highlights of your civic involvement:
For years, I served as the volunteer treasurer of a non-profit organization dedicated to helping special needs athletes participate in sports. I have also worked extensively with young musicians looking to learn to play the trumpet.
For the last ten years, I have been highly focused on advocacy work for public education across the state of Texas.
Who are your top three campaign contributors?
Stephen David, Austin Ligon, Joe Phillips
What is the most important distinction between you and your opponent(s)?
As a businessman and energy expert, I have spent my career analyzing problems and bringing people together to find real solutions to real problems. And as Lt. Governor, I will prioritize strengthening our power grid, fully funding our public schools, and reining in skyrocketing property taxes.
Dan Patrick has abandoned the principles that make Texas the best place to live and work and, instead, has enacted a strategy designed to exploit the people of Texas in service of his own political ambition. He has rejected local control, attacked the rights of local leaders to make choices for our communities, and he uses partisan politics to distract from disastrous decisions that redirect our state’s financial responsibilities to individual Texans.
What are the three biggest issues in this race?
Reining in skyrocketing property taxes, funding our local schools, and fixing the power grid
Should property taxes be lowered? What can the state do to lower property taxes for Texans? Be specific.
Property taxes have risen more under Dan Patrick than under any Lt. Governor in memory, skyrocketing more than $20 billion over his two terms.
As a businessman, I will work ardently to ensure taxes are fair for Texas families and finally rein in exploding property taxes.
I will start by closing tax loopholes for out-of-state corporations that cost taxpayers billions of dollars each year and use the money to lower property taxes for Texans and invest in local schools and public safety. By ensuring the state is an equal partner with schools and counties, we will be able to reduce local property taxes.
What should the state do to address immigration at the Texas-Mexico border?
We need a secure, safe border. We face serious challenges along the border and, while the federal government has been far too slow to act, over his eight years as Lt. Governor, Dan Patrick has been unable to offer and implement any lasting solutions.
The state of Texas has spent 6 billion of our taxpayer dollars at the border—and the crisis is just as bad. Instead of increasing funding to local law enforcement or incorporating technology like drones and ground sensors, our tax dollars continue to fund antiquated solutions that serve as photo-ops but lack any substantive improvement to public safety.
Securing the border in order to address human and drug trafficking also requires coordinating with officials at the federal, county, and city level. I have heard time and again from local law enforcement officials that there is no coordination with state law enforcement officers, and they are left to bear the burdens once the news cameras pack up and leave.
Do you support changes to Texas gun laws? If so, what changes? Would you support raising the age to buy AK-style rifles from 18 to 21?
Following the tragedies in Santa Fe, El Paso, Midland, Sutherland Springs, Uvalde, and countless other communities, I will work to raise the age to purchase a firearm to 21 and implement a background check system that works in order to keep our communities safe.
As Lt. Governor, I will listen to the advice given by sheriffs and law enforcement officers from all across the state when it comes to issues like permitless carry. The bill championed and passed by Dan Patrick—against the strong objections of law enforcement—enables any criminal to carry a dangerous firearm, putting our children, our communities, and our law enforcement officers at risk.
How should Texas continue its efforts to make schools safer?
I will work diligently to ensure our schools have the funds available to help secure school permitters as well as hire counselors so that students receive the proper mental health. Learning from the tragedy in Uvalde, the state must also invest in better systems of coordination between law enforcement agencies so that they can quickly and effectively respond to a crisis.
Should Texas change its abortion law to make exceptions for rape and/or incest? At what point in a pregnancy should abortion be barred, if at all?
Dan Patrick has written the most extreme anti-abortion law in the nation with no exceptions even in the cases of rape or incest.
I will work with both parties to ensure that women and their doctors—not politicians—make decisions about their own healthcare. As Lt. Governor, he will repeal Texas’ extreme laws that ban abortions—even in cases of rape or incest—and restore the protections afforded under Roe v. Wade.
What can the state do to help students who are lagging behind grade level in subjects like math and reading? What specific policies do you support to improve achievement in Texas schools?
Our schools are chronically underfunded. Classrooms in Texas are overcrowded and students are suffering. As Lt. Governor, I will prioritize reducing class sizes but also investing in special education and GT support so that teachers can better serve the needs of their students. Likewise, the state must work diligently to build reading comprehension and math basics, especially for students early in their education.
Should there be a statewide ban or limit on gender-affirming health care treatments for transgender Texans younger than 18? Which medical procedures or treatments and why? How should such a ban/limit be enforced?
Health care decisions should remain between a doctor and their patient, or their patient’s legal guardians, without government interference.
Do you support Medicaid expansion? What changes would you like to see in the healthcare system to make care more affordable and accessible?
As Lt. Governor, I will work diligently to expand Medicaid and the majority of Texans agree. The fact is that we all currently carry the burden of the uninsured through our property tax payments, a portion of which go fund our public hospital systems. Medicaid expansion would relieve some of that burden with federal tax dollars—our federal tax dollars—that currently go to other states who have expanded Medicaid. Expanding Medicaid would extend a critical lifeline to rural hospitals across Texas which have been closing at devastating rates over the last decade, leaving hundreds of thousands of Texans without access to hospitals.
This is a common-sense fiscal decision that would directly benefit millions of Texans, even those who carry private insurance.
Texas is expected to have a huge budget surplus in the coming legislative session. How should those dollars be spent and what priorities should be addressed with those dollars?
The first step is to understand whether the surplus is one time or is it structural. If the surplus is coming from one time influxes of revenue, then the state must be mindful to not create programs that we cannot fund in the longterm. If the surplus is structural, then I will look to places we can make reduce costs for Texas families. As Lt. Governor, I will prioritize above all else investments in reducing property taxes by fully funding local schools as well as public safety to keep our communities safe.
Should Texas loosen its marijuana laws? Would you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational and/or medical use?
Republicans and Democrats across Texas agree that decriminalizing and legalizing marijuana to create a regulated state industry is smart state policy. It will pave the way for easier access to medical treatment, particularly for veterans who haven’t found other treatments effective for chronic pain and PTSD from serving our country.
While there are real questions on the details and actual implementation, and it will take difficult discussions, I’ve spent a career solving these kinds of problems. And this is one more issue where there is growing consensus–from Democrats and Republicans–and Dan Patrick stands in the way.
Should Texas legalize casino gambling? Should the state legalize sports betting? If so, what should be the framework and parameters?
Legalizing gambling to increase state revenue is a false choice. With several massive corporate tax loopholes on the books, we have more than enough places to turn to in order to fully fund our public schools, fix our power grid, and rein in property taxes for homeowners.
Has the state done enough to fix the power grid? What should be done going forward to ensure its successful operation, particularly in times of extreme weather?
Texans froze, Texans died, and Dan Patrick and his donors got rich. While our energy bills went through the roof, Dan Patrick put his rich campaign donors right there on the ERCOT board.
I’ve worked for three decades in the energy industry. From landman to building a Texas oil and gas company, I know that Texas must remain the energy capital of the world. And when I’m Lt. Governor, I promise you this—I will fix the damn grid.
Here’s what I will do:
Increase energy production across the board, including virtual electricity production.
Immediately increase transmission capacity so that renewable energy production in South and West Texas can get power to market.
Invest in storage and smart grid technology in order to transform intermittent sources into base load-like production.
Seek waivers for regulation from the federal government to build tie-ins to surrounding power grids.
Ensure winterization of the power grid for a Uri-like freeze.
