Meet the candidates for Texas House District 65 in the Nov. 5 general election
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After ousting a Republican incumbent, Republican Mitch Little will go head-to-head with Democrat Detrick DeBurr on Nov. 5.
Little, an attorney who represented Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton during his impeachment trial, includes reforming the Texas House, advancing GOP legislative priorities and reduced spending and taxation among his top priorities if elected.
DeBurr, a software engineer, says his priorities include funding public education, Medicaid expansion and reasonable and rational gun legislation.
House District 65 includes part of south Denton county.
Mitch Little
Political Party: Republican
Age: 45
Campaign website: http://www.mitchlittlefortexas.com
Best way for voters to reach you: https://mitchlittlefortexas.com/#contact
Occupation: Attorney
Education: AB, Harvard University 2001; JD, University of Texas School of Law, Dec. 2003
Have you run for elected office before? No
Please list the highlights of your civic involvement/activism:
Elder, Chairman; Bent Tree Bible Fellowship; Past Pres., Collin County Bar Association; Past Chair, Collin County Bench Bar Foundation; Board, Curt Henderson Inn of court; Board, Alarm Justice Initiatives; Board, Mens Advocacy Group -- New Friends New Life
Have you ever been arrested, charged with a crime or otherwise been part of a criminal proceeding? If yes, please explain:
No
Have you been involved in a civil lawsuit or bankruptcy proceeding? If yes, please explain:
Yes, hundreds :)
Who are your top three campaign contributors?
Texans United for a Conservative Majority PAC; Darlene Pendery; Myself
Why are you seeking this office?
To bring about a bolder conservative vision for a safer, more prosperous Texas
What are your top 3 policy priorities?
To reform the Texas House of Representatives; to advance the GOP legislative priorities; and to lower costs for all Texans through reduced spending and taxation.
Why should voters choose you over your opponent(s)?
Progressive, far-left ideology doesn’t belong in Texas and has failed everywhere in the country it has been attempted. Texans believe in liberty, small government, low taxes, and financial freedom, and they deserve representation who will pledge to protect those things.
What is the biggest challenge facing the district where you’re running, and what is your plan to address it?
The biggest challenge facing not only my district, but all districts, is affordability. Texans’ dollars are not stretching as far as they used to, and it’s because government spending and taxation is out of control. We in Texas are suffering as a result of Democrat-led inflation and economic disorder. Left unchecked, government will grow until it swallows our state whole. We must make every effort to keep it in its rightful place and size.
How would you measure your success as a state legislator?
By the strength and unity and faith of my own family and by my adherence to the values and policies on which I campaigned.
Do you support vouchers or voucher-like programs, such as education savings accounts? Why or why not?
Yes, I do. We need to introduce competition into the system so that it can thrive.
What is your plan to fund Texas public schools?
We are spending more than ever on public education K-12 in Texas, yet our teachers are underpaid in comparison to national averages. We need to increase teacher pay, as our teachers are the tip of the learning spear. More of our tax dollars need to make it into the actual classroom, and we need to reduce administrative bloat and debt spending to support land and construction costs.
Has the state done enough to ensure a steady supply of electricity, even in tight grid conditions? What more should be done?
As of today, yes. For the future, no. Our projected growth as a state suggests we are going to need to invest even more in energy generation than we had planned. The state needs to create an environment that is favorable for investment in both natural gas- and nuclear-powered energy generation to protect our people from serious weather events and in peak utilization seasons.
What should the state do in the coming legislative session to address road infrastructure?
Texas just invested $142 BN in transportation infrastructure in 2023, including $100 billion for the state’s 10-year roadways plan. We need to let that play out and become real for Texans.
What should the state do in the coming legislative session to address the supply of water in Texas?
Texas needs to capture water every way it can. We should look at stormwater capture, reusing treated water, increasing our storage capacity and investing in water infrastructure. Technological advances will help us in reclamation and desalination as well.
What should the state do in the coming legislative session to address border security along the Texas-Mexico border and immigration?
It depends fully upon who the President is. If we have federal support for closing the border, this becomes less of a burden on Texas. If Kamala Harris wins the presidency, Texas will be fully on its own and should expect to fully fund and implement a border security strategy, including investing in a border security unit and ongoing OLS efforts.
What should the state legislature do to address property taxes and affordable housing for Texans in the coming legislative session?
We expect a $20BN budget surplus, and we need to put as much of that money back into the pockets of taxpayers as possible; it’s their money. At the same time, we need to cut wasteful government spending so we can return even more than that.
Should Texas make any changes to its current abortion laws. Why or why not, and what changes would you support?
No; we should protect the lives of the unborn at every possible opportunity, and I support no changes to our current laws concerning abortion.
What’s an issue that doesn’t make as many headlines but is important to you? Why is it important?
China. At present, the Chinese Communist Party and its affiliates are not banned from acquiring real property in Texas, and that is an absurdity. Arkansas passed a robust divestiture law, and I expect to do the same in 2025.
What steps will you take to communicate with constituents about their concerns, needs and the actions of the state legislature?
I expect to be back in the district every weekend, and I expect to meet with constituents about the bills coming down the pike in the House and what their concerns are. I will probably try to hold court at a cafe in my neighborhood on Saturday mornings, and I hope our people will drop by and let me know what they think.
Detrick DeBurr
Political Party: Democrat
Age: 55
Campaign website: www.deburrfortexas.com
Best way for voters to reach you. Please include contact info or link: info@deburrfortexas.com
Occupation: Software Engineer
Education: BS Computer Information Systems
Have you run for elected office before?
I unsuccessfully ran for City Council in The Colony, Texas in 2022
Please list the highlights of your civic involvement/activism:
The Colony Planning and Zoning Commission - 9 Years
Cedar Hill Planning and Zoning Commission - 9 Years
Board Member St. Philips School and Community Center - 4 Years
Member of The Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
Have you ever been arrested, charged with a crime or otherwise been part of a criminal proceeding? If yes, please explain:
No
Have you been involved in a civil lawsuit or bankruptcy proceeding? If yes, please explain:
No
Who are your top three campaign contributors?
Texas AFL-CIO COPE Fund, Every State Blue - Texas, Ms. Catherine Lustgarten
Why are you seeking this office?
I am running to bring my 18 years of experience as a P/Z Commissioner to issues in the State Legislature.
What are your top 3 policy priorities?
Funding Public Education, Expanding Medicaid, Reasonable/Rational Gun Legislation
Why should voters choose you over your opponent(s)?
I have a body of work that qualifies me to work through the problems facing the state. My opponent has no record of service with respect to public policy.
What is the biggest challenge facing the district where you’re running, and what is your plan to address it?
Funding our public school systems is the biggest problem facing district 65. We start addressing it by “pegging” the basic allotment per student to inflation. We don’t entertain any use of public money to pay for private schooling as long as Texas ranks in the botom half of the country, when it comes to per pupil funding.
How would you measure your success as a state legislator?
I will measure my success as a state legislator by “how many” bi-partisan bills I can co-sponsor.
Do you support vouchers or voucher-like programs, such as education savings accounts? Why or why not?
No. I do NOT support any program that takes money from public education. Texas ranks in the bottom 10 states in per pupil spending. The Texas Constitution, Article 7 mandates that the Texas Legislature establish and maintain free public school. Vouchers are in DIRECT opposition to this mandate.
What is your plan to fund Texas public schools?
(1) We must stop any program (i.e. voucher) that takes money from public schools. (2)We must peg the basic allotment to inflation (3)We must view casino legislation, marijuana legislation and property tax legislation relative to the role they might play in funding public education. (4) Introduce a state-wide ballot initiative to ask voters to dedicate a specified amount (i.e. 1%) of all budget surpluses to public education via a constitutional amendment.
Has the state done enough to ensure a steady supply of electricity, even in tight grid conditions? What more should be done?
No. Texas should look at pros/cons of rejoining the US power grid. This should be taken directly to the voters in a ballot initiative.
What should the state do in the coming legislative session to address road infrastructure?
We should move forward with intiatives to develop a light rail from Dallas to Houston and along the I-35 Corridor to alleviate stress and strain on I-35 and I-45.
What should the state do in the coming legislative session to address the supply of water in Texas?
The legislature should expand the ability of cities with 4a and 4b (Economic Development) Corporations to use use these dollars, for city pay for feasibility studies of drilling their own water wells. We should also make a portion of the budget surplus availalble to forgive portions of the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) Loans.
What should the state do in the coming legislative session to address border security along the Texas-Mexico border and immigration?
We should continue to work with the Department of Homeland Security to ensure that our border security efforts are in alignment with the border security efforts of the other 18 international border states.
What should the state legislature do to address property taxes and affordable housing for Texans in the coming legislative session?
We provide property tax relief by lessening the need for school districts to rely on property tax revenue to fund operations. Currently only 3% of building permits in the state are to build middle-tier housing. We have to give cities more latitude to implement land use policy that incentivizes developers to build middle tier housing in their cities.
Should Texas make any changes to its current abortion laws. Why or why not, and what changes would you support?
Yes, We should ensure our abortion laws meets the standards established in Roe v Wade.
What’s an issue that doesn’t make as many headlines but is important to you? Why is it important?
The Crown Act SHOULD ensure that persons are not discriminated against because of their hairstyle. Our current implementation of the Crown Act needs to close loopholes that allow for this discrimination.
What steps will you take to communicate with constituents about their concerns, needs and the actions of the state legislature?
I will host a quarterly townhall in district 65. It will be broadcast via social media. The goal of the townhall will be to (1)update constituents on current events in the legislature (2)Get feedback and input on current/pending legislation
This story was originally published October 14, 2024 at 1:32 PM.
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