CANDIDATES FOR WASHINGTON CO. DISTRICT ATTORNEY, STATE REPRESENTATIVE DEBATE AT FORUM

Education, economic growth and integrity were some of the many issues addressed during KWHI’s second Candidates Forum for the March 5^th primary election.

Wednesday’s forum at Brenham National Bank hosted the candidates for Washington County District Attorney and Texas House District 12.

The first questions of the night focused on campaign finances for the district attorney candidates, Derek Estep and Dave Bunger, specifically making note of Bunger’s fourth quarter financial report showing that nearly half of the $13,623 in total contributions to him came from defense attorneys; in contrast, of the $7,000 contributed to Estep over the same timeframe, $100 came from a defense attorney.  The matter at hand was if there could be a conflict of interest involving defense attorneys who may hope to get favorable outcomes for their clients. 

Bunger stated that defense attorneys desire prosecutors who will be fair and ethical, and just because they support a candidate does not mean they are doing so in hopes of getting a better deal.

Estep said it is hard to know exactly what a defense attorney’s mindset might be when they contribute to a campaign like this, but it would make sense that they are trying to get the best for their client, as is their job to do. 

Other topics that the district attorney candidates gave insight on were pressing matters facing the office, assisting domestic violence victims, their experience with district court trials and how to move cases along efficiently while still ensuring an appropriate outcome. 

Switching to the state representative race, schools were a big piece of the overall discussion.  Trey Wharton talked about his efforts to make significant improvements in Huntsville ISD, comparing some aspects – like the superintendent search – to Brenham ISD.  He said it took a full community effort to make those improvements possible, adding that once the community support is there, it leads to benefits all around.

Each candidate was asked their thoughts on school vouchers.  All three candidates, Wharton, John Harvey Slocum and Ben Bius, said they supported the concept of school choice.  However, Wharton and Slocum cautioned against taking away from public schools to achieve that goal, while Bius emphasized restoring the fundamentals of keeping the student, teacher and parent first.

Slocum said if school choice is implemented, it is crucial to use the state’s wealth of funding to meaningfully change public education for the better.

The three also provided some of their thoughts on economic policy.  Bius expressed opposition to applying impact fees to developers and said some of the big factors in economic development include good schools, a strong supply of quality and reasonably priced housing, and supporting local and long-standing businesses with incentives.

Wednesday’s forum can be watched on the KWHI Facebook page.

Early voting will run between February 20^th and March 1^st in the lobby of the Washington County Courthouse Annex.  Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. February 20 – 23, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on February 24^th, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on February 25^th, and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. February 26^th – March 1^st.

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