By Bill Zeeble, KERA reporter
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-539457.mp3
Dallas, TX – Bill Zeeble, KERA 90.1 reporter: It's a busy weekday morning in Barbec's diner, near White Rock Lake in Dallas. At a corner table is District 107 Democratic candidate Allen Vaught, some potential voters, and members of Texas Parent Pac. The political action committee that formed last year backs public schools, more education funding and opposes vouchers.
Dinah Miller, secretary, Texas Parent PAC: I'm excited about Allen Vaught, because he'll listen and be better a representative for neighborhood schools. Bill Keffer doesn't have that relationship with the schools and people . He said publicly that he quit listenting to school people in '05.
Zeeble: Dinah Miller, from Dallas, is the Parent PAC secretary. Her group backed one Senate and 18 House candidates in the spring primary. Nine won, including Diane Patrick. She defeated Republican incumbent Kent Grusendorf, of Arlington , chair of the powerful House Education Committee. With the PAC's backing, Democrat Allen Vaught hopes to pull off a similar upset
Vaught: I've got a good grasp of the issues facing us, ranging from funding for a particular school, been talking with teachers about the fact they're paid four thousand less than the national average.
Zeeble: The Iraqi war veteran who returned home after suffering back injuries from a bomb blast, says U.S. lawmakers have approved billions for Iraqi health care, roads, and schools. But here, education still seems under-funded. At the diner, Vaught was hoping to win the vote of Jennifer White. Despite education funding and property tax reforms passed by the Texas legislature, she's not convinced they solved school funding problems
Jennifer White, parent: I feel like it's just sort of a band-aid. Teachers should be paid more, but it's really not solving problems we see in the school system. It's funding. It basically comes down to where the money comes from and how it has to be spent. I think a lot of funding we see isn't pointed at my children.
Zeeble: While education is Vaught's top priority, he's driven by other issues too. He says Texas homeowners pay nearly twice what Californians pay for insurance.
Vaught: Sounds a bit crazy. They've got earthquakes out there, all kind of problems out there. I don't know why that is. Look at Louisiana where hurricane Katrina just hit. We pay 36 percent more than people in Louisiana.
Zeeble: Vaught wants a state Insurance Department with more teeth. He's also bothered by North Texas pollution problems, and Governor Perry's fast-track approval of more than a dozen new coal-fired power plants.
Vaught: We need to have legislative oversight to make sure these new plants either aren't or if they are installed and built, that technology is required and used that doesn't contribute any more pollution to our air.
Zeeble: Representative Bill Keffer backs the governor's fast-track push for power plants, in part because builder TXU has said new facilities would be cleaner than old ones. As for insurance rates, Keffer says he voted for reforms to prevent companies from leaving the state during the black mold scare early in the decade. Keffer says parts of the industry were deregulated, and it worked.
Bill Keffer, Representative District 107: We've had more carriers come to the state. We've had more competition. There are carriers that have reduced premiums since '03 like All State being the biggest one. I guess it has reduced its rates a couple different times. But I think we've seen enough of an increase in the number of carriers providing auto and home coverage that we can see the reform bill is having the desired effect.
Zeeble: Keffer says his conservative philosophy of less government, fewer regulations, lower taxes and a free market influences his entire legislative approach. That's especially true with education. He's proud of the legislature's hard fought reforms that cut property taxes. The legislator also defends the idea of giving public school parents vouchers for private schools. But he would use them sparingly, in big cities like Houston, Dallas or San Antonio.
Keffer: You would only be talking about private schools that are interested in participating. It may or may not be a panacea for the problem. But it seems to be an option worth considering and at least experimenting with to see if it does provide an additional opportunity to folks who don't think they have one right now.
Zeeble: Keffer says he NOT against public education, as Texas Parent Pac asserts. He just thinks schools can be a lot better, competition can help, and that the best schools and teachers deserve funding. He voted for the teacher pay raise package and says some deserve even more, but only if done properly.
Keffer: I like being rewarded for hard work and delivering the goods. What really ought to be objectionable to everyone, especially teachers, is to think they can work hard and someone else not work hard at all, and both be compensated equally. I think good teachers deserve more pay. What I want to get away from is this blanket idea that all deserve more, I don't care what job they're doing.
Zeeble: In this relatively conservative district that leans Republican, Keffer's positions earn him not only votes, but money. According to the most recent financial statements, he's raised twice as much money as Vaught.
Martha Sanchez Metzger Good afternoon, this is Martha .a volunteer calling on behalf of Bill Keffer.
Zeeble; Martha Sanchez Metzger is making campaign calls from the incumbent's office. A longtime small business woman and trustee with Dallas County Community College District, she's a big fan of Bill Keffer and the Republicans.
Metzger: I m so glad my party went ahead and voted for an increase in teacher pay. Then fighting to reduce taxes, that means a lot. Those are my top issues.
Zeeble: According to Southern Methodist University Political Science Professor Cal Jillson, those may be the top issues for a majority of the district's voters too. Still, he expects this will be a close race, because national polls show Republicans under stress
Cal Jillson, SMU Political Science Professor: People will ask themselves do I want the standard issue Republican candidate I voted for in the past or do I want to think about the Democrats, who are in favor of citizens as opposed to corporations, more spending on schools? Let me think about this.
Zeeble: And Jillson says, District 107 voters will think about it, because to many of them, education is worthy of more funding. Early voting continues through tommorow. Election day is Tuesday, November 7th. For KERA 90.1 I'm Bill Zeeble
bzeeble@kera.org