Republican Candidates Speak at YCR Meeting
Tues., Jan. 12, Young County Republicans hosted a meet-andgreet with the Republican candidates running to replace Drew Springer in HD 68. The final day to vote is Sat. Jan. 23. All candidates had similar initiatives that they deem essential to folks in rural Texas. Redistricting was at the forefront of each candidate’s introduction.
Former Jack County Commissioner John Berry was the first to introduce himself to the attendees. He opened with an introduction of his wife Melanie, his son Trey who attended the event, and his son Michael, who was getting ready for college. He then explained why he was campaigning for the HD 68 seat.
“Melanie and I chose to move [outside of Jacksboro] 16 years ago because we had the opportunity to buy part of the old family homestead where we raised our boys,” Berry said. “I am more than a family man. I am also a business owner. I [own] a financial planning business in Mineral Wells. I’ve worked hard to make sure the values of family, strength, and independence are instilled in [my boys]. I served on the legislative priorities committee at the most recent state GOP convention. I made sure Austin understood the things that were important to conservative Texans, such as electionintegrity, monument protection, and the sanctity of life.”
Berry expressed that he will be the voice of rural Texans who will fight on their behalf. He believes his role as county commissioner allowed him to see how things such as unfunded mandates work in Austin, stating, “They tell these counties, you have to do this, you have to do that. But then they don’t give these counties the money to do it.” He continued, “They’ve got to remember what we have to work with. And I want to be the one to make sure that Austin hears when Texas has to say. Historically in Texas, 60 percent of the voters vote red, and we want to maintain that.”
Jason Brinkley, who refers to himself as a “common-sense conservative,” was in quarantine, but his wife, Katie, represented him. He communicated with her via telephone, and she relayed his responses to the audience. In the opening, Katie emphasized that Brinkley has been an elected official for 12 years and a Cooke County Judge for the past six years, and before that, he was Justice of the Peace. She spoke, opening about the things that are important to him.
“His main priorities for the legislative session are returning local decisions to local communities, fixing roads, rural broadband internet, protecting water and agriculture economy, and protecting property rights,” said Katie—Brinkley’s wife of nine years. “Something that I thought I could tell you, which is not written on the card, is a little bit about my perspective. And there are three things that I would like to share about him. Jason’s intentional about meeting with people regarding issues, questions, concerns that they have. And this is something that he has been intentional about throughout his time in public office. And I think that is really important, even when he disagrees with that person. And then, he also understands that topics are nuanced. And every topic we talk about, we talk about all the complexities of it, each side, and something that I learned from him. We have been married for nine years, and I admire how he will calmly approach a topic, even if it’s a hot button issue. He looks at all sides before he forms an opinion about it, which I feel like our culture pressures you to do. And he also does what he feels is right. I felt like it’s really important that he doesn’t compromise his integrity before an issue.”
Attorney David Spiller followed Katie Brinkley by thanking the Young County Republicans for putting in extra hours to organize the event, stating, “It’s very important to get the word out in such a short timeframe that we have and appreciate his opportunity. We all appreciate that.” Spiller touted that he is the most experienced candidate running for the HD 68 seat.
“I am the only candidate in this race that has dealt with rural health care issues. As General Counsel for [Jacksboro] Hospital for 30 years, I understand those challenges. I met with the folks at [Olney Hamilton Hospital] and Graham, and they have the same challenges. I have proposals to address those things. Rural hospitals are vital to communities along with good schools; you must have good hospitals. I am the only candidate that has first-hand experience dealing with municipalities,” Spiller said.
After Spiller’s remarks, Craig Carter took the floor and opened with a personal story about how he and his wife, Lee, stepped into a rural community to make a difference. He connected the work they were doing in a distraught community to his personal life.
“I know what poverty looks like. We were very poor. We ate out of a food bank, and I know what that looks like. So, we got actively involved and said we need to stand up for these kids. We need to make sure that they have food and clothes. We stepped into that as a family and saw the tremendous impact, and it grew really fast. Our stores funded the food bank,” Carter said. He said the food bank positioned him to see how rural communities struggled with some of the same things, which motivated him to campaign for the HD 68 seat.
Making his final plea to the attendees, he concluded with the importance of sending the right person to Austin because conservative freedoms have been threatened.
“We’ve got to stand, and we need people that have a backbone and know-how to stand against corruption and know how to get results. When everyone says, this can’t be done. You’re never going to change it. We need people that can say no, we are going to change it, and this is what the people are demanding. We need someone down there that can find solutions. And I’m that person that can go down there, find real solutions, solve problems. And if it gets blocked, I’ll be transparent. I will get up every day and work just as hard as you guys do. I will put in those 100 hour weeks to make sure that we’re getting results. We have to defend our freedoms from Washington’s overreach, and we have to make sure that we’re sending someone down there that has the backbone to pull that off and has the ability to pull in the right resources and the right experts to tackle any issue. I will be committed to serving you guys,” Carter said.
If you did not participate in early voting, you have election day, Jan. 23, to cast your ballot.