Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Making the Switch: Mayor Bill White for Governor

I aspire to be an interested and involved voter. When I look at myself today I can honestly say am I neither of these things. The pressure is mounting to have an opinion for the upcoming elections in November yet I know nothing.

So in my quest to become an interested and involved voter I have decided to keep track of my political awakening through this blog. I will try to present the information I am collecting in an unbiased manner as to best educate students the opinions, events, debates and current events we should be aware of come election day.
http://www.capitolannex.com/FEATURES/Bill.White.610.jpg

To start off I will present a few of Mayor Bill White’s policies as he runs for Texas governor.

Bill White’s policies and attributions:
I.               For Jobs and Economy
-       Attract new jobs to Texas
-       As mayor of Houston he has helped add more new jobs than 37 states combined
-       Improve education for the workforce
-       Lower homeowner’s insurance
-       Invest in transportation and other infrastructure (such as wastewater treatment facilities) to help businesses grow and attract new businesses
-       End plans for Trans-Texas Corridor
-       Decentralize TxDOT
-       Use tax dollars for business incentives more wisely
II.             Education
-       Expand pre-K programs that work by passing bills such as HB 130
-       Improve career and technical education by working with school districts, community colleges, and employers
-       Help local school officials work with local employers to create job banks for working students with a requirement that the student stays in school
-       Make flexible hours for classes for students who must work
-       Bridge the digital divide with technology in the classroom
-       Encourage enrollment in dual credit programs
-       Allow dropouts to return to school with a flexible program to catch the student up
-       Reduce dropout rates by helping students keep up over the summer through voluntary summer enrichment programs
-       Let educators teach applicable skills instead of how to make a minimum score on an annual high-stakes multiple choice test
-       Replicate practices from charter schools
-       Make college education more affordable for more Texans through lowering textbook costs and by allowing Texas students to pay little or no tuition with a public service commitment after school
III.           Border Security
-Fund an additional 1000 local law enforcement positions and 250 state troopers using federal grants, state appropriations and additional drug forfeiture dollars
- Fund border security entirely by federal tax dollars
- Work closely with people living and working along the border to develop effective programs
- Will personally attend semi-annual meetings of federal, state and local law enforcement and local political leadership along the border to make sure all activities are coordinated and accountable
- Work to create a regional lab to assist local law enforcement with forensic technology
- Revamp Department of Public Safety by raising hiring standards
- Adopt Secure Communities- a program that ensures that criminals in the U.S. illegally are identified and turned over to federal authorities.
IV. Health Care
-       Work to increase access to affordable healthcare
-       Lower the cost for people who are currently insured
-       Expand enrollment in programs like the Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Medicaid
-       Develop three-share programs that allow employers, employees, and public/private partnership funding to each contribute to the cost of affordable premiums for basic care
-       Push reforms to make health insurance more affordable for small businesses
-       Provide incentives for primary care providers to more closely monitor their patients

The above information was found on www.billwhitefortexas.com. Check this website for more information.

Also if you are interested in finding out more about Bill White’s policies you can attend Rally to Restore Competence with Bill White. This event will be put on by Longhorn Students for Bill White and will be at West Mall at The University of Texas at Austin this coming Tuesday Oct. 19 at 4:30 p.m. to show support and to get students to vote early.

3 comments:

  1. I really appreciate this information provided by this blog. I have been planning on working on my political knowledge for a couple years, but never seem to find the time for all the research necessary. So, thank you!
    A couple of questions:
    What is the HB 130 bill?
    Also, do you think the information provided can really be politically unbiased as the information was found on Bill White's website?

    May I suggest Donna Howard or Dan Neil for the next 'analysis'?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree with Rachael. I like to know what's going on and get involved but a lot of times when I hear about the elections or people running I don't know what they're talking about. This was great information that I understood well! An example of how unaware I am is I don't know Bill White's party but I'm guessing from this information he is a democrat? Who else is running against him? I also don't know what the HB 130 bill is and for other readers I looked up what TxDOT is and it's Texas Department of Transportation. Good blogging, can't wait to keep reading!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I too am in the dark when it comes to current events. I would find a blog like this to be very useful, come election day! However, I am interested in learning more about the over gubernatorial candidates; what are Rick Perry's beliefs? Maybe that's a good topic for this week's blog! I also feel like the blog uses a few too many specialized words. For example, not being from Texas leaves me clueless as to what "TxDot" is.
    Anyway, I think this is a very good topic that most of us college students can relate to.

    Please check out my blog if you'd like. I would appreciate feedback!

    http://calvinbermanphilosophermoviegoer.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete