Houston Surgeon Joins GOP Land Commissioner Primary Race

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A Houston heart surgeon and attorney is the latest candidate to join the race to replace retiring Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush.

Dr. Jon Spiers announced his campaign for the Republican nomination for Land Commissioner on Thursday. 

According to his press release, Spiers is a veteran, heart surgeon, attorney and entrepreneur who is looking to “strengthen the General Land Office with bold, hands-on leadership to ensure a safer, stronger Texas that honors the past while building the future.”

He joins another doctor, State Sen. Dawn Buckingham, and Texas Real Estate Commissioner Weston Martinez in seeking the office being vacated by George P. Bush, who is challenging Attorney General Ken Paxton in the 2022 Republican primary.

(Full story here.)
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Sen. Buckingham Will Run For Land Commissioner

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Dr. Dawn Buckingham has announced that she will seek the office of Texas Land Commissioner being vacated by George P. Bush, who is running for Attorney General.

The Lakeway Republican announced her candidacy on social media yesterday, posting a screenshot of a press release noting that after the state Senate special session this month, she will formally launch her campaign.

The conservative senator said in the release that she is beginning the campaign with a two million-dollar campaign war chest, conservative endorsements, and a strong finance team, "committed to winning the race."

She also noted her strong conservative record of, "defending the right to life, our Second Amendment, our invaluable oil and natural gas industry, and the low tax economy that has made Texas great."

Her website notes that Buckingham made history in 2016 as the first Republican from Travis County ever elected to the Texas Senate, and the first woman ever elected to represent Senate District 24.

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Senate Bill Would Let Lakeside Properties To Secede From Austin

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A bill filed in the State Senate would allow hundreds of Lake Austin shoreline properties to disannex or "secede" from the City of Austin. 

State Sen. Dawn Buckingham (R-Lakeway) said she filed Senate Bill 659 because the Lake Austin properties – which had a property tax exemption granted to them in 1986 but repealed in 2019 by the Austin City Council – were not receiving City services. Those lakefront properties are now being charged property taxes from the City of Austin for the first time.

(Full story here.)

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GOP Senator Springer Files 11 Bills On Gun Rights

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State Senator Drew Springer has filed 11 bills in this legislative session protecting and expanding Texans' gun rights.

The 11 bills, the most bills filed by state senator in modern Senate history, said Springer, were filed because "Standing up for the 2nd Amendment has always been one of my top priorities," he wrote in a Facebook post. 

"Time and time again, we’ve seen how harmful government regulations have limited firearm producers and owners," the Weatherford Republican explained.

The bills would establish Constitutional carry, allow Texans to manufacture, sell and use firearms inside Texas, and give Texas sanctuary state status. 

Springer says many of the bills he filed were written to "stand up to the federal government’s overreach and fight for the 10th Amendment."

Rachel Malone, founder of Texas Firearms Freedom, praised Springer and bill co-sponsor Sen. Dawn Buckingham for the legislation.

"Glad to see a Constitutional Carry bill filed in the Senate (SB 540, joint authored by Sen. Dawn Buckingham) ....along with these other bills that we are prioritizing:

- 2A Sanctuary State - companion to HB 635

- Texas Firearm Freedom bill - companion to HB 915

- Suppressor Freedom bill - companion to HB 957

- Domestic Violence Victim Protection - companion to HB 1094"

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State Sen. Dawn Buckingham Calls On Austin Mayor Adler To Resign

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State Senator Dawn Buckingham (R - Austin) today called on Austin Mayor Steve Adler to resign. Adler was caught making a video from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico in which he urged citizens of Austin to "stay home." The video has received international attention.

In a Facebook post, printed below in full, Buckingham, who was re-elected last month, excoriates the Democrat mayor, saying, "If you're going to preach to your constituents that their families aren't worth seeing while jetting off with your own inner circle to Mexico, your priority is clearly no longer the people of Austin."

"It's time for Mayor Adler to resign. 

"Mayor Adler has spent months pushing daily videos and tweets out to Austin residents telling them to stay home. As small businesses in his own city collapse, and homeless encampments appear on ever more street corners, Mayor Adler hosted an in person wedding and then hopped on a private jet for a Cabo vacation. Worse than this sort of "holier than thou" attitude, Mayor Adler had the gall to record a message telling Austin citizens to stay home around the Thanksgiving holiday from his vacation timeshare in Mexico.

The Mayor should resign. If you're going to preach to your constituents that their families aren't worth seeing while jetting off with your own inner circle to Mexico, your priority is clearly no longer the people of Austin. I urge him to quit the job he clearly no longer respects so he can spend all the time he wants on vacation. Rumor has it Matthew McConaughey could step up to provide the kind of unifying leadership the City of Austin so clearly lacks."

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