Texas Politics 365: Justin Berry

Saturday, April 30, 2022

House Candidates Spar Over 2019 Immigration Tweets, Ethics

[#TexasPolitics365]

A State House race in the Capitol City is turning ugly, with accusations and counter accusations between two Republican runoff candidates.

Former Austin city councilor Ellen Troxclair has uncovered a series of tweets from her opponent, Justin Berry, in which he seemingly sympathizes with illegal immigration.

"I cannot say one way or another if there truly is a crisis as I have seen both Trump, Obama, Clinton, and Schumer all make statements about a border crisis with regards to illegal immigration," Berry said, in a January 2019 tweet. "I have seen 1st hand the problems those who are here illegally suffer due to lack of access to the same services you and I take for granted daily. I've seen my friends be separated from their family members, and others unable to achieve gainful employment."

Troxclair, who is seeking the house district 19 seat, posted a link and screenshot to this and other responses in the 2019 thread, noting, "Was just sent this and I have to say…this thread is very troubling to see from someone running for the @TexasGOP nomination."

Berry responded with a tweet calling Troxclair a liberal:

"Funny and sad story. My liberal opponent, Ellen Troxclair, who previously joined the far left Austin City Council to defund police - just had her team file a false ethics complaint against me yesterday, which was then swiftly dismissed by the Texas Ethics Commission today!"

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Saturday, January 8, 2022

Rise In Austin Sex Crimes Blamed On Police Department Cuts

[#TexasPolitics365]

47-year-old man who failed to register in the sex offender database was arrested in Austin last week after police officers caught him in the middle of a sexual act with an autistic teenager, and one expert says the city’s move to defund police has put it at the mercy of such criminals.

According to 13-year Austin police officer Justin Berry, the incident is directly related to Austin’s decision to strip funding from the police in 2020, which he says pulled resources from units that monitor and pursue convicted sex offenders.

"When the city of Austin defunded us by a third of our budget they also cut 150 officer positions," Berry, who is running to represent Texas’s 19th House District, told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

(Full story HERE.)
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