Debbie Riddle has represented a portion of Tomball in the Texas legislature (District 150) since 2005, but for the first time since her initial 2002 run, she will face an opponent in the Republican primary.

James Wilson, a Spring insurance salesman, says he decided to run because he thinks new ideas are needed. He claims that Riddle has become a one issue politician.

“She focuses on illegal immigration,” Wilson said. “While that is important, there is only so much you can do at the state level. I feel that there are other issues that she is not attending to.”

Riddle has authored several bills related to illegal immigration.

Wilson, while new to running for office, is no stranger to the political world. He has worked as a legislative aide in the Texas house in the 1990’s, as well as Chief of Staff to a representative. Later on he worked for former U.S. Senator Phil Graham.

Wilson said if elected, he would tackle issues like public education, health care and public safety.

“(District 150) has experienced more than 50 percent growth,” Wilson said. “That has a huge impact on infrastructure.”

Wilson said the explosion in growth, combined with other factors has created a crisis in the public education system.

“The state has a constitutional obligation to fund public schools,” Wilson said. “Last year Texas spent $200 million on border security, a federal responsibility. That is money that could be going to things like education. We need to be reimbursed by the federal government for doing their job, because these funds are diverting away from public education.”

Economic development is another issue Wilson feels that Riddle ignores. He said that while Texas has fared better during the recent economic crisis, more could be done.

“(Texas is) doing much better than the rest of the nation, but we are nowhere near as good as we could be,” he said.

Wilson’s idea is to create more coordination between chambers of commerce, higher learning institutions and local governments to provide an atmosphere that fosters new business growth and expansion.

“The goal encompasses getting local businesses to expand or new businesses to relocate here,” he said.

As for the functions of the state legislature, Wilson is a big advocate of starting every budget process anew. Making agencies and politicians justify each dollar every session would cut down on fraud, abuse and waste, while making the process more transparent, Wilson claimed.

“We need to start with a zero budget and make sure that everything spent matches the constitutional obligations of the state,” he said.

Wilson said his final goal is to stand firm in his principles, but know how and when to work with political opponents.

“(Ronald Reagan) was firm in his principles but was able to work with opponents across the aisle,” Wilson said.

“It’s not caving in or retreating, it’s incremental progress. Reagan was good at that and understood it and it’s what I hope to bring to the table.”

New court-ordered boundaries for Texas house districts are still being challenged. However, if the boundaries approved by a federal court stand as-is, then District 150 wil now encompass the northern half of Tomball.

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