Shane Hardin for Texas House District 93

Fellow Texans, we have been duped. The first shots of the War on Education have not been fired recently. They were first shot around two years ago and the vast majority of Texans (including me) did not even realize it.   

Before the last legislative session in 2011, the economy and the state were in pretty bad sorts because of the Great Recession. Due to shrinking property values and poor purchasing across Texas, state revenue for the upcoming biennium budgets were not projected to be good and drastic cuts needed to made. Public education was top on the list for major budget cutbacks. 

We all heard that no one wanted to make these cuts to education, but there was no other choice. There were protests. Organizations like Save Texas Schools were formed. Students, teachers, parents and concerned citizens pleaded with legislators to tap into the Rainy Day Fund to help education. They begged legislators to understand that education was too important and that this kind of emergency warranted the use of the savings account.

Outstanding legislators such as Senator Wendy Davis worked tirelessly to prevent the butchering of the education budget, but Perry and the Republican legislature did not budge. The result was $5.4 billion dollars in overall cuts to public education. Citizens swallowed this news begrudgingly, but it was tolerable because of we all knew that some sacrifices had to be made. We did not like it, but there was nothing more to be done.  

Fast forward to 2012. The overall state of affairs for the country and the state are better than they were, but we still have a long road of recovery ahead. Revenues are up slightly and there is already talk of restoring funds to help improve education and bring Texas out of last place in almost every statistical education category in the nation.

Those hopes were all but destroyed during the recent StateRepublican Convention in Fort Worth. During political party conventions, certain resolutions are passed that will more or less be the party’s platform during the upcoming year. One of the resolutions passed during the Republican convention reads as follows:

In other words, their new platform says that the $5.4 billion budget cuts dealt to public schools and higher education last year isn’t enough. There it is, in black and white. No one can claim ignorance when voting because their intentions are clearly stated. Like the attack on Pearl Harbor, this assault cannot be ignored. The battle lines have been drawn. The Republican Party, if elected, will make more cuts to a system already in crisis. 

This War on Education must be stopped.  With my election to the Texas House of Representatives, I will not allow this to happen. If you believe in maintaining kids’ constitutional right to public education, I ask for your support in November. Please visit www.HardinforTexasHouse.com and contribute today.  

Shane Hardin

Follow me on Twitter @ShaneAlanHardin

Living in Tarrant County, it is almost impossible not to drive on Interstate-35 at some point. At any given time, you can usually find it congested from Burleson to Alliance Airport making travel for Tarrant County residents a living nightmare on a daily basis.  

Interstate 35 is the “NAFTA” Highway that stretches from Laredo, Texas to Duluth, Minnesota.  Thousands upon thousands of vehicles travel on this road every day making it one of the most congested sections of the entire corridor. From a little past Fort Worth, it narrows down to two lanes going both directions. Coincidentally, where is the most grown taking place in our area? North Fort Worth. This isn't just a problem for residents of north-west Fort Worth; it is a problem for all of Texas as this highway serves as the primary corridor for the transportation of goods and services in addition to connecting residents to their jobs. 

Texas has a looming crisis. We have a crumbing highway system and no way to pay for its repair or replacement in some sections. Texans are now over $35 billion in debt for roads which makes us #1 in the nation for road debt, according to federal stats. Most of that debt has been to subsidize toll roads with tax dollars. When we pay to drive on those toll roads, it amounts to a double taxation at a time when Texans can least afford it. Most of the plans to expand I-35 involves the creation of toll roads, popularly called the NAFTA Super-Highway and strongly opposed by candidates on all sides of the fence while being strongly backed by Gov. Rick Perry. I cannot stress enough that I am 100% AGAINST these toll plans for I-35. I am against the privatization of our highway system – especially to foreign companies such as the 130/45 Toll Road around east Austin.

In 2007, a bridge (coincidentally on I-35) collapsed in Minnesota, killing 13 and injuring hundreds of people. In Texas, we have roughly 51,277 bridges. According to Transportation 4 America, about 3 percent of those bridges are structurally deficient. At first glance, 3 percent does not seem bad. Look deeper and you will find that amounts to 1551 bridges, but as the people of Minnesota will tell you, it only takes one. We need to take a good, hard look at our states infrastructure and start taking it more seriously. 

Texas needs to look at alternative means of transportation, starting with the creation of a high-speed railway system connecting all major Texas cities. This can be partially paid for by utilizing the Mobility Fund to convert existing freight lines into passenger rail lines. Financing these projects will not be easy but is necessary. 

Upon my election, I want a full audit of the Texas Department of Transportation to see exactly where our money is going. Once we find out where the money is going, we need to enforce the law requiring the gas tax money to go directly back into transportation – the practice of using this money to fund non-transportation items needs to end. This goes for sales tax for vehicle sales, vehicle registrations, inspections, etc.

We need to reinvest in our transportation before it costs us more in the future. 


What ideas do you have on improving transportation in Texas and in Tarrant County? I'd love to hear from you!

Shane Hardin

Follow me on Twitter @ShaneAlanHardin

For more information about my campaign, or to make a contribution to our efforts, please visit http://www.hardinfortexashouse.com/.

Someone asked me recently why in the world I wanted to run for State Representative.  I am running because I feel that our legislature has let Texas down.  Texas is a massive state with a budget that exceeds that of many foreign countries, yet our legislature only meets every odd year from the middle of January to the end of May.  That is not a very long time to handle as much business as Texas has.  Because of this, they table so many important issues that simply cannot wait any longer. 

One of those issues is education. We need a new system to fund public education, and we need it now.  We also have to find a way to put money into the transportation budget. Our infrastructure is crumbling and the majority of our bridges are in need of repairs or replacement. We need to expand many interstate highways to accommodate our ever-growing population and public transportation is becoming more of a necessity. 

Children’s healthcare and immigration are issues that are too important to place on the back burners any longer. We need to make sure that we can get as many children as possible covered either under Medicaid or CHIP. Despite what one might think, we need to make sure kids get the immunizations they need and that they grow up healthy. As for immigration, we need to work closely with the federal government to create a simpler, more realistic immigration policy. We cannot make laws like Arizona that over-reach what the federal government needs to do and we are wasting money trying to do their job. State representative is where I feel that I can make the biggest impact on these issues.

So why now?  Why would I want to put myself out there for possible embarrassment and probable defeat?  Redistricting has put this voting cycle into chaos, but that works in my favor and I do not intend on losing.  Life is about challenges and overcoming obstacles. I am a firm believer in the sports analogy that the score in every game always starts out 0 – 0. I will have a better-funded opponent, possibly an incumbent, but District 93 will be hard-pressed to find someone who will work harder than I will to improve the quality of life for its residents.  I am a fighter and I intend on taking this fight to Austin.

Ultimately, the one and only thing that can hold me back is money, or lack thereof.  My campaign platform speaks for itself and the facts are on my side, but it takes a significant sum of money to be competitive in a political race. I have never been comfortable asking for money, but I know that in order to compete and be effective I have to ask and I have to receive. Yard signs need to be made, brochures need to be distributed, mailers need to be done, etc.   Money will not be an obstacle to my opponent who is no stranger to the political machine. But other than being the better candidate, the main thing I have going for me is the fact that I am extremely resourceful.  I can, and will, do more with a fraction of the money than what they have. 

That is why I am asking you to place your faith in me and make a contribution through my website to aid me in my journey to Austin. We don’t have a lot of time but with your help, we can win this and make a difference in Texas politics.

Shane Hardin
District 93 Candidate

One of the questions I get asked most is, “Do you have kids in public schools?”.  The answer is yes.  I have a daughter in third grade and another daughter that is getting ready to go into kindergarten this year.  The thought of placing my children in a private school never even crossed my mind.  We are blessed to live here in Keller, which has a wonderful school district.  But even as good as the schools are in Keller, they have felt the pinch of the last legislative sessions in Austin. 

Public schools were cut somewhere to the tune of $5.4 Billion.  Not only that, but the same old out-of-date school funding system was left in place.  The Texas Legislature did not do their job and shirked their responsibility to Texas youth.  These young citizens have no voice in Austin.  It is time that they did and we must represent them and do what is in their best interests for their education.

I propose we scrap the current school funding system and replace it with a more equitable system.  Texas needs a one price-per-pupil way to fund.  That means that the school in Southlake gets the same amount of money per student as the student in Laredo.  This amount needs to be near the current national average, which would mean an increase of roughly $1,400 per student.  Texas is currently 48^th in the country in cost per student.  So how are we going to pay for this increase? 

For far too long, we have been making purchases on the internet without paying sales tax.  It is time we did.  We also need to set a separate, untouchable account for this sales tax revenue to be deposited.  This account will be dedicated solely for the purpose of education.  Remember twenty years ago when we voted for the Texas Lottery? We voted for that under the promise that it would provide much-needed funding for education. We know now that the money went into the General Revenue Fund instead of a dedicated account for education and we have seen the ramifications of that during Rick Perry’s tenure as governor.     

Texas kids cannot vote but parents can.  It is time that we stepped up and to do what is right for our kid’s future. Texas Education shouldn't be an oxymoron. 

Questions or comments? I would love to hear them! I want to be YOUR representative for District 93.

Shane Hardin