Posted 1:18 am Thursday, August 19, 2010
On The Road: Bill White Pays Visit To Tyler
Race For The Governor's Office
By JAMES WATERSON
Staff Writer
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White met with the president of the Smith County Retired Teachers & School Personnel Association Wednesday at Luby's Restaurant.
Staff Writer
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White met with the president of the Smith County Retired Teachers & School Personnel Association Wednesday at Luby's Restaurant.
The meeting was one stop on the campaign trail for White, the former mayor of Houston, who has visited 56 counties since July 1.
This is White's fourth stop in Tyler in the past six months.
While he was at the restaurant, White greeted diners and fielded questions about his opponent, incumbent Gov. Rick Perry, and political campaign issues including immigration, education and retirement benefits for teachers.
"Retired teachers are worried," White said. Before Perry, there was a $5 billion surplus in the Teacher Retirement System, now there is a $20 billion deficit, he said.
Despite the meeting, Eloyce Green, the president of the Smith County retired teachers group, said that the group is a non-partisan group that will not endorse any candidate for political office.
The group is primarily concerned about increasing the pay for retired teachers, she said.
"There has been no increase in pay since 2001. If we had been given cost of living considerations, we would not be hurting now," Ms. Green said.
White also discussed his policy on immigration, saying that as governor he would provide financial assistance to local police officers in the border area.
"We need more boots on the ground," White said.
On higher education, White said Perry has no plans to deal with the 93 percent increase in tuition costs since 2003.
Instead, he said Perry has appointed political allies to the state's administrative board, claiming that almost every person appointed by Perry is from one political party.
"Higher education is no place for politics," he said.
The 2010 Texas gubernatorial election is Nov. 2.
