DALLAS — While state Senator Sarah Eckhardt, D-District 14, is running for Texas Comptroller as the Democratic nominee, she says in at least one way, she may be more conservative than her Republican opponent, former state Senator Don Huffines.
“I’ve often said on the floor of the state Senate that I have become the most conservative member of the Texas Senate because this one-party rule has become such a spendthrift and so has normalized corruption that is costing taxpayers money,” Eckhardt told us on Inside Texas Politics.
The Texas Comptroller is one of the most powerful positions in the state as that person serves as the chief financial officer who manages the state’s budget, collects taxes and tells lawmakers how much money they have to spend.
Eckhardt is busy crisscrossing the state explaining her vision for the office to voters: Dallas, Waco, Killeen, Bryan-College Station, and Gillespie County all within the last week.
We asked her what she would do on day one if elected.
“I would do an assessment of all of the no bid contracts that came in under emergency orders that have been renewed by the governor’s office every single month for the last six years,” Eckhardt answered. “We’ve seen a fourfold increase in no bid contacts. We need to take a look at every single one of them to see how much money we lost in failing to compete those contracts and also what kind of business is not being grown in the state because only certain businesses are getting those state contracts.”
The general election will be held Tuesday, November 3.
Early voting for the general election will run October 19 – 30.