83rd Legislative Session

Texas 83rd Legislative Session News: 5 Tarrant Freshmen Making Name in the House

The following is a digest of a story originally published at the Fort Worth Star Telegram. The Texas Lobby Group is posting this summary as a public service for all Texas lobbyists, Texas Government Consultants, and other politically interested parties.

Tarrant County’s five new Republican House members of the 2013 Legislature – Stephanie Klick, Giovanni Capriglione, Jonathan Stickland, Craig Goldman, and Matt Krause – are already making their presence felt. Most of the Tarrant County five effectively secured their legislative seats in the Republican primary with heavy grassroots support from Tea Party Activists and intense door-knocking efforts in their respective districts.

Rep. Giovanni Capriglione of Southlake, who defeated longtime incumbent and committee Chairwoman Vicki Truitt of Keller in last year’s Republican primary, has been named chairman of the new Freshmen Republican Caucus. Its creation this year is a testament to the large number of GOP newcomers.

The Tarrant County five forged a common bond as like-minded candidates in Republican primary races. Rep. Stephanie Klick asserted the Republican freshmen developed a close working relationship well before entering the legislation. Their collective strength was on display when they chose Klick to lead the Tarrant County House delegation in an election for what is typically an uncontested position.

Rep. Phil King noted, “this is first time I recall the new members actually doing their own organizing [and] they planned on being able to hit the ground running.” Three of the five members have already filed a total of 18 bills, and all five representatives have had a very consistent message reflecting their views on issues such as increased education funding, illegal immigration, and budget transparency for voters.

Read the original article here.