Tony Tinderholt, Republican candidate for House District 94, talked to students at a College Republicans at UTA meeting about his stances on certain issues and answered questions Tuesday.
The first issue Tinderholt talked about was border security. He said there’s a humanitarian crisis with human trafficking going on at the border.
“The drug cartels have found out pretty quickly that it’s a lot more profitable to bring people than to bring drugs,” he said. “The drug cartels have absolutely zero value for human life.”
Some solutions to this would be putting more armed people at the border and cutting funding to Mexican and Central American governments, Tinderholt said.
“What that’s going to do is it’s going to bring them to the table and try to help us,” he said.
Tinderholt also talked about his pro-life stance as well as his support for Second Amendment rights.
“I’m pro-life when it comes to babies, I’m pro-life when it comes to doctors deciding that they want to pull the plug on a patient,” he said. “For a conservative Republican, pro-life is a very easy thing to talk about because you can’t be in the middle of the road when it comes to pro-life.”
As for Second Amendment rights, Tinderholt said his goal for the upcoming legislative session is to decrease the number of gun-free zones.
“History has proven itself that the people that want to do horrific things to other people, they go to gun-free zones,” he said. “These people that have licenses are responsible. They went through a background check”
Tinderholt said, as representative, he would put the wishes of his constituents above his own.
“I may end up having to vote a little differently than how I personally believe,” he said. “What they want trumps what I want.”
Having served 21 years in the military, Tinderholt said he wants to continue that “selfless service.”
As far as the budget, Tinderholt wants to prioritize infrastructure and allow transparency for what gets funded with whatever money that doesn’t get spent going back to the taxpayers.
He will also reject federal healthcare mandates.
“I don’t think that the government should mandate that someone have a certain type of healthcare,” he said. “I think it’s the individual person’s responsibility.”
As legislator, Tinderholt said he will support the programs UTA offers.
“UT Arlington is a staple within this community,” he said. “UT Arlington is as much a part of Arlington, maybe even more important than the General Motors, than the Rangers, than the Cowboys.”
Tinderholt, who has a master’s degree in education, considers himself pro-education.
“I support the protection of teachers’ pensions,” he said. “I want to make sure that we are properly paying teachers.”
He added that firefighters, police officers, emergency medical service staff and teachers are all underpaid.
“They’re the ones that are shaping the future of our nation and are protecting us,” he said.
Also at the meeting was Judge Matt Hayes, justice of the peace for Precinct 7 since 2011. He is running for reelection in November.
“I’ve been involved in politics in Tarrant County for 20 years as a volunteer on a lot of different levels,” he said. “It’s my job to be available in the community.”
Finance junior Nathan Bassetto, College Republicans at UTA president, appreciated Tinderholt’s presence at the meeting.
“You have your politicians who are just politicians and you have your politicians who care about our youth,” he said. “For us it’s a big deal.”
Economics junior Benjamin Song, College Republicans at UTA vice chair, praised Tinderholt’s divergence on certain mainline issues.
“A lot of conservative Republicans want to talk about shrinking budget and reducing funding, but he’s talking about making sure we fully fund all of our initiatives, which is impressive to me,” he said.
Kelly Walters, political science and psychology junior, appreciated Tinderholt’s honesty.
“Tinderholt is exactly who he says he is. You’re getting face value,” she said. “I think complete honesty is rare in the political scene, and I think that’s something Mr. Tinderholt brings to the table.”
Tinderholt is running against Democrat Cole Ballweg and Libertarian Robert Harris. The election will take place Nov. 4.
@MattyMatShaw
Rules of Conduct
Welcome to the discussion.
Or, use your linked account: