Democratic comptroller candidate Mike Collier has aired his campaign’s first TV ad.
Collier’s spot, which is running in Houston, attempts to capitalize on more than a week of news coverage of Republican opponent Glenn Hegar’s comments suggesting he’d like to rapidly abolish property taxes and replace them with higher sales taxes.
At issue is 26 seconds of video that Collier’s tried to make famous — Hegar’s property-tax remarks to a Longview tea party group in January.
Backed up by reputable studies, Collier has argued that sales tax rates would have to more than double to keep local schools and governments functioning in the world without property taxes that Hegar envisions.
We first reported on the Democrat’s broadsides here on Trail Blazers and in a Quick Take column.
Nearly two weeks ago, Hegar campaign manager David White said that however much Hegar’s Longview remarks might sound like a clarion call for fast repeal of property taxes, Hegar “has been clear that we are many years away from being able to implement such” a shift to sales tax. Last week, Hegar acknowledged he might phase out the property tax instead of dismantling it all at once.
“I have not backtracked in any way from any statement,” he told the Texas Tribune.
Collier, who calls himself “The Watchdog,” has gone up on TV early for several reasons. Hegar, as the heavily favored Republican nominee, might be tempted to coast. But Collier must fight to become known, stimulate interest and sow doubts about both Hegar and the entire GOP leadership in Austin. Collier, 53, an accountant who worked for Exxon and another energy company, would like to interrupt your springtime reveries and force you to remember it’s an election year.
He’d also like to remind you of his narrative, which is that three years ago, state GOP leaders unnecessarily cut more than $5 billion from public schools as a result of a botched revenue estimate by retiring Comptroller Susan Combs. Collier, a former PricewaterhouseCoopers partner in Houston, claims he can do better. As a no-nonsense Democrat, he can “shake up Austin [and] fix the way our state does business,” he says in the ad.
Being a Democrat, he pays requisite homage to public schools. But he also vows to “hold the line on taxes” — both a gig at Hegar’s tax-swap idea and an attempt to reassure people he’s not a crazy big spender.
On Tuesday, Collier sought to promote his ad in both a tweet and a fundraising email blast.
“Glenn Hegar’s plan to raise sales taxes 142% is no April Fool’s joke & neither is my new TV ad,” said Collier’s tweet. It linked to the ad, which Collier spokesman Jason Stanford said is running on broadcast and cable TV in Houston and also on the internet.
In the email, Collier belittled the experience of Hegar, 43, a rice farmer and licensed attorney. Since 2002, Hegar has represented the Katy area near Houston in both the House and Senate in Austin.
“Who do you want collecting taxes and making economic forecasts for Texas?” Collier’s email said. “A politician who’s been in the Legislature for 12 years or a certified public accountant who was the chief financial officer of an oil & gas company?”
Collier’s TV spot includes a picture of Hegar on the Senate floor. He appears to dance a jig, which may be the visual Collier wants to drive another message: On taxes, Glenn’s a little over-exuberant.