Government works best when it’s fueled by a healthy exchange of ideas. As diverse points of view percolate, lawmakers can latch on to the best of the bunch.
Sadly, that’s not how the Texas House operates these days. One party — and, increasingly, one faction of that party — dominates to the point that many good ideas aren’t even getting heard.
The District 107 contest provides an opportunity to widen and enhance the debate. Democrat Carol Donovan can help move the House toward policies imperative to the state’s future.
This newspaper believes that the 60-year-old Dallas attorney would advocate more assertively on education funding than her Republican opponent, Rep. Kenneth Sheets. She would be a more consistent supporter of local control for municipal gas drilling and payday-loan operations. And Donovan favors reforms similar to what we’ve supported to prevent another tragedy such as what occurred in West.
Who would best represent this district, which includes parts of Dallas, Mesquite and Garland, is a close call because both candidates are earnest, well-informed and motivated by strong principles.
Sheets has become less ideology-focused in his two terms in office and displayed more effective lawmaking. For example, he co-authored a 2013 bill with two Dallas House Democrats to allow DISD to craft three-year diploma tracks for high school students and to provide pre-K reimbursements for a portion of DISD’s full-day students.
But the 37-year-old Dallas attorney remains disturbingly vague on what unfunded mandates he’d repeal to increase funding for schools — decisions the Legislature probably will have to cope with because of an upcoming court ruling. Additionally, Sheets’ views on issues ranging from open carry to excessive abortion restrictions strike us as unwise and unnecessary.
Donovan is active in the League of Women Voters and was the founding director of the Castleberry Peace Institute at the University of North Texas. If elected to represent District 107, she will bring fresh ideas for effective state government.
