This week I was honored to again earn the Republican nomination to serve House District 81 in the Texas Legislature when it convenes in January 2017.

Our community saw a record turnout of voters who wanted their voice heard. Every voter should be proud of their involvement in the process, regardless of whether their candidates of preference won. The challenges that face us require the input of as many citizens as possible. Thank you for taking the time to vote.

This was a long and hard race, but our results are crystal clear. West Texans want a state representative who delivers conservative results, not rhetoric, and who serves as a strong voice for West Texas.

Now more than ever, it is vital for West Texas to not allow interests from the big cities to treat our region like a colony that is exploited for our energy resources and not given anything in return.

That is why I fought to make sure that much-needed construction projects at UTPB and the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Odessa were funded instead of allowing those construction funds to be used in other parts of the state that already receive more than their share of state funding.

Our challenges moving forward will be difficult. With the downturn in the oil and gas economy, the state of Texas will have to tighten its belt just like every family in the Permian Basin is doing.

We will have to address school finance to protect West Texas parents, students, and teachers and reform one-size-fits-all tests that do nothing to educate.

And we will continue to fight a federal government more interested in arbitrary environmental regulation than job creation and prosperity.

These are some of the issues that I campaigned on for re-election, and because West Texans turned out in record number to vote in last week’s election, I know that these legislative priorities have a great deal of support in West Texas.

I appreciate your willingness to let your voice be heard. As always, if there is anything that I can do to better serve you, I hope you will let me know.

May God bless you and may God continue to bless the great state of Texas.