Honored to serve
In a matter of days, my tenure serving as your State Representative will come to a close. This experience has been the greatest honor of my life. Five years ago, when I first began running for this seat, District 60 looked a lot different. It was composed of eight rural counties, including Stephens and Palo Pinto. In my first race, I ran under the slogan, “We cannot be bought!” Against all odds, I defeated the son-in-law of one of the biggest mega-donors in Texas political history. With that victory, I vowed to serve as a District-minded Representative, and I continually reminded myself of the “vote your district” mantra.
Let’s set the record straight one last time. My “district” was not the barely 30 individuals who attend the county GOP meetings every month; it was not two West Texas billionaires rich with campaign cash; it was not out-of-state billionaires pushing their lucrative school voucher agenda; it was not the Governor of Texas, or the Lieutenant Governor, or the Speaker of the House. My district was YOU, you the teacher who asks themselves at the end of each day, “Why do I do this for so little reward?”; it was you, the rancher who prays for enough rain to fall each season to keep your stock watered; it was you, the single parent who wonders each month if you would be able to pay the water and electric bills; it was you, the student who dreams of becoming a doctor to serve the underserved rural hospital; it was you, the victim of a heinous crime seeking swift and fair justice; it was all of you who work day in and day out to make our beautiful swath of North Texas so great and prosperous.
I am proud of what we were able to accomplish together. We protected the unborn, strengthened the security of our southern border, brought about real and substantive property tax relief, made sure our laws were uniformly enforced across the state, and protected public education.
I do hope our next State Representative will live by that same “vote your district” mantra. To make sure that happens, you, the people, must stay engaged and active. Our republic depends on citizens who will reach out to their local elected officials to communicate and influence their decisions. You must be louder than the PACs, the billionaires, and the out-of-touch political consultants. Be so loud that they will be unable to ignore you. Constantly remind them that there are real issues that deserve their attention in our local community: water, roads, public safety, healthcare and public education.
As much as I would love to leave this world of politics behind and just enjoy my peaceful stretch of the Brazos River, I know I cannot sit idly by and watch bought-and-paid-for politicians ignore our district’s and our state’s needs. I will raise my voice in unison with you to continue advocating for my neighbors. And if our officials fail to serve this district, I will pray for and hope for a new generational leader who will step up and exclaim: “We cannot be bought!”
Thank you for the privilege of serving as your State Representative. May God continue to bless Texas House District 60 and the Great State of Texas!
Glenn Rogers, R-Graford, represents District 60 in the Texas House of Representatives. His service in the Texas House of Representatives will end in later this month.
