James White, Texas

James White
Texas State House, District 12
Incumbent
In office
January 11, 2011 - Present
Term ends
January 13, 2015
Years in position	2
Party	Republican
Compensation
Base salary	$7,200/year
Per diem	$150/day
Elections and appointments
Last election	November 6, 2012
First elected	November 6, 2012
Next election	November 4, 2014
Term limits	N/A
Websites
Office website
Campaign website

James White (b. July 16, 1964) is a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives, representing the 12th District. He has served since 2011.

White announced in August 2011 that he would be seeking re-election to his seat in the 2012 election.

Education

• MS, Political Science, University of Houston, 2010
• MEd, Education Administration, Prairie View Agricultural and Mechanical University, 2000
• BS, Political Science, Prairie View Agricultural and Mechanical University, 1986

Professional experience

• Educator, State of Texas, 1993-present
• Commissioned Officer, Infantry, United States Army, 1986-92r

Committee assignments

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, White served on the following committees:

Texas Committee Assignments, 2013
• Agriculture and Livestock
• Corrections, Vice-chair

Issue positions

Campaign themes

Whites's campaign site provided an introduction to his philosophy of government as well as insight into the three major issues his campaign was focusing on - education, property taxes, and health care:

• Why I Am Running and My Philosophy on Government

Excerpt: "The citizens of the United States, and in particular, the people of Texas, have instituted government in order to expand liberty and create opportunity. Because man is God’s most unique and valuable creation and governments are created to establish the common good, government is serious business. Since government’s nature is control, the paramount challenge is to establish a government that is strong enough to ensure the common good of the people, yet, not muscular enough to tyrannize the people. To meet this challenge, the people, ultimately the source of power, have devised constitutions under the premise that limited government attempts to do a few defined tasks very good, while at the same time preserving a maximum level of individual liberty...

Nine years into the 21st century and the third century of our state’s existence, the current societal, cultural, and economic transformations in our society indicate that past institutions and methods are obsolete. Yet, the same values and principles, faith, personal liberty, opportunity, and prosperity, remain. This is the time to serve. Anyone can legislate during periods of high tax revenue, but the mark of the American experience is how we answer the call during periods of challenge. The next state legislative session faced an impending revenue shortfall, the demand for a 21st century infrastructure expansion and maintenance, the requirement to place the necessary incentives for robust private sector economic development, and the importance of ensuring that we have a 21st century hi-tech, global workforce."

• Education

Excerpt: "The Texas Legislature commits almost 50 percent of the state budget to education and because of that, the people of Texas have high expectations...Various studies highlight three aspects that contribute to teacher quality: the pool of candidates for teachers; the training and preparation of teachers; and the leading and accountability of teachers...Employ performance-based practices that encourage the best to consider the teaching profession....Incentivize teachers to return to the university to complete a graduate degree in their teaching discipline...it is important for Texas public students know and have an appreciation for the values and principles that characterize us as Americans and Texans. It is right to teach our students about the Judeo-Christian heritage of their government...

• Property Taxes

Excerpt: "End the Property Tax Now – Stop Renting Our Homes from the Government...If I am honored to serve the citizens in State House District 12, I will fight to end property taxes and go to a broad-based sales tax...Most importantly, ending the property tax is about personal liberty. If you have to pay a tax on it, you never own it. Right now, we indefinitely rent from the government. Let’s end the property tax now."

• Healthcare

Excerpt: "Apparently, the year-long adventure to pass “landmark” federal health care legislation has ended. The Democrat-controlled Congress passed this legislation without any Republican votes, support from pro-life Democrats, and popular support. This is a step toward further government invasion and control and does little for true reform of our health care finance and delivery systems that does need to be addressed...Across the nation, states have enacted legislation exempting them from this new federal health care program and attorneys general across the country are ready to go to court over the constitutionality. I applaud Texas Attorney General Abbott for his commitment to challenge this federal encroachment...Three, this legislative district has a prominent medical presence in Lufkin, Texas, which is a key player for medical care and research for all of East Texas. East Texas needs more medical care, not more government health insurance. Doctors and nurses do medical care for people and patients. Government bureaucrats administer insurance programs...the passage of this health care legislation is pure arrogance of power. Members of Congress have exempted themselves from this law imposing the law’s onerous taxes and regulations on East Texans. The federal government, deeply in the red financially, will try to fund this law anyway...With health care, we need to promote liberty. In East Texas we need to look at ways to provide incentives for more of our smart young people to pursue a career in medicine, not a bill of discouragement."

Political Courage Test

White provided answers to the 2010 Political Courage Test on the subjects of:

• Abortion and reproductive issues
• Budget, spending and tax issues
• Campaign finance and government reform issues
• Crime and public safety issues
• Economic issues
• Education issues
• Environment and energy issues
• Gun issues
• Health issues
• Social issues
• Legislative priorities

He listed his legislative priorities as:"I am promoting three E's for East Texas: Economic growth and development, education, and electoral representation. I will promote a business friendly environment that holds the line on taxing and spending, maintains a certain and fair regulatory climate and ensures that our courts are centers for justice, not jackpots. We need to focus on teacher quality by incentivizing what teachers do in front of the desk with students, not how long they sit behind the desk. We need rural East Texas representation in the legislature and in Congress. I will fight for at least one rural East Texas congressional district."

The full test can be accessed here.

Elections

2012

See also: Texas House of Representatives elections, 2012

White ran in the 2012 election for Texas House of Representatives, District 19. White defeated incumbent Mike Hamilton in the May 29 primary election and was unchallenged in the the general election which took place on November 6, 2012.

Texas House of Representatives District 19 Republican Primary, 2012
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
James White	54.5%	10,190
Mike Hamilton Incumbent	45.5%	8,503
Total Votes		18,693

2010

See also: Texas House of Representatives elections, 2010

White won election to the 12th District seat in 2010. He had no opposition in the March 2nd primary. He defeated Democratic incumbent Jim McReynolds in the general election on November 6, 2012.

Texas House of Representatives, District 12 2010 General election results
Candidates		Votes	Percent
James White (R)		20,958	57.63%
Jim McReynolds (D)		15,405	42.36%

Campaign donors

2012

Campaign donor information is not yet available for this year.

2010

White raised a total of $282,196 in 2010. Below are White's top 5 campaign contributors in the 2010 election:

Contributor	2010 total
Associated Republicans of Texas	$60,186
Texas Republican Party	$50,025
Robert Rowling	$25,000
Bob Perry	$22,500
Grass Roots Institute of Texas	$12,869

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a google news search for the term James + White + Texas + House

All stories may not be relevant to this legislator due to the nature of the search engine.

James White News Feed

• TRACKING JAMES ROSEN a.k.a. 'Alex,' a Watergate code name -- HOUSE ... - Politico (blog)
• Same-sex marriage could take decades to be legal in every state - The Guardian
• Sen. Rand Paul makes New Hampshire visit Monday - The Courier-Journal
• Marriage equality gains momentum - uuworld.org
• Good Morning! A Sitcom Finale Attracted 93 Million Viewers 20 Years Ago Today - KWTX
• Winning $590.5 million Powerball lottery ticket sold in Florida - KGMI
• Let the NDAA fight begin - Deprogramming the reprogramming request - DoD ... - Politico
• Why Rightbloggers Should Drop Benghazi, IRS, and AP, Focus on Umbrellagate ... - Village Voice (blog)
• Detroit Photos Of The Week 5/13 - 5/19: Doing The Jit, Street On Fire And ... - Huffington Post
• Performing Climate Change: DJ Spooky Talks with Bill McKibben - Creative Time Reports

Scorecards

Empower Texans Fiscal Responsibility Index

Empower Texans produces the Fiscal Responsibility Index as "a measurement of how lawmakers perform on size and role of government issues." The index uses "exemplar votes on core budget and free enterprise issues that demonstrate legislators' governing philosophy." Legislators are graded along a standard grading scale, receiving grades A through F based on their performance during the legislative session.

2011

James White received a grade of A+ on the 2011 Fiscal Responsibility Index.

• 2011 Taxpayer Champion. White was named a "2011 Taxpayer Champion," which is "the top award presented by Texans for Fiscal Responsibility to legislators based on their rating on the most recent Fiscal Responsibility Index."

Personal

White is a widower.

External links

• Texas House member page
• Biography from Project Vote Smart
• Campaign Site
• Political Courage Test
• Facebook page
• Official Campaign Contributions
• Contributions, Follow the Money
• Texas Tribune Profile
• Imagine Election Profile

References

Political offices
Preceded by Jim McReynolds (D)	Texas House of Representatives District 12 2011-Present	Succeeded by -