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John Carona
John J. Carona (b. December 14, 1955) is a former Republican member of the Texas State Senate, representing District 16 from 1997 to 2015.
Biography
Carona graduated with a B.A. in insurance and real estate from the University of Texas at Austin in 1978.
In addition to being a senator, Carona is the founder, president, and chief executive officer of Associa and has held that title since 1979. Before his election to the state senate, Carona was a member of the Texas House of Representatives from 1990 to 1996.[1]
Committee assignments
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Carona served on the following committees:
| Texas committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Administration |
| • Business & Commerce, Chair |
| • Jurisprudence |
| • Nominations |
Issues
Transportation
Carona's policy positions emphasize transportation and infrastructure. In 2008, Carona co-published an op-ed titled with Senator Kirk Watson titled the "Time is now to fix transportation" in the Austin American-Statesman in which his issue positions on transportation policy were laid out. To fight the problem of declining and outdated transportation infrastructure in Texas, Carona offered the following alternatives:[2]
• "End transportation funding diversions. The State Highway Fund has long provided money for
the Department of Public Safety and other priorities. We must focus this money on roads and
other transportation projects.
• Use bond funding transparently. A year ago, Texans voted to dedicate $5 billion in tax supported
bonds to transportation projects. The Legislature should appropriate this money for
its intended purpose and commit to using it with complete transparency and accountability.
• Support regional financing tools. Other than toll roads and privatization schemes, the state
has provided few options for cities, counties and other local jurisdictions to pay for
transportation. The Legislature should offer voter-approved funding mechanisms for regions
to plan and pay for roads, rail lines and other projects.
• Rewrite the gas tax. Texas' primary source of transportation funding cannot provide for the
state's transportation needs. The Legislature must have a serious debate about restructuring
the motor fuels tax to reflect the enormity of our tasks by indexing it to inflation.
• Explore new alternatives. Texas must move past a 20th century model that relies so heavily
on single-occupancy vehicles and work to create a truly comprehensive statewide system for
moving people and freight. This should begin by funding the Rail Relocation Fund that voters
overwhelmingly approved in 2005.
• Reform the Texas Department of Transportation. With its overt advocacy of privatization and
occasional disregard for the Legislature, the department has rightly incurred the wrath of
Texans and their representatives. Though we applaud the department's recent efforts to be
more transparent and accountable, the Legislature must fundamentally reform the agency so
that Texans are fully aware of its activities and never question its objectives."[2]
Elections
2014
- See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2014
Elections for 15 of the 31 seats in the Texas State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on March 4, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in these elections was December 9, 2013. Donald Huffines defeated incumbent John Carona in the Republican primary. Mike Dooling (L) filed for election but did not appear on the general election ballot. Huffines was unopposed in the general election.[3][4][5]
Prior to the March 4 primary, Huffines said Carona was too liberal and described the 18-year incumbent as out-of-touch in the district.[6] After Huffines declared for the seat, Carona said: "I’m surprised Mr. Huffines was running as a Republican considering that he spent a small fortune attacking Republicans in the 2012 presidential campaign, but I welcome a thorough debate on the issues facing Texans."[7] In 2012, Huffines helped form a SuperPAC that supported Ron Paul and spent more than $400,000 in the race.[6] Texas Monthly named Carona one of the worst legislators in 2013, pointing in part to his long absence during the session.[8]
2012
- See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2012
Carona ran in the 2012 election for Texas State Senate, District 16. Carona ran unopposed in the May 29 primary election and was unchallenged in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[9]
2008
- See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2008
On Nov. 4, 2008, Carona won election to the 16th District Seat in the Texas State Senate, defeating opponents Rain Minns and Paul Osborn.[9]
Carona raised $1,305,604 for his campaign while Minns raised $113,061 and Osborn raised $0.[10]
| Texas State Senate, District 16 (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
 John Carona (R)
|
122,439 | 56.26% | ||
| Rain Minns (D) | 89,346 | 41.05% | ||
| Paul Osborn (L) | 5,825 | 2.67% | ||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Texas scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2014
In 2014, the Texas State Legislature did not hold a regular session.
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2013, the Texas State Legislature was in its 83rd legislative session from January 8 through May 27. Thirty minutes after the regular session ended, Governor Rick Perry called legislators back for a special session starting that evening.[11] Two additional called sessions were held from July 1 through July 30 and July 30 through August 5.[12]
|
2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2012, the Texas State Legislature did not hold a regular session. |
2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2011, the Texas State Legislature was in its 82nd legislative session from January 11 through May 30. A special session was called for May 31 through June 29.[12]
|
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Carona and his wife, Helen, have five children: Joey, Jeff, Will, Kirsten and Kel.
Noteworthy events
University of Texas Law School
Senator Carona was implicated in a Texas Watchdog December 2013 report on political favoritism at the University of Texas. Carona's son Jeffrey Steven Carona, along with two other sons of Texas state lawmakers, failed the Texas bar exam repeatedly after graduating from the University of Texas Law School. This was unusual for University of Texas Law School graduates, as less than 10 percent had to retake the exam in the eight years prior to 2013. State Senator Judith Zaffirini (D), to whom Carona has given over $30,000 in campaign contributions, and State Representative Jim Pitts (R) were also implicated in the report, as their sons had similar difficulties. The report found that between the three lawmakers' sons, they had taken the bar exam 10 times -- with only two passing the exam. The report was released following months of investigations into University Regent Wallace Hall and his FOIA requests of the University system. Hall implied that there were issues of clout and corruption within the Texas school system, alleging that legislators were using their political influence to affect law school admissions. The Watchdog report was issued following its investigation, which it said did not include details from Hall's FOIA requests.[13]
Private plane reimbursements
Carona owned a private plane. According to an investigation by Texas Watchdog, Carona used his personal plane to travel in Texas and was reimbursed $17,000 by state taxpayers for the cost of the flights he took on his private plane between January 1, 2008-May 1, 2009. According to the watchdog website, Carona could have flown on cheaper commercial transportation for the flights in question. His most expensive flight was between Dallas and El Paso in July 2008, at a roundtrip cost of about $1,300.[14]
Relative to the flights, Carona said that he flew on his private plane because he had responsibilities in the state senate and in his job as president and CEO of Associa, a national firm that specialized in homeowner association management. Carona said, "Covering both responsibilities in an efficient fashion necessitates that I avoid canceled flights and long delays in airport terminals. Therefore, by necessity, I fly private aircraft whenever possible. It allows me to fulfill my duties, without disruption, to both my constituents and my clients."[14]
Other state senators who spent taxpayer money on noncommercial airfare include Carlos Uresti and Robert Duncan.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "John + Carona + Texas + Senate"
See also
- Texas State Legislature
- Texas State Senate
- Texas Senate Committees
- Texas Joint Committees
- Texas state legislative districts
External links
- John Carona Personal Website
- Texas Senate Districts by Number
- Profile from Open States
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions: 2012, 2010, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002, 1998
- Texas Secretary of State, 2014 March Primary Election Candidate Filings by County
- Report Card from Texans for Fiscal Responsibility
Footnotes
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Biography," accessed May 24, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Austin American-Statesman, "Time is now to fix transportation," November 26, 2008 (dead link)
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "1992 - Current ELECTION HISTORY," accessed December 2, 2014
- ↑ Green Party of Texas, "Greens Release Candidate List," accessed July 26, 2014
- ↑ The Libertarian Party of Texas, "2014 Texas Senate Candidates List," accessed July 26, 2014
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Dallas Morning News "Republican developer Don Huffines says he’ll be challenging Senate veteran John Carona from the right," October 28, 2013
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedtrib - ↑ Texas Monthly "The Worst: Senator John Carona" accessed January 20, 2014
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Texas Secretary of State, "1992 - Current Election History," accessed February 17, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "2008 Candidate funds," accessed May 24, 2014
- ↑ kten.com, "Texas Lawmakers To Tackle Redistricting In Special Session," May 29, 2013
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Legislative reference Library of Texas, "Texas Legislative Sessions and Years," accessed June 13, 2014
- ↑ Texas Watchdog, "Children of Texas lawmakers get into UT School of Law, but struggle to pass bar exam," December 18, 2013
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Texas Watchdog, "State senators rack up big bills using charter flights, personal planes," November 5, 2009
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Leedom |
Texas Senate District 16 1997-2015 |
Succeeded by Donald Huffines (R) |
