TEXAS, USA — You may not know much about the office, but it is the state’s oldest. It impacts all of our lives in some way. And the race for Texas Land Commissioner pits a physician from Austin against an heir to the famed King Ranch.
Democrat Jay Kleberg says he’s put 60,000 miles on his pickup trying to make sure Texans not only know the importance of the office, but also his land management experience.
And Kleberg says when it comes to one of the General Land Office’s core missions, distributing disaster recovery funds, and a major controversy involving federal Hurricane Harvey aid, he has a plan.
“And so, we’re going to put together a strike force that will, in the first 90 days of taking office, identify how to get those funds out quickly,” Kleberg said on Inside Texas Politics. “It’s not just those Harvey funds. You’ve got $8.4 billion in federal natural disaster relief funds that have not been spent in the state of Texas that go back to Hurricane Dolly.”
After Hurricane Harvey ravaged the state in 2017, Congress set aside billions of dollars for disaster preparedness funding in Texas. But once GLO Commissioner George P. Bush, who is leaving the office after his failed bid for Texas Attorney General, distributed some of those dollars, controversy erupted. A federal investigation revealed that not only did the hardest hit communities along the coast receive zero dollars initially, the state plan used to distribute the money was discriminatory.
Kleberg says half of Harvey’s damage was located in Harris County, so making sure that area receives all of the aid intended for it should be a priority. And he says the office should always be thinking about the future.
“Essentially right now, we’re just waiting for the next storm to happen. We’re not planning for it,” said the Democrat.
According to our poll “Texas Decides,” a study of likely Texas voters and a joint effort between the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation (THPF) and Tegna Texas stations WFAA, KHOU, KENS and KVUE, Republican Dawn Buckingham enjoys an 8% lead over Kleberg (46% - 38%) among likely voters and 12% among most likely (almost certain) voters (50% - 38%). 2% of likely and 1% of almost certain voters say they’ll support Green Party candidate Alfred Molison.
Kleberg still sees a path to victory and says he’s traveling all over the state in the final weeks to close that gap.
“We’re really focusing on areas where the General Land Office has a real impact,” Kleberg said. “You’ve got a huge veterans community in West Texas. It’s in part why I’m in El Paso now. There’s a veterans home here. And really trying to tell people how it impacts their lives.”
For those who may not know, here is a quick primer on the Texas General Land Office:
It is the oldest state agency in Texas, established by the Constitution of the Republic of Texas. And it oversees millions of acres of public land, deals with other land-related issues such as developing renewable energy, serves veterans and students (by contributing to public school funding through the Permanent School Fund, PSF). The GLO even has administrative control of the Alamo.
The election will be held Nov. 8. Early voting starts Oct. 24.