From New Braunfels ChamberTrade Show to Longhorn Cafe in Harper

The New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce Trade Show was, once again, a first rate event. Held in the newly expanded and beautifully designed Civic Center in downtown New Braunfels, the preview evening featured good food, great booths and friendly people.
Heading out to Harper the next morning, my wife, Robbi and I again enjoyed viewing the beauty of our Texas land. Untouched by large commercial signs, this part of the hill country is just a pleasure to drive. Voicing your Views -where I travel the district listening to the people -was held during lunch in the Longhorn Cafe. This Harper restaurant proved to be a real treat. Their grilled cheese sandwiches are thick, crisp and delicious while the burgers received the review, "best to date on the campaign trail."
I was graciously welcomed by locals who are very interested in water and schools - subjects that seem to concern all us Texans these days. After a very interesting conversation we headed to Fredericksburg - though the advertised Voicing your Views at the Altdorf Biergarten had to be moved. The home furnishings shop and wine bar next door, House.Wine. welcomed us. Owner Todd and manager Bruce made us welcome and we drank the world's best sangria - a sparkling white wine potion with a sexy name. Try it next time you are on Main Street in Fredericksburg. This cool oasis is just the perfect spot to hang out - but be careful or you will end up buying gorgeous furniture and accessories at the same time.
The Kendall County Retired Teachers sponsored a candidate forum for the HD73 race on Thursday. This active group of active professionals had specific questions and seemed very responsive to my message. As they know, I began my run for office because of public education. Effectively taking a 24% pay cut over the last eight years due to no cost of living raises, these folks have my support.
We also discussed the GPO (Government Pension Offset) and WEP (Windfall Elimination Provision). The group consensus was that those "in the trenches"- the classroom teachers need support, time, authority and meaningful testing - eliminating the TEKS and returning to academic subject testing before and after each grade. To attract and hold high quality classroom teachers demands the will of Texans to treat teachers as professionals - expecting professional behavior and providing professional status and pay.