Former State Rep. Nathan Macias' Perspective on Straus

by: Matt Glazer

Thu Jan 15, 2009 at 10:15 AM CST

Not surprising then that Nathan Macias is a little miffed that he lost his seat after one session to Doug Miller and his buddy Tom lost the dias.

On January 12, Macias opined via e-mail to an undisclosed list about Straus' conservative credentials (the same conservative credentials Dewhurst is trying to solidify in the Senate).

From: Nathan Macias
Sent: Monday, January 12, 2009 4:57 PM

Subject: My Perspective on The Apparent New Texas House Speaker

Friends:
As your outgoing State Representative I feel compelled to let you know my perspective and some facts about the apparent Speaker of the Texas House.

It appears Representative Joe Straus will be the next Speaker of the Texas House.  I served with Joe Straus and have some true concerns.  He is not conservative.  Therefore, I don't think he will be the best representative of leadership for conservative Republicans or our great state.  Below are just some of those concerns:

Rep Straus made his initial move by garnering the support of 70 Democrats and 15 Republicans. This alone will require his strong allegiance to the liberal Democratic Party and moderate Republicans.  Shouldn't the Republican Speaker be elected by Republicans and not by a predominance of Democrats along with a few moderate Republicans?  Now that would be best for our district and state.

Rep Straus has very limited experience, having served only one and a half sessions in the Texas Legislature. What organization would elect a Chairman of the Board with four years of experience?  The Texas House needs an experienced, proven leader at the helm.  That would be best for Texas.

The Heritage Alliance, a prominent conservative values organization, gave Rep Straus a 52% conservative score (the second to the lowest score earned by a "Republican"). That's not conservative.  To give you a gauge this same organization gave me a 91% conservative score.

Texans for Fiscal Responsibility (limited government/lower tax group) rated Rep Straus at 71%, roughly 4% below the Republican average score. That's not conservative. As a gauge I earned a 93% rating from TFR.

Not a single pro-life or pro-family group endorses Rep Straus. As reported in the news, he was one of 23 lawmakers who opposed a bill to block the government order requiring the HPV vaccine for all sixth-grade schoolgirls. He also opposed a bill to ban gay foster parenting.

Let me also note that Straus supports statewide gambling and opposes school choice for parents.  Both of these positions are in opposition to our State and National Republican Party Platforms.  Joe Straus will not advance our conservative cause.

I strongly encourage each of you to contact our Rep-elect, Doug Miller, who at first opportunity chose to align himself with the 70 Democrats and 15 moderate Republicans.  Let him know that the people of our district (his constituents) are overwhelmingly aligned with the conservative values and principles of the Republican Party of Texas that have made our state so grand, and that we expect him to represent our district in that manner.

Finally, please forward this message to others you believe are conservative and may not be aware of this recent development.

Serving You,

Nathan Macias
State Rep, District 73
Bandera, Comal, Gillespie, Kendall Counties

This seems to be a sign of things to come for Straus and a possible rematch between ultra-conservative Macias and the reasonable Republican Miller.  

Also, it might be important to Mr. Macias, he isn't serving anyone and he is no longer the State Representative from District 73.  That job has been filled but the people of District 73 are taking applications and interviewing again around 2010.

HD-73: Nathan Macias Finally Admits Defeat

by: Karl-Thomas Musselman

Mon May 19, 2008 at 07:17 PM CDT

Herald-Zeitung: The close Dist. 73 Republican primary drew recounts and double checks as the original 38-vote margin for challenger Doug Miller dwindled to 17 votes. Accusations of double voting and voter fraud emerged as Macias sought to overturn Miller's victory margin. And Macias' attempt to get the lawsuit judge replaced - just because, rather than for a specified reason - was rejected by the Texas Supreme Court last week.

The incumbent's decision to drop the lawsuit is the best decision for the Republican Party, which stands divided in the four counties of District 73, where more than 29,000 voters split their allegiances between Miller and Macias. This process already has been expensive and stopping the lawsuit halts that expenditure, particularly for Comal County taxpayers where the case was to be heard.

And this post would not be complete without reminding you to read this from Karen Brooks over on the Trail Blazers Blog..

At any rate, Macias is not giving it up without one last dig at, well, everybody. And I mean, everybody. In a long concession statement sent to us this afternoon, he blasts:

The courts: "With the Supreme Court denying our request for a new judge and understanding the potential for this litigation to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, only to have a judge rule against the facts, is not my idea of a good investment."

Doug Miller: "Let's not forget the extremely suspicious irregularities that occurred with Doug Miller's sister-in-law counting the ballot box ...."

The media: "It is a shame that most, not all, of the local/regional media appear incapable of reporting the news in an unbiased manner to allow the voters to decide an election."

The "cross-over" Republicans: "For all the conservatives who crossed over and voted in the Democratic primary, the reality is that it had a profound impact on our State Representative race."

He even managed to take a shot at Rep. Carter Casteel, whom he beat in the 2006 primary: "Unlike your previous State Rep, I will contact Mr. Miller and make myself available to him."

And as Brooks points out, $5 million later... "this makes Rep. Wayne Christian the last Leininger man standing."

HD-73: Miller Defeats Macias by 17 Votes FINAL

by: Karl-Thomas Musselman

Wed Mar 26, 2008 at 05:30 PM CDT

Miller will face Democrat Daniel Boone this fall.  

HD-73: Miller v. Macias Recount Begins

by: Karl-Thomas Musselman

Wed Mar 26, 2008 at 01:23 AM CDT

Back on March 4th, Macias got a little taste of that in the other direction, when Republican challenger Doug Miller defeated him by 29 votes. Because of the closeness of the race, Macias is asking for a recount. Sound familiar?

In any case, that process started Monday as Bandera County recounted their votes.

Update The end result was no change. (Macias had won Bandera by 28 votes.) Comal and Kendall counties tallies votes yesterday, where it appears Macias picked up 2 votes in Kendall shrinking Miller's margin to 27 with no report out of Comal as of yet.  Gillespie County recounts today.  

Gillespie County (site of my hometown of Fredericksburg) is key- it's the only county Miller won providing him with a 1,131 vote margin of victory there. It also happens to be the only non-Comal outlying county Casteel won against Macias in 2006. I'm still a little amazed by the margin Miller was able to pile up back home; I guess I can be proud of the hometown Republicans once in a while!  

HD-73: Primary Challenger Files Against Nathan Macias

by: Karl-Thomas Musselman

Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 07:24 PM CST

While Matt works on a post that rounds up many of the candidates who have filed for office, I'd like to highlight one district since it is my home district. Many will remember HD-73 as the site of the infamous Carter Casteel (2005 Texan of the Year) vs. James Leininger Nathan Macias primary. Macias, after spending over $1 million of Leininger's money defeated Casteel by just 53 votes.

I've never really let go of that one. When my relatives were in Austin visiting from Germany, I asked Rep. Bolton to introduce them from the House floor instead. Rep. Macias came up to the gallery afterwards to say hello (in truth, I did go by his office but no one was there at the time) but still, I didn't go our of my way to make nice. 

ANYWAYS... I'm happy to see the first of what may be a couple of Republican primary challengers step up- Doug Miller.

Edwards Aquifer Authority Chairman Doug Miller filed papers Monday to run in the Republican primary for District 73 in the Texas House against first-term incumbent Nathan Macias.

"Texas can accomplish great things if we work hard and work together," Miller said. "I am willing to do that hard work. Conservatives have been let down. There is too much spending and there are too many loopholes being left open for criminals to walk through. Those are the problems I intend to focus my attention upon."

Miller represents Comal and Guadalupe counties on the EAA board, which he has served on since it was created in 1993. He has also served as a police officer and as mayor of New Braunfels. He owns an insurance agency. 

 

The district will also see a Democrat running, Daniel Boone, who filed to run as a write-in last year when no Democrat filed in this highly Republican district. (Yes, he's actually a direct descendant of pioneer Daniel Boone.) Still, he got 5.6% as a write-in (nearly 8% in Gillespie County) which is pretty impressive for a write-in of any sort. He should have the Democratic ballot line this year which will be interesting to see what kind of support is out there next year.

I heard some rumor earlier in the year that Fredericksburg School Board member (and past president) Wayne Harrell had been testing the waters as well. While still a conservative, he would be a great pro-education candidate and is a Republican that I respect.