Texas Governor Greg Abbott will make his ninth and last stop in Houston, Texas, on Tuesday as part of his statewide Grassroots Tour. The Governor will discuss the successes of the 2015 legislative session. The event is free.
A spokesman for the Governor said that Abbott will talk about the $4 billion in tax cuts for property taxes and business franchise taxes, an increase in the homestead exemption and historical levels of transportation funding, the almost $1 billion set for border security, and laws enacted to protect religious liberties, among other legislation. He said the Governor will take the time to listen to feedback from those who attend.
Abbott will also take the time to greet and be photographed with every person at the Houston gathering. His practice since his first political campaign in the early 1990’s has always been to stay at an event until he has the time to personally speak to all who want to talk to him.
The Governor began the grassroots tour in McAllen on September 16th at what was reported to be “a pushing-the-fire-code crowd,” according to the Valley Morning Star.
After the McAllen event, Abbott traveled to Dallas, San Antonio, Waco, Abilene, San Angelo, Odessa, and Amarillo.
Abbott told those gathered in Abilene that the $1 billion set aside to give the state even more broader border security was a package meant to send a message to leaders of drug cartels, reported KTXS 12 News in Abilene. He said, “We’re adding more law enforcement personnel up and down the border, we’re adding thousands of cameras that detect any kind of cross-border activity, we’re adding more airplanes and more boats to interject water activity.” He was also reported to say that the package is meant to send a message to leaders of drug cartels.
The Governor told the Ector County crowd in Odessa that the Permian Basin was important to Texas’ economy. He told those at the event, “We are petitioning Washington, D.C., so that Texas can begin the process of exporting oil, as well as natural gas.” The reporter for the local television station wrote that the Governor “spoke to an overflow crowd, that cheered every time he stopped to catch his breath.”
Those who saw the Governor when he was in San Antonio were delighted when Abbott lashed out at President Barack Obama and said that voters of all stripes want to replace Obama with a political outsider, reported the San Antonio Express-News.
The Governor told those gathered at Buzzard Billy’s in Waco, “America needs Texas more than ever.” He added, “The truth is, Texas is what America is supposed to be.” State Senator Brian Birdwell told the crowd, “It is great to have Gov. Abbott here.” The Republican state senator from Grandbury continued, “He’s had a very successful legislative session.” The Waco Tribune Herald reported that the Governor spoke for almost 30 minutes, and said that “members of the crowd showed their support for the governor, yelling ‘yes, sir!’ and occasionally standing up.”
The Texas Governor will be at the Café Adobe restaurant at 7620 Katy Freeway in Houston on Tuesday, October 13th, at 2:00 p.m.
Lana Shadwick is a contributing writer and legal analyst for Breitbart Texas. Follow her on Twitter @LanaShadwick2