By Ruth Ann Ruiz
The Post Newspaper Features Editor
Don Huffines, a Republican candidate for Texas Comptroller, stepped away from a fundraising event to explain the significance of the position he seeks to hold.
“Comptroller is an extremely important position which does not report to the legislators or the governor. The comptroller reports to the people and is responsible for collecting and managing all the money for the state of Texas,” said Huffines.
Basically, the comptroller is the chief financial officer for the state and holds the responsibility of collecting oil and natural gas taxes, collecting sales taxes from city and county governments, managing state contracts, and estimating the state’s revenue and economy. Based on the comptroller’s estimates the legislatures draft a budget every two years.
New to the position will be operating the program that provides taxpayer-funded education vouchers. The vouchers will allow some parents to send their children to private schools. The program is estimated to cost one billion dollars.
Education alternatives are near and dear to Huffines, as he shared that all five of his children were homeschooled. He now has 13 grandchildren and is married to his wife of 35 years, Mary Catherine.
Huffines brings to his candidacy both business and state leadership experience. With a degree in finance from the University of Texas, he built a career as a developer and venture capitalist. Huffines held District 16’s senate seat from 2015–2019.
What will he do for the people of Texas if he is elected? “I’m gonna DOGE Texas. As a businessman, I’m not looking to upsize, I’m looking to downsize,” said Huffines.
He is also passionate about protecting Texas taxpayers.
“I bring my love of Texas and I have a passion to make Texas as good as it can be and a passion to protect Texas taxpayers,” said Huffines. “I’m the only person in Texas that has the courage and track record to actually DOGE the state of Texas.”
Texas early primary voting begins on February 17, with the primary election on March 3.
