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Texas Agriculture Archive

October 4, 2002

The right man for the job
Governor Rick Perry deserves our support

By Donald Patman
President, Texas Farm Bureau

Today, Texas farmers and ranchers turn to the Texas Department of Agriculture for help, knowledge, advice and training. We know that TDA is one of the rock solid cornerstones of Texas agriculture. It has not always been so.

In the mid 1980s, TDA was seized by an activist element that turned the agency into an adversary of traditional farmers and ranchers almost overnight. For eight years, we heard regular attacks from the Commissioner of Agriculture and the army of activists recruited to turn Texas agriculture upside down. Without rehashing that ancient history, let me just say that Texas agriculture was frustrated with that turn of events, and desperate to change the leadership of TDA.

We turned to a young state legislator, Rick Perry, for help. He put his name on the ballot, and with Texas Farm Bureau's help, overcame overwhelming odds to defeat Jim Hightower and put TDA back on the right path of serving Texas by serving Texas agriculture. That young legislator from the Rolling Plains in West Texas ably served as agriculture commissioner for eight years and then turned in distinguished service as Lt. Governor and Governor of the Lone Star state. Rick Perry turned TDA over to Susan Combs as a model for the modern administration of a state agency.

Governor Perry has long been a personal friend of mine, and a valuable ally in the battles Farm Bureau has fought for agriculture over many years. Fixing what had gone badly wrong at TDA was just the first of many issues when Governor Perry was the right man at the right time.

Virtually every race on the ballot next month will impact the future of agriculture. No race, however, is more important than this one.

With key budget battles shaping up for the next legislative session and with far fewer rural legislators, it is critical that agriculture elect one of its own to serve as governor. Rick Perry has worked the land. He is most at home talking to groups of farmers and ranchers. He understands the language, but more importantly, he knows first hand what we face every day. He is one of us.

When President George W. Bush was governor, Rick Perry was his choice to succeed him. Now, with so much at stake, Rick Perry should be our choice too. He has earned, not only our vote, but also all our efforts and support to see that he is elected in his own right as Governor of Texas.