I stopped by the Jack Morman Campaign Kickoff - Fundraiser for a few moments to meet the candidate and his supporters. In case you don't know, Mr. Morman is running in the Republican primary for the chance to face off against incumbent Sylvia Garcia for Harris County Commissioner, Precinct 2. A tall task, which is why I wanted to meet Mr. Morman.

It was a good turnout, as these things go. As I left at around the halfway point of the gathering, the sign-in sheet listed 34 names, with many being husband/wife pairings. I've been to events of this type where less than a dozen people came out. It was a good mixture of young and old, also unusual for a Republican event.

That aside, my purpose for going was to ask why? Why would a young lawyer, with a young family, take on such a monumental challenge? As a good friend of mine asked, what issues are you going to run on? She takes care of our precinct. Therein lies the challenge for anyone seeking to replace a commissioner - both Republicans and Democrats want someone to "take care of the precinct". I also think that is the difference between local and state/national politics.

So, you ask, what did he say? Pretty much what is on his website: he wants to bring conservative principles into county government. Meaning, smaller, leaner government, focusing on the basics. Taxes wisely spent, law enforcement has resources, etc. I had to laugh when, during the middle of our conversation, a guy named Dave Elkins walked up and asked him two questions.

The first thing he asked was, "What are you going to do about education? I have little kids.". Mr. Morman explained that he too had small children - one of them was tugging on his pants leg as he spoke - so he understood the reason for the question. He then told him the truth - County Commissioners really don't have much to do with education. Which is the truth but he probably should have talked about the Harris County Dept. of Education and all the wonderful things they are doing. You know, try to get a vote.

The second question was about veteran's benefits. Mr. Elkins served for 12 years in the armed forces and had heard that "they" were taking his benefits away and without them, he couldn't survive. Once again, Mr. Morman told him the truth. County Commissioners have nothing to do with veteran's benefits. At that point, Mr. Elkins rolled his eyes and walked away.

If nothing else, this will be a good experience for Mr. Morman in that he will meet a lot of people, get some name recognition and perhaps get the chance to one day bring truth and conservative principles to an office. He might even win the primary: after listening to Dorothy Olmos talk last night and then reviewing her campaign finance report, I can see why he is receiving the endorsements from many conservative groups. More on that another time. For now, it is enough to know that there really are young conservatives out there.

Website: Elect Jack Morman