June 17, 2017      4:40 PM

In Round Rock, Democrat Mike Collier kicks off campaign for Texas Lieutenant Governor

Houston businessman begins the fight in Dan Patrick’s power base: The suburbs

ROUND ROCK – With perhaps all the fiery rhetoric a certified public accountant can possibly muster in nearly 100-degree heat, businessman Mike Collier on Saturday afternoon officially launched his Democratic bid to be the next presiding officer of the Texas Senate.

The campaign kickoff seemed to eschew arguments about “turning Texas blue,” focusing on the idea that the race should be about common-sense solutions instead of partisanship and ideology. Collier, a businessman who lives in Houston, argued he is ready to address critical public policy questions facing a state that is for the first time in years beginning to lag economically.

“Texans want someone who will drop the partisan nonsense,” Collier said. That was evidently one of the reasons the Democrat started his steep uphill climb in the Republican stronghold of Williamson County. “I love to come into Republican territory,” he said. Collier’s roots are in the suburbs outside Austin, having gone to high school in nearby Georgetown.

Calling Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick “the worst lieutenant governor in the history of the state,” Collier said his own track record in the private sector should be the measuring stick used by voters next year.

By Scott Braddock

Copyright June 17, 2017, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved