By Tripp Henderson | Staff Writer
While the midterm elections drew national attention, their impact also trickles down to the municipal level. The Democratic Party now holds power in the U.S. Congress and has significant control in Texas state government, raising questions about how that may shift Waco’s legislative priorities and how the city works with state and national government.
On the national level, Democrats took resounding control of both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. In Texas, Democrats flipped the Texas House and won every statewide executive office.
Republican U.S. Congressman Pete Sessions said Texas operates under a combination of federal, state and local laws that relate to counties and cities. He said Democrats will likely try to alter some of those laws, which could impact everything down to the municipal level.
“Generally speaking, the state of Texas tries to have an overarching state law, and Democrats have indicated they are going to change many of these state laws,” Sessions said.
Waco’s chief of staff Ashley Nystrom oversees the city’s legislative platform. In an email to The Lariat, she acknowledged that a shift in leadership may change the focus of Texas’ 90th legislature, but it won’t change how the city approaches its legislative priorities.
“There’s a popular saying among municipal officials that ‘potholes aren’t partisan,’” Nystrom said. “The major pillars of our focus during the legislative session remain the same regardless of political party, and those priorities revolve around protecting our ability to provide core municipal services to the residents of Waco.”
Nystrom said the city will continue to advocate for its legislative agenda, which includes priorities focused on infrastructure and water supply, municipal finance and protecting local control and funding.
The city supplies water to around 250,000 residents, and Nystrom noted that Waco is well positioned to supply that demand. Nystrom said that as the 90th legislative session approaches, the city will continue to protect Waco’s water supply for “generations to come.”
Nystrom also highlighted how the city has long defended environmental protections for the North Bosque River, which flows into Lake Waco, and said that “protecting the Lake Waco watershed will remain a top priority for [Waco].”
Nystrom said that the city will work on issues like city revenue limits and defending local agency.
“In general, we believe that city government is closest to the people and is most responsive to the needs of our community,” Nystrom said. “Local control is lost when the state implements broad preemption that limits what and how individual cities can operate.”
Even though Democrats had significant election victories across the state, Waco’s state and national representation stayed Republican. Republicans Pat Curry and Angelia Orr represent portions of Waco, and both kept their seats in the Texas House. Republican David Cook also won his race to replace Texas Senator Brian Birdwell, and Sessions held his seat in the U.S. House.
Nystrom said the city has good relationships with the state delegation and will keep them updated on the community’s needs.
Sessions said he has traditionally seen eye-to-eye with state government and worked to advocate for its priorities on Capitol Hill, but the question is, “Do the Democrats in Texas see it differently than I do?”
How the new dynamic will play out in Texas government with a Democrat-led House and a Republican-controlled Senate remains to be seen, but Nystrum said bipartisanship will be needed.
“I think the biggest change we will see this session will be the need to work across the aisle on bipartisan solutions,” Nystrum said.
