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| 12/10/2007 11:42:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | Hutto Democrat files to challenge Carter
BRAD STUTZMAN
Editor
Stating its time for a change in Congress, Hutto Democrat Brian Ruiz, 31, is scheduled today to announce his candidacy for District 31 U.S. representative.
Ruiz' formal announcement is slated to take place at 11:30 a.m. at Texas Democratic Party Headquarters, 505 W. 12th St., Austin.
The filing period for 2008 elections began Dec. 3 and continues through Jan. 2. So far Ruiz is the only candidate - Democrat or Republican - to publicly express an interest in taking on three-term GOP incumbent John Carter of Round Rock.
"[People] are saying they do not have a congressman they can relate to, one that is visible," Ruiz told the Leader. "I have lived in Hutto for over four years and I have never met John Carter. If you're in his circle, he'll keep you in touch, but if you're just living the everyday life, he's not an accessible congressman."
Ruiz was born in Austin and is an Austin High School graduate. His mother was a school teacher for 28 years and his father - Abel Ruiz - was Austin school board vice president in the mid-1980s.
Ruiz credits his father with getting him interested in politics and shaping his philosophy as a Democrat. He considers District 25 U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin) to be a political mentor.
"I have a real concern for our future," Ruiz said. "I don't see that as where the Republican Party is at now. They're more for today and living for today.
"Also, the Democratic Party is open for more change than the Republican Party. Liberals are the ones who opposed slavery .... I am a liberal, but I'm a strong fiscal conservative."
Mission to Africa
Ruiz said a defining moment in his life occurred between high school and college - from September through December 1994 - when he traveled to Africa.
He had been worshipping at the St. Edward's University chapel, becoming friends with a priest and then - in his words - "tagging along" in a missionary trip the priest made to Uganda.
Ruiz said it was an eye-opening experience, meeting and living among people who had few possessions or comforts, but were spiritually rich.
"I developed my relationship with God there," Ruiz said. "When you see people living in that type of poverty ... it's [priorities] about family and friends and relationships."
Ruiz retuned from Africa, went back to his old job as a waiter at the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin, and then obtained the real estate sales license he still has today.
While working he attended St. Edward's - where he would meet his wife, Rebecca - graduating with a communications degree in 2006.
The Ruiz' are the parents of two children; 2-year-old daughter Hannah and 1-year-old son Christian.
Ruiz also worked five years in radio, behind the scenes in the programming departments at 1300-AM "The Zone" and ESPN Radio.
He said family and work experiences have shaped what he calls his fiscally-conservative philosophy.
For example, Ruiz said he knows he goes against the Democratic Party's grain by favoring a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Ruiz said the amendment should have leeway - in times of war, for example - but in general the government needs to balance its budget the way individual households have to.
"You learn to be fiscally conservative if you want to make it in real life," he said. "I see that in families ... and I don't see it in our congressman now."
On the issues
When meeting with the Leader, Ruiz briefly outlined his positions on some of the critical issues of the day.
• The war - Ruiz said it's time to start bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq, gradually. "They did what they were supposed to do. They got rid of Saddam Hussein ... [but] if we bring them home immediately it's going to put them in the line of fire. If we're going to fight [terrorists] 'over there,' let's fight them in Afghanistan."
• Immigration - "It depends on what people perceive as the problem. If it's security, we need to put a wall on both [Mexico and Canada] borders. If it's about jobs, it's about holding people accountable who hire illegal immigrants."
• Health care - "One in six Americans don't have [health insurance]. If a state has a tragedy, the federal government can help them out. But if your family has a [medical] tragedy ... it's the number one cause of bankruptcy and the number one cause of homelessness."
• Education - Ruiz said he favors more federal funding for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, in order to inspire children to study math and science.
An uphill fight?
Although polling numbers indicate Williamson County is staunchly Republican, Ruiz said he is not intimidated.
The 31st congressional district takes in all of Williamson County, plus all of Bell, Coryell, Erath, Falls, Hamilton and Milam counties. Part of Robertson County is in the district.
Williamson County and Bell County (home to Fort Hood) are by far the largest of the eight counties in the district. Together, these two counties take in population centers such as Round Rock, Georgetown, Temple and Killeen.
More than half of the 159,005 votes Carter received came out of Williamson County in November 2004 - when he defeated Bell County Democrat Mary Beth Harrell.
But the county, Ruiz said, is growing - and changing. He noted Harrell received nearly 40 percent of the vote when she challenged Carter in 2006.
On the other hand Williamson County Republicans have - at least since the early 1990s - enjoyed success among straight-ticket voters.
In the November 2006 elections (to take the most recent example) about 25-percent of all votes cast were straight-Republican. In straight-ticket voting the GOP established a 23,148 (67 percent) to 11,167 (33 percent) advantage over Democrats.
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