William Booher
Republican | Texas
Candidate Profile
Leans Conservative
BIOGRAPHY
Name
William Booher
Party
Republican
Election Year
2020
Election
Primary
Race
State Senator, Dist. 13
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
Yale University, New Haven, BA, 1998
Columbia Business School, New York, MBA, 2005
WORK & MILITARY
Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), Global Director of Strategy, 1
Hyundai Capital America, Deputy Department Head of Corporate Strategy, 3
Wells Fargo & Co, Vice President, Strategy, 2
Mitchell Madison Group (McKinsey Spin-Off), Engagement Manager, 5
AFFILIATIONS
Fort Bend Republican Party, Precinct Chair, Meals On Wheels
Volunteer, Yale Club of Houston, Treasurer
Shape Community Center, Volunteer, Yale Alumni Assembly
Delegate At-Large, Westbury High School, Reunion Committee
Yale Class of 1998, Class Secretary
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
(Candidate did not provide)
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
(Candidate did not provide)
Race
OTHER INFORMATION
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Human life begins at conception and deserves legal protection at every stage until natural death.
Strongly Agree
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive taxpayer funds or grants from federal, state, or local governments.
Agree
Under what circumstances should abortion be allowed?
Rape, Incest, Risk of Mother's Life.
ECONOMY
It is the government’s responsibility to ensure everyone has a livable income.
Disagree
Free enterprise and the right to private property are essential elements of a productive economic system.
Strongly Agree
What government spending would you reduce in order to balance the budget?
I think there is an enormous amount of waste & mismanagement. We need to first audit before balancing and understand where & how we are spending our money. Look at the largest agencies and programs and do a review of the spending and effectiveness of their programs...look for patterns. Surface problems and build a set of best practices to be applied across the State’s budget. Then we can prioritize how to cut spending...if it is needed.
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Governments should not discriminate against individuals, organizations or small businesses because of their belief that marriage is only a union of one man and one woman.
Strongly Agree
Governments should define marriage as between one man and one woman; no other definition of marriage should be legalized or supported with taxpayer or public funds.
No Answer
Religious liberty is at risk in the United States and deserves the highest level of protection in the law.
Strongly Agree
I promise to protect the freedom of Christians to share the Gospel and to practice Biblical principles.
Yes
What does "separation of church and state" mean to you?
On January 1, 1802, Thomas Jefferson in a letter addressed to the Danbury Baptist Association put it best. ”Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties. “
HEALTHCARE
It is the government’s responsibility to ensure everyone has health insurance.
Disagree
How would you promote healthcare coverage that is adequate, affordable and accessible for all?
We have to rethink healthcare coverage. We are told it's a right everyone deserves; a human right. What gets lost is the definition of ”healthcare”. As in most political debates we have created a box that fits all things to all people and inherently have ended up with unfocused solutions that never effectively serve the Peoples' needs. As Senator, I will support a clear definition of “healthcare”; Working with professionals, citizens, and the data available on usage we can establish an appropriate social net for healthcare. At that point we can focus on making those procedures efficient and reduce/eliminate costs. Next I will develop a network of efficient high quality private/public partnership community clinics. Clinics that can offer insurance-based rates to the insured and sliding scale rates for the under and uninsured. And finally develop a set of basic wraparound services for clients to improve adherence to preventative care measures.
NATIONAL SECURITY
The best way to maintain peace is through a strong military.
Strongly Agree
IMMIGRATION
I am in favor of construction of a wall and other necessary infrastructure on our border that gives complete control over entering and exiting the United States.
Strongly Agree
State and federal funds should be denied to any public or private entity, including but not limited to sanctuary cities, that are not in compliance with immigration laws.
Strongly Agree
Who should be allowed to immigrate to the U.S. and under what circumstances?
We have to have an honest conversation about the future and what we want America’s role to be. Do we wish to not prioritize skilled labor in our intake and continue a system that over weights unskilled immigrants? We shortly will be in an almost fully automated society with no jobs available for the low-skilled workers already within our boarders. In any world immigration should be focused on providing the U.S. an advantage in the World. It is our responsibility to make sure our children have a chance to succeed and prosper. As a nation we should be focused on the highest skilled, highest potential immigrants regardless of place of origin. Within this policy should be a robust system that vets and admits a limited number of refugees; however, that is only after we have partnered with other nations and done all we can so people don’t have to leave their homes. We are going to have to make honest and tough decisions that we codify into law as a country.
EDUCATION
Taxpayer-funded public education should be guaranteed through college.
Strongly Disagree
VALUES
Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality which is necessary for our system of limited government.
Agree
I support adding sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression as protected classes in non-discrimination laws.
Strongly Disagree
Promotion of the LGBT agenda in public schools, including teaching of “sexual orientation” and “gender identity”, is completely inappropriate and should be opposed at the state and local level.
Agree
I support allowing public high school students to participate in athletic competition based on the gender with which they identify instead of biological sex.
Strongly Disagree
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I am a Christian and “believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God – fully human and fully divine – and that through believing in him and following his teachings I will have eternal life. I believe that Jesus died for humanity, that God raised him from the dead, and that Jesus will come again at the end of time. In addition, I believe in the Trinity, or the three parts of God: God the Father or Creator, God the Son (Jesus) or Redeemer, and God the Holy Spirit or Sanctifier. The Holy Spirit is God's presence in the world.“
ABOUT YOU
When you consider your views on a wide range of issues from economic and social matters to foreign policy and immigration, which of the following best describes you overall?
Conservative
Please provide publicly available information validating your answer to the previous question.
Website: https://www.booher2020txsenate13.org/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/williamjbooher/
What education or experience qualifies you to hold the office for which you seek election?
It’s not my degree from Yale that qualifies me to hold office. It’s the common sense set of experiences learned from the many conversations with real people of all stripes afforded by my global career that qualifies me in an age of deadlocked politics. I know how to build coalitions based on what unites us. My career is a story of people who dislike each other in the market place coming together to build strong, beneficial new companies; aligned around a success agenda rooted in those we serve. I have learned to stay focused on outcomes. My career in business has offered a different perspective on getting the people’s work done that I will bring to the Texas Legislature. We don’t have to be friends, we don’t have to enter unholy alliances, but we do have to work together and advance the ball. We are blessed to represent our home districts and we are duty bound to take hard no win votes, make decisions, and be held accountable. Our goal is to deliver positive outcomes.
Have you ever been convicted of a felony or been penalized for sexual misconduct? If so, please explain.
No
Is there anything else you would like voters to know about you?
Insanity is doing the same thing again and expecting a different set of results. We have 2 options. Myself, a true native son that grew up in the district and lives in the district. I resonates with republicans and conservative democrats alike who have never had a viable conservative who is fiscally and opportunity focused for the district. Over the past year I have spent time at community fairs, cultural bazaars, PTO meetings, Homecomings, speaking at colleges, debating at little league games & talking issues with the real people of our district. Not at exclusive Republican cocktail parties and clubs. District 13 is special to me, I have a deep reservoir of support from people who have known me from childhood to those that worked with me as a Republican Party Precinct Chair. I am a different kind of republican. I am a republican that can actually win Texas Senate 13. It's Time.
JUDICIAL PHILOSOPHY
I support the use of Sharia law as a basis for legislation and judicial decisions in the United States.
Strongly Disagree
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
Mandatory minimum sentencing should be required and enforced for violent crimes.
Disagree
2ND AMENDMENT
Should teachers be allowed to carry guns at school?
Yes
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
I don't advocate restrictions. I do think options are available to protect public safety, not the least of which would be parents teaching their children about the sanctity of life, parents teaching their children to deal with disappointment and failure in a healthy way, and governments allowing law enforcement, schools, hospitals and other people/institutions responsible for safety in public spaces more room to take active measures as they deem appropriate. For me it is really basic.
OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Disagree
I support the legalization of recreational marijuana.
Disagree
The Electoral College should be abolished.
Strongly Disagree
In priority order, what three areas of legislation do you propose to author or sponsor if elected?
I want to develop legislation that enables people to determine the destiny of their communities. Legislation that supports an ecosystem that supports community driven economic development. I will focus on developing 1) robust INFRASTRUCTURE, 2) a flexible options based EDUCATION system that focuses on skills, opportunities and the individual student/community, and 3) reducing the complex senseless REGULATION that stifles innovation, true transformation, and access to capital.
Is racism a threat to domestic security in the United States? Why or why not?
Racism is indeed a threat. Our strength and security has always been a function of our diverse cultures and communities. The unique perspectives brought to solving the nation's challenges is above all a function of our diversity. And uniting around our shared ideas on justice and inherent God given rights not our separateness. If we allow our enemies to transform our focus on a language of 'othering' each other as oppose to unifying under the ideas and principles of America we will fall to evil. Our successful execution of this American experiment is contingent on our shared commitment to justice, fairness and the inherent rights given by God. Not our race based differences.
