COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Commissioner of agriculture – it's a title that not all Texas voters find familiar, but it’s a role in the state government with significant power and influence.
Susan Hays, the Democratic candidate for ag commissioner, made a campaign stop in College Station on Wednesday. She was accompanied by the Babes in Wonderland, a country music group performing for her tour.
The attendance for her event out at Northgate was scant, but Hays shared that there are pressing issues she wants to share with as many Texans as possible, regarding ethics, sustainability, cannabis law and healthcare.
"You’d think the office is just about the country, but it’s not,” Hays told KRHD. “About 80 percent of the budget goes to school lunches and Meals on Wheels. It also promotes agricultural products. Another thing people don’t know is that the state office of rural health is there.”
Hays’ opponent is Republican and incumbent commissioner Sid Miller. Both Hays and Miller say the duties of this office are boundless. Miller told KRHD that it’s his job to make sure Texas stays competitive in the international market for its agricultural resources. Business accountability and school health programs have been a focus of his work.
"We regulate all the pesticides – ag pesticides and structural pesticides,” Miller said. “We do nutrition programs with state and federal governments. My largest single division, I’m responsible for five million school meals each day.”
Hays said that if she wins the election, she wants to make sure that the commissioner’s office is run ethically. But that’s not the only thing she wants to address. She’s also interested in rural healthcare
“(I will) fight for more funding for that rural hospital program,” she said. “And then, in the long term, I want to look for these choke points in our agricultural supply and food supply.”
Miller has served in his position for eight years now. He has made a number of changes and instated several agricultural programs across Texas. Miller said he has a large number of high-priority goals should he be re-elected for another term.
“We want to continue to expand our marketing program around the globe, obviously,” Miller said. “We want to get more fresh food into our lunch rooms.”
As early voting ends Friday evening, Texans will have one more day to cast their ballots on Tuesday, Nov. 8, Election Day.
