Alan Schoolcraft was retired and out of politics for decades.
Schoolcraft served as a state Representative from 1981 to 1993 for districts 57 and 121, which are in Bexar County. He has been a lawyer and businessman. He has not been in office since then but has returned for this race.
So, what made Schoolcraft consider a run against longtime state Rep. John Kuempel for the Republican nomination for Texas House District 44? School vouchers are an issue that Schoolcraft said he is passionate about.
“There’s been folks trying to talk me into running for the last six or eight years, and I kept saying ‘No, Let someone else do it. I’ve done it before, I’ve served my time.’ And I just kept saying ‘no,’” said Schoolcraft in an interview on Spriester Sessions. “But this time around, there were just issues that I really cared about. And then I think the final one was the school choice vote when my opponent was one of the 21 Republicans that helped kill it. And that’s something that I’ve believed in for many, many years. And I just said, ‘OK, that’s it. You know, I’m going to try to do my part.’ That was the final straw.”
Schoolcraft has advocated for school vouchers since his days in the Texas Legislature. He says they provide an alternative education setting for children and set up a competitive landscape with public schools.
“I know that competition makes competitors better. I’m a businessman. I would love to have a monopoly, but I know that as I’m competing for customers, it’s making me constantly look for ways to make a better product (and) better service at a lower cost. I believe the same applies to education,” he said.
As for the idea that school choice will affect small, rural school districts, Schoolcraft said he hasn’t “heard anyone give a logical statement, a logical reason why school choice would affect small districts any more than it would any other district.”
Since Kuempel voted against school vouchers, Abbott went after the rebellious Republicans in the March Primary election by supporting the challengers over the incumbents. That includes Kuempel, with Abbott throwing his support behind Schoolcraft.
The winner of the May 28 runoff will face Democrat Santos Limon, a civil engineer and small business owner, in the November General Election.
Find out how Kuempel feels about Abbott targeting the incumbent in the Spriester Sessions below:
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