Hank Gilbert appeared on WFAA’s “Inside Texas Politics” with Brad Watson and Gromer Jeffers on Sunday, September 27, 2009.

Standing in front of a boarded-up convenience store that would be razed to make way for a toll road on U.S. 281, East Texas rancher Hank Gilbert said Gov. Rick Perry’s appetite for toll roads has left drivers stranded on the North Side awaiting a project that will end up costing billions of dollars.

Gilbert stopped in San Antonio Wednesday to announce his gubernatorial campaign during a 13-city tour across Texas. Gilbert, a Democrat from Whitehouse, is a strong toll opponent and sits on the board of directors of Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom, or TURF, founded by toll critic Terri Hall.

“Several years ago, right out here on Highway 281, a plan was put into place and money budgeted to ease the congestion of the people of this area by providing overpasses,” he said. “But thanks to Rick Perry’s ridiculous Trans-Texas Corridor plan, and his very unfiscal-sounding plan to create toll roads all over this state, what was a couple hundred million dollars to do it efficiently and quickly has now been put on hold and is going to run into billions of dollars to convert this into a 20-lane toll road.”

Perry spokesman Mark Miner said Gilbert is condemning something that is supported and being driven by the Alamo Regional Mobility Authority.

“Once again, he’s criticizing something the local officials want without coming up with solutions to move the 1,000 people a day coming to Texas,” Miner said. “What are his transportation ideas? It’s easy to criticize, but what are his ideas to address the infrastructure needs of the state?”

Terri Hall and others from TURF and the San Antonio Toll Party stood behind Gilbert during his press conference. Hall said her groups’ official position is that they’re for “anyone but Rick Perry,” but they “love it” that Gilbert is running. Hall, a Republican, said she believes Gilbert has crossover appeal.

“What I’m seeing is that people are just fed up with career politicians,” she said. “I think we do need to look at him as a serious candidate.”

Calling for statewide reform, Gilbert said Texas needs more fiscally conservative leadership.

“Problems that we have right now in our state government are the very reason that I’m embarking on this campaign for governor,” he said.

As much as the event looked like it would be all about opposing toll projects, it touched on the subject only briefly. The majority of Gilbert’s stump speech focused on education reform.

He often mentioned Perry and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison but acknowledged Democratic opponent Tom Schieffer only once, and not by name. It appears that Gilbert is preparing for a battle in the general election against whoever wins the Republican primary, though he said he’s taking nothing for granted.

Former Railroad Commission nominee Mark Thompson, schoolteacher Felix Alvarado and satirist Kinky Friedman also have said seek the Democratic nomination for governor.

Bryan Rupp | 12 News | Sep 23, 2009

Another candidate threw his hat into the ring for Governor of Texas.

Democrat Hank Gilbert made a stop in Beaumont on Wednesday, September 23 kicking off his 13 city tour of Texas.

Gilbert is calling it the “Road to Prosperity Tour.”

He met with folks at the Beaumont Club at the intersection of Fannin and Orleans in downtown Beaumont.

A continental breakfast served while people got a chance to get to know Mr. Gilbert.

Through today, September 24 at 4 PM, Hank has garnered coverage from:

East Texas cattle rancher Hank Gilbert visited McAllen on Tuesday to announce his bid to become governor of Texas. Gilbert, a Democrat, is pictured with his 12-page K-12 education plan.

Gilbert proposes a free, online tutoring service be available to all Texas public school students.

PHOTO BY MICHAEL ZAMORA

Corpus Christi Caller Times | September 22, 2009

Democrat gubernatorial candidate Hank Gilbert discusses his plan for education reform Tuesday at a campaign stop at Corpus Christi International Airport.

The cattle rancher and former high school agriculture teacher from Whitehouse has an extensive platform, including teacher pay raises, universal pre-kindergarten by 2013 and programs to reduce high school dropout rates.

Hank Gilbert talks about his plans if he is elected governor. In the Democratic primary, Gilbert faces teacher Felix Alvarado, author Kinky Friedman, attorney Tom Schieffer and Mark Thompson, a therapist for the disabled. Republicans who have announced for governor include current Gov. Rick Perry, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Debra Medina, a Republican Party chairwoman.

By Ray Gomez | KGNS-TV | pro8news | Sep 22, 2009

The first democrat to announce his candidacy for governor of Texas visited Laredo this morning.

Hank Gilbert announced his candidacy in Laredo with a call for major education reforms.

Gilbert says he wants to see a universal pre-kindergarten and revamped vocational education in Texas high schools.

The democrat also talked about current governor Rick Perry’s education reform.

“We’ve got a governor now seeking a three and a half term, who has already designated himself as king of Texas. Who runs an education mantra every time he runs for Governor as education king, but in his 10 years of governor we have seen nothing but decline in education” Gilbert told a group at a local restaurant.

Gilbert is a rancher, small business owner, and retired public school teacher from a small town east of Tyler.

KERA-TV, NewsChannel 10, Amarillo

Hank Gilbert launched his gubernatorial campaign, a 13-city "Road To Prosperity" tour of Texas, with a stop in El Paso on Monday. (Ruben R. Ramirez / El Paso Times)

EL PASO — Hank Gilbert, a 49-year-old rancher and former high-school teacher from East Texas, rolled into El Paso on Monday to formally announce his bid for governor and to offer a quick blueprint for improving the state.

“Whether you are talking about the economy, or the environment, or alternative energy or any of these other issues that we need to fix in this state, it all begins and ends with a quality education,” Gilbert, a Democrat, said.

El Paso was Gilbert’s fourth stop on a 13-city tour that will continue through Wednesday. He met with El Pasoans at Democratic Party headquarters and at Forti’s Mexican restaurant.

He ran as the Democratic nominee for Texas commissioner of agriculture in 2006, losing to Republican Todd Staples. He picked up 32,068 votes in El Paso County in that 2006 general election.

Gilbert, of Whitehouse, Texas, joins a field of four other Democratic candidates competing for the party’s gubernatorial nomination in 2010.

The other candidates are attorney and former U.S. ambassador Tom Schieffer; schoolteacher Felix Alvarado; Mark Thompson, a therapist for blind people; and Kinky Friedman, a musician and humorist.

For the Republicans, Gov. Rick Perry is facing a challenge from U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and from Debra Medina, the GOP chair of Wharton County.

Wearing a white Stetson cowboy hat, the former agriculture teacher told the El Paso Times on Monday that revamping K-12 education should be Texas’ priority.

Gilbert is proposing an expansion of pre-kindergarten to all children by 2013, increasing teachers’ pay by $5,000, and he wants to enact programs to reduce dropout rates among Hispanic and black students. He also wants to offer free, online tutoring to public-school students.

Gilbert said Texas must create a vocational and technical track for its high schools to provide students important skills through apprenticeships.

He slammed Perry for what he described as nine years of neglect of Texas schools.

Though Texas ranks third in the nation for money spent on public education, it ranks 45th for dollars spent for each student, he said.

Meanwhile, Gilbert said, the state’s prison population continues to explode and many of those inmates are high-school dropouts.

“Something about that isn’t right. Something about that is backwards,” he said. “We’re spending money to house, feed and clothe them rather than spending money to educate them.”

A graduate of Texas A&M University, Gilbert said the state needs to increase its number of elite universities.

He wants the University of Texas at El Paso to be among seven new tier-one universities. Tier-one universities are considered to be schools that receive at least $100 million in research grants annually, have selective admissions and low student-faculty ratios.

WHO: Hank Gilbert, Democratic Candidate for Governor of Texas
WHAT: “Road To Prosperity” Gubernatorial Campaign Announcement Tour.
WHEN: Tuesday, September 22, 2009 through Wednesday, September 23, 2009.

Times will vary:

• See the schedule for Tuesday here.
• See the schedule for Wednesday here.

WHERE: Laredo, McAllen, Corpus Christi, Houston, Beaumont, San Antonio, Austin, Lufkin.