The importance of local races and their impact on our day-to-day lives, cannot be overstated. The closer the politics and governance is to your home, the more you'll feel the benefits of good policies and the pain of bad ones. To hedge against corruption and chaos, get involved now.
In this episode we talk with a courageous mother and family business operator, Rachal Hisler, about her journey into conservative politics and the recent announcement of her campaign for a County Commissioner's seat. Hopefully something in her story will inspire you to do a little bit more for your community as well.
Click here to learn more about Ben: http://bit.ly/3WJ1Czl
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Today’s Sponsor(s):
Kickin' Crab - go to https://thekickincrab.com/houston-tx-1
Gambit Construction – go to www.gambitconstruction.com
---
Socials:
Follow on Twitter: http://bit.ly/3CeR2YJ
Follow on Instagram: http://bit.ly/3XfBADV
Follow on Facebook: https://bit.ly/3vw8ww4
The importance of local races and their impact on our day-to-day lives, cannot be overstated. The closer the politics and governance is to your home, the more you'll feel the benefits of good policies and the pain of bad ones. To hedge against corruption and chaos, get involved now.
In this episode we talk with a courageous mother and family business operator, Rachal Hisler, about her journey into conservative politics and the recent announcement of her campaign for a County Commissioner's seat. Hopefully something in her story will inspire you to do a little bit more for your community as well.
Click here to learn more about Ben: http://bit.ly/3WJ1Czl
---
Today’s Sponsor(s):
Kickin' Crab - go to https://thekickincrab.com/houston-tx-1
Gambit Construction – go to www.gambitconstruction.com
---
Socials:
Follow on Twitter: http://bit.ly/3CeR2YJ
Follow on Instagram: http://bit.ly/3XfBADV
Follow on Facebook: https://bit.ly/3vw8ww4
Welcome, everybody. It's time people. Time to begin focusing on your local government and its effectiveness. In prior episodes, we've discussed the importance of limited government. And all too often when that comes up, we think of the Feds and Joe Biden. But today we chat with Rachel Heisler, a Republican candidate for county commissioner and chambers County, Texas. She's a wife, a mother, a Christian, and a conservative, who just decided that now was the time to create the future that her community is hungry for. Be sure to share this podcast with your family and friends. Follow me on Twitter, and Facebook at Ben Armenta Texas. You can also find out more about my story at Ben armenta.com. So you're a conservative? And what does that even really mean? Does it mean you believe in the right to life? What about the protection of our Constitution? And interpreting it as an originalist would? Does it mean you listen to talk radio, you listen to Rush Limbaugh and all the other conservative radio types now? Does it mean that you never miss a vote? Early voting voting day you go to all of them rain, sleet, snow, hail? Does it mean that you believe in economic prosperity? What about managed immigration? Or the rule of law? Perhaps the answer to all those questions is maybe. I think being a conservative can mean slightly different things to everyone. But at its basic level, being a conservative means you care about the role of the individual, the life of the individual, and that you will do anything you can to help promote the individual over the government. At least that's what it means to me. Just vote yesterday, I know you're very involved with politics. Gotcha. So that's the odd thing I probably pay. I make jokes off politics. I worked on O'Reilly for years and he's a has a political show. But it was just a place where I hung my hat left to my own devices. I'm not mad for politics. So frankly, you've been pushed into that a little bit readily. And once your weekend update anchor you do make jokes about current events journal Martin has gone this route to left to my own devices, man, you know, I went to vote yesterday and I won't even Well, I live in a surf town up the coast here from LA and they don't even give you the sticker you have to actually get I voted tattoo right above your pubic tattooing people. I have to tell you something, because, you know, you and I have met before a couple of times. And you know, I was always a big fan of yours. And people though today are like what? I think people get upset because you're conservative. Because you're a comedian. I think it's weird for a comedian to be conservative or unusual. I should say what they say what happened to you? What did happen to you? I'm socially liberal as anybody. When I look at, I was watching backstage. This is how interesting things are. When I watch Trump. He doesn't rankle me like he rankles people on your side, there are days I think he's a buffoon. There days, I can't believe the stuff he says. But today when I watched that thing, I kind of laugh. I watch Pelosi, and she drives me batty intro and I know on your side, I think Pelosi is kind of acceptable. And she says stuff like that. That drives me more crazy. All I know is this. I've met so many nice people. Most of my dearest friends in the world are liberals. I refuse to go through life defining who I'm going to be friends with whom I'm going to love who I'm going to hang with from this Dirar after people's names. All I know is when I look at, like I said socially liberal and that's when I don't dig what the conservatives do. They always come off like the town elders and Footloose and that's a drag to me. But you know, I look at liberal sometimes I think liberalism is like a nude beach. It sounds good to get there. And then there's a lot. But on this podcast, we always, always encourage our listeners to do a little bit more. Become an election day worker or a poll watcher. Go to the school board meeting. Talk about some issue that's impacting you and your kids. Volunteer to put a candidate sign up in your front yard go rally at your state capitol for For some cause that's important to you and your family. I don't care what it is. But do something, do something more if we want to be the Democrats, and we want to start winning more elections, we all have to do something more than what we're doing today. The Democrats, that's their game. And we have to beat them at it. I tell my kids all the time, foot look, focus on the things that you can control. Don't Don't bat an eye, don't worry about the things that are out of yours. You'll go crazy if you worry about stuff that's out of your control. And I'll ask them, what what are what are the two things that you are 100% within your control, and you'll never be beat at if you don't want to be beat at it. And the reply is the same attitude, and effort. And that's what we have to try to do as conservatives, we have to remind ourselves that no matter what the Democrats do, no matter how much cheating, they try to do, or other shenanigans, whatever, we as conservatives, we can always control. Our positive can do outlook on life, which is contagious, by the way. And we can put in more effort. We can out work the Democrats. We can outwork the liberals, we can outwork the communists, socialists, fascists, we can outwork them all. And that's why today's guest is so important. We have someone on our show who despite her crazy schedule, she decided that doing more politically in her community was important. She decided that something had to change. And she wasn't going to leave it up to others, that she was going to take accountability to solve the issues that are important to her and her family. I want you all to pay attention to her story here. How she has faced encouragement and advice. I'm going to talk to her about the good, the bad, the ugly, the challenges that she has faced, the adversity that she's faced, the lessons learned. Listen, how she's figured out how to incorporate becoming politically active in her life. She does what she what she can and she always maintains a focus on her faith in Jesus Christ. So today, I want to welcome Rachel Heisler onto our show. I've known Rachel for several years now. And our paths have crossed in Texas state politics, and in her neck of the woods and chambers County. Rachel, welcome to our show. Hi, Ben. Thanks for having me. So before we get in into politics, I want to I want to dive deep into a bunch of different things here. But before we get into politics, share with us a little bit about your background, kind of your upbringing, where you were where you grew up, your family background, let's just kind of get to know you a little bit. Okay, so, I grew up in rural areas of Texas, a couple of different areas, in my early childhood, on the coast, down around Matagorda. And then whenever I was in middle school, my family made a big move up to Burnet, Texas, over in the Central Texas area. My My father had a career change. And so it was, you know, everything kind of changed for us. And then, whenever I was 17, I kind of struck out on my own, I had a little bit of a rebellious streak, and I ended up here in Antioch area. I met my husband, we met when we were 17. And we got married when we were 18. So we've been married for a long time. Now. We're an old married couple, which is great. And then we moved back to the Austin area for a few years and ended up in Houston. And then we said, this is not for us. You know, being in that large metropolitan area and just dealing with all the traffic and everything and my husband got an opportunity to join the family business, which we never thought that we would do whenever we were younger. But whenever we got a little bit older, a little bit wiser, and then said okay, we feel like we're ready to start settling down. We Give Back to chambers County. So your your childhood but I mean it sounds like being close to the water rural area like that's been in your blood for a long time then. Yes, exactly. That's that's how I grew up. I mean, just as a country girl. Yeah, definitely been yeah been in my blood and I guess maybe I tried to fight it for a little while but then whenever I got older finally realized, no, this isn't new. This is who you are. This is where you're meant to be. And so yeah 2006 We moved back here to chambers County and we've been here ever since. owned our own business. You know, Ben, we're in Ghana. What kind of business? Yeah, commercial seafood. My husband is a red snapper fisherman. So he goes off shore for about a weekend at a time catches anywhere from 10 to 14,000 pounds of red snapper brings that in, sells that to a wholesaler. And then it goes actually all across the country, all the way to New York, where it'll get a plane and get flown up there. Is it a year round business or is there a season, so it is a year round business? The thing about the snapper fishery is that it is a federally regulated fishery. So there are all kinds of rules, regulations, laws that we have to follow. It's very tightly regulated where every single pound of red snapper that is caught commercially is accounted for. And what that does is that allows us to control our timing and harvesting of the fish in order to make it more safe, more effective, and to provide it to the nation in a way that works for the people who want to buy the fish. So a lot of restaurants do more people. I bet do more people purchase and consume red snapper in Texas or in the Gulf Coast or other areas like like east coast. So I would say it's definitely more of a Texas Gulf Coast thing but like I said, some of the fish will go all the way as far as New York City Fulton Fish Market, but it's definitely a gulf coast favorite. For certain. Do you ever go with him? So I have not yet what I will be soon and there is a reason why I have not gone with him. Okay, So picture this. It's a 60 foot boat with a one room cabin that has bunks and a galley. And you know the the wheelhouse where the captain is. And there's no head. That means you have to do your business over the side or in a bucket and I just haven't been brave enough to do that yet. But but I'm not I'm not gonna I'm not gonna blame you. But it would be a heck of an adventure be a heck of a story. I mean, oh, very couple you figured you'd have done it. But you know, I you know, I get you. Yeah, but I'm but my goal is to get on there this summer because some some of the the things that I'm working on now and some of my long term goals, it will benefit me to have actually been out on the boat and gotten more on that side of the process. Because usually my end of the business is everything in the office, everything paperwork, every you know, filing. It's that that's my wheelhouse. So it will definitely benefit me to get on the boat and make a few trips and just, you know, really get into that side of it for some of the goals that I'm pursuing. So I'll be doing that. That'll be awesome. And y'all are parents, right? We are we have a 15 year old son, who's currently learning how to drive just got his learner's permit. That's our newest adventure with him. Yeah, that's a heck of an adventure. And so you're probably pretty busy with his activities, I'd assume. Hmm. Yes. He's, you know, he's into music. He does martial arts and now you know, learning how to drive and he'll actually he'll be on the boat with his dad quite a bit this summer because he'll be working to earn money to purchase the car. So that's going to be his big adventure is going on the boat. I like it. I mean, I don't think enough, enough kids get work experience early on and I Um, I've run a couple different companies. And we'll hire folks that come from all different backgrounds and the ones who actually had real jobs. I mean, whatever it might be, could be working for a lawn company or sacking groceries or waiting tables, they're just way more relatable when they are an adult. And in my mind, they are way more employable. Just because you have some training or a degree or whatever, it doesn't necessarily make you relatable to customers, and you get on your good on him for getting after it and learning, learning and a hard day's work. Exactly, yes, that is one of the things that both my husband and myself, you know, we both had to have jobs as teenagers. And so that strong worth that work ethic has just been instilled in us from the very beginning. I mean, that was, if you want something, you have to go to work and get it, no one is giving you anything, you have to you know, you have to earn it. And so that has something been something that has served both of us extremely well, in our lives in, you know, many different facets, not just in our business, but you know, in our personal lives having integrity, standing by our principles, just kudos to both of our parents. I mean, we both, you know, love each other's parents. Yeah, that's, that can be rare these days. So y'all are definitely, definitely blessed. So share a little bit with our listeners paint a picture around chambers County, what, for people who aren't familiar with where it's located demographics, types of employers in the area. Tell us a little bit about the county itself. So chambers county is located east of Harris County and west of Jefferson County. So we're kind of sandwiched in between two larger cities, obviously, Houston being you know, one of the largest cities in the United States. And then Beaumont, just being one of those smaller kind of small cities, but still, you know, both on each side of us that they both have industry and you know, their own things going on. So for us being right in the middle is really great, actually, because we are able to keep a lot of our rural illness that we have here in chambers County, but then also have access to a lot of great things with Houston and Beaumont being on either side of us. So, chambers County, for the most part on the west side of Trinity River, I would say is oil and gas, we've got a lot of oil and gas over in the Mont Bellevue area. And then we also have a port situation where there is a large swath of area that is being developed into warehouses and distribution centers for large corporations. And so that is a newer industry that is being developed in our county of are on the west side. And then once you get east of the Trinity River, then that's really where you really get to the rural aspect of chambers County where we have, for instance, rice forming soybean farming. A few small little towns here and there, but for the most part, it's just unincorporated area. One of the things that we're known for in the county seat of Antioch is that were the alligator Capital of Texas that we have more alligators than we do have people. So, right. I like it. Yeah, it's really is a great mix. So for someone like myself, I live in mid County. And so I am you know, we live out here on five acres of land on a bayou and so that provides the access that we need for our fishing boat to be able to bring it right up here to our home and keep it here and then whenever my husband's ready to head out into the golf, he'll just hop on the boat and head out right but at the same time, we're an hour from downtown Houston so if we want to go and do something fun, have a night out well we just jump in the car and there we go, you know, go to an Astros game or go and visit some of the really great restaurants that are available so chambers county really is a great place and it is also one of the fastest growing counties in Texas. We have tons of people who are moving here to chambers County, I believe a lot of them are moving here from Harris County because they're trying to escape the bad policies, bad government, the crime, that is in chambers county, or I mean, Harris County next door to us, you know, they're fleeing here to chambers County, because they see that it's still, you know, relatively safe here, we have, you know, we're very conservative for the most part here, our grassroots are very conservative. So we have a lot of young families here, in chambers County. So it's, it really is a great place. And my mission is I want to keep it that way. I mean, it's exciting because you, you do have that mix there of not just proximity to urban areas, but still being rural, but also just mix of people that have lived in chambers county a very long time. And then individuals who have moved there or have come back and you know, they went away for, you know, similar to your story, it went away for a while and had some adventures, and then came back and are now planning some roots. It really is one of those counties where people plant some roots and and want to raise their families there. So it's it's very exciting. What about the politics? You You talked about how it's, it's more conservative in nature, you're you're wanting to play a role in maintaining that. So how conservative is it has? And has that changed over the years? Has it been more in the past, and it's kind of getting pulled a little bit further left? Tell us a little bit about that. So as far as percentages go, we are close to 90% of Republican voters in chambers County. But one of my concerns is that as new people move in, we, you know, a lot of people who are moving to Texas right now, unfortunately, don't share our views. They're being moved here because their company is moving here. And so for their job, they're moving, they're not moving here necessarily because they are seeking a more conservative worldview. So I certainly have those concerns. And that's one of the things that I want to try to help people to understand because I look at a county like Fort Bend. And, you know, they they used to be like we are there, you know, we are then 1020 years ago, where they they experienced this tremendous growth. And then one day you look up and say, What is going on here? What what are we subscribing to who are the people that are in elected roles that don't match up with our values. And so that is one of the things that I want people to understand here in chambers County, that we we have to be vigilant and guard over that if we want to maintain and keep that conservative feeling and values and principles that we enjoy here in chambers County. Before we get into some of kind of what's on the horizon for you, politically. You you've had a history and politics, you've you've had a bit of a journey over the last handful of years. How did that come to be? What sort of inspired you a few years ago to step up a bit more into the political sphere. So like a lot of people COVID. And some, during that beginning of the pandemic, our county commissioner Court passed a resolution that in a in a state of declared disaster that they could have the power to raise our tax rate by 8.2, up to 8.25%, without a vote by the voters there by bypassing the process that is on the books in order to approve that rate hike if they saw fit. And it was the first time I ever went to Commissioner's court the first time I ever made a public comment. I mean, the first time that I figured out I need to say something I need to speak up this is not right. And so from there, I just started to get a little bit more just paying attention to okay, what is this Commissioner's court? What are these people doing? Because I just really, I was an election judge but I've wasn't really involved in politics before that. So I was doing a little bit but not political. Pull, I wouldn't say, you know, just doing like more of a civic duty. But after that I just started paying attention, just following what they were doing. And one of the good things that did come out of that is they started having Commissioner's court on YouTube. So that meant that I could go back and watch it. You know, whenever I had the time to do that, because my son was younger at that time. So I didn't have as much free time as I do now, and started paying attention. Then I decided to become a precinct chair. And because I didn't even know about precinct chairs, really, and my precinct had been vacant for some time. And so they said, Okay, sure. If you want to be a precinct chair, let's go. So I came in and started getting involved in, it just went from there. And I ended up sponsoring a resolution to censure our county judge for the executive orders that he placed during the COVID pandemic. It was very controversial. It was extremely upsetting to some people. But once I had seen what I had seen, I could not stand idly by and watch as our constitutional rights were trampled on. I just could not do Yeah, it's it's a fascinating, it's a fascinating story. They're, most often conservatives think about government overreach, where the federal government overstepped their bounds or, you know, the Biden administration is trying to tell Texas or other states, what what to do, and we sue them, and they think about that. But in times of crisis, you really expose even the vulnerable areas at a local level, and we saw it with school boards. But this is a great example of county level policies, where where the elected officials took it too far. And they trampled on the Constitution and the rights of the voters and the rights of the individuals by implementing those kinds of, of policies, and most people don't have really even a frame of reference for how the county governance even operates. So pretty, you know, pretty impressive that you just rolled up your sleeves and said, I gotta do something about this. Right? They I never imagined myself doing anything like that. I never imagined myself being in politics or seeking an elected office. I mean, it just all happened organically, that I was just in the right place at the right time connected with the right people who were able to, you know, coach me a little bit and how to through the process of the center, and then honestly, my hope was that this would open a crack in the door for someone to come and run for county judge, because the current judge has been in office will now for 30 years. And so my hope was that someone would say, okay, there we we've got some momentum here. We can get something moving. But the the opening filing day came, and it went and, and no one, no one signed up to run. And I was with a friend of mine over at the San Jacinto Monument actually, that day, we were placing some luminaries for an event that they had that night. And I said, I think I'm going to run for county judge. No one, no one signed up, no one is willing to, you know, take this risk. And so she said, Okay. We'll, you know, we'll all pray about it, we will all just, you know, kind of, give it some time and simmer and see what we, you know, what we come up with? So I went home, talk to my husband, we, you know, talk to our family, just really sat on it for, you know, for a little bit and then finally said, Okay, it's the right thing to do. Because it's the right thing to give voters a choice. There's no there's nothing to stop me basically, because I met every qualification that is required in order to run for the office and seek the office. So why wouldn't I run right? So I just said, Let's go directly and then something amazing happened that At God just started opening doors and making a way providing financing that I never would have imagined. It was a wild ride. So it was a leap of faith. And I just have to say that God came through big time, bigger, better, stronger than I ever would have imagined. So, you know, just at the beginning, I thought, Okay, I'm just going to put my name on the ballot, just so that people have someone else that they can choose if they didn't want to choose the incumbent, right? Well, no, it turned into a real race, it turned into me getting 47% of the vote against a 29 year incumbent. It turned into flipping the politics and chambers county upside down. Because people said, Who is this girl? Who is this person? What is going on here? How is she getting all of this support? What What is this about? And people started talking, and people are still talking, and I'm very excited about this primary coming up in 24. Because now I have some other people who are going to be running this time, I'm not going to be all by myself. As far as a candidate goes, there are some people who have said, hey, if she can make that much of a dent, I think I can do something too. And so we've got some other people running. I think there's Yeah, I think there's something to that, you know, you fantastic race. You know, fantastic results. Ultimately, you didn't, you know, claim victory. Right, but you talk about it with so much positivity. And you know, I mean people everywhere, and they say, Well, I just don't know if I can win. I just don't know if I, if I can do this. And then what if I don't win? And I think the courage in your voice is inspiring this leap of faith. And clearly, a strong foundation in your faith has played a role before during and after that race. Is that fair to say? Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, I can imagine so. So you go through this journey, you You are now looking at a county that is listening a little differently to what's what's occurring, and they're paying attention a little differently. We're coming up on this next election cycle. All right, what's what's on the horizon for you? What What have What have you decided, is going to happen next for Rachel. So this past Saturday, I had a very exciting campaign kickoff event where I officially announced that I am running for county commissioner precinct number one in chambers County. So I will be seeking a place on the chambers, County Commissioners Court that will allow me to actually vote and affect policy in my county. And I am really excited about the amount of support that I have received so far from from all across the county, not just in my precinct, but from people across chambers county who are interested in the process and interested in getting involved and having their voices heard. Yeah, no doubt. So the the prior race when you ran for county judge a lot of that decision process involved. Changing the leadership, changing the leadership style changing, overreach and bringing a different level of ethical decision making to that position. Why are you running for this particular seat? What are you looking to, to change as a result of, of the precinct one Commissioner's court victory? So what the main thing that I would like to change is our tax rate, to be 100% honest with you. Chambers county is extremely blessed in the tax base that we have earlier when we talked about how the county is made up and what the industry is and the demographics. We have a budget of over $100 million a year that is spent in a county of approximately 50,000 citizens. So there are counties in Texas who would love to have the budget that we have here in chambers County. And so for us to Spend the money in the way that it's being spent. Now, I don't agree with, I believe that we could be better stewards of that taxpayer money. We have a very healthy abatement program that, you know, many people like it because they believe that it brings business and industry to our accounting others, some of us we don't love it so much, because we believe that it's corporate welfare, and it's the government picking winners and losers. For me, what I'd like to see is a lower tax rate for everyone across the board, rather than picking and choosing who gets to have those tax breaks. While you know, the appraisals continue to go up in in our county as they have across the state, it's a statewide issue that property tax appraisals have just skyrocketed. And commissioners, courts don't lower the tax rate in order to offset that property value increase, unfortunately, so they continue to increase their budgets and spend more and spend more, while you know, my business can only make what my business can make, because the federal government gets to tell me how much fish I can catch every year, right? So I can't just raise my salary because I have to pay more property taxes, you know, I have to absorb that somewhere. So that means somewhere else is going to get less, right. So I have less discretionary spending, because now I'm spending more on property taxes. Well, I just don't agree with that. And I believe that we have the tax base here in chambers County in order to very much lower the tax rate across the board for everyone, not just people who are politically connected. And then the second issue that is just huge for us is drainage. So many people in chambers county have flooded multiple times, myself included, where you have to, you know, go through a horrible process of throwing all of your things away mucking out your house, going through all the remodeling, or if you if you decide you've had enough, and then you want to try and sell your home, I mean, it's it is a nightmare. And we've got to get this drainage taken care of, because there really there really is no excuse for it. Obviously, you're not going to be able to prevent all flooding, but we can certainly make a huge difference make better drainage for the residents of this county who who are paying taxes that they should be going to that kind of infrastructure that benefits them. Yeah. And even if it if it makes future flooding less severe, it makes the recovery time for the county and the communities that much faster. Maintenance. And prevention is so key when it comes to flood prone prone areas. How contested Do you anticipate this race being? Is the incumbent running again? Yes, so he announced back in February, I do believe so I knew that he was planning to run again. I mean, I fully expect for him to have all of the backing of the establishment and the status quo, people that back to my competitor last time, it'll be all the same people. But you know, I, I and I get that, you know, I understand they're going to have people that are that are always going to support them that are going to be in their corner because I have people like that in my corner too. And it's great. But those are not necessarily the people that I'm going after. I am working with a really awesome group of people who have come together and said, you know, we're ready to change the game here in chambers County, we're ready for the next generation of people who want to step up and serve their fellow citizens to come in and start gaining ground here. And we have plans to do some things that are going to bring new voters into this process and educate people and help them to understand what really is at stake here in this race. So I'm really excited. Yeah, it's exciting. It definitely is. It's going to be a fantastic next handful of months as this continues to scale and ramp up and you're out there meeting more of your community members is going to be up and you know, you know, it's going to be a fantastic ride. So I'm definitely looking forward to following it. What what current political office holder would you say is somebody that you try to model after that you you you look up to and how they approached certain decisions and challenges and difficult circumstances. And, and as you become an elected official that you would model some of your governing tendencies after that one is, actually I have to, and it's really easy because they've both been my state rep. So the first one would be maze Middleton, who, who has somewhat, you know, kind of coached me in my first race and was very helpful and instrumental in that race for me as well. I very much appreciate his very reserved, even handed style that he approaches things with where he's very logical, he's very calm, he's very thoughtful, he does not, he doesn't have outbursts, he has a lot of self control. And I appreciate that so much. Because for someone like myself, I get, I get excited, I get passionate. So that's something that I can try and emulate more. And so I very much appreciate that. And then the other person is Terry Leo Wilson, who is my current state rep. She and I got to know each other a lot in the last race where we would be working pulls together at political events together. And she has, you know, she's been in this political process for quite some time, because she served on the State Board of Education, she's been involved with the party, on those kinds of things for a long time now. And so she's been a great resource and role model for me to help me understand what the process is like, what I, what I should expect, you know, going into this, and just, I'm so proud of her in this session that she really did stand behind her principles, and follow through and voted the way that she told us she was going to vote when she campaigned. And so that's something that I really appreciate and will try to emulate myself, you know, okay, this is what I said, while I'm campaigning. So this is the deliverable for when I am elected and placed into office, this is the product that you elected me to deliver. So here it is. So I it's Yeah, both of those really great, really great people that I can look up to? Well, you just brought up the state legislature, and we finished our general session, and now the governor has started a special session, there might be even more in the future. Okay, what grade would you give our state legislature in this first session? D. I, okay. I'm quite disappointed. I'm so disappointed. I feel like we only had a couple of wins that we really were able to celebrate. But the amount of work that they did not get done is if it was if it was a business, and I hired them to accomplish these goals. Well, it's time for you to come into my office, and we're going to have a serious evaluation about your place here. And do you belong here? Because our Republican representatives did not deliver what they campaigned on. They just simply did not. And I feel like we had to go in there as grassroots and beg and plead for the few victories that we did get. And I just, I don't understand that. Why do we have to fight so stinking hard with our own people to try and get our priorities passed, and there were only eight. So it's not like we were asking them to pass 1000 bills? You know, we're asking for hours it can be i i find it very frustrating that in Texas, that the Conservatives Republican Party has all statewide elected positions, has control of both chambers of the legislature. Yet there's just seems to be a disconnect between the state Republican Party and the process. That is, I mean, we use the term grassroots but this process where the people in every county spend weeks and months working through what really are the priorities, what really is going to move the needle for our communities and for our state. And ultimately, it gets surfaced and synthesize to just eight clear priorities. And then it's your it's like, chipping away. So you know, minute li i mean that the progress was made underwhelming, at best, underwhelming, it's very frustrating, isn't it? Yes, extremely frustrating. And the, you know, the disconnect between the party and the politicians. I'm not really sure how we rectify that except for, like I said, it's time for an evaluation, it's time for us to decide whether we need to stay together or part ways, and we just need good people to step up and run, please, you know, just Yes, run. I'm not apologize, there's a lot to that. It's, oh, my goodness. But, you know, it's part of the part of the, the things that we face as a candidate running against what I call it the machine, you know, it's, you're gonna have an uphill climb and uphill battle, you know that it is extremely difficult to run against an incumbent. But at this point, I just don't know what other choice we have. I think the things that you did, by getting involved, there are a lot of people who go and cast their votes. And they feel like that's it, they've have fulfilled their civic duty, and it is a civic duty to go vote for sure. But I think that if people are frustrated with the lack of inaction, they have to do more than just go cast their vote that to become an informed voters, they have to do the things like go to the campaign rallies, or go to the, to the candidate forums, or become a precinct volunteer or precinct chair and go to your county conventions, they have to do those things. Because then they'll understand where their elected officials are falling short of the bar. If they just go and vote because they got a great Mahler they're missing half of the equation, they're missing a big portion of the story. And, and I think the more that we get people involved in the political process, beyond just casting a vote, I think, then then that divide, that disconnect becomes less and less over time, it's just hard, it's a lot of hard work. Right? Because you're asking someone to personally invest into this process. Now, whether that be with their time with their money with their their talent, you know, you're you're asking someone to invest into this process. And that is difficult. I mean, it's difficult to get people to come to church these days. So, I mean, much less get involved in a political process, or, you know, a lot of times I feel like even So as parents, you know, we want our children to be well rounded, we want them to have all kinds of different experiences and things but at the same time, priorities have to be the priority. So on Wednesday night, we're at church on Sunday morning, where at church, we're not doing other activities that interfere with that, because that's just something that we've said, No, this is our priority. And I feel like that's the same thing that's happened with politics for me is right now and this season, it is my priority, because I do have a child and and I do want to hand off something to him where he is not a debt slave, basically, and just going to be having, you know, go to work, pay your taxes come home, you don't have any discretionary money, your government is totalitarian dictating to you what you can and can't do every day. No, thank you. No, thank you. I mean, that is not the Texan way. For sure. It's not the American way. It's not how I grew up. And I don't want my son to inherit that. Yeah. It makes it makes total sense. So what's your advice to the moms and dads another? You have folks who listen to this podcast and you're trying to become a bit more informed and maybe they're thinking about doing a little bit more what's, what's your coaching to them. So there is a role for everyone to play and there are no small roles. Everything that you can do to get involved and become more educated is is helpful and beneficial. And the easiest thing that you can do is start attending your county executive committee meetings because that's where you're going to find out. What are the issues that matter to the grassroots? What what are the issues that matter in your specific county The you will be able to find out who is on your Commissioners Court there, if you're not familiar with your commissioners or your county judge, because a lot of times they they will attend those meetings. But if they're not attending those meetings, you'll also find out about that too. Because people will be saying, why are they not here? Why are they not connecting with their precinct chairs and their officers who are then turn, you know, facing out toward the community so that if they are there, that's awesome. If they're not there, that's also a big indicator to you about how connected your elected officials are to the grassroots in your county. So attending county executive meetings, the, that's easy, all you have to do is show up and attend, you don't have to say anything, you don't have to do anything, you're just there to listen and observe. That's easy, right? Everyone can do that. And it's maybe a couple of hours. Ours is only once every two months. So it's not even a huge commitment, right. The next thing you can do is find out whether you're voting precinct, whether the chair, there's a precinct chair there or not. If the chair is vacant, and you have those, you know that little bit of time that you're willing to devote to that to finding out what's going on in your community and just being your the precinct chair, you can volunteer for that. It's really easy. And then once you're the precinct chair, there are some things that you can do to help get out the vote on elections. There are things you can do to help candidates to campaign, you can get involved in block walking, you can host events in your neighborhood, where candidates or even elected officials can come and speak and connect with the voters in that precinct. I mean, it just it really depends on you on what level you're comfortable with, and the time commitment that you have available to become involved. But I would say don't let, don't let perfection be the enemy of good. If you're willing to, you know, get involved, just start small. And that's fine. You don't have to be turning into some kind of political consultant or something where you're, you know, that's your whole entire life. You can just go and attend the meeting, that's fine, but just start somewhere, yeah, get educated, then you can get activated and go from there. I truly, truly believe that. Well, I can't let you go without you telling the audience where can they find out more about you and your campaign and how they can help you? Yes, so I do have a website. It's not currently updated for my last judge race. But the crazy thing is, is a lot of the same issues are still issues. So my platform really has not changed too much, because I'll be campaigning on basically the same, the same platform of ensuring that our constitutional rights aren't violated. Working against unconstitutional mandates, all that kind of thing. But my website is Rachel heisler.com. And that's our A C HALHISLE r.com. And if you want to donate to my campaign, you can go to when read and type in my name, and it'll take you to my donation page. That can help me and then also, if you'd like to volunteer on my campaign, there is a place where you can sign up on my website where you can volunteer to block, walk or host an event, do all kinds of things that would just help me connect with voters in chambers County. Well, look, everybody, we're coming up on a season in which is going to be a lot of attention. And a lot of media put on a presidential race, there's going to be a lot happening at a national level. But we can really affect amazing changes in our lives by putting the right people in office locally. So spend the time get to know what's happening in your local communities, get to know candidates like Rachel, understand what they're all about, and then help them help them get to where they want to be and then hold them accountable for representing your values and following through on their campaign promises. So, Rachel, thank you so much for being with us today. It was great having you on I'd love to have you on maybe, you know in a few months we get an update on how your campaign is going and and how things are shaping up. So I'd love to have you on again if if you'd welcome that. Oh, yes, absolutely. This has been great. Thank you so much for having me on and I definitely look forward to being on the podcast again to to update you and let you know how the race is going. Fantastic. Best of luck. Thank you so much for listening. As always, you can email me your thoughts to Ben at Ben armenta.com. I've said this many times before, but it's worth repeating. If you want things to change, you have to roll up your sleeves and do something about it. Take a cue from Rachel. Contact your local GOP committee and find out what is happening in your area. Learn what the needs are, and start volunteering. Who knows where it'll lead? And if someday you too, are running in a race of your own. Until next time, thank you again. And God bless. The answer with Ben Armenta is sponsored by the kickin crab, the latest and greatest Cajun concept to hit the southwest. They offer down home flavors and it's one of those places where you'll want to take the kids, no plates, just good times brought to you by folks that have strong conservative values. Just like you and me. Visit them today off highway six in Houston or at the kicking crab.com