Scott Turner and His Challenge to Joe Straus

HOUSTON, Texas–Freshman Texas Legislator Scott Turner announced earlier this year he would seek to become the next Speaker of the House of the Texas Legislature. This is no small task. Many before him have tried and failed, but Scott Turner comes from a background filled with achievements no one else believed were possible.

Since announcing he would take on Speaker Joe Straus on the first day of the 2015 Legislative Session, Turner has been crisscrossing the Lone Star State getting to know the other legislators who will have to cast their very first vote of the session to pick the next Speaker. He has also been building a strong cadre of supporters who will be talking to their reps asking them to vote for Turner.

Scott Turner is a former NFL player who now serves the people of Frisco and Rockwall as a state representative. At 5’9″ and 180 pounds, not many believed Turner would ever walk onto an NFL football field, but he promised his mother he would, and he kept his promise. Keeping promises is a lesson Turner learned from his father who also taught him about discipline and humility. These are traits that would serve the people of Texas well, should he prevail in this next goal in his life.

Breitbart Texas caught up with Turner at a gathering of grassroots activists and River Oaks donors at a fundraiser on May 22 in Houston. He told his life story and captured the loyalty and admiration of the diverse crowd of people who are now supporters. After the fundraiser, Turner sat down with this writer for the first of what will be a series of interviews where Breitbart Texas will drill down into some specific issues to inform the voters and legislators about the man who would be the next Texas Speaker.

This interview set out to introduce Turner to the readers of Breitbart Texas. Turner discussed the process for the vote, which is done by the legislators as their first vote of the session. It is not a vote of the people, but is instead, what Turner referred to as an internal vote. “It’s an internal vote, with an external influence,” Turner said. “The people do have a voice in it. That how they can vote, by voicing their support [to their representatives] who they want for Speaker.”

Responding to a question about why he, as a freshman legislator, would run for this, the third most powerful position in Texas government, Turner explained, “It doesn’t take long when you have life experiences and me in particular, in business and professional sports and the ministry. You know, I am a freshman …, but I’ve lived and I’ve had a lot of great experiences, and I’ve seen great leadership and I’ve seen not-so-great leadership.”

“When I came to the House, last session,” Turner continued, “I had phenomenal experiences learning and I’ve been a part of the process and created new relationships and friendships.”

Turner discussed his number one priority, education. He also talked about applying conservative principles to leadership which is already earning him a broad base of support from grassroots activists to some of the top business leaders in the state.

Turner will need these relationships as he moves forward to try and win the gavel from Speaker Straus. There’s an old expression, “If someone wants to bet you that the Jack of Clubs will jump out of a deck of cards and spit in your ear, you better grab a towel.” In this case, if Mr. Turner says he is going to become the next Speaker of the Texas House, somebody better start making a new gavel.

Turner committed to Breitbart Texas he would return and conduct interviews drilling down into how his leadership would guide the legislature through the challenges that this rapidly growing state is facing–Transportation, education, water, tax reform and a rapidly expanding budget. In the meantime, you can learn more about Scott Turner by visiting his website.

Follow Bob Price on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX