PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Effective Advocacy Starts with By DARREN WHITEHURST, President, TADA As of the time of the article, the Nov. 3 General Election is only a couple of weeks away. If you spent any time watching television over the last couple of months, you have no doubt been inundated with advertisements highlighting the positives of a particular candidate, but even more likely, how awful their opponent is. By the time you actually read this, the outcome of the elections will likely be known, and TADA will know who we are dealing with in both the Texas Legislature and Congress. I mentioned the headwinds that typically face the party in power, and it will be interesting to see whether that precedent held true this cycle or if President Trump was able to create a new narrative. Conventional wisdom around the Capitol has the Democrats picking up a number of seats in the Texas House and the Republicans not picking up all the new seats that were created in last year’s Redistricting Special Session. At the end of the day, it seems that the margins for both the state and federal chambers will be tighter, and party politics will drive policy discussions. What all of this means, practically, is that personal relationships will matter more than ever in the next session. New car dealers are uniquely positioned to educate elected officials on both the Republican and Democratic sides. Many of you see legislators at church, around town or at community events, or because your kids grew up together. As business cornerstones of your community, dealers are involved in so many local endeavors and are major employers and taxpayers that support economic development. Every legislator knows a local dealer, but I can assure you that very few of them understand the complexities and operations of your businesses. I recently attended the centennial celebration of Lockhart Ford, which has been operated by the Clark family. It was an amazing experience, and I had the chance to meet so many great employees and family You DEALERS’ CHOICE 4
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