The Big PictureTexas Officials Connect at Federal Level

Lavaca County Judge Ronald Leck stepped outside the confines of county and state government into the national realm, and he learned a valuable lesson.
“We’re part of a bigger picture,” said Leck. “I feel like I’m a little bit better judge than I was a week ago.”
Leck and a dozen fellow members of the Commissioners Court Leadership Academy spent April 23-28 in Washington, D.C., meeting with administration officials and congressional leaders to discuss key issues including transportation, immigration and disaster response.
The Academy, a two-year advanced leadership development program for commissioners court members, is sponsored by Texas Cooperative Extension’s V. G. Young Institute of County Government. The trip to the nation’s capital was led by Rick Avery, director of the Institute, and Stacy Morris, Extension program specialist.
“The Washington session is designed to show how issues at the federal level have an impact on counties and how local officials can influence the process,” Avery said. “It is also an opportunity to examine the structure of county government in a state outside of Texas. This class is a dynamic and progressive group, and I believe they were able to glean a great deal of useful information from the trip.”
While in Washington, D.C., county officials met with U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson, R-Texas, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Texas, and Toby Burke, special assistant to the president for intergovernmental affairs.
The National Association of Counties hosted a session on how local officials can be effective advocates for their counties at the federal level.
The week’s activities included tours of the Pentagon, White House, Capitol and Library of Congress.
The following officials participated in the trip: Don Allred, judge in Oldham County; Kevin Burns, commissioner in Wise County; Richard Easingwood, commissioner in Tom Green County; Ronald Leck, judge in Lavaca County; Kenny Mallard, commissioner in Brazos County; Ray Meadows, commissioner in McLennan County; Dean Player, commissioner in Leon County; Jerry Rowden and Kenneth Schoen, commissioners in Kaufman County; Gene Short, commissioner in Grayson County; Frank Summers, judge in Milam County; Nina Trevino, commissioner in San Patricio County, and Beth Wisenbaker, commissioner in Hopkins County.
Academy members also spent a day in King George County, Va., where Virginia officials rolled out the red carpet for the Texas contingency as the two groups compared and contrasted their varying forms of county government. In fact, the day spent with their Virginia counterparts was described by some as the most intriguing aspect of the trip.
“It’s unbelievable how different county government can be,” said Rowden.
Mallard pointed out that while his county of Brazos has 26 elected officials, King George County has only five.
Meadows warned against the age-old adage, “We’ve never done things that way before,” and said he valued the opportunity to glean new ideas from the Virginians.
“It was an honor and a privilege to talk with another county in another state,” Short said. “Sometimes we fall in a rut doing things the way we always do them.”
Several officials came away from the trip with a deepened appreciation for local government.
“I realized how fortunate I am to serve people at the level I do,” Wisenbaker said, citing the “hands-on” nature of her job as county commissioner.
It all starts at the grassroots level, Schoen said, and continues right on up to the top with everyone trying to make the country a good place to live and to raise their families.
A common line runs through each level of government