Comptroller top choices: GOP’s Hegar vs. Dudding

In many ways, Comptroller Glenn Hegar has been a model elected official.

His office’s forecasts, particularly during these turbulent pandemic years, have been timely and accurate. Over the course of his two terms as Texas comptroller of public accounts, Hegar has revised projections accordingly and done an excellent job communicating changes to lawmakers and the public. He’s responsive to the press, has great relationships with state lawmakers, and has run his office with professionalism and efficiency.

For these reasons, we recommend Hegar, a former state lawmaker from Katy, in the GOP primary for comptroller.

But many ways is not all ways, and that’s partly why Hegar faces a challenge from Mark Goloby, an accountant and grassroots activist who has made it his mission to raise attention about the state’s problematic and wasteful Chapter 313 program.

So-called 313 agreements allow for corporations to keep part of their property taxes off school district tax rolls for 10 years. It’s an incredibly wasteful program, costing taxpayers billions. The Legislature was right to end the program last session, but a rush of applications are expected this year before the program ends.

With the program ending, Hegar initially said he would limit public information about these 313 agreements — despite the rush of applications. This was a mistake and prompted bipartisan blowback. Hegar has since reversed course and pledged more transparency.

As he recently told the Houston Chronicle: “I’m not going to adopt it as proposed. The data that people are concerned about or want is still going to be available.”

The question, though, is what does “available” mean?

Goloby is an interesting candidate. Beyond his concerns about Chapter 313, he also said he would use the office to advocate to tap the rainy day fund and reduce the state’s sales tax, which he said would provide immediate relief to Texans across all economic levels. We appreciate his advocacy for open government.

Despite the lapse on 313 agreements, we still appreciate Hegar’s tenure and broader vision for the office. Plus, sometimes making a reversal is a hallmark of good leadership. Republicans should stick with Hegar in this primary.

On the Democratic side, we recommend Janet Dudding, a certified public accountant who lives in the Bryan-College Station metropolitan area. Dudding faces attorney Tim Mahoney, who ran for this seat in 2018 and also has a strong grasp of the issues and is a fine candidate. Angel Luis Vega, who declined our meeting invitation, is also on the ballot but does not strike us as a serious candidate.

What sets Dudding apart is her accounting experience, acumen and passion for this office.

She knows the issues and spent much of our Editorial Board meeting hammering Hegar over his initial comments about 313 agreements, as did Mahoney.

“It is very disconcerting that he would propose to reduce reporting on corporate giveaways,” she said.

She raised concerns about why so many of these agreements are approved and whether clawback provisions are enforced when corporations fall short on their promises.

Her understanding of finance could be used to advocate for policy changes on other issues such as legalization of marijuana, expanding health care and addressing carbon emissions.

The Texas comptroller of public accounts doesn’t get much attention, but a Dudding-Hegar race would be fascinating. Having two quality candidates debate policies and offer competing visions would be a service to all Texans.