District 14 Candidate First Look: John Raney

A former chairman of the Brazos County Republican Party, John Raney is one of three Republicans running for Texas House of Representatives in District 14. Raney served as the chairman of the Brazos County GOP from 1971 to 1978, and was a candidate for office only one other time when he ran for Brazos County judge in 1978.

According to his campaign web site, Raney is a long time resident of Brazos County, and graduated from Texas A&M University in 1969 with a degree in Marketing. Raney is the founder and owner of the Texas Aggieland Bookstore, which opened its doors in 1969 while he was still attending Texas A&M.

In an interview with the Bryan-College Station Eagle, Raney revealed that one of the motivating factors behind his campaign was his experience lobbying for a piece of legislation in Austin. The legislation would have levied state taxes on online companies such Amazon.com and was eventually vetoed by Governor Rick Perry. Raney said he believes that bureaucrats often lead the discussion in Austin, not voters.

While he admits to not being an expert in most areas of public policy that are dealt with by the legislature, Raney told the Eagle that he would use a “common-sense approach." Raney says that he will refuse to sign any specific pledges and will sit down and talk with anyone. There are five goals listed under his “Conservative Vision for the Brazos Valley” on his campaign web site, than include jobs and economic growth, investing in higher education, supporting educators, securing the border, and taxes.

Raney was endorsed by the Ealge who said in their endorsement that his “solid, steady background, couple with his experience working with the Legislature in the past gives him an edge.”