I had the opportunity to sit down with freshman State Rep. Raul Torres (R-33) yesterday as he passed through Houston and talk about a variety of subjects. It was my first meeting with Rep. Torres and I came away impressed with his energy and positive message for Texas Republicans – both of those traits are lacking in the Harris County Republican Party. In my opinion, of course.
On his election
Rep. Torres first ran for the District 33 seat in 2008, losing to the incumbent, Rep. Solomon Ortiz Jr., 59-36 (a Libertarian rec’d 5{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986}) with a total of 41,635 people voting. In 2010, he defeated Rep. Ortiz Jr., 52.5 – 47.5, with a total turnout of 23,805.
I asked Rep. Torres what he attributed the 17 point swing to and he noted two things. First the obvious, the Obama voters weren’t motivated and didn’t turn out. Second and in his mind just as important was the experience he gained in 2008, which resulted in his choosing a better campaign consultant, leading to a better, more organized campaign. The third factor, and the one I’m most interested in, was his willingness to venture into the Democratic strongholds of Nueces County – again, something that Harris County Republicans need to learn.
Rep. Torres said that his willingness to meet people on their turf was key to overcoming negative attacks on him. When the attacks came, as they inevitably do, the people were able to say, wait a minute, I met that guy, you’re characterization of him is wrong, I don’t believe you. If only the Harris County Republican Party would understand this simple, fundamental rule of human behavior. Perhaps HCRP Chair Jared Woodfill could invite Rep. Torres to speak at one of the quarterly executive meetings?
On his mission to cut waste and Lean/Six Sigma
Most, if not all, politicians campaign on a variation of “there is too much waste in government”. As did Rep. Torres. However, he found a method that he thinks will allow him to keep his promise to cut waste and that is to implement Lean/Six Sigma methodology at all levels of government. If you aren’t familiar with Lean/Six Sigma, it is a set of tools that can be used to systematically identify waste, improve quality, and cut costs that is used in almost every successful corporation today.
Rep. Torres has attached himself to Strong America Now, a group founded to support politicians that pledge to reduce government spending, eliminate the deficit, and not raise new taxes. Rep. Torres believes that Texas can save 20-25 BILLION dollars from its biennial budget if every department will utilize Lean/Six Sigma methods and he points to the example of the City of Irving, Texas, which Rep. Torres told me cut their budget from $188 million to $168 million while at the same time improving city services. Here is a video of Irving City Manager Tommy Gonzales discussing their implementation of Lean/Six Sigma:
Rep. Torres did manage to pass legislation that will help other politicians to see the value in the Lean/Six Sigma approach. He was able to attach a requirement for a pilot program within the Texas Workforce Commission to Sen. Mike Jackson’s SB-563 in conference. I asked him how he chose the TWC for the pilot and he gave me the best answer possible – Chairman Tom Pauken. I’m a huge fan of Chairman Pauken and have no doubt that he will push this program to its fullest. The TWC will be required to report on their progress August 1, 2012, a report we should all look forward to. Although it is only a pilot program and is only limited to one agency, the mere fact that Rep. Torres was able to pass it as a freshman speaks to his potential as a legislator.
On his first session
I asked Rep. Torres what he thought about the session overall. He told me that he thought they had made some gains of historical proportion but still had much to do. When I asked him why he voted against HB1, the budget, he surprised me by saying that he voted the wishes of his district – he said that calls to his office were 10-1 against the budget. There was a strong push by teachers in his district against the “cuts” to education that were in the budget and Rep. Torres thought it was important to “vote his district” rather than follow an ideological path. He mentioned “voting his district” several times during our talk – that won’t endear him to many in the conservative movement who demand strict adherence to ideology and not the will of the voters.
When I asked what the hardest lesson he learned during his first session was, he answered with “that your best friend today is your greatest enemy tomorrow”. Truer words have never been spoken.
On redistricting and losing his district
The final maps for redistricting eliminated his District 33 and put him in District 34, which pairs him with another Republican freshman, Rep. Connie Scott, with whom he is friends. He has stated elsewhere that he plans to run again, Rep. Scott has yet to make her plans known. His hope is that the map will be overturned and District 33 will return in some form. The map as approved by the legislature protects Rep. Todd Hunter (R-32) at the expense of Rep. Torres. Such is the life of a freshman.
The worst part for Rep. Torres and Rep. Scott is that the new District 34 as drawn heavily favors Democrats, with 60-67{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} Democrat voting history. That will be very, very hard for any Republican to win, no question about it. But Rep. Torres is definitely going to give it a go and who knows? One thing is for certain, you can’t win if you don’t try. And as Rep. Torres points out, which many in the Harris County Republican Party refuse to acknowledge, Hispanic voters are conservative by nature. They have to be asked to vote Republican, they have to be wooed, they have to think that the Republican Party really does want them as full members, not just as votes come election time. I have no doubt that Rep. Torres will deliver a positive message and woo many – to woo enough he will need the same type of financial support that Texans for Lawsuit Reform and the Associated Republicans of Texas gave him in 2010.
I wish Rep. Torres well and appreciate the time he took to meet with me. You can find more about him at these links:
State website: Rep. Raul Torres
Campaign website: Elect Raul Torres
Facebook: State Rep. Raul Torres
Twitter: RaulTorresRep
NOTE: For more information on 5S and Six Sigma, visit 5S Training and Research Page – CSS Research and Training Center.
Big,
I am a 6-Sigma Black Belt in DMAIC and DMEDIA. It is a great set of tools for implementing process improvements; chiefly because both methods rely on getting the voice of the customer and precise measurments regarding the process.
I have seen obvious process improvement that were impossible to implement because of a host of reasons; none of those reasons had anything to do with good engineering practices, but rather divisional fiefdoms, mindless inertia (we've always done it that way thinking), and plain old stupidity.
It is much easier when everyone has a hand in collecting the data and analyzing it. The data speaks for itself and buy-in to a change became easier. Of course good managers could do the same #${997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986}$#${997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} thing, but that is a rare quality these days.
It is one thing to change a manufacturing process. Proving necessary change in a human interaction or transaction is another. I have less faith in 6-Sigma for the latter because you end up compromising your finding to accomodate some measure of politics in the end.
My company is a great believer in 6-Sigma, although at times I think we overuse it. That said…our CEO sits on the President's Council of Economic Advisors and he is pushing the government to use more 6-Sigma in its transactions. Doug is a first rate CEO and I have the utmost faith in him to run our company. GM, FORD, and Chyrsler are shadows of their former selves, while Caterpillar is an Exporter and we are hiring and expanding.
You can see what an uphill battle he has trying to change things in Washington.
Simple
Always an uphill battle for change, Simple. Like you, I've been implementing Lean/Six Sigma for a long time now and have seen successes, failures, and overuse. If anything makes me think that this specific pilot program will work, it is Tom Pauken. We'll see.