It wasn't money, or the backing of bigtime political players that put Gio Capriglione over the top in 2012, he recieved about $8600 dollars in small increments by the people in District 98, and loaned himself about $23K. But that wasn't it, what got him elected was his grassroots supporters. These people trusted him, they thought he was a conservative because he held himself out as one. These people spent money, shoe leather, and lots of personal political capital to elect him. Then, 4 years later, he betrayed them after using them. Tossed them in the trash like a snotty kleenex.
Gio voted for Joe Straus in 2015 against a Straus challenger. Straus has long been an obstacle to the advancement of the conservative agenda. Although Straus calls himself a Republican, the first time he was elected Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, in 2009, it was with all the votes of the House Democrats (65) and the votes of only 11 House Republicans. (The Texas Constitution directs that the Speaker is to be elected by a simple majority of the House.) He rewarded the Democrats by using the appointive power of the Speaker to appointment them to the most influential committees where they were able to kill most conservative legislation by simply ignoring it. Straus was able to keep his Speaker-ship by appointing his political allies (Democrats) and punishing those too principled to vote for him. Straus continues this practice to this day in a violent distortion of the will of Texas voters. The grassroots knows this. That's why they want him out so badly.
In the 2015 House session, Straus appointed Gio to be Chair of the Committee on Investments & Financial Services in which he was able to herd his pet project, the Gold Depository (HB483) through to passage. It's not hard to connect those dots. This was the payoff for Gio's betrayal.
When Gio was elected, he presented himself as anti-Straus because his constituents were anti-Straus. But the first time he got the chance to actually make an anti-Straus stand by voting for an alternative, he bugged out, abandoned his constituents, his comrades too, and sold his integrity for a committee chair.
Time For a Change. Vote for Armin Mizani for State Representative, District 98.
(Sidebar: The conservative agenda has advanced, a little, in spite of Straus because Dan Patrick was elected Lieutenant Governor. The Lieutenant Governor serves the same function for the Texas Senate as the Speaker's post serves for the House. When Patrick became LG the Senate began passing conservative bills and sending them to the House, a complete reversal of tradition up to that date. This lead to much Straus embarrassment as he tried to sit on the flood of conservative bills, and probably played a role in his decision to retire.)
