On The Record: Melvin Willms

For this episode of On The Record, we speak with Melvin Willms, the Democratic candidate for Texas Senate in District 9.

What prompted you to run for public office?

I asked the Texas senator representing my district to sponsor a bill to revise Rule 296 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure so that a judge would have to account to someone after granting a party a summary judgment.

He did not respond, so I applied the doctrine, “If you want something done, do it yourself.”

What would you say are the primary issues concerning your area?

The primary issues concerning my area, and all of Texas, are the derelict lawyers, judges and judges in the Texas justice system.

What are your qualifications for the position for which you are running?

I am good at legislating. I knew when the United States Congress made guaranteed loans to farmers that it was going to bankrupt them. I was in Vietnam at the time and could not do much about that.

In 1984 and 1985, I convinced many of the Veterans of Foreign Wars that the double-digit inflation in the United States was caused by the 18-year depreciation on real estate, and we got the Tax Reform Act of 1986 passed. It caused the savings and loan crisis, but we stopped the inflation.

How do politics affect your family?

I do not know how to answer that except that writing keeps me busy trying to make a good life for our children and grandchildren.

Who are the important political figures that inspired you to become active in politics?

I cannot think of any political figures that inspired me to become active, unless I can go back to Abraham Lincoln, Nathan Hale and Martin Luther King, Jr.

What is your biggest hope for Texas?

My biggest hope for Texas is that one day it will have a justice system.