Albert Wittliff, the Democratic nominee for critical Texas House District 129, is not interested in cutting any taxes.
In May, he posted, “If you hear a politician talk about ‘low taxes’, that’s just not enough of a promise to run on. Ask them what the low taxes will mean for your community, and who exactly benefits.”
His campaign issues page leads with “fully funded” public schools and “public dollars belong in public schools.” It does not list a larger homestead exemption, a tighter appraisal cap, compression of school maintenance and operations rates, or a vote to take school taxes off the homestead bill. School taxes are the largest line on most Texas homestead bills. HD 129 covers about 201,000 people between the Houston Ship Channel plants and Galveston Bay. Further, Wittliff’s Democratic Party, as part of its platform, supports a state income tax; as do many endorsers of Wittliff, like Rep. Gene Wu and Rep. Christina Morales, who both voted against banning a state income tax, along with Rep. and Democratic U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico.
Homeowners there already stack school, city, county, municipal utility, and other special district levies on top of some of the highest home insurance costs in the state.
Gov. Greg Abbott has recently promoted a further tax cut as part of his initiative to improve affordability for Texans. He hopes to see property tax bills reduced by about half. The plan would cap appraisal growth at 3 percent a year, require two-thirds voter approval for local tax increases, and potentially eliminate school property taxes for homeowners. The state, he says, should “assume that full responsibility of funding public education, not your homestead.” Campaign estimates put the homeowner school-tax piece at roughly $11 billion a year. The Legislature has already put about $51 billion into school tax buy-downs and homestead increases since 2019. The school homestead exemption is now $140,000, up from $15,000 in 2015.
Wittliff has also publicly stated he opposes the school choice plan the legislature passed and that he opposes efforts to remove inappropriate and pornographic books from school libraries.
Wittliff is a former federal law-enforcement officer. In 2024, he ran for the Clear Creek ISD board and lost to incumbent Jeff Larson. He won the 2026 Democratic primary for HD 129 unopposed and now faces Republican Scott Bowen on November 3. Bowen is a chemical engineer and former Clear Creek ISD trustee. Incumbent Rep. Dennis Paul is leaving the House seat to run for the Texas Senate. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3.