Ryan McConnico, vice president and O&P operation at bureau veritas and Republican candidate for Texas Representative of District 134, is up for election on Nov. 5. His platform focuses on issues concerning the environment and energy industry, school curriculums, neighborhood safety and free speech.

McConicco grew up in central Texas and later attended Sam Houston State University where he studied economics and international business. During his senior year, McConnico was deployed down to Louisiana to aid in the cleanup of the BP oil spill before making a start in the Houston oil and gas industry.

“That got me into being environmentally conscious as well as the energy space and how those two industries come together,” McConnico said. “It was a really, really interesting foundation to start, and then I got into the oil and gas business here in Houston, Texas.”

McConnico’s two sons Lincoln and Graham are his motivation to run for representative.

“As a parent, I have a stake in society,” McConnico said. “I’m not doing it for myself anymore.”

McConnico also believes that there is a lot of distrust in our leaders and the institutions they stand for, so his goal is to ‘try and bring some authenticity’ to District 134.

“I’m running to restore trust to an office that’s in desperate need of that,” McConnico said. “This role is not about making yourself better. It’s bringing the community together and raising the tide for all ships.”

McConnico places extreme importance on environmental issues and the effect of the energy industry on our environment. Despite the ‘bad rap’  that McConnico says conservative Republicans get for ‘not caring about the environment’, he thinks wanting to take care of the planet is not an issue specific to one group.

“Everybody agrees that we have to get to a more sustainable energy place, but it’s how we get there and how long it takes as to where we differentiate,” McConnico said.

Creating safer neighborhoods and communities is the ‘number one’ issue for McConnico; something that he and other Republican candidates are addressing through funding law enforcement and bail reform policies. 

“These days I would be terrified to send my kids out in Houston unsupervised,” McConnico said. “We have a crime problem in Houston and Harris County, and it’s not just political rhetoric.” 

However, McConnico and other Republican candidates have ideas to fix the problem.

“I think funding law enforcement; getting more people back out on the streets is really important,” McConnico said. “Bail reform is very important. We need to address that at the state level.” 

McConnico considers providing ‘urban access to early education across the board’ to be crucial for child development and believes in focusing on the curriculum and teaching of fundamental skills. 

“Getting kids access to pre-kindergarten, learning their ABCs and the fundamentals is so critically important at an early age,” McConnico said. “Kids, having two of my own, I see it every day. They’re like sponges, and they just pick up on stuff. We have to get back to teaching the fundamentals of problem solving and critical thinking, so young people can take that into the world and apply it.”

For McConnico, the right to free speech is necessary for ‘forward thinking conversations’ and he strongly opposes its censorship by online platforms.

“Big tech, Facebook, Twitter, and all of these free speech platforms censoring and crushing dissenting thoughts and ideas, that’s not what made us great,” McConnico said. “What makes us great is that we can disagree. I want to be able to have philosophical, political, forward thinking conversations with people of diverse backgrounds and different perspectives, to where we can come up with the best solution to help as many people as possible.”

McConnico believes in supporting the community through charity work like delivering supplies and helping neighbors rebuild after Hurricane Harvey. He also works closely with the Masonic Charities and Family Services of Texas who provide scholarships for high school students and free dental hygiene kits for children. 

“I think that during a great tragedy is when you put down all your differences and really see what it’s about to be human,” McConnico said. “Helping out others is very important to me. As a conservative, I don’t want people to be dependent on the government; I would rather have charities and the community come together to help lift these people up, so I firmly believe in that. I try my best to put it into practice in my everyday life.”

If McConnico is elected representative this term, he hopes to “keep the district out of trouble” and take steps to “get us to where we need to be” through transparent leadership.

“It’s gonna be a close one. I hope people can see the authenticity and see that I’m trying to do the right thing,” McConnico said. “I think we need to change the direction and change the leadership to get back to some sense of normalcy and common sense.”