In this week’s episode of Bluebonnet News Headlines and Heartlines, State Rep. Trent Ashby, who is now seeking the Republican nomination for Texas Senate District 3, shares insights from his years of public service and his motivation for seeking a seat on the Texas Senate.
Ashby has represented Angelina, Houston, Polk, San Augustine, Trinity, and Tyler counties in the Texas House since 2013 and currently serves on the House Committees on Natural Resources and Public Education. He also chairs the Subcommittee on Academic and Career-Oriented Education.
A proud Texas A&M Aggie and longtime community leader, Ashby talked about the values that shaped him while growing up on his parents’ dairy farm in Rusk County. The daily routines of farm life, he explained, were fundamental in building his work ethic.
“It’s twice a day, 365 days a year, no vacation,” he said. That upbringing — combined with parents who were deeply involved in their local church — helped form his views on faith, family, and public service.
Ashby’s early life was filled with church activities, 4-H, FFA, and Friday night football, experiences he believes mirror much of the culture in East and Southeast Texas. He credits those roots for guiding his votes and priorities in the Legislature.
“My Christian conservative values drive not only who I am as a person, but also my decisions on policy and being a productive member of the Legislature,” he said.
Before serving in Austin, Ashby was president of the Lufkin ISD Board of Trustees, a role he says helped him understand collaboration, compromise, and the importance of public education. That time in local leadership, he said, gave him a deeper sense of community and reinforced his belief that education must remain one of Texas’ highest priorities.
“If we don’t get education right, nothing else really matters,” he said.
During the interview, Ashby also addressed one of the issues he hears about most often on the campaign trail: water. With Texas’ population increasing by more than a thousand new residents a day, he noted that many metropolitan areas are looking toward rural regions as potential water sources. He cited current concerns north of Liberty County, where large land purchases have sparked fears of exporting groundwater to the Dallas–Fort Worth area.
Ashby said rural communities need stronger protections to ensure local water is preserved for local residents. While surface water laws include safeguards, he argued that groundwater laws have not kept pace. Strengthening those protections will be one of his top priorities if elected to the Senate. He pointed to new technologies — including desalination, brackish water treatment, and aquifer storage — as tools that can help high-growth regions meet their needs without pulling water from East Texas.
Natural resources, particularly forestry, are another major focus for Ashby. Representing a region where timber is a key part of the economy, he described his work supporting landowners, loggers, and prescribed burn managers. He emphasized the economic importance of forestlands in Senate District 3 and said he takes seriously the role of protecting natural resources while supporting industry.
Property taxes also remain a central concern among voters across the district, Ashby said. He outlined the Legislature’s recent efforts to compress school tax rates and increase the homestead exemption — changes he believes have provided meaningful relief. But he acknowledged that rising appraisal values continue to frustrate homeowners. He said the state must take a closer look at the appraisal system, which he described as outdated and in need of reform.
On border security, Ashby said illegal immigration continues to impact communities far beyond the Rio Grande Valley. He pointed to statewide investments in border enforcement over the past several years, arguing that these efforts have helped reduce human smuggling, illegal crossings, and fentanyl trafficking.
“What happens on the border doesn’t stay on the border,” he said.
This in-depth interview offers a broad look at the issues shaping Senate District 3 — from water and natural resources to public education, property taxes, and border security. Viewers can listen to the full conversation with Trent Ashby in the next episode of Bluebonnet News Headlines and Heartlines. The episode can be found on YouTube by clicking here, Spotify by clicking here, or listen to KILE FM 94.9 radio online http://www.kilefm.com on Friday, Nov. 28, at 10 a.m.
He is as bad as Dade Phelan and Ernest Bailes in that he voted along with both of these RINO’s in trying to impeach Ken Paxton. I will never vote for a creature from the Texas SWAMP.