Jay Misenheimer, an entrepreneur and community leader whose steady hand has helped many in East Texas, is the best candidate in the Texas House District 5 race.

Misenheimer faces Randy Davis, Holly Coggins Hayes and Cole Hefner in the GOP primary. Candidate Philip Hayes has dropped out of the race. There’s no Democratic candidate for the seat.

Misenheimer, 52, a businessman from Lindale and former Lindale ISD trustee, is running to replace state Rep. Bryan Hughes. He brings extensive experience and a long record of service to the table.

More than a decade ago, Misenheimer and his business partners purchased dozens of Food Fast convenience stores, as the regional company was at the brink of bankruptcy. Misenheimer was tasked with turning the stores’ performance around.

Within a few short years, Food Fast repaid its creditors and grew to 69 successful stores that employed around 550 employees in East Texas.

Misenheimer also helped raise $1 million for Food Fast Children’s Charities, a nonprofit organization created to financially support local and regional charities that focus on helping children.

He sold the company in 2011 and focused on philanthropic work and community leadership.

He became involved with the Children’s Advocacy Center when the agency was in financial trouble. The organization’s budget in 2013 was just $540,000 and it aided around 200 children. By 2016, the agency’s budget was $1.2 million and it assisted more than 500 children.

Still, much of Misenheimer’s work has been focused on public education. He spent six years on the Lindale Independent School District Board of Trustees.

That experience will be invaluable when the Legislature is called upon to craft a new school finance system.

He correctly pointed out that Texas ranks 44th in the nation in funding per student (around $7,800 versus the national average $11,000 per year). But he also knows that more funding isn’t a magic bullet.

“It’s about leadership,” he said. “Sharing best practices, assisting faculty and school districts in any way we can to help them be successful. But if the failures continue, there needs to be an intervention.”

Misenheimer also – correctly – predicts big battles ahead over water. It will be urban areas versus rural areas, with East Texas and its valuable water resources at the very center.

He has expressed concerns about the use of eminent domain to take land in East Texas for reservoir projects to benefit Dallas and other thirsty urban centers. He knows it’s imperative that East Texas be at the table for those discussions.

“If we’re not at the table, they run us over,” he said.

We need a candidate with both dignity and determination to serve the district in the battles ahead.

Jay Misenheimer is that candidate in the House District 5 race.