Smith County Commissioner Jeff Warr at a conference for Texas and Mississippi Leaders at the White House in Washington, D.C. (Courtesy)

1. Mayor of Killeen, Texas attends event at White House

A Smith County official spent two days in the nation’s capital as part of a conference of local leaders from Texas and Mississippi.

Commissioner Jeff Warr, a Republican who lives in Flint, went to Washington, D.C., after receiving an invitation from the White House asking him to participate.

“About a month or so ago I got an invitation from the White House and honestly wasn’t sure if it was real or what,” Warr said. “I responded and it was.”

He said the White House has been holding these types of conferences for local leaders from different states. This was the 40th cohort, and there were about 70 people, he said.

“Even though I was the only one there (from East Texas), I felt like I was representing all the elected officials no matter who they are in our area,” Warr said.

The conference portion was the afternoon of Tuesday, Sept. 18, and most people stayed for several hours in the evening. There were speeches from Vice President Mike Pence, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Mississippi, and several key Cabinet members.

“I’d been (to Washington) a couple of times before,” Warr said. “Years ago, I went with the City Council … This is the first time that I had ever been in the White House, much less invited to the White House.”

Warr said he and the group met with several officials to learn about the Trump administration’s agenda on issues like regulation, local control and property taxes. He said many of the officials gave him their direct phone numbers and email addresses.

“I’ve just got to say that so much of what you see on the national news that there’s chaos in the White House — I just didn’t see that,” Warr said. “People were ecstatic to be there.”

Warr said his favorite part of the trip was meeting Pence. Part of Pence’s speech contrasted Texas and California based on their politics and taxation levels, he said.

“The gentleman is so sincere,” Warr said. “His demeanor is one that is not arrogant in the least, just very humble and very encouraging for somebody.

“He’s worked with a lot of local elected officials and really appreciates the role that they try to serve in their communities,” Warr said.

Warr will tell the public and the rest of the Smith County Commissioners Court about the experience at the 9:30 a.m. Tuesday commissioners meeting in the Smith County Courthouse Annex building.

A full copy of the Smith County Commissioners Court agenda is available at TylerPaper.com. 

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