Sid Miller (politician)

Sid Miller
Texas Agriculture Commissioner
Incumbent
Assumed office January 2, 2015
Governor	Greg Abbott
Preceded by	Todd Staples
Texas State Representative for District 59 (Comanche, Coryell, Erath, Hamilton, McCulloch, Mills, San Saba, and Somervell counties)
In office January 2001 – January 8, 2013
Preceded by	David Frank Lengefeld
Succeeded by	J. D. Sheffield
Personal details
Born	(1955-09-06) September 6, 1955 De Leon Comanche County Texas, USA
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Debra Joan Miller
Children	Sidney Truett Miller Joseph Miller
Residence	Stephenville Erath County, Texas
Alma mater	De Leon High School Cisco Junior College Tarleton State University
Religion	Cowboy church (elder)

Sidney Carroll Miller (born September 6, 1955) is a politician from Stephenville in Erath County, Texas, who is the current state Agriculture Commissioner. He was elected to succeed the two-term commissioner Todd Staples in the general election held on November 4, 2014.

From 2001 to 2013, Miller served in the Texas House of Representatives for District 59 in Central Texas. The conservative Miller was unseated in the Republican runoff election held on July 31, 2012 by osteopathic physician J. D. Sheffield of Gatesville in Coryell County.

Personal life

A native of De Leon, Texas, Miller graduated from De Leon High School. Thereafter, he graduated from Cisco Junior College in Cisco and Tarleton State University in Stephenville, from which he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Vocational Agriculture Education. He is a former school teacher and school board member.

Miller and his wife, Debra Joan Miller (also born 1955), reside in Stephenville, the county seat of Erath County, where Miller operates a plant nursery. The couple has two sons, Sidney Truett Miller and Joseph Miller, who along with Joseph's wife, Kelly, are also Tarleton State graduates. An educator, Mrs. Miller is the founder of Erath Excels Academy, with campuses in both Stephenville and Taft. The Millers are active members of the Erath County Cowboy Church, where he is an elder. He is a former Baptist.

An avid rodeo participant, Miller is a lifetime member of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. In 2004, the United States Calf Roping Association named him "World Champion of Calf Roping". He is a member of the Texas Vocational Agriculture Teachers Association, the Texas Cattle Feeders Association, and the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association in Fort Worth.

Political career

Miller was first elected to the House in 2000, when he unseated the Democratic incumbent David Frank Lengefeld (born 1945) of Hamilton County, 18,566 (54.4 percent) to 15,561 (45.6 percent). He was the only Republican in Texas that year to unseat a Democratic lawmaker. and in 2003 and 2007, Miller introduced bills promoting the slaughter and export of horse meat for human consumption.

In 2011, Miller authored House Bill 15, the pro-life measure to require a woman to undergo a sonogram prior to procuring an abortion. Miller worked to keep the provision of the law from being weakened by the opponents in both chambers of the legislature. The idea behind the required sonogram is that if a woman witnesses the developing child, she might decide to give birth, rather than procure an abortion. As a legislator, Miller carried the support of the various pro-life organizations, including Texas Right to Life. He has twice received the "Fighter for Free Enterprise" Award from the Texas Association of Business. Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle Forum, operated in Texas by Cathie Adams, former state chairman of the Texas Republican Party, named Miller the "second most conservative" member of the legislature.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner

2014 election

Main article: Texas elections, 2014 § Commissioner of Agriculture

In 2013, two complaints filed against Miller with the Texas Ethics Commission alleged campaign finance irregularities and failure to disclose loan repayments from his campaign. In January 2014, the Ethics Commission investigated the complaint and subsequently issued a statement that it found no wrongdoing on Miller's part. Miller in turn alleges that the complaints were a tactic devised by his opponents to undermine his election prospects.

With 411,560 (34.6 percent) of the ballots cast, Miller led a five-candidate field for agriculture commissioner in the Republican primary held on March 4, 2014. Tommy Merritt, Miller's former House colleague from Longview, finished second with 249,440 votes (21 percent). The three losing primary candidates, Eric Opiela, Joe Cotten, and Mayor J. Allen Carnes of Uvalde, held a combined 44 percent of the vote.In the runoff held on May 27, 2014, Miller defeated Merritt, 362,573 votes (53.1 percent) to 320,434 (46.9 percent). In the general election, Miller defeated the Democrat Jim Hogan, 2,693,466 (58.6 percent) to 1,694,059 (36.8 percent). Two other candidates held the remaining 4.6 percent of the ballots cast.

Food ban reversal

Miller took office on January 2, 2015. Six months later, he reversed an eleven-year ban instituted in 2004 by then Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs on soft drinks and fried foods in public schools. Miller said that he wants youngsters to have some enjoyment in their school meals, as many will not eat some of the nutritional offerings. Several school districts, including Dallas, Fort Worth, Fort Bend County, Austin, and Laredo, rebuffed Miller and vowed to remain with nutritious foods and no available soft drinks. Miller in 2015 also defended the availability of cupcakes in public schools. He gave away packages of Louisiana oranges to other state officials though his position entails that he promote in-state produce.

Comments on bombing Middle East

In August 2015, Miller posted a cartoon on his Facebook page that suggested the United States should bomb the Middle East. The text read: "Japan has been at peace with the US since August 9, 1945. It's time we made peace with the Muslim world." The background was of a nuclear explosion. Miller received harsh criticism for the post and eventually removed it, but he termed the cartoon "thought provoking" and vowed not to apologize for his action.

Controversy over proposed department fee hikes

In an editorial, the San Antonio Express-News questioned why Miller as a state House member voted against increased appropriations for the agriculture department but as commissioner is constantly seeking additional revenue for the department which he now administers. When a $50 million budget request submitted by Miller was rejected by lawmakers in 2015, the commissioner proposed higher fees for department certifications, inspections, and registrations, a proposal rejected by a bipartisan group of state legislators as well as the American Farm Bureau Federation and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick. Representative John Otto of Dayton, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said that fee hikes could result in lost revenue to the department because farmers and ranchers may choose alternative services. The Express-News urged Miller to drop the fee increase and legislators to determine whether the department is underfunded. Miller has proposed spending more than $400,000 to fund bonuses for agriculture department employees. Though he calls himself "a fiscal hawk," Miller added, "The last thing I want to do is raise anybody's fees, but I'm out of options here. I'm pretty much as the saying goes, hog-tied."

"Jesus shot"

In February 2015, Miller billed taxpayers for a trip to Oklahoma, where he claimed he had been invited to visit with Oklaohoma lawmakers and visit the Oklahoma National Stockyards. Instead, the purpose of the trip was to see a doctor in Oklahoma City to receive a "Jesus shot", consisting of Dexamethasone, Kenalog, and Vitamin B12, to treat Miller's chronic pain. Miller decided to repay the cost of the trip.

Fake Che Guevara t-shirt photo

In March 2016, a forged photograph supposedly depicting President Obama holding a Che Guevara t-shirt was posted on Miller's facebook page. In fact, the photo was taken at MIT of President Obama holding a t-shirt decorated with the Navier-Stokes equations.

Political activities

Along with U.S. Representative John Ratcliffe of Texas' 4th congressional district, Miller is supporting David Watts of Upshur County for the District 7 seat in the Texas House of Representatives. Watts in 2014 ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primary against George P. Bush for Texas Land Commissioner. Watts has announced that he opposes the retention of Moderate Republican Joe Straus of San Antonio as House Speaker.

External links

• Profile at Project Vote Smart

Texas House of Representatives
Preceded by David Frank Lengefeld	Texas State Representative from District 59 (now Comanche, Coryell, Erath, Hamilton, McCulloch, Mills, San Saba, and Somervell counties) Sidney Carroll "Sid" Miller 2001–2013	Succeeded by J. D. Sheffield
Preceded by Todd Staples	Texas Agriculture Commissioner 2015-	Succeeded by Incumbent