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Christian Manuel
For District 22 State Representative, Christian Manuel is the only candidate with the know-how to continue to represent this area’s best interests at the state level. After serving more than a decade as chief of state in the office under District 22 State Rep. Joe Deshotel, Hayes hit the ground running with knowledge passed down from his immediate predecessor, who held the elected seat for more than two decades. With the wealth of experience afforded Manuel by his mentor, the candidate possesses qualifications that can’t be bought, borrowed or bartered.
Manuel has been an integral member of the state representative’s office for decades, even though he just completed his first term of elected office. He’s spent countless hours learning the functions of the office and, since his teenage years, has been working behind the scenes to facilitate many of the amenities we currently enjoy. When a local church’s Sunday service was routinely interrupted by train whistles while trying to worship, it was Manuel who networked, spent hours on the phone and miles on his shoes from office to office until he secured a deal to cease the constant whistles. He worked to pass legislative bills to prevent abuse victims from being evicted and finessed deals to merge both sides of the aisle to facilitate bi-partisan needs. And that was before he was elected to office.
Since assuming the duties of District 22 state representative, Manuel has continued to be ever-present for the Southeast Texas community that serves as his home base, as well as always in attendance for state meetings and gatherings to represent our region’s concerns and needs. Manuel has worked diligently to bring home victories for District 22 and will continue to work tirelessly to help execute legislation for Jefferson County.
In his first session as state representative, Manuel was recognized as Freshman of the Year by the Texas Legislative Black Caucus as he sent six bills to the governor’s desk and successfully passed into law HB 3250/HB 5012, which allows Beaumont to receive certain tax revenue derived from a hotel and convention center project and to pledge certain tax revenue for the payment of obligations related to the project. This legislation will boost the local economy by bringing in tourism revenue, increasing local business activity, creating job opportunities for residents and generating tax revenue.
Manuel may have just completed his freshman run as state representative, but he is a veteran of the field, well versed in negotiation, compromise and connections necessary to represent his constituents in Southeast Texas. Whether it’s running the day-to-day functions of a state office, rallying a railroad company to stop blowing whistles during church, penning legislation protecting victims of abuse and exploitation, participating in events that are important to Southeast Texas constituents, bringing in big bucks to Beaumont or any number of tasks that befall the District 22 state representative, Manuel is the only candidate with the experience to prove success in the office. Experience matters, and there’s no candidate for District 22 state representative more experienced that Christian Manuel.