March Meeting - The Media: How Do We Know What to Believe?

About Konni Burton:

Born in Kerrville, Texas, Konni was raised in the tiny South Texas town of Banquete. While serving in the Texas legislature, Konni took on the big fights to swing the pendulum of power from the government back to the people. Always an advocate for the taxpayer, Konni became the strongest proponent in the legislature for ending the practice of taxpayer-funded lobbying, which saw peoples’ hard-earned tax dollars used by local governments to hire lobbyists and many times work against their interests. Konni also led the charge against corporate welfare programs which dole out sweetheart deals to big business off the backs of taxpayers. Konni received the first committee hearing in the history of the Texas Senate on repealing 313 property tax abatements—the state’s largest and most abused corporate welfare scheme. While these fights made Konni unpopular amongst the ‘business-as-usual’ crowd in Austin, bringing attention to these issues now has citizens and legislators alike, continuing those fights.

Outside of her fierce advocacy for the taxpayer, Konni also made an indelible mark on the state’s criminal justice system. In short order, Konni became the Republican leader in the Texas Senate for criminal justice reform, passing many important reforms into law. And while unsuccessful in her efforts to repeal civil asset forfeiture, Konni’s uncompromising pursuit to do that has paved the path for others who are now picking up the mantle at the State Capitol.

Throughout the course of her service, Konni received the support of every conservative grassroots organization across the state, including Texas Right to Life, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, the National Rifle Association/Texas State Rifle Association, Grassroots America: We the People, Texas Values and Young Conservatives of Texas. Her absolute commitment to her constituents and conservative principles earned her the enthusiastic support of Texans across the state..

About Monty Bennett:

Monty Bennett is an award-winning businessman from Dallas, Texas. He is the Founder, CEO and Chairman of Ashford Inc., a hotel property asset management company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). He is also the CEO of the Dallas Express, a non-partisan local news publication.

Monty is a frequent speaker and panelist for investment and hotel development conferences, including the prestigious ALIS and NYU conferences.

Monty attended Cornell University School of Hotel Management, where he earned a bachelor's of science degree. He then earned an MBA from Cornell's Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management.

He is a member of several professional associations, including the American Hotel & Lodging Association's Industry Real Estate Finance Advisory Council, Urban Land Institute's Hotel Council and the CEO Fiscal Leadership Council for Fix the Debt, which is a group focused on ways to eliminate or reduce the national debt. Monty also serves on the board of directors for Texans for Education Reform and GlobalHotel-Network.com.

In Dallas, Monty supports a number of local charities such as the Special Olympics, Salvation Army, and Habitat for Humanity.