Vying to 'make it better'

Jimmie Don Aycock (Republican) Texas House of Representatives, Dist. 54

DVM degree: Texas A&M University (1970)

Opponents: Edward Lindsay (Democrat); Nicolaas Kramer (Libertarian)

Jimmie Don Aycock's love for veterinary medicine derived from his admiration of his father, a poultry service worker. "He was a hero to me and I guess it just stuck," he says, adding, "veterinary medicine is next to God."

Aycock has lived his entire life in Bell County, Texas, where he was born in 1946. He attended Texas A&M University, where he received his doctorate in veterinary medicine in 1970 and was a captain in the U.S. Army ('70-'72). Aycock is married with two children.

From 1972 to 1998, Aycock owned three veterinary clinics in central Texas. He says the best part of working at the clinics was "just getting the fun of working with the animal and owners and this feeling that you're doing something that's good. What's not to love about getting to talk to pets and their owners and getting paid for it?"

He now owns a cattle ranch and does some relief work at local veterinary offices, as well as making a few house calls.

Dash for office

The inspiration for a run in politics came from an elk hunting trip when friends suggested he try his hand. This isn't his first foray into public service, Aycock was the director of the Texas Veterinary Medical Association, treasurer of the Central Texas College Board of Trustees and member of the Killeen I.S.D. Board of Trustees.

"I think most of my generation—the baby boomers— they just instilled in us that we were supposed to go back and make things better in your communities," Aycock says of his desire to serve in public office. It's what he calls "payback quality."

Education will be the main focus of Aycock's campaign. "I think government should be small and efficient," he says. "Do the right things and do them well." He adds that as a small business owner, he knows the frustrations that can come from legislation and regulation. "Every time you look up, there is someone who wants something."

He also understands the complaints from farmers and ranchers. "They'd be happy if the legislature didn't meet for the next five to 10 years," he says about their disdain over regulation involving property and land-use rights, and the strict rules regarding how a farmer's land can be used and what animals can be raised. He says the younger legislators don't have an understanding of these occupations. "I hope to bring at least a voice to some of these issues."