Member offers campaign support to REALTOR®-friendly candidates.
Although she didn’t know it at the time, Kristy Wages’s love of politics started early.
“I found myself having very strong beliefs about our power to vote and who I saw in leadership roles in our state,” she says. “I come from a very patriotic family. We stood up for the flag when it passed by. We respected our president no matter which party he was from.”
It wasn’t until a few years into her real estate career that Wages found a way to bring her passion for politics to work.
The broker/owner of Palestine Realty helped her friend, a former REALTOR® and TREPAC trustee, run for a state representative seat. “I am so proud to now see Rep. Cody Harris in his third term,” she says.
That campaign inspired Wages to work with other REALTOR®-friendly candidates in local, regional, and statewide races.
Today Wages serves on the Texas REALTORS® Political Involvement Committee representing Region 5. She is also NAR’s Federal Political Coordinator to U.S. Rep. Lance Gooden. “Representing our state on the national level for my member of Congress is a dream!” she says.
“Rep. Gooden is such a supporter of our industry!” she continues, adding that the representative’s wife is also a REALTOR®. “I am lucky to be assigned to him. He’s also on the Housing Committee.”
Wages says one of the biggest challenges is working a clean campaign against an opponent who isn’t playing the right way. “I refuse to get into dirty politics,” she says.
While Wages always keeps it truthful, she looks for ways to make campaigning fun and memorable. “I love to campaign with my dog, Betti. She even has her own campaign skirt!”
Politics has been a great fit for Wages. In 2018, she was honored with the Texas REALTORS® Strike Force Award for grassroots advocacy. Later that year, she was chosen among Strike Force winners to receive the prestigious Grassroots Advocate of the Year Award.
Wages credits Texas REALTORS®’s bipartisan approach with connecting her with exceptional REALTORS® throughout the state. “In my real estate career, I found out we are better together,” she says. “Our numbers make our voices heard and become one!”