College Station, TX, 03/16/2012 – On Tuesday morning, State Representative candidate Hal Hawkins was released from his position as a Realtor^® at Century 21, Beal.

Mr. Hawkins issued the following statement:

“While I understand that politics can be a blood sport, I did not believe that it would cost me my job or threaten my livelihood. Friday evening, I filed as a candidate for State Representative, and on Monday afternoon, my broker, Mike Beal called me requesting that ‘we move on’ from our current working relationship. I respectfully requested to be allowed to remain under contract until it expired at the end of the summer. He responded that he ‘would get back with [me],’ wished me the best of luck in my race, and reminded me that ‘[he] was good friends with John [Raney]’ and had ‘known him since 1960 before there ever was a Hal.’ The next morning, Mike Beal called to inform me that I was to be terminated, effective immediately.

While I disagree with Mr. Beal’s decision to terminate my employment, I understand that in the free-market a business owner has the right to protect his interests for any reason. I do hope that this decision was not done to create an unfair, political advantage. This event does not affect my candidacy, and my campaign will continue as planned. I quickly found employment with another brokerage and will continue to practice in my community. Thank you.”