VOTE411 Voter Guide

My nearly three decades of service sit at the intersection of federal agencies and the congressional legislative process, where I’ve worked on some of the most complex challenges facing our nation. I’ve spent my career operating within the federal framework to solve real problems and get things done — under pressure and when the stakes were high. This experience enables me to push for effective policy, secure tangible resources, and bring those gains home to our streets, our schools, and our neighborhoods — with the discipline, clarity, and steadiness this work requires.

The first pressing issue is ensuring that federal resources actually reach the communities they’re meant to serve. I’ll use my federal experience to tighten oversight of how funds move through agencies, improve coordination with local partners, and target appropriations toward projects our district identifies as priorities, so they deliver real improvements. The second pressing issue is rebuilding trust in how government works. I’ll provide regular district updates, strengthen constituent services, and clearly communicate what’s being delivered and why.

My qualifications are rooted in our community. I was born, raised, and educated in the District. I graduated from Eisenhower High School before graduating from Emory and Harvard. I also worked in the office of Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. As your At-Large City Council Member, I delivered solutions, authoring reforms that closed budget gaps while protecting city workers, launching initiatives to get capital into the hands of women- and minority-owned small businesses, and leading our city's push into a future of innovation and transit. My professional background as a public finance attorney means I know exactly how to bring home the bacon for the needs of our community from housing, to infrastructure, education and climate resilience.

(1)Healthcare is a matter of life & death for our families and we need to build an economy where everyone can thrive. I will go to Congress with a specific, urgent plan: to make the Affordable Healthcare Act more affordable, expand Medicaid, codify Roe v. Wade, champion the Momnibus Act to end our maternal mortality crisis, among other things. (2)On the economy, my "People's Plan" is clear. I will fight to fund community development financial institutions (CDFIs) that more equitably lend to minority groups, support apprenticeships, and raise the minimum wage to at least $15/hour. And with my finance background, I will ensure our district gets its fair share of federal investment for flood mitigation, affordable housing, and infrastructure.

I am an unbought, unbossed, unafraid, liberated democrat who fights for: quality healthcare for all, equal access to economic opportunities for all, the preservation of Social Security, quality schools, rights of workers, comprehensive immigration reform, and an end to systemic injustice. You know I will fight the invidious phobias, isms, and schisms antithetical to liberty and justice for all because I’m fighting them now. • I have been elected to serve you as a Member of Congress for more than 20 years • I am a licensed attorney • 25 years experience as a Judge of a Justice Court • I was President of the Houston NAACP for 10 years • I was a Chair for the Black and Brown Coalition • I have lived life from the bottom up, not the top down

The two issues are affordability and protecting liberty and justice for all. 1. Affordability in: • Purchasing or renting a home which will require some deregulation in tandem with down payment assistance and subsidies • Healthcare cost which for the short term requires passing supportive subsidies to prevent unaffordable premiums and save lives. • Purchasing power which will require wages to (at minimum) keep pace with inflation. 2. Protect liberty and justice for all from a would be king/dictator by impeaching, convicting, and removing him from office.

I’m qualified for this position because my life and my work have prepared me for it. I’m the son of two veterans, a product of Houston public schools, and the first in my family to graduate from college. As Harris County Attorney, I’ve led an office of over 300 people and fought every day for the people of Harris County. I’ve taken on Trump and Abbott when they tried to cut healthcare, attack workers, undermine our elections, and make government work against everyday people, and I’ve won. I bring real legal experience, executive leadership, and a track record of turning progressive values into results. I fight hard, lead with integrity, and stay accountable to the communities that raised me.

First, protecting our democracy. Voting rights are not abstract to me, they are personal. In Texas, I have taken on the toughest fights to protect access to the ballot, beating back lawsuits that tried to throw out votes and working to expand access, including making our county jail a polling place. In Congress, I will fight tooth and nail to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, same day and online voter registration, and strong protections for election workers.

Second, lowering costs and reinvesting in our neighborhoods. Too many families are working hard and still falling behind. I will fight to lower healthcare and prescription drug costs, expand childcare, protect Medicaid and food assistance, increase housing supply, and