VOTE411 Voter Guide

Republicans have been in charge for 30 +/- years and have turned Texas into a “Pay to Play” state. If a billionaire can pay his politician, the billionaire’s priorities are in play. We saw this play out last session with public dollars to private schools (vouchers).

We need guardrails to prevent these kinds of conflicts – both in (ethics) voting in legislation that directly affects another office held by the legislator as well as in procurement. To build those guardrails, we need a majority of moderates and progressives who eschew billionaires’ campaign bucks (bribes).

30 years of Republican control created deserts in Texas: healthcare deserts, affordable housing deserts - even water deserts. We need to protect our water, air and power.

Texas has the 8th largest economy in the world - and rank near the top % of uninsured people. Right now in Texas, only children, pregnant women, very patient disabled people and very low income elderly qualify for Medicaid.

Expand Medicaid. We Texans are already paying the premiums through our federal income taxes - use the resources provided. Not only would men and non-pregnant females at Texas' current income eligibility limits qualify, but by expanding the limits, many Texans who are facing skyrocketing premiums under ACA would gain access to affordable preventive care.

Medicaid expansion strengthens our rural hospitals. How can you be “family friendly” when on 63 of 168 rural hospitals have OBGYN available to deliver babies?

The best course of action is to repeal SB2, the law sending our taxes to private schools. Invest those funds in public schools.

I have nothing against private schools staying private through private funding. I take issue with public money going into private schools.

Government rules and regulations come with government dollars – it’s how we make sure that our money is being used as intended. Accepting one penny of “voucher money” brings with it the full force of federal and state rules, regulations and compliance. Accepting one penny of voucher money essentially turns the private school public.

Likewise, accepting one penny of voucher money opens all the regulatory oversight to those homeschooled. Right now, in Texas, there is not even

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Higher education and public schools in the state of Texas face challenges created or exacerbated by elected officials with "anti-DEI" legislation that led to the removal of faculty input and critical topics from the curriculum and funding decisions redirecting money away from public schools. Legislation I create will return academic freedom to campuses and fund educator pay raises and student outcomes. Beyond education, I will support workfoce success by advancing a minimum wage increase, paid family and medical leave, and additional rights for part time workers. And I have always been an advocate and supportive of policies and practices that promote justice for all including LGBTQ+ and migrant rights and religious and reproductive freedom.

According to Census Bureau data from 2023, the uninsured rate across Texas was 18.6% while the Brazos County uninsured rate was around 16.6%. First and foremost, as a legislator I will expect Texas to take a leading role in managing healthcare availability and outcomes for our residents. That includes accepting and appropriating all available federal funds for an effective approach, and having localized programs help residents be familiar with the lowest and most cost effective ACA health plans available for them. My leadership and legislative role will also include collaboration with Texas Health and Human Services, Brazos County Health District, and Brazos Valley Health Coalition, to ensure broad availability and range of health services.

Public schools provide early through high school level education to the vast majority of residents of the state of Texas, yet many elected officials continue to prioritize private school funding with only one-time sources for public school dollars. Initially, Texas legislators must overhaul the education funding model and be transparent about how they ensure the money leads to student success. The measures for that success must also change with an objective to understand continued growth from level to level, shifting from standardized testing to learning outcomes assessment. This allows a focus on content, context, and continuous improvement that fully supports learning and must be used for schools from fully private to charter to public.