Qualifications
What training, experience, and characteristics qualify you for this position?
I’m a wife & mom to two daughters who’s lived in our district for over a decade. During that time, I’ve experienced hurricanes and severe local flooding, power grid failures, our public school system unable to fully support its teachers and students, my healthcare choices be limited, my husband’s career go on a roller coaster ride, & future opportunities for my children disappear. I’m mad that our current rep didn’t stand up for public schools last session the way he promised to, & I vowed to give people a choice when it comes to their representation since the Harless family has held this seat almost uninterrupted since 2007. I’m ready to fight and be the change for our district & to make Texas a safer, smarter, stronger home for all of us!
Healthcare
Texas has the highest uninsured rate in the nation. What steps would you take as a state representative to ensure access to affordable healthcare, including mental health services, for residents who are currently uninsured or underserved in your district?
We need to expand Medicaid in our state, accepting federal dollars that have been left on the table for too long. We have to ensure that doctors want to come to Texas to learn and work, and in order to do that, we need to let doctors actually practice medicine, and not let the government make decisions for their patients. We should have more publicly funded hospitals statewide with patients’ best interests in mind instead of a bottom line. We have to change laws around insurance in this state. It is so unaffordable with high deductibles and less coverage than in other states. Mental health services should be covered at the same rate as a yearly preventative doctor appointment, except with many more appointments per year.
Education
What measures would you support to ensure adequate state funding for public schools and accountability for taxpayer funds used in voucher or education savings account programs?
The Texas Education Agency has wasted our tax dollars on contracts for testing, etc, that do not help our children learn and grow at school. By getting rid of the wasteful spending at the TEA, we should be able to pay teachers across the state a professional and competitive salary, and put money back in our classrooms instead of in departmental bloat. Schools that choose to accept vouchers should be held to the exact same standards as our public schools since they are accepting public money—they should be transparent and public about their finances and board meetings, and must be able to accept and educate any student that wants to use a voucher there. We should accept nothing less from schools using taxpayer dollars.
Issues
What are the two most pressing issues unique to your district, and what specific, measurable actions would you take to address them during your term?
First, flooding: not building homes or other structures in floodplains; about the time between a warning from the NWS to when it’s communicated to people in flood-prone areas; require appointed people along the river who’ll be awake during a flood warning and respond appropriately. Second, every child in Texas deserves a free, fully funded public education. Teachers & staff shouldn’t buy their own basic supplies, and shouldn’t need a second job to support their families. We don’t need more guns in schools either—we need students’ basic needs met: with food, professional counseling services, and a safe and welcoming learning environment for every student, no matter their race, sexual orientation, learning style or ability.
