For over a decade now, I have committed myself to helping my hometown the best I can. I am honored to serve my community in Austin, but I do not want to speak on behalf of unknown constituents.
My goal is to be the voice for my neighbors, my family, and serve both life-long friends, and those friends I haven't met yet. El Paso is a special place, and when we all work together we're be able to achieve amazing things. If you'd like to share your thoughts, address a concern, or help solve a problem, please send a message.
From East El Paso
and the Mission Valley,
to the Texas House.
Unfortunately, the Texas Legislature passed SB 1, now signed into law by Governor Abbott. This legislation restricts voting hours, making it more difficult for those who work long or irregular hours to vote, empowers partisan poll watchers to harass and intimidate voters and elections officials, allows partisan committees to throw out mail ballots based on opinions of a voter's signature, and makes it more cumbersome for disabled voters to cast their ballot. Authors of this legislation declined to accept any amendments that addressed significant concerns in this bill.
Along with the Democratic Caucus, I traveled to Washington, D.C. to advocate for the passage of federal voting rights legislation. Although I am disappointed that Congress has not passed federal legislation into law yet, I am confident that our actions brought awareness to voter suppression efforts and put pressure on federal legislators to take action to protect the rights of voters. I will not be deterred from doing everything I can to ensure eligible voters are empowered to have their voices heard at the ballot box.
Voting laws in Texas are the most restrictive in the country and voter turnout is among the lowest. We need to make it easier for people to vote, not harder. I will return to Austin for the next legislative session to continue the fight for voting rights on behalf of all El Pasoans and Texans.
I am a strong believer that the most important economic driver is our small businesses.
As a member of the Business & Industry and International Relations & Economic Development Committees, I had a significant role in supporting legislation that enables our small businesses to recover and grow.
A significant piece of legislation I passed created loan programs under the Office of the Governor, that makes Texas eligible to apply for funding under the State Small Business Credit Initiative in the federal American Rescue Plan Act.
I have been a strong advocate for stronger animal welfare policies. For too long, El Paso was euthanizing too many pets every year. In fact, when I first entered office in 2014, the city was euthanizing over 90 percent of pets that entered the animal shelter. Today, that number is down to 20 percent. By 2020, El Paso will become a “no-kill” city. At the state, I want to lead efforts to improve animal welfare reforms laws, create better laws protecting animals from abuse and neglect, and create statewide spay and neuter efforts.
COVD 19 has exposed the need for better healthcare, especially in border communities, like El Paso who have even higher rates of people uninsured. Texas has the highest number and percentage of children without insurance in the country. In El Paso 1 in 3 are uninsured. This pandemic speaks to the urgency and the need for healthcare reform and expansion of Medicaid. Expanding Medicaid is crucial to cover more low-income uninsured adults so that taxpayers don’t get stuck footing the bill for uncompensated care at publicly funded hospitals like the University Medical Center of El Paso.
As a product of public schools in El Paso, it’s imperative that we give public schools throughout the El Paso region and across the state of Texas the tools they need to equip students with the knowledge and skills to be college and career ready. According to the latest data from the Texas Education Agency 57% of graduates from the class of 2018 are not ready for reading college-level work. The El Paso region and the state of Texas needs an educated workforce in order to compete in a 21st century economy.
The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the real need for family leave policies. Being able to take time off to care for sick family member at home is important and we need policies to reflect that. Many of us in El Paso take care of our parents when they get older. Being able to take time off to care for sick parents is important. El Paso is also home to many young families, and I believe that all new moms and dads should be allowed to spend time with their families after birth, adoption, fostering, or guardianship of a new child.