Gerrymandering
The antidote to absolute power is the ballot box. Unless we change our redistricting process, however, the antidote will continue to be placed very deliberately beyond our reach. There are several states that have recognized the toxicity of gerrymandering.
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Second Amendment
I believe in the Second Amendment right to keep and carry arms. And I would fight to ensure that that right, like all the other rights in our Bill of Rights, is protected. However, I also believe in common-sense handgun regulation that could prevent accidental deaths, murders, and suicides.
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Education
On August 28, 2014, a district court judge determined that Texas’ public school system fails to comply with the mandates of the Texas Constitution. This ruling was a direct result of the Legislature’s decision in 2011 to cut $5.3 billion in funding ..
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Immigration
Every politician will tell you that they want to secure the border. In fact, it would be difficult to find anyone who is against securing our border. But, “securing the border” is a nebulous concept and no one can really explain with reasonable precision when or how we could objectively declare the physical border secure.
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Property Taxes
Our property tax rates have remained high despite the fact that residential property appraisals have skyrocketed. I believe out-of-control property taxes in Texas are a direct consequence of the Legislature's failure to fix and update our public school finance system.
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Reproductive Rights
In 2013, despite significant opposition by Texas women, the Texas Legislature enacted HB 2, an anti-choice bill which purported to protect women’s health, but, in reality, did the opposite. The bill passed on a straight-party vote, despite the fact that its constitutional soundness was highly questionable.
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Separation of Church & State
If someone wants to run for governmental office, there are two distinctions about which they should have a deep understanding. One is the difference between church and state, and the other is the difference between religion and God.
Groundwater Conservation District
Since my opponent, Paul Workman, has been in office, he has promised to file legislation that would create a groundwater conservation district, but every time he proposes it, he exempts large areas that would continue to threaten the fair distribution of groundwater, which dooms its passage. See 2011 (HB3822); 2013 (HB 2640); and 2015 (HB 4038). If elected, I would fight to create a GCD for Western Travis County, to ensure that a vital resource on which everyone depends is fairly and responsibly regulated.
Transportation
Transportation issues are complex. They require hard work, persistence and leadership. Building roads is expensive, so the first step in solving transportation issues is finding the funding to ensure that projects are started and completed. My opponent, Paul Workman, likes to take credit for Chairman of the House Transportation Committee, Democratic Representative Joe Pickett’s hard work, but it’s clear that if he had worked half as hard as Pickett, Workman, as a Republican, would have been appointed Chairman, not the Democrat. Moreover, transportation has improved greatly in El Paso, where Representative Pickett’s district is located, whereas the traffic problems in Western Travis County have only worsened.
