The late Honorable Barbara Jordan emphasized that education is the key to economic and political empowerment. As a 25-year educator, I understand there is no greater priority than public education if we are to develop the viable workforce of the future. The Texas Constitution guarantees all Texas children the right to a free public education; yet our state legislature has repeatedly failed to do its constitutional duty.
  
As Lieutenant Governor, I will champion getting our schools the necessary resources that begins with fully funding our public schools, which the legislature has consistently failed to do. All Texas students should receive high-quality and equitable education, regardless of their geographical location, socio-economic status, race, religion or sexual orientation. Equity and equality are essential for all students to receive a high-quality education regardless of their socio-economic background.

We must fight vigorously against classroom censorship and support the accurate teaching of history. We must support the development of our teachers and students in ways that push us to a more diverse and inclusive nation. It starts with a culture of change in how we develop curriculum for both students and teachers.

While I understand that some charter schools are successful and likely to remain part of our public education system, funding and supporting traditional public schools should always be the first priority. Rather than diverting public funds to additional charter schools, I support increased investment in our neighborhood public schools, including paying teachers and staff salaries that reflect the importance of the work they do. We must also ensure teachers and staff receive cost-of living adjustments during retirement to maintain a quality-of-life for their service of educating our children.

Texas has the unfortunate distinction of leading the nation in both the number and percentage of its residents who lack adequate health care coverage. For too many Texans, high premiums, deductibles and prescription costs force them to choose between their health needs and other daily necessities like housing, food, and utilities. Lack of equity and access to quality healthcare are especially acute in communities of color in Texas, and lead to negative outcomes such as high rates of Black maternal mortality and morbidity. Because Black mothers in Texas unfortunately die at twice the rate of their counterparts, our state has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the developed world. Texas is one of only about a dozen states that has failed to expand Medicaid. Expanding Medicaid would provide $9 federal dollars for every $1 spent by the state and would immediately cover between 1-2 million Texans who lack healthcare.
  
It is absolutely essential that Texas expands Medicaid and provide access to affordable, quality healthcare. As Lieutenant Governor, I will lead the fight in the legislature to expand Medicaid and increase healthcare access and affordability for all Texans. We can and must do better, and as Lieutenant Governor, I will do better!

It has been a year since a frigid winter storm knocked out our power grid, killing hundreds of Texans, damaging thousands of homes and sticking consumers with astronomical electric bills through no fault of their own. During the most recent session, the legislature paid lip service to the issue, but did little to fix the problem. In fact, their top priority was making sure utility companies got an extra payment from the government.
  
The current power grid in Texas remains vulnerable to failure and puts the citizens of this state at risk anytime there is an extreme weather circumstance.

We cannot continue to go it alone with our power grid. The power grid needs proper safeguards to protect consumers. A change in philosophy and in leadership is required. This includes regulatory oversight and governance that protects the public, rather than campaign contributors. Planning, oversight, and transparency are essential in making sure the power grid is safe for all Texans and provides enough power even during extreme weather circumstances. We must require weatherization of facilities and equipment and continue to diversify renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.

Texas is one of the fastest growing states in the country, now approaching 30 million residents. For our state to continue to grow and attract businesses and new residents, we must have adequate infrastructure to support that growth. In 2021, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gave Texas just a ‘C’ on their infrastructure report card.

Texas is known worldwide as the energy leader, largely due to our massive oil & gas investment and infrastructure. However, we have neglected other key areas, including infrastructure around water, roads, bridges, railways and rural broadband access. With the recent passage of large-scale federal investment in infrastructure, Texas must leverage partnerships with federal stakeholders to ensure we receive badly needed infrastructure resources and fully funded projects. As Lieutenant Governor, instead of playing politics and attacking the administration in Washington, I will get to work delivering infrastructure resources to move our state forward. We also need to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, increase alternative forms of energy and provide state incentives to reduce our carbon footprint.

During the early stages of a child’s life, many Texans have paid the same amount, or nearly the same, for childcare as they pay for mortgages. We need to make a public investment in early childhood development by providing universal pre-school for all 2 and 3 year old children. For our senior population–a generation that has paid their dues and helped our country to grow–we need to ensure their economic security to be able to live their later years comfortably. I will work fearless to enhance the lives and care of veterans, Texans in foster care and provide second chance opportunities for re-entry residents.

We need to ensure we are training citizens for technology and clean energy jobs, the jobs of today and tomorrow. Texans deserve a living wage of $15 per hour. Today’s minimum wage leaves Texans in a vulnerable state. Workers should receive proper, prevailing wages based on the job they are performing with good benefits, such as paid sick leave and paid family leave and a safe work environment. As the next Lieutenant Governor of Texas, I will be a fearless fighter for work safety and security.

As the next Lieutenant Governor of Texas, I will make it a priority to defend our democracy. All Texans should be able to experience the promises of democracy and that starts with their human rights. Voters throughout the state should have full access to the ballot box and have their vote count. I will fight to restore and protect women’s right to choose, the right to vote, and the right to be “you”. We will put civility back into legislative efforts to develop policies centered on building a “One Texas United”.

Public safety should ensure safety and equal justice for all. All Texans should be treated with the utmost respect and dignity regardless of race, gender, sexuality, religion, and geographical location. As the next Lieutenant Governor of Texas, I will focus on saving and expanding lives, particularly in gun safety and criminal justice.

Gun violence is an epidemic in Texas, killing more than 3,000 Texans every year and injuring many more. Gun violence affects Texans on a broad scale; we have experienced mass shootings within our communities, and we have also seen its daily impact in interpersonal and domestic partner violence incidents.

As Lieutenant Governor, I will champion common-sense gun safety reforms including universal background checks, as well as red flag laws, which allow a court to temporarily remove firearms from someone deemed a threat to themselves or others. I will partner with organizations, like Moms Demand Action, to ensure our policies are informed by the experiences of those who have lived with gun tragedy, not those who oppose common-sense gun safety reforms.

We must reform our criminal justice system and start with enhancing the diversity and inclusion training efforts of law enforcement; develop initiatives to bring together local officials along with community and faith leaders to rebuild trust in our communities.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Texas lost over 41% of the state’s African American-owned businesses, 37% of Latino/Hispanic-owned businesses, and 27% of Asian-owned businesses of their businesses. Yet, the Texas Governor and Lieutenant Governor only discuss how they created jobs over the last few years. Our current state leaders fail to mention the closures of these businesses. The Biden-Harris Administration has created an excellent plan to bring these businesses back. However, the State of Texas has not planned for or thought of ways to bring these businesses back. If I am elected Lieutenant Governor, I will follow along with the Biden-Harris Administration by ensuring Texas state government agencies develop a meaningful program to help these businesses re-open and do what they do best: employ people and provide services. I will accomplish this by requesting all government agencies implement a set aside program that would only allow Historical Underserved Businesses (HUB) in the State of Texas provide bids and proposals to those State of Texas agencies. This program will set aside a minimum of 30% of the state procurement budget for HUB only opportunities. Texas HUB companies employ half of the state of Texas workers and therefore employment opportunities for underserved communities.