

PRIORITIES
RED or BLUE?
It doesn’t matter if we vote issues and not parties.

The vast number of issues facing Texas can be overwhelming. Everything is important and most are interlinked, but I want to know which of the following are your priorities.

Fund Teaching, Teachers, and Staff
Every student deserves an equal opportunity to learn
If we want to hire and retain qualified teachers, we must pay competitive salaries. This doesn’t mean competitive with other school districts, it means competitive with other professional fields that require the same education, certification, and experience. As teachers leave in droves, this is even more important. Plus, they deserve to look forward to an adequate retirement income.

Increase Healthcare Funding
Right now, millions of your federal tax dollars are being doled out to help uninsured people in other states. Gov. Abbott repeatedly has declined Medicaid funds, even with our staggering number of uninsured citizens. He and his cohorts turned it down because it came via the “abominable Obamacare.” And that’s despite the feds contributing 90 cents for every 10 cents the state applied to uninsured healthcare.

Reform Criminal Justice
Prison is no substitute for psychiatric treatment. Access to mental health services is yet another benefit to the criminal justice system. Depending on the transgression, the court can order parole with the requirement to see a mental health provider. Ideally, the court could send the individual for in-patient treatment.

Expand and Protect Voting Rights
VOTE BY MAIL
Have you tried to vote by mail? An amazingly large number of applications are being denied for one of the many new criteria set by the 2021 Legislature. These technical errors are confusing potential voters to the point some won’t vote at all, plus county election offices are overwhelmed with determining errors and returning applications.

Return Local Control
Gov. Abbott is the first to holler if the federal government tells him what to do, yet he has no problem telling local governments what to do, especially if they disagree with his arbitrary dictates. He frequently makes pronouncements outside authority and not backed by law.
