Texans are tough.  We don’t complain. We never quit. 

But so many Texas families are struggling in silence as the cost of their health care premiums, prescription drugs and college tuition keep going up. Some, even though they work hard every day, don’t have insurance at all or even the opportunity to go to college or learn a trade. Almost half of Texans (42%) are struggling to pay bills each month for basics like housing, food, and childcare. That second job or extra credit card just doesn’t cover the costs anymore. A secure retirement after a life of hard work seems to be slipping away. We are now the first generation in decades whose kids and grandkids are likely to have a life that is worse, not better, than the generations before them.

It doesn’t have to be this way.  

Though I grew up in a single parent household with a mom who only attained a 9th grade education, and though I was a teenage mom myself, I was able to realize my dreams because leaders who came before me believed that people like me were a worthy investment.  Community college, a Pell grant to a four year college and help from family, made it possible for me to become the first person in my family to graduate from college. This could not have happened without leaders who believed that people like me deserved a shot.

I’m a grandmother now, and I’m running for Congress to assure that future generations are provided with the same opportunities that I once had.  I’m running to make sure that our kids can go to good and safe schools, attend college or trade school and earn a decent living when they grow up.  I’m running so that people like my mom, who worked hard her whole life, will be able to retire without the fear and anxiety that stem from not being able to make ends meet.  I’m running so that people can be healthy, can raise their families without fear of discrimination and can be assured that their air and water are clean.

I’m running to be a voice.  For those who are ignored, or worse, forgotten.