(Credit: Harris County)
Voters in the Houston area return to the voting booth this Saturday for the special election to fill the state Senate seat left vacant by the death of Mario Gallegos. Today, NEWS 92 FM’s Mike Barajas profiles senate candidate and former Harris County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia.
A political traiblazer, Garcia was the first Hispanic and first woman to be elected in her own right as Harris County Commissioner. Garcia says she is running for Texas Senator to continue her work on behalf of the people.
“I have been fighting for the families of District 6 and for Texas families since I became a social worker right after college, as city controller, as judge, as county commissioner, it’s always been about fighting for people first,” Garcia said.
Garcia says she wants to restore the $5.4 billion cut from public education during the last legislative session.
“It’s about making sure that we fully fund public education,” she said. “Right now, Texas is 48 of 50 states in funding public education and that is just not good enough.”
Currently, one in four Texans does not have health insurance. Garcia, a Democrat, says she will fight to expand Medicaid and give more people coverage.
“I want Rick Rerry to stop fighting the president and accept those federal dollars so that we can expand Medicaid. It would bring about 400,000 more people to get coverage here in Harris County and that is big,” she said.
And Garcia says if elected, she will work to help create more jobs for people in Senate District 6.
“The kids from Texas, the kids from Senate 6 should be the priority,” Garcia said. “We should not be giving those jobs to people from out of town or from out of the state. And I think that we need to file a bill that says ‘Texas first’.”
The election is this Saturday.
Related Story: Alvarado Enters Contest with Sen. Gallegos’ Blessing
See Also
- Early Voting to Fill Sen. Mario Gallegos’ Seat Starts This Week
- Family of Late Sen. Mario Gallegos Shares His Hope for His Seat
- Memorials Honor Sen. Mario Gallegos’ Life and Service
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