Meet the candidates: Texas House District 75

Incumbent Rep. Mary E. Gonzalez, D-El Paso, is seeking to return to Austin to represent one of the fast-growing areas in and near East El Paso.

The district includes East El Paso County and the towns of San Elizario, Socorro, Clint, Fabens, Horizon City, and Tornillo.

Gonzalez is placing an emphasis on helping rural Texas residents, supporting public education and protecting civil rights and vulnerable Texas.

Her opponent did not respond to the El Paso Times questionnaire.

Representatives are paid $600 per month, or $7,200 per year. They receive a per diem of $221 when the Legislature is in session. This is a two-year term.

The El Paso Times sent questionnaires to the candidates in contested races in the Nov. 8, 2022, general election. Following are the answers to the questionnaire submitted by candidates for state Rep. District 75.

The candidates' responses are being published largely as they were submitted.

More:Who's on the ballot? Meet the candidates running in the El Paso 2022 midterm election

Mary E. Gonzalez - D, Incumbent

Please describe your personal and professional background.Dr. Gonzalez has dedicated her life to creating a more socially just and humane world.

Having grown up in the Lower Valley of El Paso County, Mary saw firsthand the needs of our community and made a commitment to create change by generating awareness, facilitating environments for collective action, and by analyzing and understanding systemic transformation.

This foundation is the basis of Dr. González’ work for the last 20 years.

Starting off in academia and cultural centers during her first decade of work, Mary formed a deep basis for advocacy, movement building, coalitions, and narrative for knowledge and change. The combination of her academic background, community engagement, and professional experiences, have contributed to her effectiveness, for example, the establishment of a Cross Cultural Center at Southwestern University that through intersectionality frameworks supported students of color, LGBTQ students, and students with disabilities.

Additionally, Mary has extensive background in non-profit work at all levels.

Professionally, she has served on the leadership team for multiple non-profits, such as the National Hispanic Institute, the National Public Education Support Fund and the Mexican American School Boards Association.

For the past ten years, she has been elected to the Texas House of Representatives as State Representative for House District 75 (El Paso County).

Currently, Dr. González serves as the Vice Chair of the Appropriations Committee and on the Public Education Committee, the House Select Committee on Youth and Safety, the Legislative Budget Board, and the Special Education Finance Commission. Additionally, she is the Chair and Founder of the Texas House LGBTQ Caucus, the Vice-Chair of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, and the co-Chair of the Board of Latino Legislative Leaders.

Mary’s policy work has resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars being provided to communities throughout Texas such as the one she grew up with, bringing water, infrastructure, and academic opportunities to the next generation.

How do you earn a living? Do you plan to continue if elected?

I am the Executive Director of the Mexican American School Boards Association (MASBA), a voluntary, non-profit, statewide education association empowering school board members to be culturally conscious leaders for the advancement of their communities. Additionally, I have a small boutique consulting firm that supports groupswith strategic planning and diversity, equity, and inclusion work. Lastly, I am an adjunct professor at St. Edward’s University in the Leadership and Higher Education, where I teach virtually.

Please describe your education. Where did you get your high school diploma? What higher education degrees and certificates have you earned from where?

I graduated from Clint High School. I earned two bachelor's degrees from the University of Texas at Austin (History and Mexican American Studies), a master's in Social Justice from St. Edward's University, and a doctoral degree in Curriculum and Instruction-Cultural Studies in Education from the University of Texas at Austin.

What experiences in leadership do you have that qualify you for this position?

In addition to the professional positions I described earlier, I serve in several leadership roles. In the Texas House, I’m Vice-Chair of the Appropriations Committee and Chair of the subcommittee on budget article I, IV, and V. I’m Vice-Chair of the Mexican-American Legislative Caucus and chair of the House LGBT Caucus, of which I’m also a founder. I’m also Co-Chair of the National Board of Latino Legislative Leaders, and also serve on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Education fund.

Have you ever been arrested or charged with a crime? Have you ever had a civil judgment against you? Have you ever been in arrears on local, state or federal taxes? If so, please provide an explanation.

I’ve not been arrested for nor charged with any crime. I have not had any civil judgments against me and have made my tax payments on time.

If elected, would you have any potential conflicts of interest that you are aware of that would impair your ability to serve? Please explain what they are and how you would avoid the conflict.

I’m not aware of any potential conflicts of interest.

Issue related questions

Why are you running for this office?There are a hundred reasons that I am running for election. With the political climate being as divisive as it currently is, an individual would need a hundred reasons to run. However, at the top of the list is the love for our borderland region and the State of Texas. We have the most beautiful, humble, and loving community that deserves a leader who iscommitted to representing who we are and advocating for the needs of our area.

Why are you the best candidate for this office?My commitment to our community has been the catalyst for me to learn and understand as much as possible about the needs of our region and our people. Using this awareness, I have intentionally and strategically crafted effective policy agendas, developed relationships and applied a strong work ethic to meet our state and local needs. Ultimately,my care, commitment, effectiveness, and intentional and strategic work make the best candidate for the position.

What are your top three priorities?

Public education is a critical priority for the people of House District 75 and will continue to be a focal point for me. I will work especially to increase funding for our schools and to reform our state accountability system.

Though always growing in population, House District 75 contains a critically important rural area and one in which agriculture is a key economic driver. In the next session, I will continue to advocate for the needs of rural El Pasoans and Texans.

Lastly, I will work hard to turn aside legislative attacks on vulnerable Texans and on the shared institutions on which we all depend. That includes standing against hateful attacks on LGBTQ Texans, especially our young people. And I’ll defend public schools from those who would take away their already inadequate funding to shore up private schools.

Property taxes continue to be a challenge for Texans. How would you address this issue?

Moving away from our current overdependence on property taxes can only come about through fundamental political changes that will have to be demanded by voters. But, short of that, we can do much to make our current tax system fairer and more transparent. For example, sunsetting tax breaks for special interests — the most obvious example being the high-cost natural gas exemption, which was implemented years ago for market conditions that no longer exist.

Immigration is a federal issue, but migrant influxes pose challenges for the city locally. What is your vision for the state’s role in meeting immigration challenges?

I have been leading many of immigrantion/migrant efforts in the state through my work with the Mexican American Legislative Caucus. My vision for the state is to act both critically and with compassion, to develop a stronger relationship with federal partners, and to not abuse the important conversation of immigration and migrant needs for political agendas. Ultimately, if the state worked with the federal government, we could be supporting both migrants and local communities.

Should local government, working with FEMA, develop Migrant Welcoming Centers?I think we need to be utilizing all the tools in our tool belt to live the values that El Pasoans have always exhibited: compassion, community, resilience. I am in support of Migrant Welcoming Centers, but also know that these spaces only work when built in community.

What can Texas leaders do to reduce the number of mass shootings?

We need a comprehensive approach to this awful problem — one that recognizes and addresses the root causes of violent behavior including dehumanization, misinformation, and radicalization and that also recognizes unfettered access to high-powered firearms puts our community at risk. All Texans should have access to mental health services in their communities. We must teach young people how to recognize and overcome misinformation and radicalization. We also have to keep out of the hands of children and irresponsible adults weapons capable of killing or injuring dozens of people in just a few moments.

What’s your best idea for expanding health care for Texans?

It’s obvious that our state and residents would benefit tremendously by expanding Medicaid coverage to all those eligible under federal law. Short of that, we’ll need to bolster our current inadequate health care system with significant additional funding — primarily with state dollars, if we choose not to accept the major federal infusion that would come through Medicaid expansion.

What does transparent government mean to you? Will you be personally accessible to answer questions while in office?Transparency and accountability are at the heart of a functioning democracy. Now more than ever, I work to provide both of these to my constituents and to our community as a whole. While not always easy because of the demands of having to earn a living, a compressed five-month legislative session, and employing only a limited staff make; wework as hard as humanly possible to live these values.

Jonathan Mullins - I

Jonathan Mullins did not respond to the El Paso Times questionnaire.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Meet El Paso candidates on ballot: Texas House District 75