Issues
Where I Stand On The
Issues
Focused on the issues that matter to District 33
-
Our county employees, not our politicians, deserve pay raises
Our commissioners pay themselves too much. See for yourself how they are compensated. It isn’t quite fair when one votes to increase one’s own salary and leaves our full-time county employees without comparable pay and/or increases. After all, our county employees don’t get to vote to give themselves raises. At budget workshops I’d advocate for lower pay for politicians and higher pay for the county employees who are compensated below the median. Politicians shouldn’t be working in the public sector for a high taxpayer-funded paycheck, and reducing their salaries is a good way to prevent that.
-
Our hospital needs sustainable, dependable funding
Our county hospital is a vital local institution, and we should ensure its future by providing adequate, reliable funding sources. As a commissioner, I would head up the creation of a hospital district tax petition and get that presented to commissioners court. This is the first step in making sure that adequate tax revenue is guaranteed to go to our hospital, and would prevent unforeseen payments by the county.
-
We need constructive discussions, not culture wars
Our commissioners court has voted to install a religious display at the courthouse, become a “Second Amendment Sanctuary County,” and engage in censorship of library books. Our city considered a divisive ordinance to restrict women’s travel for reproductive healthcare. Llano’s unfortunately become a flashpoint for politicians to come divide and conquer, and I think we have had enough of it. Divisive ordinances, displays, and resolutions don’t make our lives better. I wouldn’t support nor propose political, socio-culturally divisive agenda items. I think holding some town halls on issues that concern us all would offer community members a place to constructively discuss issues, instead of having politicians drive the discussion.
-
Our libraries are community hubs, not centers for political control
The current commissioner has voted to
- Dismantle the library board
- Terminate our e-book access through OverDrive/Libby
- Close our library on weekends and evenings
- Cut our library’s budget
- Enact policies that make the commissioners court the ultimate controlling entity of the materials in our library, with no community-led advisory board, or appeals process for reconsideration of materials
The current commissioner entered into talks with the City of Llano to discuss trading away our library building.
The current commissioner did not push back when a special meeting was called to discuss closing our library system down entirely.
That’s not how one demonstrates support for our libraries.
I spoke publicly against each of these changes at commissioners court meetings and to the media.
Our library policies should reflect a commitment to upholding the principles of intellectual freedom. Our library employees need competitive pay, our libraries should have an increased budget to better serve our community, and our county’s library patrons deserve a qualified director.