Zoom interview with candidate Claire Barnett, pictured from top L-R Staff writer Cristian Velazquez, Adviser Mrs. Scott, Co-editor in Chief Diego Hernandez, bottom: Co-editor in Chief Emma Szabo, candidate Barnett. Photo courtesy of Mrs. Scott
By Cristian Velazquez Staff Writer
With the Election rapidly approaching, students are sharing their opinions and shaping their own political judgments. The last day for early voting is October 30 in Texas, some plan to cast their ballot on Election day, November 3, 2020. Most are focused on National elections, but all should consider the impact your local representatives have on your day to day lives as Texans. The local government impacts you now, such as the Health mandate during Covid.
“The closer you get to the people the more you have an operational impact on their lives,” State House Representative Lyle Larson said, “From education, healthcare delivery, the infrastructure, the public safety issues, all of those; you are interfacing state government.”
Rep. Lyle Larson served as a San Antonio City Councilman for District 10 from 1991-1995 and a Bexar County Commissioner for Precinct 3 from 1997-2008.
Democratic challenger Claire Barnett felt compelled to get involved.
“Like a lot of people after the 2016 election, I felt like I needed to do more as a citizen to be active in our democracy,” Barnett said.
Barnett received 38% of the vote in the previous general election. Initially, she had no intention of running in 2020.
“Even before the pandemic, it just was more than I thought I wanted to take on this year, but, again, when it came down to it and no one else was going to run, I just couldn’t let it go. Especially this year,” Barnett said.
With news cycles and social media mechanisms usually focusing on the happenings of the national government, people tend to be less aware of their state government.
“I think it’s not just high-school kids who wonder ‘what does a state government do?’ I think a lot of adults really don’t know […] but our state government is super super important,” Barnett said.
Both candidates shared thoughts on education.
“The Northside Independent School District […] had a budget of […] about $1.5B. The state pays in roughly $325M-$330M to help support the school district,” Larson said.
Barnett also explained how Texas politics plays a role in our education.
“The state government has a lot to do with school funding and rules about schools and curriculum and how much teachers get paid,” Barnett said.
A point of agreement between the two candidates seems to be their support of HB 3, a school finance bill (now law) passed in the last legislative session that increased teacher pay and school funding on a per-student basis while also cutting property taxes. Larson called the law “transformational”.
“(It) finally addressed some of the funding issues, (it) didn’t achieve all the goals that a lot of public school advocates have but certainly made some progress in that direction,” Barnett said.
With a decade in the Texas Legislature, Rep. Larson has had the time to build a record that reflects his stances on policy.
“Primary focus up here has been the water issue. I’m the chairman of the Natural Resources Committee; we look at state-wide policy dealing with the development of water resources to try to insulate our state from the droughts that happen,” Larson said.
The demand for a reliable, clean water source is important to the district.
“I’ve spent the last 10 years […] [visiting] with most of the groundwater districts, large public utilities, the river authorities, and trying to figure out for the next two generations how we can get enough water put together […] [to] withstand a 3-5 year drought by pushing forward bills dealing with desalination on the coast, dealing with desalination of the brackish columns in the aquifers […], and dealing with recycling of water and how we can better use that in industry,” Larson said.
Another stance Larson elaborated on is being a “fiscal conservative”, a term he uses to identify himself on his campaign website.
“Constitutionally we have to have a balanced budget; unlike they’ve got in Washington,” Larson said.
He also went into detail about his work on cutting taxes.
“There was an initiative that we passed, and the governor signed, capping property taxes at the local level,” Larson said.
The initiative being SB 2, another bill that got passed in the last legislative session.
Mrs. Barnett’s has a different set of political priorities she wants to address if she is elected. A major theme of her campaign has been her opposition to gerrymandering; the process of drawing electoral district boundaries in a way that unfairly gives an advantage to a certain political party or group.
“It’s actually our elected officials in the Texas Legislature who are in charge of drawing all those boundaries,” Barnett said.
Since the last legislative session last year, Lyle Larson has sat on the Redistricting Committee in the Texas House.
“Our districts are some of the most gerrymandered in the country; both our congressional districts and state house districts,” Barnett said.
A solution she proposed is to put in place an independent redistricting commission; implemented in 10 U.S. states already, the commission would consist of citizens, instead of lawmakers, that are responsible for drawing the districts.
Claire Barnett is also prioritizing expanding and improving our healthcare system, especially now with the pandemic.
“Texas has the highest rate of uninsurance in the country and that has only gotten worse with all the layoffs that have happened [..] during this crisis,” Barnett said.
However, any legislative solutions have been stalled for months.
“The Texas Legislature is only in session once every 2 years, so the State Legislature has not been in session this entire time since March, and so all the decision making about how the state has responded has been from the executive level […] and so the legislature really hasn’t had an opportunity to weigh in. The only that would happen before the new session starts in January is if the governor were to call a special session and he has not done that,” Barnett said.
Barnett shared the legislature could make changes to be more effective.
“There’s a lot that the Texas State Legislature could be doing and should be doing to have a more cohesive response that really provides the public health infrastructure that we need right now to make sure that we’re controlling the pandemic,” Barnett said.
Both candidates are in overwhelming agreement on having students be a part of the political process. “You don’t have to be of voting age to participate in our democracy,” Mrs. Barnett said.
Rep. Larson also encouraged students to get involved.
“If you have spare time in high school and in college, just get out and get involved in the process and you can make a difference,” Larson said.
Both candidates cited volunteering for a political campaign as a way to affect change in your city, state, and/or country.
“First it’ll be answering the phone, just putting signs out, and then you’ll evolve into policy discussions,” Larson said.
Barnett also gave an example of what you could do for a campaign.
“Especially on the local campaigns, there’s a potential, if you have a really specialized skill set, to be able to help with something related to communications or graphic design; there could be all sorts of opportunities,” Barnett said.
She also gave examples of ways students can get involved in the political process.
“The other area that I think students really have a great opportunity to get involved is in issue-specific things, so if there’s an issue you’re really passionate about, there are all sorts of organizations […] that are focused on very specific issues,” Barnett said.
She also advised attending assemblies such as school board and city council meetings, which have become more accessible during the pandemic thanks to Zoom and live streaming platforms.
“There are meetings where they take public comment and [you can] share your feelings on whatever issue is being discussed,” Barnett said.
Barnett shared if individuals are passionate about impacting political change, “if you’re that interested, run for office.”
Find out if you are in Texas House District 122, visit Who represents me? at wrm.capitol.texas.gov/home
Visit Lyle Larson’s campaign website at lylelarson.org
Visit Claire Barnett’s campaign website at claire4texas.com