I’m a Southside girl — that means I know who I am, where I come from, and what I stand for. My story starts with my mom, whose family’s name I proudly carry. Because where some see struggle, I see grit, sacrifice, and a never-give-up attitude. A single parent without a college degree, making it work meant occasionally relying on the support of family, changing schools to follow jobs, and a lot of hustle to pay the bills, month after month.
From mom, I got my drive. I’ve been working since I was 16, taking jobs at Bill Miller’s, retail at the mall, to administrative jobs on campus. I graduated from McCollum High School and during my senior year at A&M Corpus Christi, my mom’s health issues became more aggravated, and she wasn’t able to keep her job and had no health insurance. So I moved back home, got a new job to pay the bills, and helped her navigate the care we could afford.
When mom was back on her feet, I went back to school, this time with a clearer sense of purpose. I started in jobs as a community organizer, worked on campaigns across the country, and managed staff and million-dollar budgets, making it all the way to Washington, D.C., and the White House. From enrolling families in health care under President Obama’s Affordable Care Act to inviting voters from all backgrounds to have a say in shaping their country’s future, I never forgot who and what I was fighting for. And that’s what brought me back home.
I’m running for State Representative for all the families who know the meaning of grit and sacrifice but are losing faith that our political system is serious about tackling the challenges working families like mine face every day. And our current incumbent is your stereotypical politician. Given a seat at the table, he chooses to stand on the sidelines.
Facing a choice between funding public schools or stripping their funding through private school vouchers, he voted for vouchers. When tens of thousands of families lost their health care due to bureaucratic mistakes, he reacted with silence. And when it comes to the most basic individual right of a woman to choose for herself, if, when, and how many children to have, he joins the most extreme faction of his party.
Like I said, I know who I am, where I come from, and what I stand for. This campaign is about fighting for a seat at the table for families like mine. And when we get there, you won’t see us silent on the sidelines, you’ll see us hard at work.
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Kristian’s Platform
Support Public Schools and Give Teachers The Pay They Deserve
We must be committed to ensuring our educators and students are all given the funding and attention they deserve so public schools can be places where all can feel safe and thrive. We need to increase teacher pay so we don’t lose our best educators to other career paths. To address student success, in districts like House District 118, funding after school, before school, and summer programs will be foundational for giving those with the fewest resources at home the biggest platform for educational success that otherwise wouldn’t be there.
We must ensure every Texas student receives a quality education regardless of their zip code. Private school vouchers drain taxpayer money from already underfunded public schools. They also do not have the transparency and accountability that public schools provide. Protecting public school funding, and holding the line against private school vouchers, will be essential in giving every Texas student the attention they need to thrive.
Stand Up for Every Woman’s Right to Make Their Own Healthcare Choices
Stories like those of Kate Cox and countless other women will continue to happen unless we act now and with all of our energy. I will fight to restore access to safe and legal abortion. Once someone has made the decision to have an abortion, they should have access to safe, timely, and affordable health care.
Reform the Energy Grid
It is unacceptable that San Antonio families lost loved ones to freezing temperatures during recent power grid failures. For far too long, Texas has put off investing in infrastructure and updating the aging electrical grid. We must build more interconnectedness with neighboring power grids, invest in energy efficiency, and invest in technologies that improve reliability, particularly during extreme weather events.
End Gerrymandering and Improve the Integrity of Our Elections
Extreme gerrymandering has made general elections less and less competitive across the state legislature, allowing primary voters to essentially pick lawmakers in red and blue districts while making our state government less and less representative of the votes cast across the state come November. Advances in data science have super-charged GOP ‘cracking and packing’. Texans deserve the right to vote on a constitutional amendment to create an Independent Redistricting Commission to draw our legislative districts.
Addressing Climate Change and Environmental Justice
All Texans deserve to live in a healthy and safe environment. Addressing this must take into account that marginalized communities, particularly in low-income areas, bear the costs of climate change disproportionately. Penalties for environment-degrading events and non-compliance should be increased to reflect the long-term costs of pollution and enforcement agencies need to be funded so they can do their job of holding polluters accountable.
Fix Our Broken Immigration System and Protect DREAMers
From before it was even part of the United States, people have crossed borders into Texas looking for better economic opportunity. Working hard and leaving things better for future generations is part of being a Texan and we should be a state that welcomes those looking to do the same. Recent legislation passed by GOP lawmakers in Austin is completely out of touch with who we aspire to be. These bills are cruel and a waste of taxpayer money. Texas’s success will only be strengthened when we have a robust and welcoming immigration system that works to keep families together, protects lives, and ensures undocumented and DREAMers the opportunity to thrive and help Texas become even better.
Address the Cost of Living for Working Families
The rising cost of basic necessities such as groceries, rent, car payments, cell phone and internet access, and health care have squeezed working people to a point that take home pay can’t keep up, draining savings and driving many families into debt. This hits hourly workers especially hard. To address this, Texas must raise the minimum wage to at least $15 an hour. We also need to give cities more flexibility to address the affordable housing crisis. Finally, taking steps like expanding Medicaid in Texas will help fix the bottom line for hundreds of thousands of Texans.
End the Epidemic of Gun Violence
From Sutherland Springs to Uvalde, our region has been the site of too many tragic mass shootings and deaths from guns. We need a smart and responsible regulatory structure that encourages safe gun ownership that has rules in place which would prevent gun violence.
The overwhelming majority of Texans support common-sense gun safety policies like closing background check loopholes, safe storage guidelines, and restricting access to weapons of war. We must raise the age for purchasing assault-style weapons to 21, restrict access to large magazine clips, and mirror the regulation of semiautomatic rifles to the current regulation of semiautomatic handguns.
Having a comprehensive plan to address gun violence must include keeping public schools safe. It is unacceptable that 90% of Texas school employees say they worry their school will be next for gun violence. Implementing strict "red-flag warnings" to stop those going through extreme emotional or mental-health issues from buying guns will save lives, especially in and around schools.
Affordable Healthcare for All Texans
With 1 in 5 Texans without health insurance, Texas has the highest uninsured rate in the nation while healthcare costs are skyrocketing across the board. The biggest single thing Texas can do to improve health coverage and reduce costs is expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Only 11 states have failed to expand Medicaid and Texas is by far the largest of the 11. It’s far past time to change this.
Keep Texas a Great Place to Do Business
Texas is consistently ranked as a top state to do business and we can only keep it that way if we ensure that cities like San Antonio can continue to grow and attract great companies. Sitting in one of the most dynamic and fastest growing areas in the nation, House District 118 has so much potential to bring economic opportunities to communities that have been overlooked for far too long. But, because Texas Republicans seem more focused on waging culture wars that attack women and the LGBTQ community, we are risking driving away the world’s most innovative companies from coming here to San Antonio.
Protect and Expand Voting Rights
Texas is not a red state, it is a non-voting state. Texas Republicans make it harder to vote because they know that when the right to vote is free and accessible to all, their decades-long hold on state government will be over. There is simply no reason to limit enfranchising policies like early voting and vote by mail other than to keep marginalized communities from accessing the ballot. Voting should be easy, secure, and protected. This means expanded registration to vote online, same day voter registration, and access to mail-in ballots for all Texans. If you can make a mortgage payment online, you should be able to update your voter registration.
Protecting LGBTQ+ Texans
LGBTQ+ Texans are Texans like anyone else and they deserve equal protection and justice. The state government should play a role in this by banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender. LGBTQ+ families and individuals make up an important part of communities across Texas, from large cities to the smallest crossroads, and they should have the same opportunity to succeed and live their lives to their fullest.