The Chron ran a list of all their primary endorsements last Monday, which included recommendations in a couple of race where they had not included an accompanying editorial. They have now closed that gap, at least on the Democratic side, with two late-breaking nod. First is to Dakota Carter, running in the three-way primary for SBOE District 6:
Dakota Carter
A psychiatrist currently pursuing a doctorate in education at the University of Houston, Carter has a specific expertise in childhood development. Carter told the Houston Chronicle editorial board that he wanted to bring in more experts to write state curricula and ensure that state educational standards corresponded with the proper age and grade level. He also wanted to reduce Texas’ reliance on across-the-board standardized testing.
“I think we really need to look hard at how we’re treating our students and realize that students are not a test score.”
Carter is running against Jasmine Jenkins and Michael Jordan, who doesn’t seem to be running a campaign. Jenkins has a doctorate in education policy from the University of Houston and used to teach a fourth-grade bilingual class. She now works at a private tutoring company. Jenkins said she would ensure that Texas’ high school standards aligned with national benchmarks. However, she seemed less willing than Carter to push back against the conservative political activism that’s turned the State Board of Education into joke material for late-night comedians. Democrats should want someone willing to fight.
My interview with Carter is here. The other race in which the Chron played catch-up was in HD144, where they endorsed former incumbent Mary Ann Perez.
Mary Ann Perez
In her interview with the Houston Chronicle editorial board, Perez emphasized jobs, education, pollution and expanding Medicaid as her top priorities if elected.
“I think it is terrible that the states that have expanded Medicaid get to benefit from our federal dollars that we send over and we get absolutely no benefit out of it.”
Of the other two candidates, we were particularly impressed by Cody Ray Wheeler, a Pasadena city councilman who articulated a passion for helping the working class, both in Austin and back home in the district. It is a view that’s not heard enough in Texas politics. Democrats should hope that he stays involved.
My interview with Perez is here, with Wheeler is here, and with Bernie Aldape is here. The Chron had endorsed Perez in the general election in 2012, also as a late-in-the-cycle pick, but if they made a choice in the primary that year, I missed it. Why these endorsements came so late in the cycle I couldn’t say, but better late than never.
So many endorsements, but so few policy ideas.
Democrats are wasting our time with medicaid expansion.
They could look to the 1332 waiver.
God forbid democrats actually put some thought into creating a state healthcare plan without obamacare.