West Austin Lawmaker Asks Community to Help Her Keep Finding Common Ground For Positive Change
(AUSTIN) — State Representative Donna Howard today announced that she will run for re-election to the Texas House seat she won early last year in a special election and then won again 12 months ago, saying that she hopes the community will help her continue to make progress on establishing fair property taxes, getting more resources into public schools, expanding access to quality health care, and addressing our region’s growth and infrastructure needs while preserving our natural resources.
“We’ve come a long way in a short time,” Howard said. “But there’s still more to do to find common ground for positive change.”
A former critical care nurse, Howard is working to make quality health care more accessible for middle-class families and small businesses. Comprehensive insurance reform plays a key role in achieving that goal and will top the agenda for lawmakers in the next legislative session, she said.
Howard also called for renewed efforts to reverse the ratio of state-to-local public school funding and to oppose persistent efforts to siphon tax dollars out of public schools to fund private-school voucher schemes.
As a member of the House Higher Education Committee, Howard is working closely with others to address funding formulas so that the state adequately supports public colleges and universities while keeping tuition costs within the reach of middle-income families.
With a landslide victory in the special House District 48 election early last year, Howard went on to represent the community during the 2006 special legislative session on public school finance and won praise in this year’s session for her leadership on clean air issues, efforts to address the state’s historic nursing shortage, and work on behalf of the Texas Immunization Registry to improve patient care and help cut wasteful spending. She also led the push to eliminate double appraisals of a single piece of property.
Howard served as the first hospital-based Patient Education Coordinator in Austin history, and helped get the Seton Good Health School off the ground. She has also been president of the Texas Nurses’ Association (District 5) and a Health Education instructor at UT.
A recognized leader on public education issues, Howard was an elected member of the Eanes ISD board in West Austin from 1996 to 1999, co-founded Advocates for Eanes Schools, and helped start the Texas Education Crisis Coalition, a grassroots group of parents and community leaders.
Donna is married to Austin attorney Derek Howard. The couple has three children, all educated in Austin area public schools.
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