ON THE ISSUES

The 2006 special legislative session made significant progress in cutting property taxes, stabilizing the state’s current tax structure, and providing more resources for public schools. But much remains to be done.

How can we continue to make our public schools better? How can we provide affordable health care for our children? How can we put college tuition back within reach of middle-class families? How can we make sure our communities are safe, our air and water clean, our insurance rates reasonable, and our infrastructure sound? How can we improve our chances of successfully competing in the global marketplace?

MAKING PUBLIC SCHOOLS BETTER

Like you, a good education has made all the difference in my life. That’s why my first priority remains improving our public schools and colleges so that they can make a lasting difference in the lives of others, too.

We can do better by:

• Continuing our efforts to reverse the current ratio of state-to-local funding for public schools, the lowest state share since WWII.
• Getting college tuition rates back under control by rolling back the deregulation bill that has priced many middle-class families out of the college market and taken tuition-setting authority out of the hands of elected representatives accountable to taxpayers. This requires a commitment of adequate funding from the state
• Making sure children are safe at school in classrooms staffed by certified teachers paid like the professionals they are.

HELPING KIDS STAY HEALTHY

As a former critical care nurse at Brackenridge and Seton, I know something about the importance of public health. And the vote in 2003 to strip more than 170,000 eligible children of their Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage - including 11,000 right here in Travis County - remains one of the single most counter-productive and morally reprehensible decisions in Texas history.

We can do better by:

• Fully restoring CHIP funding to every eligible child.
• Aggressively pursuing all available federal matching funds to pay for health services while easing the burden on state taxpayers.
• Making sure women’s health care is reimbursed at the same rate as men’s health care.
• Taking specific steps to reverse the state’s nursing shortage by providing resources for proven academic and community programs.

MAKING OUR COMMUNITY STRONGER

State government should lead, set priorities, work in partnership with local, private, and volunteer groups, and stand up for the majority, not just the few. We should challenge ourselves to work together, because when Austinites are asked to give their best, they will.

We can do better by:

• Making sure local law enforcement officers, firefighters, and emergency personnel have the tools they need to do the jobs we ask them to do.
• Rolling back homeowners’ insurance rates in Texas, which are currently twice the national average for no reason other than Big Insurance’s influence with current state leaders.

TRANSPORTATION. Traffic and mobility issues must also be resolved. With a 61 percent increase in Central Texas traffic since 1980, we clearly need a strategic plan that integrates land use and transportation issues, including options such as light rail.

The legislature created a 9-member commission to study how Texans pay for roads, and I look forward to reviewing their recommendations. But we don’t need a study to know that infrastructure and funding must be subject to public scrutiny to make sure our tax dollars are spent wisely and honestly.

TECHNOLOGY. Austin must work to develop and expand its global linkages. Though Austin brings in roughly 50 percent of the total venture capital invested in Texas, we need to work with our existing large high-tech companies to increase the number of headquarters choosing to locate here such as our recent success in keeping Freescale in our community. Austin needs to continue its focus on having the highest broadband access - wireless and wired - in order to allow our entire community to participate in the digital revolution/convergence.

Early stage capital investments need to be strengthened with careful attention to accountability and oversight. A strong public and higher education system will be a critical factor in our economic development in terms of attracting and retaining businesses as well as creating the workforce necessary to continue Austin’s leadership role within the high-tech industry.

ENVIRONMENT. Austin lacks heavy industry, so most of our air pollution comes from vehicles, especially diesel vehicles. A federal program addresses one source of this pollution - school buses - by offering a subsidy to help school districts retrofit their vehicles.

Another point of progress is new EPA rules that will require “ultra low sulfur diesel” in engines with new pollution control technology by late 2006, helping reduce particular matter and NOx pollution by 90 percent.

When it comes to strengthening our communities, my values are clear: If we put Texas first and politics last, we can build a future worthy of our proud past.

Check back here soon for more on my positions on the issues. I encourage you to write to me to share your own priorities for the future of Texas.