True Courage Awards poll - comments about nominees
We asked around at the Lege for comments about our finalists. From legislative staffers and other sources, here are the responses. We hope this encourages you to vote if you haven’t already.
Nominator comments are posted next to each nominee’s name at the polling website (http://www.truecourageaction.net/True-Courage-Awards/). If you haven’t already, please go VOTE!
In alphabetical order:
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Rep. Rafael Anchía
Rafael Anchía, as the son of immigrants, has a deep commitment to standing up for those whose voices are often ignored or suppressed.
He led the fight in the House against the voter suppression bills, HB 218 and HB 626, and stood up to the anti-immigrant forces in the Legislature.
By pulling together a historic coalition of business and community leaders, Rafael helped table most of the session’s anti-immigrant legislation.
Rafael authored 40 bills this session, including the most comprehensive tenants’ rights bill in the last decade. As an advocate for voters’ rights, he filed a bill to criminalize voter suppression activities and worked to increase voter participation with bills calling for election-day registration, election-day holidays, and countywide polling places.
So far, 14 pieces of his legislation have passed out of the House, either as full bills or as amendments to other bills. Rafael Anchia is the champion of Texas Voters!
Rep. Valinda Bolton
Valinda Bolton has a seat in the House because voters believed that in the face of resistance she had the courage to stand up for them. Throughout the session she’s validated that belief. Whether speaking against the discriminatory voter ID and registration bills, taking a leadership role in dealing with the scandal at TYC, or speaking as a woman of faith for separation of church and state, Valinda has championed ethics and transparency in government.
Seeing a classic example of transparency and process breakdown, Valinda immediately filed HB 3521 and 3309 to address the TYC tragedy. Both bills have passed the House and are before the Senate.
One of the first steps towards a transparent process is allowing your constituents to see how you voted. Valinda filed HB 2633 to require a record vote on all matters before both houses and committees.
The voters got it right! Valinda Bolton is strong and forthright and will continue to fight for a government that reflects the values of honesty and fairness that Texans deserve.
Rep. Lon Burnam
During his career in the Texas House, Representative Burnam has consistently challenged the Texas Ethics Commission to hold elected officials, lobbyists, PACs, and their staffs to higher ethical standards. Galvanized by the Ceverha scandal, Lon worked to reform the Ethics Commission in the courtroom, the newspapers, committee hearings, and on the House floor.
Rep. Burnam is passionate about equal access to the polls and has consistently stood up for the often attacked voting rights of minorities. In his district Lon is actively involved in efforts to increase voter turnout, especially in the Hispanic and Black communities. He organizes voter registration drives and funds GOTV efforts for all of Tarrant County.
Lon’s constituents have expressed concern about the security and accuracy of electronic voting machines, so Rep. Burnam spent much of his time on the House Elections Committee facilitating discussions of potential solutions to this problem. He hopes to continue these discussions by encouraging interim hearings to address the widespread distrust of electronic voting machines.
Rep. Senfronia Thompson
We admire Rep. Thompson because “fear” is not in her vocabulary. She is unafraid to stand alone on issues, when her heart and conscience tell her that she must speak up for those whose rights and liberties have been threatened. Rep. Thompson consistently fights for equality and justice for those in our society who are unable to speak for themselves. She doesn’t weigh the political effects her speaking out (or, as we like to say in our office, “speaking up” for the “little dogs”) will have on her career. Her advocacy is not about how much press she receives but about results. Her willingness to mentor members and work across party lines to pass quality legislation has earned her respect from legislators of both political parties. Her knowledge of the rules has put the current leadership on notice. She is able to balance empathy and strength — a valuable quality when serving the public.
Rep. Mike Villarreal
Rep. Mike Villarreal has always demonstrated a strong belief that government functions best when it listens to ordinary people.
To ensure that everyone has a voice in decisions about improving schools, providing health care to kids, curbing pollution, and other priority issues, he has taken the lead in fighting for legislation to limit campaign contributions from mega-donors like pro-voucher James Leininger (House Bill 111) and to create an independent, Tom Delay-proof redistricting commission (House Bill 3389).
He also helped rally opposition to legislation that would lock many poor, minority, and elderly voters out of the political process, and started the session with a high-profile challenge to Speaker Craddick to allow a vote on Democratic priorities in exchange for waiving the 60-day voting rules.
As you can see on his website, http://new.leaderslisten.org, Rep. Villarreal is a tireless, fearless champion for all the little guys trying to make their voices heard in Austin!
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