Carol Alvarado

What training, experience, and characteristics qualify you for this position?

Since 2018, I have served the people of Texas Senate District 6. I served in the Texas House of Representatives from 2009-2018. I served on the Houston City Council from 2002-2007. I currently serve as Chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus. I have been able to work across the aisle to pass legislation that focuses on strengthening our state’s workforce, helping small businesses succeed, and creating tools to recruit businesses to relocate to Texas.

Article 7 of the Texas Constitution states that “it shall be the duty of the Legislature of the State to establish and make suitable provision for the support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools.” What is your interpretation of what this clause requires of the legislature?

We must fully fund our public education system. The State Comptroller recently projected a $21.2 billion treasury surplus for the next biennium. This surplus is a massive opportunity to fund our struggling public education system — not school vouchers. School vouchers will take away much needed resources for our public schools and teachers.

How will you ensure that Texas remains a leader in the energy sector through innovation and reliability?

I have been steadfast in my support of the energy sector. My focus has been on workforce development that supports energy companies. We need to fully fund our schools, community colleges, and universities and produce an educated community that will help grow energy innovation. As a member of the Special Committee on Hurricane and Tropical Storm Preparedness, Recovery, and Electricity, I will work to create policies that minimize power outages like the ones we recently experienced after Beryl.

What do you believe is the appropriate role of the State of Texas in ensuring that Texans have access to reproductive healthcare, family planning, and pregnancy care and postpartum services?

Texas is ground zero in an unprecedented invasion of our privacy and bodies. Anti-abortion zealots have steadily chipped away at our reproductive rights to create the current dangerous environment. The Heartbeat Act, and Dobbs have left millions of Texans of reproductive age without access to essential healthcare, even in the case of rape or incest. There are women who almost lost their lives because of Texas’s extreme laws. Our reproductive rights can be restored by winning at the ballot box.

What other issues are high priorities for the people of your district? Please give specific examples of measurable actions that you will take to address these issues.

I will continue to file legislation to expand Medicaid in Texas. I will vehemently oppose MAGA extremist policies. In 2021, I conducted a 15-hour filibuster against the GOP voter restriction and voter suppression legislation. Last session, I passed Senate Bill 224, known as the Deputy Darren Almendarez Act. Deputy Almendarez lost his life trying to prevent thieves from stealing his catalytic converter. The act strengthens penalties for such thefts and is considered the strictest in the nation.