Primary Election Date: 04/03/2012
General Election Date: 11/06/2012

Who Am I?

I am a native Texan born in San Antonio, Texas to a father that served in WWII during which time he was a prisoner of war. Before I was born my mother and father already had a family of seven sons and one daughter, after which one younger brother and two younger sisters followed me. I was the first child born and raised in an urban city. My elder siblings grew up picking cotton until my brothers one by one joined the Armed Forces.

In my junior year in high school, I decided I would enlist in the U.S. Air Force after graduation. I enlisted for 6 years in the US Air Force and started basic military training on November 11, 1974. After technical training I was assigned to the Strategic Air Command at McConnell AFB, KS. In the summer of 1977, I was assigned to Castle AFB, CA. Whereas there were 3 female crew chiefs at McConnell, there were none at Castle. I became the first female crew chief at Castle. Before the end of the 6-year enlistment on November 10, 1980, I was awarded the of Master Crew Chief badge.

After honorable discharge from active duty, I returned to San Antonio to attend college and join the Air National Guard. I was the first female crew chief on the F-4 Phantom at the 149th Fighter Group. Before retirement with the rank of E-7 in 1997, I was the NCOIC of photography, and last assigned as the First Sergeant for communications flight.

I was conferred a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology in 1988. Since then my professional experience has been more diverse. In 1988 with the National Veterans Outreach Program of the American G.I. Forum, I held a position was in support of the Women’s Veteran Outreach Program funded by the Department of Labor. The program sought to identify women veterans in need of employment and training services to facilitate their transition of military skills to civilian jobs. In the years that ensued, I held research roles on social and health projects at The University of Health Science Center at San Antonio, The University of Texas at San Antonio, The University of Chicago, and The University of Illinois at Chicago, Iowa State University, The University of Memphis, and at The University of Texas at Austin. My work in the past 3 years has included a study of relationships between clinic members in south Texas VA primary care clinics, and work presently in support of a grant to provide services to disabled veterans and their families.

Given my immersion in partisan politics in support of a brother running for Congress in 2002, I traveled across Texas as a political newcomer for 15 months in 2006. I won two statewide primary elections to attain the Democratic Party nomination for Lt. Governor of Texas. Texas voters rewarded my grassroots effort with 1.6 votes against an incumbent with millions of dollars in his campaign treasury.

Why Am I Running?

In 2002 I became involved in a Texas congressional campaign. In 2002 and 2004, Democrats were not victorious in key Democratic state and congressional races. These loses emboldened the Republican leadership in Texas and they lost any sight of the best interests of its people. I decided to run for political office the first time in 2006 because it was clear to me that the American Dream was at risk in Texas at the hands of the Republican leadership. I won the nomination for Lt. Governor of Texas but lost to the very wealthy Republican incumbent. It was clear from my experience in 2006 that money and the perception of the importance of money in political campaigns influenced outcomes. In the years that ensued, I devoted my time to developing relations within my community and participated informally in Democratic elections. However, I soon realized that the risk of the American Dream was now spreading nationwide.

I am inspired to run for Congress because I will not surrender on the American Dream. What does it mean to want to preserve the notion of the American Dream? To me, the idea is that someone like myself could be born to a low-income American family of 12 children and each still manages to escape a life of poverty. It means that even though I attended schools in the poorest school district of an urban city, I could still graduate from high school and serve in the U.S. Armed Services. Given the declining rates of graduates from high school, and with educational minimum requirements to serve in the Armed Forces, the one opportunity to serve this country and learn a skill has become less of an option.

I am running for this particular office because when all is said and done, although the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution may protect the State from Federal overreach, this amendment does not protect the people if the State does not act in the best interests of its people. I am running for this particular office because my election will signal a victory for public good for a nation that needs to believe that 'we the people' can rise to protect and preserve American ideals. Like my neighbors, I cannot wait until someone with more money or influence stands up to represent our interests.

Hold Me Accountable!

In my first year of office, the first goal is legislation that leads to job creation that surpasses the current rate. This legislation will be tied to instilling confidence among small businesses that creating these jobs are the best each can do to contribute to the growth of their businesses and a living wage that grows the middle class.

A second goal in my first year of office is legislation that ushers in restored confidence of the American people on the their representatives in Congress. This legislation is tied to action on issues that require hard choices: threats to retirement security, immigration reform, and economic solutions that will resolve the current national debt and serves as a model for generations to come.

My DFA values:

I stand firmly on not placing in harms way any American life unless it is the last option on the table to protect and defend this country. I will not compromise in the administration of this office the integrity and spirit of the US Constitution. On behalf of the American people, I want to seek support to repeal of the Patriot Act; I want to propose workable solutions to the threats to our homeland and retirement security. I want to propose workable solutions for transitioning into new sources of energy. There is much work to undertake in Congress to undo the policies of ruin during the 8 years of President G.W. Bush. That is a start.

My Campaign is People-Powered!

In 2006 as a first-time candidate for a statewide race in a state with 254 counties, traditional grassroots efforts resulted in over 1.6 million votes in my favor. I traveled personally to almost all these counties. At each stop, and many one-on-one conversations, supporters grew.

As I traveled, supporters would hold fundraisers in their restaurants, or have yard sales to contribute to my campaign. I was often surprised when I received an email, phone call, or letter with news of the work done by these supporters. These grassroots efforts explain how an under-funded campaign/first-time candidate could do well against a wealthy Republican.

In 2012, this campaign will draw from the experiences of my 2006 campaign. Already supporters from across Texas have agreed to help by the means that they are able. They continue to inspire me and such inspiration is how a people-powered representative is elected.