Protecting Communities and Building Trust by Reforming our Criminal Justice System
I have helped lead the push to reform our Criminal Justice system in El Paso County. Whether it be supporting specialty courts such as our Veterans and Drug/DWI Courts, creating our pre-trial office and programs like 24 hour magistration, pushing for bail reform locally and at the state level, or setting up and investing in a robust re-entry program so we don’t just kick people exiting our jails to the curb, my work in this area has brought about cost avoidance as we lower our jail population, and will no doubt continue to have positive impacts on the lives of people that come into contact with the criminal justice system.
I am also proud to be one of the few local elected officials talking about the need for more accountability within policing, working together with the Border Network for Human Rights and others to push for changes in our community. We expect too much of our law enforcement officers and need to invest more in social programs that help keep people from needing to come into contact with the criminal justice system. If people have access to affordable housing, jobs, education, healthcare/mental healthcare and nutritious food, crime levels will stay low. We can’t expect to solve problems by only treating the symptoms of our ills, and need to spend more resources attacking problems at their roots.
Priorities
EFFECTIVE, STRONG AND FEARLESS LEADERSHIP
Not only do I believe in the Democratic Party’s platform, but over the past almost eleven years I have worked in public service and politics and have championed our party’s values. Whether it was serving as a Precinct Chair on our County Executive Committee, working as a consultant for the Texas Democratic Party, serving as an El Paso County delegate at numerous State Conventions, or as a Bernie Sanders delegate at our most recent National Convention, I have more experience than any other candidate in this race working on behalf of the Democratic Party. I spent nearly four years on the staff of former State Senator Jose Rodriguez, working every day to help move our state in the right direction, and of course, I am finishing my second term as a Democrat on the El Paso County Commissioners Court, representing Precinct 2. I have served as a strong, progressive voice during the past seven years, having effectively worked to create initiatives and policies that are in line with the Democratic Party’s Platform on a local level, as well as advocating for the same at the Texas State Legislature and at the US Congress, as well as with the Whitehouse.
Below are some examples of the work I have done that correlates with the Democratic Party Platform:
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