– Carolyn Vaughn
Property taxes are out of control. As a former Corpus Christi City Council Member and a Nueces County Commissioner, I never voted for a tax increase. You can count on me to protect homeowners throughout House District 34 and work to stop the growing tax increases that affect the pocketbooks of hard-working Texans.
The Texas oil and gas industry provides about $13.9 billion in state and local taxes that helps fund our schools, roads and first responders. As a businesswoman who made a living from energy services, I understand how many thousands of jobs are dependent upon a healthy energy sector. As a legislator, I will help promote the industry and push science-based policy that will benefit our free-market economy. And I will fight against unnecessary government regulation and more taxation on the oil and gas sector.
I am 100 percent pro-life and a strong advocate for protecting our unborn children. That’s why I support the Heartbeat Bill, which is one of the most important pro-life pieces of legislation that prevents abortion once a heartbeat is detected.
In addition to protecting those children while they are in the womb, we must provide help for families and single mothers after they have children. I will support additional efforts to keep our newborn children and their mothers healthy just as our legislature did by extending coverage for new mothers on Medicaid from 60 days to six months.
Texas needs full transparency in government budgeting and spending. Public officials have to earn public trust and the best way to do that is to be open and honest with those we serve. As a county commissioner, when eight firefighters were quarantined because they had been exposed to coronavirus I believed the public had the right to know. I shared the information on social media before anyone else because the people we serve need to know pertinent information to help protect their families.
District 34 includes most of the rural area – including small towns, farms and ranches – in Nueces County. As the mother and grandmother of farmers and ranchers, I know the importance of protecting the industry, which puts at least $100 billion a year into the Texas economy and employs one out of every seven working Texans.
We must empower small towns and rural areas by promoting production agriculture, programs to eradicate boll weevils to protect our crops and end the multi-million dollar threat of wild pigs that are ruining our pastures, crops and killing livestock. We must also encourage a better quality of life in rural areas by providing widespread broadband access to help close the digital divide and find new ways to keep open our rural hospitals which are so vital to the health care system across our state.
Border security is national security. I support efforts for Texas to build a border wall. l also believe in using technology such as drones to secure the border and having more boots-on-the-ground that will help keep illegal immigrants from crossing our border.
I grew up in a family with an abusive father. We must strengthen laws to protect victims of domestic violence and work with families, support groups and law enforcement to punish those who are guilty of this abuse.
World-class ports and transportation infrastructure are the lifeblood of our Texas and HD 34 economy. Texan goods and natural resources are transported all across the globe from ports right here in our community, and it’s vital that we invest in these key infrastructure assets to ensure we continue to thrive.
We must remember that law enforcement officers risk their safety to make our communities safe, and we must increase our support for these heroes as they fight human trafficking and drug smuggling. That should include:
High rates and low coverage for windstorm insurance affects economic development in the Coastal Bend and hurts the ability of many low-income families to buy homes. The Texas Legislature must help protect and treat the coast fairly and equitably. TWIA, the agency created as an insurer of last resort for Coastal residents and businesses, should be working to lower rates and keep windstorm insurance affordable.
Texas needs a great public school system that prepares its students for the jobs of the future, provides workforce training and attracts the best teachers in the country. We must give parents the ability to choose public or charter schools that are accountable to taxpayers and allow homeschool families the ability to have their children participate in extracurricular activities alongside students in public schools.