There's a lot I love about Texas, but not about the state legislature and its antics.  That's why I decided that this year I would stand up for what I believe in by making a run myself.  If you support the changes I'm working for, I would be honored if you consider letting me represent you in the state senate.

BIO

I grew up in Lubbock, where my father was a professor at Texas Tech.  My family moved to central Texas in 1988, which I've called home ever since.  I am a proud Aggie who graduated from Texas A&M with a physics degree in 1993, followed by a master's degree in 1995.  I then stayed in central Texas for several years and worked at various jobs in educational technology and publishing.  In 2008, I went off to California for graduate school at Stanford.  After receiving a PhD in philosophy in 2014, I was more than happy to come back to Texas.

For much of the past few years, I've been devoted to helping my parents during their illnesses.  My father, Paul Nelson, was a long-time professor at Texas A&M.  My mother Diana was well known to her friends as a library volunteer, and she was especially active in making international visitors to the university feel welcome.  Now that they have both unfortunately passed away, I have been looking for new avenues forward.  Running for office is what I settled on.

I am Hispanic on my mother's side, and I am extremely proud to have had relatives on both sides of my family who served in the U.S. armed forces going back to World War I.  When citizens of our country are living in fear of being targeted and even having their citizenship revoked, it's personal to me.  I hope to work in whatever way I can for a better Texas and a better America, where every single one of us can feel proud to belong.

ISSUES

Choice.

First and foremost, I am determined to do everything within my power to restore a woman's right to choose.  My ultimate hope would be for the U.S. Supreme Court to return to precedent and respect its own decision in Roe v Wade.  But meanwhile, we have to face the reality that extremists in the Texas legislature have enacted some of the most restrictive anti-choice laws anywhere.  I will work every day to curtail those laws or, preferably, to repeal them altogether.  My belief is that they would be rejected at the ballot box if Texans only had a chance to vote on them, and I will advocate for a reproductive-freedom amendment to the state constitution in order to prevent politicans from ever taking away women's rights again.

Marriage equality.

For years, marriage equality has been the law of the land.  Regrettably, the U.S. Supreme Court can no longer be counted on to uphold it.  If necessary, I will defend continued marriage equality in Texas against anyone who may try to undermine it.

Legalization.

I will support legalizing, regulating, and taxing marijuana.  Our law enforcement officers should be able to concentrate on serious crimes instead of worrying about what ordinary people choose to do in private of their own free will.

Minimum wage.

Texans who work hard every single day shouldn't be asked to get by on $7.25 an hour.  Since Congress has failed to raise the federal minimum wage to keep pace with inflation, it's time for our legislators in Austin to step up.  A new state minimum of $10 an hour will make life a little easier for a lot of people.

Data centers.

You'll hear from a lot of politicians this year about property-tax relief.  What you won't hear so much is that enormous data centers built by out-of-state corporations are already getting huge tax breaks.  All told, those "abatements" have amounted to more than one billion dollars--and the total is on a path to get far larger.  I will work to curtail abatements and make data centers pay their fair share.  With additional revenue for state and local budgets, property-tax relief will become significantly easier.

I am by no means an anti-data-center absolutist.  But data centers need to be paying their own way instead of getting subsidized courtesy of ordinary taxpayers.

Medicaid Expansion.

No one should be afraid of financial ruin just from going to the doctor.  But all too many Texans have to go without health insurance.  Expanding Medicaid will be a step in the right direction.  Forty states have taken that step already, including Republican bastions like Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia.  Texas should join them.  Even if it's a far cry from solving all the problems with our health-care system, it's an achievable reform that will help a lot of people rest easier at night.

Redistricting.

Like most people, I've about had it with the legislature's absurd redistricting dance.  Voters ought to know who represents them without district lines getting redrawn by politicians for momentary gain.  I will support the establishment of a nonpartisan redistricting commission with representation from ordinary people, from which career politicians will be barred.  We need stable, fairly drawn districts that will ensure representation for everyone.

Political ad by

Kevin Nelson for State Senate

PO Box 5370

Round Rock, TX  78683