Emily Krupa, Senior News Reporter
As a graduate student at UT, Kathie Tovo picked out 19th and 20th-century literature to teach a women’s autobiography course.
Now, she said, courses like the one she taught are being flagged for scrutiny because they touch on topics like race, class and gender identity.
“It’s startling how faculty are really experiencing the harm that’s coming from the legislature, which is one of the reasons I’m running,” Tovo said.
Tovo, also a former city council member and mayor pro tem, D-Austin, announced her campaign to run for the Texas House of Representatives on Oct. 27. She is running in District 49, which includes the University, West Campus, downtown Austin and parts of south Austin. Tovo was also an adjunct faculty member at UT.
Tovo’s platform, which includes public education funding, disaster preparedness, mitigating the impacts of climate change, and gun regulations, stems from her time on the City Council and at UT.
“As a council member, I stood over there, and I rallied with students and faculty against concealed carry on campus, and there are so many ways in which we could make Texas safer with common sense gun regulations,” Tovo said. “I think it’s long, long overdue.”
Tovo said she is focused on student examinations and funding in public education. She said STAAR tests, which measure student success, are flawed. Tovo said she does not support the recently-passed school voucher program and said schools need better funding mechanisms.
“Public education is critically important to everybody,” Tovo said. “It’s a right. Everybody, no matter where they live, should have access to a great public education.”
As for disaster preparedness and mitigating the impacts of climate change, Tovo said having a reliable power grid, looking into water sustainability and preparing for floods and wildfires are important.
Joshua Blank, research director of the Texas Politics Project, said being a member of the minority party in the Texas House of Representatives is different from being a city council member in Austin. In Austin, the conflicts are between Democrats, Blank said. However, Republicans have the majority in the Texas legislature.
“In a lot of ways, the (state house representative) position is almost more symbolic than functionally effective,” Blank said. “Whoever wins this primary is going to be in the minority party in the Texas House of Representatives, and is not going to have the ability to pass any measure that is overwhelmingly supported by Democratic and progressive voters and opposed by conservative and Republican voters.”
Despite this, Blank said Tovo has some advantages. He said Tovo has a better understanding of the electorate because of her years of experience running for office and winning in Austin.
Additionally, Tovo’s push for addressing a mix of issues, like disaster preparedness, have a broader appeal to voters, Blank said. However, Tovo’s opposition to school vouchers, which the legislature passed during the last session, does not, Blank said.
Tovo said she is “clear-eyed” about the job Democrats have in the Texas legislature: they have to work to slow down the harm coming out of the current legislature.
“I’m running to … stop bad bills, to stop bad legislation from impacting and causing further harm,” Tovo said.
Read the original article at The Daily Texan.
