League of Women Voters: Texas Lieutenant Governor
Editor’s note: To help voters learn more about the candidates, the Advocate is printing profiles provided by the League of Women Voters in contested races in the May 24 primary runoff election
Texas Lieutenant Governor
Michelle Beckley - Dem Business owner Website: michellebeckley.com
Qualifications:
- What training, experience and characteristics qualify you for this position?
Power Grid:
- What further changes, if any, are needed to ensure that Texas has sufficient power in times of extreme weather conditions?
Autonomy of State and Local Government:
- Under what circumstances should the federal government limit the authority of elected state officials? Under what circumstances should the state government limit the authority of elected local officials?
Health Care:
- What is your position on reproductive rights and how would you address the economic and health consequences for those who seek and cannot obtain abortions in Texas?
Public Safety:
- What are some solutions to enhance public safety in Texas? How do we balance these solutions with protecting civil rights?
Qualifications:
- I was elected to the Texas Legislature in 2018 and became the first Democrat to ever represent District 65 in Denton County. I said I would fight for healthcare, education and the environment and did. This led to an improved margin win in 2020.
Power Grid:
- The 87th Legislature did not do enough. Texas needs to reverse the course of deregulation and consider the option of connecting back to the national grid. El Paso and Texarkana did not lose power like the rest of the state, both are connected to the national grid.
Autonomy of State and Local Government:
- Texas has been controlled by the GOP for over 25 years. State officials are running amuck due to checks and balances that no longer exist. The federal government needs to address the Voting Rights Bills. We saw our freedom to vote diluted as well as extreme gerrymandering in 2021.
- The state government should not interfere with local health regulations.
Heath Care: The attacks on women’s healthcare should not continue. I voted against HB8. There should not be $10,000 bounties on women and health professionals. A woman’s choice on
- abortion is between her and her doctor.
- Public Safety:
- I had a city come to me with the issue of a police officer that had been fired with cause now working at a neighboring city. Municipalities should be able to know this information upon hiring or the problems can’t be addressed and will continue. Texas needs to look into solutions to address these issues and solve them.
Mike Collier - Dem Auditor Website: CollierforTexas.com
Qualifications:
- Mike spent his career as a CPA and an auditor at PriceWaterhouseCoopers before becoming a CFO of a Texas energy company, helping create good-paying jobs. His experience as an accountant gives him a deep understanding of how our state’s budget works.
Power Grid:
- For years, our state leaders were warned about the grid’s vulnerability and did nothing. As a result, Texans froze, Texans died, and corporations got rich. We must winterize our gas supply, invest in smart grid technology, and increase power storage.
- We must also ensure that Texas families do not pay more when companies pay less for an unreliable grid.
Autonomy of State and Local Government:
- If the behavior of any official is inconsistent with our constitutional rights, then it is the responsibility of the federal government, particularly the courts, to step in.
- That said, local control is key to accountability, and it’s at the heart of a healthy democracy. So, as Lieutenant Governor, I will work closely with duly elected local partners—not against them.
Health Care:
- Mike will defend our constitutional rights so women will be masters of their own health and their own destinies. The principles laid down by Roe v Wade and have guided us for nearly the last 50 years are reasonable and are supported by the vast majority of Americans.
Public Safety: Mike will work to reverse laws that allow criminals to access firearms and put our communities and law enforcement officers at risk. Further, we all want law enforcement that we know, trust, and are accountable to our local communities. We must also invest more in mental health training and restorative justice to create safer, more prosperous communities across Texas.
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