Hello,
My name is Pat Ledbetter, and I am running for Texas House District 68. I would love the opportunity to introduce myself to you, or reintroduce, as I pick my campaign up from where it left off at the beginning of this terrible crisis.
I am not a politician. As a lifelong educator, I had never wanted to hold public office, but the current state of affairs compels me to enter the fray. I am now campaigning for Texas House of Representatives because I believe our state legislature is not responding to all Texans, and that it has left our state too vulnerable to such crises as the one we are currently facing.
I begin this campaign with a firm belief that more unites us than divides us. However, the political process that should bring us together drives us apart, even when we face a common and non-political enemy like a deadly virus. I believe I can help repair the damage done and create a more positive environment looking forward.
The COVID-19 crisis has elevated to the top of everyone’s concern the four issues that I originally identified to drive my campaign platform in Fall 2019. These issues are:
1. Health Care: Texans are literally dying for want of access to health care, and even those with insurance cannot afford the premiums and the deductibles. Especially hard hit is rural Texas, where hospitals face economic ruin when patients can’t pay their bills. COVID-19 has brought public attention to just how severe this crisis is.
2. College Affordability: As college tuition and fees have escalated out of control, students struggle to balance full-time work with college studies and still barely manage to get by. Because a college degree is deemed more necessary than ever before, students feel compelled to take out huge loans that end up limiting their options and slowing their progress after graduation. In the wake of this crisis, our community colleges and universities will be the best hope for bringing the economy back, but ONLY if people can actually afford the tuition and fees.
3. Public Education: Texas children are not getting the education they need, and teachers are getting neither the salary nor the respect they deserve. Meanwhile, efforts to privatize our public schools have undermined one of democracy’s promises: equal opportunity for all. After this crisis many of our children will need extra attention to catch up and succeed. For that to happen, schools must be better funded
4. Broadband Internet Access: In this information-driven age, rural areas, like House District 68, are held back by slow or non-existent Internet connections. Farmers and businesses are excluded from opportunities that should be available to all, and young people cannot access the educational benefits that better connectivity can deliver. When everything went online with this crisis, huge swaths of the country were left behind. This should NEVER happen again.
I believe this community can make democracy work in the way that our Founding Fathers envisioned. A campaign with wide-ranging debates can allow us to consider all perspectives on these and other problems and thus find solutions. Democracy works best when all voices are heard and representatives are responsive to the will of the people. If candidates are unable to campaign face-to-face, I hope we can find ways to enliven debate online and through social media.
