The stakes are high for Waco on Nov. 3 as Texas Senate District 22 changes hands for the first time in 16 years.
As Monday’s early voting kickoff nears, the candidates are making the case that they are best suited as a new voice for Greater Waco, the district’s largest population center.
Texas Rep. David Cook, R-Mansfield, is competing against Democrat Amy Martinez-Salas of Arlington, a political newcomer hoping to upset her well-connected and well-funded opponent.
The winner will replace Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, who stepped down in May to become a U.S. assistant secretary of defense. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called a special election for Nov. 3 to fill out the rest of his term from November to January.
- Sam Shaw, The Waco Bridge
In the lead-up to election day, Amy Martinez-Salas participated in a phone interview with KWBU.
Here is the transcript, edited lightly for clarity, from our conversation with Democratic candidate, Amy Martinez-Salas.
Molly-Jo Tilton, KWBU: Can you tell me a little bit about what made you interested in running specifically for District 22 and how you're deciding which areas of the district to focus your campaign on considering how large the district is and how many different counties it encompasses?
Amy Martinez-Salas: It does encompass 12 counties and the reason I decided to run was because I got sick and tired of being promised that change was going to come. It never came. I'm a first generation Latina woman who grew up here in Tarrant County, and I was firsthand a witness to see that, “hey, we're gonna promise that you guys are gonna get this. It never came.”
And now I'm a mother, of course I'm married. I'm a Christian woman, and I have children. So looking at my children, I'm like, "Man, we've been promised all this stuff. Change was gonna come to our communities, and it never came." And now when I tell my children when I die, I wanna leave this world a better place than what I got it, and I wanna make sure that I can contribute to that change. Not only for me, but for many children that are gonna be growing up in District 22.
MJ T: Yeah, District 22 includes McLennan County, it's the largest population center of the district what are you hearing from the residents of McLennan County as some of the things that they're interested in looking for in their next state senator?
That they want somebody to defend them, somebody that's gonna stand up for them. The times that I've been to McLennan County, they've told me that they do not want these data centers. I’ve been speaking with Mark Hays, the county chair for the Democratic Party McLennan. And we talked about the data center that we're building there in Waco, they wanted to build in Waco, and how the pushback was extreme from McLennan County. And he was like, "Well, how do you feel about, uh, data centers?"
I'm highly against them. They use up our water when we have to find a way to protect our local resources, especially from McLennan. So I stand firmly against any expansion of data centers in the community because of our power grid and the water supply. It belongs to local families, small businesses, and not big giant tech corporations. It's a livelihood.
MJ T: Speaking on that data center issue, last week, we were able to talk to both of the candidates in our county commissioner in this cycle, and they both were expressing that they wanted more authority to decide where and how they're built at the county level. Do you think that counties should be empowered to make those calls?
No. That power should be given directly back to the communities. That should all be given to the community itself. Nobody should have a say on what everybody is against.
When I look at it – not to say anything against my opponent, but I know he's not against data centers. That's one big thing that I know. He may show face that he's against data centers, but he's not. And this takes it back to, like, you're taking away power from the people, and that power should be towards the people of McLennan County.
They should decide what goes in their community, not, um, the commissioners.
MJ T: Another big issue that, um, is really important to the residents in McLennan County specifically is that of water quality. In the early 2000s Lake Waco had some really bad pollution issues with upstream dairy farms polluting the river which supplies a lot of our drinking water.
And two sessions ago there was a bill which would have lessened regulations on those upstream dairies. What would you do if you were elected to further secure the, the water rights in the area, um, while also balancing, you know, that you also would represent Erath and Hamilton Counties where these upstream dairies are?
Well, as far as that, we definitely have to have some type of regulation, especially when it comes to protecting the water rights and resources in Texas overall. So we have to secure state infrastructure funding.
We have to advocate for indirect state financial assistance, such as like grants and low interest loans through the Texas Water Development Board. That way we can help local cities, rural water supply corporations and counties and, uh, to upgrade aging pipes, especially 'cause I know there's an issue with the, um, with the leaking pipe infrastructure here and all over Texas, especially in rural Texas.
And you know, I do try to keep up as much as I can, especially with the with the water situation. And I've seen in a lot of rural communities when they're talking about water, how when they turn on their piping or their faucets, they're barely getting any water pressure or any water at all. That's one way we can go for it.
We also have to prioritize local domestic needs. We have to pass legislation that establishes a clear statutory protection that prioritizes residential drinking water, which means it's agricultural and local communities all over massive industrial users just for the data centers during times of drought or scarcity
MJ T: I wanna talk a little bit about, um, city government and city funding. Um, this has been kind of a, a point of contention for, for the city of Waco. City critics say some of the legislation that the governor is attempting to pursue makes it really hard for cities to, to fund their services in, in ways that make sense and that, that they need to.
If you were elected, what would you pursue for a tax plan and, and how would you balance ideas about reducing property taxes with being able to also provide funding for cities?
Yeah. So definitely we first have to start by finding relief for working families.
You know, soaring property taxes are hurting seniors on fixed incomes, and especially on working parents. Uh, we need real, state level tax relief so people are not priced out of their homes and they're able to afford it. We also wanna keep the tax dollars local. So basically, the tax money that's raised in McLennan County should stay there and fund the public schools, to fix the roads and help support our police and firefighters.
It shouldn't go anywhere past McLennan County. The other thing, and in order for us to have like fair funding, we have to get fair funding from the state. They have to stop passing unfunded mandates to the county, such as forcing local leaders to raise property taxes to pay for them.
MJ T: The other big issue for McLennan County, for Waco, is a mental health facility. Waco had a comprehensive mental health facility in the DePaul Center that closed several years ago. I know current House Representative Pat Curry, has been pursuing more funding to be able to deliver a mental health facility back to Waco, McLennan County. Is that something that, that you think you would strive to deliver as well, um, if you were elected state senator?
Yes. I am big on mental health, given I have my own family experiences. Having worked in the healthcare, almost being a nurse and navigating mental healthcare here in my own family, it's something that I'm very passionate about.
I know behavioral care is, uh, just as, as important as any physical health, physical healthcare. Of course, if we can't take care of ourselves mentally, how can we take care of ourselves physically? So for me, it's like we have to have more local providers, more mental health professionals, crisis centers, and school counselors so families can get the help quickly without having to be waiting, waiting for months for an appointment.
And that means having, like, mobile access, having like mobile care to be provided to the community. Not only that, but we, of course we have to have treatment over incarceration. I've known that in the past few years especially for those who have mental health, especially like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder or autism. I've seen a few times where a cop has arrested a child.
I believe there was a child, think it was an article that I read a few months back, and they didn't know the child was autistic and they didn't know how to handle the situation. We need proper training for that too as well. We must fund local crisis response teams and mental health courts so people who are experiencing mental health crisis can receive the proper medical care instead of just being sent to jail or being targeted mistakenly or accidentally by an officer or somebody just random.
MJ T: What would be your message specifically to McLennan County voters who maybe haven't had a chance to meet you or to learn much about you?
Well, my message would be, "I'm here for you and I understand the struggle that you're dealing with." Somebody who lives amongst the community. I'm a neighbor. I'm a problem solver by approaching the situation, leading directly with practical issues.
I also understand the daily struggles 'cause I'm also a person who lives paycheck to paycheck. I don't pretend to know the problem that everybody's going through. I actually live it every day. I understand how high prices are affecting my family and everybody else's family. I understand the, how the power grid is affecting all of us. I understand the struggle to make ends meet.
So I'm here to stand up for everybody who is not only dealing with that or have other internal issues, but I'm here to be that voice to represent McLennan County and Tarrant County and all of Senate District 22.