Judith Zaffirini was first elected to the Texas Senate in 1986. She’s a Laredo native with a background in communications.
Hear from the candidate
1. Please tell voters about yourself.
The first Mexican American woman Texas state senator and first woman Dean of the Texas Senate, I supported myself since I was 17; married at 18; and earned B.S., M.A., and PhD degrees at UT-Austin, each with a 3.97 GPA, while married and holding up to three part-time jobs.
A former educator with 13 years of teaching experience, award-winning communication specialist, businessowner and Board President of the Alexander Foundation and entities, I have passed 1,500+ bills, more than any legislator in Texas history; consistently am the highest bill-passer as a Democrat in a Republican dominated legislature; and cast 76,000+ consecutive votes, a state and national record.
A Laredoan and namesake of facilities including a courthouse, school, library, and university building, I am 79 and devoted wife, mother, and grandmother. Known for my work ethic, effectiveness, responsiveness and tireless advocacy, my priorities are education, health and human services and access to justice.
2. Briefly describe your top policy priorities.
My top three priorities have been the same since I first ran: education in general, with a focus on early and higher education; health and human services in general, with a focus on the very young, the very old, the very poor, persons with disabilities, and veterans; and responding effectively to the needs, interests, and priorities of the families of Senate District 21, balanced with those of our great state.
Based on my belief that education and healthcare are rights, not privileges, I work tirelessly to ensure they are accessible, accountable, affordable, available and excellent. I prioritize critical legislation and funding for public schools and universities and higher salaries and retirement benefits for teachers; expanding medicaid and healthcare in rural counties; and prevention, treatment, and research related to cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and other prevalent diseases.
I also champion lowering costs, including by reducing property taxes and establishing tax holidays; and providing access to justice, with a focus on Texans with low incomes, don’t speak English, and/or are veterans. I gain insight and facilitate responsiveness by maintaining an open-door policy; accepting all constituent requests for meetings and responding to their letters, calls and text messages; and being accountable and transparent.
3. What would you like to see the legislature do to make Texas cities better places to live? In what ways could state officials work better with local officials?
As a strong proponent of local control, I believe there are countless ways legislators can help make cities better places to live, including via housing affordability and availability, transportation, public safety, infrastructure, economic development, education and health.
Particularly important are state investments in the reliability, sustainability, and environmentally sound aspects of the electric grid; availability of clean water, improved wastewater projects, and water for residential, commercial, industrial and tourism needs; expanding statewide access to broadband; and focusing on public safety in areas ranging from law enforcement officials enforcing state laws to safe highways, roads and bridges needed for better, safer traffic flow and control; reciprocity for international trade; better, higher-paying jobs; and expanding Medicaid and ensuring access to healthcare.
The state should continue to invest in public schools, including higher teacher salaries and retirement benefits; and in higher education, including stronger universities, health science centers, community colleges and technical colleges.
4. Texas has taken major steps to reshape its public education system, including allowing taxpayer dollars to fund private school tuition. What do you believe needs to happen to monitor the success of Education Savings Accounts, and to ensure every student still receives a quality education?
Texas has enacted Education Savings Accounts, and as implementation moves forward, strong oversight will be essential. To ensure every student receives a quality education, the state must closely monitor student outcomes; focus on students from low-income families and those with learning, physical, emotional or intellectual disabilities; ensure public funds are spent appropriately; and require transparency and accountability for participating providers.
Schools receiving taxpayer dollars must serve the public good, offer essential foundations for academic success and embrace the state’s accountability system. Uniform evaluation should be enhanced by evaluating educational models through improved data collection and reporting to TEA, as required by my Senate Bill 1871.
Because education is a right, not a privilege, ESA implementation cannot succeed at the expense of public education. The Legislature must fully fund and strengthen public schools, which educate the vast majority of Texas students. Every student, regardless of ZIP code, deserves a high-quality education.
5. Reducing the burden of property taxes is expected to be a major focus of the next legislative session. Describe your ideas for balancing the needs of a growing state with state leaders’ desire to rein in that major revenue source?
Reducing property taxes must be accomplished responsibly and sustainably. As legislators continue to reduce property taxes, raise homestead exemptions and leverage state revenues to replace local taxes, we must collaborate with local officials to ensure education, health and public services are not impacted negatively.
Because the effectiveness of our tax system depends on the support and participation of taxpayers, they must be involved in decision-making. Constituents and local governments, including school boards, must retain a meaningful voice in how resources are allocated so decisions reflect community needs, not top-down mandates.
Legislators must ensure lowered property taxes do not shift costs to impacted local governments. Simultaneously, increases in state funding should require clear accountability and transparency to ensure funds reach classrooms and essential local services. Any approach must be fair, protect working families, respect local governance and ensure Texas can meet the needs of a growing population without undermining
public services.
