Bently Paiz, 21, is a Democratic organizer who ran unsuccessfully for City Council in New Braunfels in 2022. He’s running in a three-way Democratic primary for seat currently represented by state Rep. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins (D-San Antonio).
Hear from the candidate
1. Please tell voters about yourself.
My name is Bently Paiz. I have spent my entire life rooted in the communities that now make up Texas House District 120. I grew up between San Antonio and New Braunfels in a working-class family and was largely raised by my grandmother as she managed diabetes and mobility issues on a fixed income. Watching her choose between refilling a prescription and paying the electric bill showed me early how our systems fail the people who rely on them most.
My background includes work expanding high-speed internet access across Texas communities that have long been left behind, as well as serving as a legislative aide at the Texas Capitol, where I worked on policy related to infrastructure, housing, and equity. Outside of that work, I’ve been a community organizer, founded the Comal County Young Democrats, and helped build grassroots campaigns focused on voter engagement and accountability. I’m running because these communities raised me, and I refuse to stay silent while families here are pushed aside.
2. Briefly describe your top policy priorities.
Let’s be honest: in Texas today, working a forty-hour week doesn’t guarantee a roof over your head. Affordability has to be the priority because our neighbors are being priced out of their own lives. Wages are too low and costs keep rising. I will fight to raise the state minimum wage to $20 an hour through a responsible three-year phase in, crack down on wage theft, index wages to inflation, and hold large corporations accountable while protecting small businesses.
Affordability also means housing security. I will push to expand rental, utility, and food assistance, prevent displacement, convert vacant properties into affordable housing, and use the state surplus to keep families stable.
Mental healthcare is another of my top priorities. Our system is failing people every day. Texans are waiting months for care, providers are underpaid and overworked, and families are left handling crises alone. Mental healthcare must be treated as essential infrastructure, with guaranteed access to treatment and medication.
Finally, public education is under attack. In San Antonio, we are watching neighborhood schools close far too often while resources are siphoned into charter and voucher programs. I will stand against charter expansion, fully fund public schools, do more than just invest in teachers and counselors, and move away from corporate, test-driven models.
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?
Texas cities cannot be strong or safe when state leadership forces them to participate in policies that terrorize their own communities. Right now, in San Antonio and across Texas, families are living in fear because of increased ICE activity and the lack of clear protections from the state.
Parents are afraid to go to work. Kids are afraid to go to school. That is not what a livable city looks like.
The Legislature should stop mandating cooperation with federal immigration enforcement and instead give cities the authority to protect their residents. That means repealing or reforming laws that force local officials and police departments into immigration enforcement roles, funding legal aid and community resources, and supporting policies that build trust between residents and local government rather than fear.
State officials need to work with city leaders, not override them. Cities know what their communities need. The state’s job should be to respect local decision-making, fund people-centered public safety, and ensure every resident can live without fear of being targeted just for existing. Cities thrive when people feel safe. The Legislature should start acting like that matters.
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?
Public education in Texas is being attacked, and San Antonio families are the ones paying the consequences. Over the past year, multiple neighborhood schools across the city have closed as enrollment drops and funding tightens. Disrupting communities and forcing students to travel farther just to attend school.
The crisis is fueled by voucher programs that siphon public dollars into private pockets while leaving our local schools with the bill. That money leaves the public system while public schools are still expected to serve every student. Charter schools are also expanding, even though the requirements to open and operate them are far less rigorous than those placed on traditional public schools.
If Texas wants a better education system, it should start by strengthening the one that already serves most students instead of handing public dollars to private operators with little accountability. That is why I oppose charter expansion and voucher programs, and why I will fight to ensure public education remains in the best interest of the public. Texas is sitting on a record surplus while our schools struggle to keep the lights on. I’m not running to watch more neighborhood schools close, I’m running to make sure every San Antonio student gets the quality education they were promised.
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?
Property taxes keep rising because the state has structured its tax system to lean hardest on working families instead of using the full range of resources it already has. Texas has generated large budget surpluses in recent years, yet homeowners are still being asked to carry more and more of the burden just to keep schools and cities functioning. That is a choice, not a necessity.
If the state wants real property tax relief, it should start by allocating more state revenue directly to cities, towns, and school districts so they are not forced to rely so heavily on local property taxes. Using surplus revenue this way would immediately ease pressure on homeowners while keeping communities stable.
At the same time, Texas needs a more balanced approach to who funds our shared priorities. Major energy and tech companies benefit from Texas’ workforce, infrastructure, and public investments. While they do contribute in absolute dollars, everyday Texans provide the most consistent funding through sales and property taxes year after year. If companies want the benefits of operating in Texas, they should be part of a tax structure that is fair, stable, and reliable, so families are not left holding the bag when markets shift. Real tax relief means balance, responsibility, and honesty about who is carrying the load.
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