Donovon Rodriguez is the chief of staff for retiring state Rep. Ray Lopez (D-San Antonio). He’s running in a four-way Democratic primary to replace his boss.
Hear from the candidate
1. Please tell voters about yourself.
I am 34 years old and live in San Antonio’s Great Northwest neighborhood, where I am raising my two children and remain deeply rooted in the community I hope to represent. I was raised by a single mother in public housing in South Texas, in a family shaped by public service and organized labor.
Those experiences are not abstract to me; they continue to shape how I understand housing stability, public education, and access to basic services. I began my public service career as a police and fire dispatcher, working directly with first responders and residents during emergencies.
I also worked in San Antonio’s City Council District 5 office on the West Side, gaining firsthand experience with neighborhood-level problem solving. For more than a decade, I have worked in the Texas Legislature, supporting Senator José Menéndez and serving as Chief of Staff to State Representative Ray Lopez, helping families access benefits, navigate state systems, and resolve issues that affect their daily lives. Along the way, I have taken on leadership roles with community organizations supporting education, veterans, and public service.
2. Briefly describe your top policy priorities.
My top policy priorities focus on affordability, strong public schools, and real access to healthcare.
First, I am focused on rising household costs that are squeezing working families. From home and auto insurance to utilities and housing, families are paying more with little warning and few protections. I support capping annual home and auto insurance premium increases at a reasonable level, such as 6%, so families are not hit with surprise costs. Any increase above that should require insurance companies to justify it through a public process before it takes effect.
Second, I will strengthen public education by fixing how schools are funded. Moving from an attendance-based system to an enrollment-based model would give districts predictable budgets, reduce pressure on local property taxes, and help schools keep staff and programs stable for students.
Third, I believe access to quality, affordable healthcare should be a basic expectation, not a privilege tied to employment. When hospitals and community clinics are fully funded, people can get care earlier, closer to home, and before a health issue becomes a crisis. Increasing the state’s investment in Medicaid would expand access while freeing up local dollars for other community priorities.
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 has the resources to make its cities stronger, but too often the problem is not capacity, it is priorities. With a state budget well over $300 billion, the Legislature should be asking whether we are investing in the things that actually make daily life better for Texans.
To make cities better places to live, the state should focus on fully funding core needs like infrastructure, public safety, public education, housing stability, and healthcare, instead of shifting costs down to cities and school districts. When the state underfunds these responsibilities, local governments are left with fewer options and families end up paying more through property taxes and fees.
I do not support unfunded mandates on cities or school districts. If the Legislature requires local governments to carry out a policy, the funding should come with it. Otherwise, it is not a solution, it is a cost shift.
State officials can work better with local leaders by involving them early, listening to how policies will work on the ground, and maintaining open communication after laws pass. Strong cities are built when the state treats local governments as partners and backs policy with real resources.
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?
I oppose Education Savings Accounts and any effort to divert public dollars away from public schools. Public education is a public responsibility, and taxpayer dollars should be used to strengthen the system that serves the vast majority of Texas students.
That said, if the state is going to move forward with Education Savings Accounts, then any program receiving public funds must be held to the same level of oversight and accountability as public schools. That means clear academic standards, financial transparency, protections against fraud, and public reporting so taxpayers can see where their money goes and whether students are benefiting. Public schools operate under rigorous requirements, and private entities receiving public dollars should be held to at least the same standard.
Ensuring every student receives a quality education also means investing earlier. I support creating a statewide universal pre-K program modeled after Pre-K 4 SA, which has shown that early investment improves student outcomes while strengthening families and the workforce.
The path forward is clear: fully fund public education, hold all publicly funded programs accountable, and invest early so every child has a strong start.
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 are high in Texas largely because the state has chosen to fund essential services through local property taxes instead of state revenue. Public education is the clearest example. Texas schools are funded through a mix of state dollars and local property taxes. When the state does not fully fund its share, school districts are forced to raise more money locally just to meet basic operating costs, which directly increases property tax bills.
The most effective way to reduce that burden is for the state to fully fund public education. When the state carries more of the cost of educating students, school districts rely less on local property taxes, giving homeowners relief and allowing districts to plan with predictable, stable budgets instead of reacting year to year.
That same cost-shifting affects other parts of daily life. Counties shoulder growing expenses for healthcare, courts, and emergency services. Public hospitals and community clinics depend heavily on local funding when the state underinvests in Medicaid. Housing costs rise when property taxes increase on rental properties and are passed on to tenants. In each case, the state’s decisions show up on local tax bills and monthly rents.
With a state budget exceeding $300 billion, Texas has the capacity to invest more at the state level. Real property tax relief comes from the state taking responsibility for funding the services it requires, and from rejecting unfunded mandates that simply push costs onto local governments and families.
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