Candidates for the Fort Worth Texas House District 97 area in the November 8 ballot

Craig Goldman

Political party: Republican

Did not respond

Laurin McLaurin

Political party: Democrat

Age as of November 8, 2022: 73

Campaign website: http://leprechaunlord.com

Occupation: retired computer engineer

Education: University of Houston (BS), various training since

Have you ever been a candidate in an election? (Please list former offices searched)

Nope

Please list the highlights of your civic engagement:

Navy vet. (1971/77), HOA Board Member, Precinct Chairman

Who are the top three contributors to your campaign?

None. None. And none.

What is the most important distinction between you and your opponent(s)?

Conservative Republicans want to recreate the pass. I want to create the future.

What are the three biggest problems in this race?

(1) Leadership to accelerate the transition to clean energy, which will reduce the impact of human activity on global warming.

(2) Mitigation of the economic impact of the Russian war in Ukraine, which is driving up gasoline prices, food prices and inflation.

(3) Republicans are taking us back to the horrors of the early and mid-twentieth century, rather than implementing the paradigms of the early twenty-first century.

Should property taxes be lowered? What can the state do to reduce property taxes for Texans? Be specific.

California retirees moving to Texas have driven home prices to a level that fewer and fewer Texans can match. Texans with fairly flat incomes or small annual pay raises can’t keep up. We should cap the annual property tax increase at no more than the average annual salary increase for all Texans. This should prevent Texas from driving people out of their homes.

What should the state do to combat immigration at the Texas-Mexico border?

Stop wasting money on the failed border wall; the fortified fortresses have not been exploitable since the middle of the 15th century. Instead, start using this money to implement modern means of detecting people crossing the border.

Do you support changes to Texas gun laws? If so, what changes? Would you support increasing the age to purchase AK type rifles from 18 to 21?

The Second Amendment to the US Constitution begins with “A well-regulated militia…”. So, unlike Greg Abbott, the People’s Representative can pass laws to prevent the immature, the infirm, the offenders, and the mentally ill from dealing with guns. History has shown that gun regulations will keep the streets safer. Nothing sustains our police like having fewer guns on the streets and those guns in the hands of responsible gun owners and not the mentally ill and criminals.

How should Texas continue its efforts to make schools safer?

I believe that the problems in schools are societal. When we see firearms banned on TV, we naturally think that firearms are a solution to their ills. We’ve pretty much banned cigarettes from TV, we can do the same for guns. We only see guns in public when we see police. Yet you can see people banning guns on TV almost every night. Television should reflect the norm of society and not be biased by violence for profit.

Should Texas change its abortion law to make exceptions for rape and/or incest? At what point in pregnancy should abortion be prohibited, if at all?

The argument about abortion is not to have an abortion; it is about access to a legal abortion. Illegal abortions kill women. Women who determine they need an abortion should have access to safe and legal abortion. Roe v. Wade establishes the rights of the woman against the rights of the fetus. I support women having the right to a first trimester abortion, without restrictions. Second trimester abortions should only be possible with the consent and advice of the woman’s doctor. Third-trimester abortions should only be possible to save the life of the mother and only with a state-appointed physician who agrees with the woman’s physician that it is necessary. I will work to get this passed as a Texas constitutional amendment.

What can the state do to help students who are falling behind in grades in subjects such as math and reading? What specific policies do you support to improve outcomes in Texas schools?

Until the fourth grade, we teach children to read. After that, they read to learn. It is therefore imperative that children learn to read. Mathematical literacy is necessary for people to function in our society. Children should have access to tutors and video conferencing that they can access at their own pace. We need to rethink middle and high schools in terms of what courses are taught and how those courses are delivered. We need to move some classes to video conferencing, with teachers being proctors and tutors and not the lecturer.

Should there be a statewide ban or limitation on gender-affirming health treatments for transgender Texans under 18? What medical acts or treatments and why? How should such a ban/limit be enforced?

I believe most people determine their gender identity in their early to mid-teens, so delaying gender-affirming health treatments until age 18 means these kids have to spend three or more years needing medical care but unable to access it. It seems very cruel to me.

Do you support Medicaid expansion? What changes would you like to see in the healthcare system to make care more affordable and accessible?

The Medicaid expansion would provide health insurance to an additional 1.7 million Texans. Shortly after moving to Texas in August 1977, I started to feel bad, so I went to see a doctor. He walked into the exam room reading my newly created chart and said, without looking up, that I had allergies and that he would write me a prescription shortly. He kept reading something in my file, so I asked him what he was reading. He replied that I had given the money intended for him to an insurance company and that he was reading my insurance policy to see what to do to get his money out of the insurance company. insurance. Americans spend sixteen percent of their GDP on health care and insurance companies. Countries with a single-payer system only pay for health care and therefore spend only 8% of their GDP on health care. I strongly support a single payer system.

Texas is expected to have a huge budget surplus in the next legislative session. How should those dollars be spent and what priorities should be addressed with those dollars?

High-speed trains, rooftop solar panels, and everything else that brings our energy and transportation sectors into the 21st century.

Should Texas relax its marijuana laws? Would you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational and/or medical use?

People have been making money with marijuana for years. The legalization of marijuana for recreational and medical use will change who gets that money from drug dealers in the tax department. It will give money to enforce drug laws against other more deadly drugs.

Should Texas legalize casino gambling? Should the state legalize sports betting? If so, what should be the framework and parameters?

I am opposed to casino games and sports betting on moral grounds; he mainly takes money from the poor and passes it on to the rich.

Has the state done enough to fix the power grid? What needs to be done in the future to ensure its proper functioning, especially in times of extreme weather conditions?

A governor who signs a handful of papers doesn’t turn a bolt in a power line or spin a bolt. So, nothing has improved with the power grid since the February 2021 blackout. To solve a problem, you must first acknowledge that it exists, then determine the nature of the problem and implement a solution. There are two problems with the grid; isolation from the two other American networks and from ERCOT. I know someone who works for AEP, a large utility company with customers in East Texas. He explained that in 2021, about half of the wind turbines in West Texas were offline because their transmission fluid had not been changed from summer weight to winter weight. It cost money to change this fluid and ERCOT had a preference for coal and gas generators over wind. Winter generally requires less electricity than summer. If the Texas grid were connected to national grids, wind turbine owners could sell their wind power north in the winter.