State Rep. Celia Israel, D-Austin[/caption]
One thousand days after announcing her campaign to fill a vacated Texas House seat, Rep. Celia Israel, D-Austin, said Nov. 18 she is running for re-election.
Israel was first elected in a special runoff race Jan. 28, 2014, to fill the District 50 seat vacated by former Rep. Mark Strama, who left to head Google Fiber in Austin. Israel was re-elected a few months later in November 2014 for her first two-year term.
In the time she has served District 50, which encompasses parts of North Austin, Pflugerville, Manor, Elgin and Webberville in Travis County, Israel said she has been able to stay true to her progressive values.
“I saw a lot of success in the Legislature as a freshman, and I worked across party lines to get things done,” she said. “It was hard but rewarding.”
Israel upheld her promise to voters that the first bill she filed would be in support of online voter registration. Although she got 76 legislators to sign onto House Bill 76, it failed to pass out of the House Committee on Elections on which Israel sat. If re-elected, Israel said she plans to revisit online voter registration.
“Thirty-four percent of [registered Texas voters] voted last year,” she said. “Despite what candidate or party might have to bring [to an election], there are mechanical things the state of Texas can do. Online voter registration is one thing that can help with turnout.”
Israel filed HB 1140 in the 84th Texas Legislature for greater accountability and transparency regarding care of a pregnant inmate. Gov. Greg Abbott signed the bill, which became effective Sept. 1.
“She got overwhelming support for that in the Legislature,” campaign manager Justin Perez said. “Finding common ground in criminal justice reform was important to her.”
Another success cited by Israel was her effort to remove a clause from the state budget bill that would have hurt transgender children, Perez said.
Israel, who was the only Central Texas representative to sit on the House Committee on Transportation, also pushed for legislation to allow state employees to telecommute and to implement a permanent toll discount on SH 130 for semitrailer drivers.
The telecommuting bill passed both the House and Senate but failed to get the governor’s signature. The toll discount bill failed to pass out of the House, but a clause in the state budget bill permits the Texas Department of Transportation
to sell surplus land in fiscal years 2015-16 and 2016-17 to pay for the program.
If re-elected, Israel said she would like to revisit telecommuting for state employees and also serve on the transportation committee again as a Central Texas voice.
“Everybody thinks their traffic is worse than ours,” she said. “The challenge is really to find our common ground and what can we work on together.”
For more information about Israel’s campaign, visit
www.celiafortexas.com/84th/.
State Rep. Celia Israel, D-Austin[/caption]
One thousand days after announcing her campaign to fill a vacated Texas House seat, Rep. Celia Israel, D-Austin, said Nov. 18 she is running for re-election.
Israel was first elected in a special runoff race Jan. 28, 2014, to fill the District 50 seat vacated by former Rep. Mark Strama, who left to head Google Fiber in Austin. Israel was re-elected a few months later in November 2014 for her first two-year term.
In the time she has served District 50, which encompasses parts of North Austin, Pflugerville, Manor, Elgin and Webberville in Travis County, Israel said she has been able to stay true to her progressive values.
“I saw a lot of success in the Legislature as a freshman, and I worked across party lines to get things done,” she said. “It was hard but rewarding.”
Israel upheld her promise to voters that the first bill she filed would be in support of online voter registration. Although she got 76 legislators to sign onto House Bill 76, it failed to pass out of the House Committee on Elections on which Israel sat. If re-elected, Israel said she plans to revisit online voter registration.
“Thirty-four percent of [registered Texas voters] voted last year,” she said. “Despite what candidate or party might have to bring [to an election], there are mechanical things the state of Texas can do. Online voter registration is one thing that can help with turnout.”
Israel filed HB 1140 in the 84th Texas Legislature for greater accountability and transparency regarding care of a pregnant inmate. Gov. Greg Abbott signed the bill, which became effective Sept. 1.
“She got overwhelming support for that in the Legislature,” campaign manager Justin Perez said. “Finding common ground in criminal justice reform was important to her.”
Another success cited by Israel was her effort to remove a clause from the state budget bill that would have hurt transgender children, Perez said.
Israel, who was the only Central Texas representative to sit on the House Committee on Transportation, also pushed for legislation to allow state employees to telecommute and to implement a permanent toll discount on SH 130 for semitrailer drivers.
The telecommuting bill passed both the House and Senate but failed to get the governor’s signature. The toll discount bill failed to pass out of the House, but a clause in the state budget bill permits the Texas Department of Transportation to sell surplus land in fiscal years 2015-16 and 2016-17 to pay for the program.
If re-elected, Israel said she would like to revisit telecommuting for state employees and also serve on the transportation committee again as a Central Texas voice.
“Everybody thinks their traffic is worse than ours,” she said. “The challenge is really to find our common ground and what can we work on together.”
For more information about Israel’s campaign, visit www.celiafortexas.com/84th/.
