By ZEN T.C. ZHENG
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
There is a state-level primary that may catch your attention more than others because it involves two people well-known in the community.
Missouri City-area attorney Ron Reynolds, who heads the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, is running for the second time to oust fellow Rosenberg Democrat Dora Olivo for the state House District 27 seat that she has held since 1996.
Dora Olivo
OlivoOlivo describes herself as an advocate for “real public education reform,” the rights of mentally challenged people, an HIV/AIDS coalition in the county, as well as a safe environment and neighborhoods.
She said she was involved in the formation of an organization bringing educators and business, civic and religious leaders to work under the Fort Bend P-16 Regional Council to address challenges facing school systems.
During the 81st legislative session, she said, she joined the efforts that resulted in the use of multiple criteria to determine grade promotion in House Bill 3, under which third-graders will no longer be solely evaluated on a single, standardized test.
She also credited herself for the passage of House Bill 171, which requires school districts to consider mitigating factors when making disciplinary decisions.
She said she successfully pushed for the state to require that group homes for the mentally challenged be monitored just as state schools have been.
Ron Reynolds
ReynoldsReynolds described himself as a community activist not only leading the area chapter of NAACP but also an advocate for “education, health care and economic empowerment.”
He wants to pursue a “progressive agenda” in Austin that includes expanded health care coverage for all Texans, increased spending on education, making tuition more affordable and college more accessible to under-served and at-risk populations, as well as creating more jobs in the county.
If elected, he said he would be the first black state representative in the county’s history. He pledges to be “accessible, accountable and effective” in Austin.