State Rep. Christina Morales joined the 2019 Texas Legislature in mid-session after winning a spring special election to replace Carol Alvarado, who had moved to the Texas Senate. She dove right in, joining the bipartisan coalition that successfully pushed the landmark school finance legislation to boost teacher pay and better fund schools. The following year, Morales won 64 percent of the vote for a full term in largely Latino House District 145, which runs along the Interstate 45 corridor from just northwest of Park Place down to South Houston.
Among her other legislative accomplishments is a 2021 bill that automatically transfers manufacturer’s warranties on air conditioning systems to a home’s new owners. And she successfully steered a bill through the Republican-led House that allowed ethnic studies courses to count toward high school students’ graduation requirements. That measure died in the Senate. Morales, 54, says there is more that she wants to accomplish.
“I want to continue to serve this district,” she told the editorial board. “I think I have a strong understanding of this district’s needs, from education to quality health care access to the environment and, believe it or not, stray dogs. And gun violence is out of control. We need to help children and parents feel safe in their schools.”
Morales’ roots in Second Ward are deep. Her grandparents opened a funeral home there that Morales runs today, having taken over at age 23 after the death of her grandmother and, eight years earlier, her parents. Her community engagement includes having led an annual donation drive for school supplies and hosting dental, eye and hair-care services for children. During the height of the pandemic, she co-hosted food drives for struggling families.
The campaign of Morales’ Republican opponent in the upcoming general election, longtime businessman Michael Mabry, is largely focused on tackling crime. Mabry, 67, also touts his 40 years of mechanical contracting experience. He says his extensive background in project management and in working with labor unions prepares him to legislate effectively, particularly on issues related to infrastructure. He said he would work to improve teacher pay, as well, and provide them with better retirement packages. He supports school choice.
In our conversations with both candidates, Mabry seemed to us more interested in airing his frustrations with the Democratic leadership in Houston and Harris County rather than communicating how he would work alongside a likely continued statewide Republican majority to address crime from a statewide vantage point. He did close with a comment we appreciated: “Democrats and Republicans do not have to hate each other.”
Morales took issue with blaming Democratic legislators for crime spikes in Texas when the GOP is the party in charge. “Anything Republicans want to pass will pass,” she said, “particularly permitless carry.” Morales called it “under-discussed” that permitless carry and a lack of background checks or red flag laws have contributed to violent crimes. She again cited education as part of the solution.
“We need to focus on education,” Morales told us. “That will also help us with our crime wave.”
In recommending Morales for re-election, the editorial board thinks she has a considerably better sense of what her district needs. Voters should let her continue to serve them in Austin.
The Editorial Board is made up of opinion journalists with wide-ranging expertise whose consensus opinions and endorsements represent the voice of the institution - defined as the board members, their editor and the publisher. The board is separate from the newsroom and other sections of the paper. Winner of 2022 Pulitzer Prize in editorial writing.
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