Gina Hinojosa, candidate for Texas governor
Name: Gina Hinojosa
Age: 52
Party: Democratic
Occupation: Texas state representative
Relevant Experience
I began my career as an advocate for families and workers as a civil rights and union lawyer and represented working Texans fighting to make sure they were treated fairly, got the wages and benefits they earned, and helped them support their families.
I never planned on running for office. But when my son’s elementary school was threatened for closure by state budget cuts, I rallied other parents, ran for Austin ISD School Board—and won. I kept my son’s school open, along with every other public school in the district and was appointed Board President in 2015. Then, in 2016, I ran for the Texas State House and won.
In the Legislature, I fought for Texas public schools, workers’ rights, and lower property taxes. In 2019, I helped win an investment of more than $11 billion in Texas public schools and fought tooth and nail to try to defeat Greg Abbott’s school voucher scam. I also passed the most significant corporate reform bill in over a decade and advocated for public safety, limiting private equity owning residential housing, and bills that protected workers in the legislature.
Personal
I am a native Texan, born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley. A proud product of Brownsville public schools, I graduated from the University of Texas and received my law degree from George Washington University. My family has strong Texas roots and my husband and I are proud to raise our two boys here in this great state: Matteo and Pablo.
What is your position on data centers?
I’ve called on Greg Abbott to issue an executive order putting a moratorium on data centers until the legislature can meet to put in place real laws and protections, and ensure Texans can have a seat at the table to decide if and how data centers come into their communities.
As governor, I will also require data center operators to hire skilled, licensed, union Texas workers, stop data center companies from using NDAs to hide water and electricity usage, and require data center operators to prove Texas households won’t pay more for electricity or water because a data center moved in next door..
What are you doing to create more jobs in Far West Texas?
The talent, skilled labor, innovation, and work ethic found in Texas is unmatched and we need to stop focusing on bribing companies to set up shop in Texas and focus on investing in the people that make Texas great. I’ll help create jobs by supporting apprenticeship programs that guarantee a job and a wage you can raise a family on and ensuring state investment in the small businesses that keep Far West Texas running.
As governor, I’ll make sure local economic development authorities have real power to create good-paying, long-term jobs for Texans that are right for your community, not temporary or unskilled jobs filled by foreign workers. I will encourage meaningful investment in Texas communities, not just allowing corporations to profit off the backs of working Texans with nothing to show for it.
What’s your next solution for funding schools?
It’s time for a back-to-basics approach with a great teacher in the classroom. As governor, I’ll wipe clean corrupt vendor contracts and pay teachers to be amongst the highest in the nation. I will fire Mike Morath and replace him with an educator, end the voucher scam and rigged STAAR test, and replace the A-F accountability system with laws that create real accountability for our schools. I’ll return school districts that have been taken over back to their communities, and to fund our schools and increase teacher pay, I’ll audit and wipe clean all of the corrupt vendor contracts that profit from our public schools without accountability.
Do you think the school voucher program should grow?
No. As governor, I will end the voucher scam and make sure Texans’ taxpayer dollars go where they belong: into the neighborhood schools families depend on.
Greg Abbott’s voucher scam was never about helping kids. It’s a payout for the privileged. After accepting more than $12 million in donations from out-of-state billionaire Jeff Yass, Abbott funneled $1 billion into the voucher program, redirecting money away from 5.5 million public school students to instead serve his rich donors. Today, 70% of voucher applications are from families who weren’t even attending public school - it’s another scheme to funnel taxpayer dollars to the privileged and private entities that aren’t accountable to uphold Texas standards.
What makes you the best candidate?
Texans deserve a Governor that fights for them. I’ve spent my career fighting - as a civil rights attorney fighting for Texas families, on the school board, and in the Texas House of Representatives. Greg Abbott has spent his career enriching billionaires and corporations.
Greg Abbott has had 12 years in office and nothing to show for it. Texans are working harder and getting less. Schools are closing, over 150 schools are on a 4-day week, property taxes are up 85%, and electricity bills have gone up by $40 per month on average. Texas is home to the most uninsured people and uninsured children, the most energy disconnects, and the most bankruptcies.
There is a clear difference between me and Greg Abbott. The people of Texas are ready for a Governor that will fight to make sure that the American Dream is within reach for hardworking Texans. I will be that Governor. My plan is as simple as my promise - save public schools, put money in Texans' pockets, and end the data center madness.
