The Republican incumbent has held on to TX12 for 24 years. It’s time for a change.
Trey Hunt is a Fort Worth resident and a lifelong Texan. Like many others running for office, Trey decided to run when it became clear that many Republican elected officials attempted to undermine democracy.
TX12’s incumbent was not one of the seditious Republicans who attempted to overturn the election. However, she later said in an interview that it was only because she was absent that day, and if she had been there, Texas would have had 17 traitorous Congresspeople instead of 16.
One thing that TX12 has been lacking is transparency. The incumbent consistently racks up big stacks of change and votes with the far-right crowd 90% of the time. From the beginning of our conversation, Trey made it clear that transparency was essential to him.
We didn’t speak about the incumbent any further during our conversation. Although I have known Trey since he decided to run (which he announced on Living Blue in Texas last November), I wanted everyone else to get to know him as well.
[mepr-hide] https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); [/mepr-hide]Transportation.
One of Trey Hunt’s top priorities is public transportation. He wants to get some of the federal funding that we spend on military contractors and focus it back into the communities, and public transportation is one of the ways to do this.
He has a great point.
The United States spends $725 billion on our military each year; roughly $404 billion per year goes to military contracts. So of that, money is blown on waste, greed, and fraud. One report uncovered how the military budget included $4.6 million on crab and lobster.
However, there are plenty of economic benefits to public transportation, including:
- Every $1 invested in public transportation generates $5 in economic return.
- Every $1 billion invested in public transportation creates and supports 50,000 jobs.
Aside from that, public transportation is safer than cars and saves American people money.
Public transportation has long been a problem in DFW.
While Dallas has a fairly good public transportation system, the rest of the metroplex is falling behind. And if you live in one metroplex city and work in another, public transportation is nearly impossible.
[mepr-hide] https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); [/mepr-hide]Healthcare.
Currently, in Texas, 20% of our population is uninsured. So, I asked Trey, “what can we do about this?”
He said that unless we elect people to the State House who will care more about their constituents and less about their pockets, the Federal government will have to step in.
Truer words were never spoken.
Countless studies have shown that expanding Medicaid in Texas would fiscally benefit the Lone Star State, yet Republicans have refused to do it.
Why? Because the Insurance Industry spends about $150 million on Texas each campaign cycle. The benefactors of this money are the same people who are keeping 6 million Texans from having access to healthcare.
[mepr-hide] https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); [/mepr-hide]Because it’s a hot-button issue, I had to get Trey Hunt’s thoughts on voting rights.
Trey believes that passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Act is essential and enforcing the voting laws that are already in place.
Currently, it looks like the Senate has made a deal with voting rights legislation. Schumer said he’ll push for a vote next week. So, hopefully, by the time the 2022 elections are here, our voting rights will already be secure.
What about the environment?
“There are laws on the books that say this (pollution) is not okay. But, unfortunately, I think there has been an erosion of the courts over the last few years, which has allowed environmental racism to continue. Employers and manufacturers are not being challenged as they should be. As I said, there are laws on the books, but the courts are not working in our favor. We even feel that in different aspects, for example, abortion.” – Trey Hunt.
Separation of powers.
Depending on who you ask, whether it Republican or Democrat, you’ll get two different answers about government powers and overreach. Republicans might say the federal government is too overreaching in the State of Texas. In contrast, Democrats might say the federal government isn’t doing enough to protect our constitutional rights, which are currently being stripped away by the state legislature. Where is the balance?
Trey said that because he believes in full transparency, he thinks when someone does something wrong, they should own up to it. Therefore, there is no reason to keep the federal government out of your affairs, unless you know you’re doing something wrong. (If there is nothing to hide, then why are you hiding it?)
“Yes, we are Texans, but we’re also Americans.” – Trey Hunt.
What about women’s rights?
“The Supreme Court of the United States needs to take a hard stance on the draconian abortion law in Texas. We will not accept a workaround because we know what the intent is, and it’s wrong. It’s morally egregious. I haven’t seen any other proactive ways that they (Republicans) have tried to detour abortions.” – Trey Hunt.
The abortion issue has been discussed and studied since Roe v. Wade became law in the 1970s. Supporting pro-choice policies, like free and easy access to birth control, drastically reduces the abortion rate. However, over the years that we have been studying the abortion issue, we know that banning the procedure doesn’t reduce abortion rates; it just makes it more dangerous.
Cannabis?
Trey Hunt is in favor of legalizing and taxing cannabis. It would bring in much-needed revenue for schools, roads, public transportation, and healthcare.
We spoke a lot about programs that would help the people, especially those on the lower economic end of the scale. So, I had to ask Trey, the Republican’s favorite question: How do we pay for these programs?
Trey said there are two ways—one, legalizing cannabis. Countless studies have shown that when Texas legalizes cannabis, it will bring in billions of dollars of revenue. Two, tax the rich. By now, we all know that the wealthy use loopholes and other tax-dodging methods to avoid paying taxes. One study recently released determined that the wealthiest 1% avoided paying $163 billion in taxes per year.
How does America stop the partisan divide currently plaguing our nation?
“We need to step up and say that we are not going to accept lies. We’re not going to accept any fallacies. And we’re not going to take news networks that aren’t promoting true news. We need to fact-check, and we need to have consequences. We shouldn’t accept it when people try to weaponize politics for their benefit.
“This may be controversial, but I come from a Conservative household. So, I am very Liberal compared to them. But I think they’re hurt. The far-right is hurt because they were promised these things under Reagan, under Nixon, that their children would have the opportunities to buy a house and get an education. But, those things continuously don’t show up. It’s complex, but I think that’s where a lot of the pain comes from, and they don’t know how to direct that pain, except to the person they see immediately. But, unfortunately, a lot of times, that’s the person that’s trying to help.” – Trey Hunt.
Watch the full interview. Trey Hunt is a strong candidate for TX12.
Where can you find Trey Hunt online?
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