I was born and raised in Laredo and moved to San Marcos in 2008 for college. I earned a B.S. in Applied Sociology and an M.A. in Sociology at Texas State, where I learned to think critically, work with data, and question the assumptions. I began as a graduate research assistant, managed peer review for a scholarly journal, and then joined the full-time staff managing the Center for Diversity and Gender Studies. Later, as a Research and Evaluation Specialist at the Texas School Safety Center, I designed surveys and interviews, analyzed findings, and translated research into reports.

At Mano Amiga, I’ve built relationships and brought neighbors together to speak for themselves and shape decisions that affect them. My work has included complete count census outreach, pandemic direct aid, fundraising, grant writing, and strengthening our operations so directly impacted people can lead the work and staff can earn a livable wage with benefits. As Director of Public Health and Safety, one of my current projects is building on our work with The New School’s national Budget Equity Project to bring residents and community partners into Hays County budget decisions earlier and more meaningfully.

I’ve represented Place 3 since 2020 and served as Mayor Pro Tem, Deputy Mayor Pro Tem, and chair of the Criminal Justice Reform Committee. I also represent San Marcos on the boards of the Hays Caldwell Economic Development Partnership and Community Action, Inc., and serve on the Core 4 Policy Group and Hays Mental Health Coordinating Committee.

Research taught me to scrutinize the numbers; organizing taught me to listen to the people behind them. Six years on council have taught me how City Hall works and how to bring people together to move decisions forward. I believe experience should make elected officials bolder about what local government can accomplish, not more comfortable with the status quo.

1st goal is to make the Office of Community Support and Resource Navigation address the conditions that drive harm and instability, not just hand people a list of phone numbers. I pushed for an Equity Program Coordinator in 2022 to identify who city programs were missing, opposed cutting its proposed funding in half, and kept pressing for this work in council visioning. Grisell Pérez-Carey was hired in 2023, and the city funded a larger office in 2025. Now I want the City leadership to build a feedback system into its work: document what brought residents in, what help they sought, where referrals or applications failed, and what barriers they faced. Then use that info to fix gaps and report publicly on results. Our first $200,000 participatory budgeting cycle is complete, but only six residents joined the proposal-development sessions and 117 valid ballots were cast. I want the next cycle designed with community members from the start, with stronger neighborhood outreach and a more meaningful role for residents in shaping proposals and deciding how funds are spent.

2nd goal is to keep strengthening our approach to criminal justice while strengthening emergency preparedness. I joined the Criminal Justice Reform Committee in ‘21, became chair in ‘23, and also serve on the Homelessness Committee. The new Safety Committee gives us a place to review police practices and other safety proposals alongside prevention, mental health, housing instability, and community support. I will push for evidence, alternatives, and the voices of people directly affected before policies or contracts reach a final council vote. Separately, COVID and the historic winter storm showed me how much work we need to do before the next crisis. I want the committee to review those lessons with residents and service providers, strengthen the Emergency Operations Plan, and create a public guide to what people can expect and where to get help during a flood, freeze, or other emergency.

3rd goal is to bring people into decisions early enough to change them. Throughout my time on council, I have pushed City Hall to explain its decisions, listen beyond the usual voices, & show what changed because people spoke up. I will continue pressing for plain-language notice, useful town halls, and outreach through trusted partners across neighborhoods before decisions are baked in. I also want to demystify boards and commissions, map appointments by geography, and recruit beyond the usual networks so Planning and Zoning and other bodies better reflect San Marcos. And I will keep defending the public's ability to speak. I have challenged restrictive or inconsistently applied committee and decorum rules since my 1st term and opposed cutting Citizen Comment from three minutes to one. Long meetings need thoughtful solutions and neighbors' voices are not the problem. Residents should be participants in government, not an audience for decisions already made.

Yes. Renters should be able to talk to their neighbors, form a tenant's association, and push for safe housing without risking retaliation from a landlord. I supported the Right to Organize ordinance we adopted in October 2025, and I’ll defend it. Councilmember Amanda Rodriguez introduced it after the San Marcos Civics Club brought the idea forward, and she deserves credit for moving it from a conversation to a city law.

I’ve worked on tenants’ rights since at least 2021, alongside then-Councilmember Maxfield Baker and community members who understood that renters needed more than a list of phone numbers. I pushed for better support as the city worked with Austin Tenants Council and later expanded legal services through Texas RioGrande Legal Aid. I still want to know whether renters hear about these services, trust them, and can actually get help. If a program isn’t reaching people, we should fix the gap, not assume the need has disappeared.

This ordinance shows what changes when we elect council members who take working people’s lives seriously. Years of talking about renters’ rights became a protection renters can use, and city staff are now working on a broader Tenants Bill of Rights. We need to give staff the direction and resources to make these protections mean something in practice. Also, legal help cannot pay overdue rent. I have repeatedly pushed for more rental and utility assistance because an eviction is often about money a family does not have, not a legal argument they failed to make. Tenants need the right to organize, help enforcing their rights, and a real chance to stay housed. I’ll keep fighting for all three.

Six years on Council have taught me that approving more housing does not automatically make San Marcos "affordable". We keep calling projects “affordable” that many people who live and work here still cannot afford. We need to be honest about that and not give ourselves gold stars when so many people still struggle to find a safe place to sleep.

We gotta start with the decisions Council controls. When a development asks for city support, I want to know who can afford the homes, how long they will stay affordable, and what the public gets in return. I also support making room for smaller homes and other options between an apt. and a large single-family house, especially where infrastructure already exists. Younger residents need a more realistic path to ownership, and renters need options that don’t require leaving town. That takes a Council willing to fight for those outcomes, not just hope a developer offers them.

We also need to help people stay in the homes they already have. I’ve pushed for home repair assistance so longtime homeowners aren’t forced out because they cannot afford a roof, plumbing repair, or other necessary work. And we need to check what our housing decisions actually deliver, then change course when the results don’t match the promises.

This is personal for me, too. After nine years in my rental, my landlord is selling, and I’m trying to figure out where I can afford to live next. Council members don’t have to share that experience to take it seriously, but they do have to get out of City Hall and listen to the working people living it. That is whose reality should shape our housing decisions.

Yes. Southside keeps people fed, sheltered, and housed across Hays County. This work is deeply personal to me. I’ve served on City Council’s Homelessness Committee and, at one point, the county homelessness committee. I’ve been a consistent voice pushing our governments to face what our neighbors actually need and fund the services that keep them safe and stable.

I supported the city’s major investment in Southside. I also insisted we take the size of that investment seriously. Southside was navigating a leadership transition while taking on a much bigger role, and I pushed for a framework that would set them up to deliver: staffing and training, coordinated intake, partnerships, reliable data, and clear measures of progress. My intent was not to nitpick. I wanted Southside to have what it needed to succeed, because our neighbors would be counting on it. I’ve been pleased with what they’ve accomplished with that investment.

But San Marcos should not carry a disproportionate share of funding services the entire county relies on. I’ve told county commissioners they need to step up, and I’ve had that conversation with leaders in other Hays County cities, too. I’ll keep pressing them to do their part and help sustain this work after one-time grants run out.

I’ve also fought for HOME Center, which serves neighbors across the county and, in my view, has too often been left out. When council tried to cut its funding without a fair process, I called it out and moved to give the community a chance to weigh in. I’ve supported more funding for HOME Center because the need is real and its work matters. Southside and HOME Center should not have to compete for scraps or have their funding depend on who has friends at City Hall. I want both better funded, with decisions grounded in community need, what each organization actually does, and where each needs support to grow.

The Vybe trail convo in Kyle was not a VIBE. I do not envy that council and their chaotic dynamic on the dais. I lost track of that convo because it was too much to keep up with.

As for San Marcos: Yes. I support making San Marcos safer and easier to navigate on foot, by bike, and without a car. I moved here in ‘08 with $100 and no car. I thought I could take the bus to class, get to work at the outlets, and make it work. I learned quickly that hard work cannot make up for a transportation system that was not built around people like me. And all these years later, I still cannot hop on a bus to the outlets.

We need to be honest about how much progress we have actually made. The real experts are the neighbors trying to get from point A to point B every day. They can tell us where a sidewalk disappears, a crossing feels dangerous, or a bike route drops them into traffic. People need continuous sidewalks, safe crossings, shade, accessible curb ramps, and bike routes that get them all the way to work, school, parks, and other places they need to go. If a parent with a stroller or a neighbor using a wheelchair cannot make the trip safely, the route is not finished.

We need to fix the most dangerous gaps and crossings, build safe and connected bike routes, and make those improvements part of street projects and new development.

This is about freedom to get where you need to go without owning a car, and safety for people who walk or bike because they want to or because they have no other choice (and that’s a lot of our neighbors!!!).

I will work toward a San Marcos where getting across town without a car is a real option, not a test of endurance. But to do so, I hope voters elect new council members who take that unfinished work seriously, rather than return former members who congratulate themselves on gradual improvement while basic gaps remain. No more gold stars for mid results.

Immigrants are our neighbors, coworkers, classmates, and family. Their safety is our community’s safety. I do not support ICE’s current conduct, and I would not support San Marcos police entering a 287(g) agreement. Due process and protection from unreasonable searches belong to everyone, regardless of immigration status. Defending those rights is the American thing to do.

SB 8 requires sheriffs who operate jails to seek a 287(g) agreement; it does not require city police to sign one. I appreciate that SMPD has made clear its job is local policing, not immigration enforcement. People need to be able to call for help without fearing they will lose a family member. I will keep pushing our city to protect that trust and be clear with residents about what our officers will and will not do.

I serve on council’s Legislative Committee and have followed SB 8 since it was moving through the Legislature. I’ve also been in conversation with Sheriff Hipolito. I appreciate his willingness to hear me speak candidly about what ICE’s presence is doing to our neighbors and why our deputies need to stay focused on local safety. I have not softened those concerns, and I’ll keep bringing him what I hear from organizers and residents. I support delaying any agreement as long as the law allows so the community can be heard. If an agreement becomes unavoidable, I’ll push for the narrowest option, the Warrant Service Officer model in the jail, with public scrutiny of its terms and impacts. Even that model carries risks for families.

This is personal for me; our immigration system has caused loss in my own family. Through my professional work, I’ve helped organize know-your-rights efforts and community responses to ICE activity.

I’ve spoken at Commissioners Court for stronger protections and stood with families and organizers. I’ll keep using every platform I have to defend our neighbors’ rights.

No. I voted for San Marcos’s original Flock contract years ago. As residents raised concerns and I learned more about how these systems collect, share, and connect our data, my position changed. I’m grateful for Councilwoman Amanda Rodriguez’s courageous leadership and collaboration as we pushed back on expanding the program. I publicly opposed adding more cameras and voted against the expansion. Council rejected it 5–2, and city leadership later gave notice that the existing contract would not be renewed.

I shared research with city and Hays County leaders and brought outside expertise into the conversation, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s perspective in discussions with the sheriff and commissioners.

As chair of the Criminal Justice Reform Committee, I questioned the city’s process for finding a Flock replacement. I was not part of the internal committee that reviewed vendor proposals and recommended Axon. When its recommendation came to us, I questioned the lack of outside and community perspectives, called for public input, and asked that independent voices, including a Texas State professor and an Electronic Frontier Foundation representative, be part of the discussion. A different logo does not fix the underlying problem: a surveillance network that records people’s movements and connects that information to a larger policing ecosystem.

I proposed that the question brought to Council should be whether San Marcos wants to pursue any Flock replacement before considering a recommendation to buy Axon. City leadership subsequently paused consideration of fixed ALPRs while monitoring potential state legislation. I will keep pushing for a public decision about the technology itself before any replacement is considered.

I have addressed this publicly in council and committee discussions. I oppose mass surveillance and unaccountable AI policing. Community safety should not require putting everyone under suspicion.

No. I voted to prohibit data centers in every zoning district in San Marcos, and I would not vote to reopen our zoning code to allow them. San Marcos has made a choice to protect the Springs, the headwaters of our river, and the aquifer that sustains them. Devoting our land, water, and energy capacity to data centers does not fit that commitment. The promised benefits did not justify the demands these projects would place on our community. Land use is a statement of priorities and TBH I’d rather use our limited land and utility capacity for the people who live here and the future we’re trying to build.

When Council Member Rodriguez 1st proposed a citywide prohibition, I voted for it, but it failed 3–4. Constituents and organizers kept showing up. Convos with them, area experts, and my colleagues helped us learn more and build support for another vote. I asked Council Member L. Gonzalez to bring the amendment back for reconsideration. Because he had voted with the prevailing side, he could make that motion. He did, I seconded it, and we passed the prohibition 4–3. The community made sure the first vote wasn’t the final word, and I’m proud I could help turn that work into a fourth vote.

I’ve addressed this publicly in council meetings and statements about the vote. Leaders in other cities have since called to ask how San Marcos got it done, and I’ve been happy to share what we learned. What happens beyond our city limits affects our water, our environment, and our neighbors, too. I support county leaders who are speaking up and asking the state for the authority to address these impacts in their own jurisdictions. I want development that brings good jobs and respects what makes San Marcos worth protecting.

The Springs and river are the heart of San Marcos, and protecting them has to shape how we grow. Thankfully, we have many experts in our area we can lean on! I would keep pushing the city to repair aging water infrastructure, reduce water loss, and make sure we understand the water demands of new development before approving it. We cannot ask residents to conserve while giving the biggest water users a pass.

I also want to build on the conservation work already underway. San Marcos has a rainwater harvesting rebate, and I would look at how to make programs like that easier for more people to use. We should collect rainwater at city facilities where it makes sense, expand the use of reclaimed water where it is safe and practical, and use drought-tolerant landscaping in public projects. Those choices save drinking water without putting the whole responsibility on individual households.

Protecting our water also means protecting the land around it. I would keep supporting river restoration, stronger protections against polluted runoff, and thoughtful growth that respects the aquifer and the San Marcos River. My vote to prohibit data centers citywide reflects that same priority: some projects demand too much of the land, water, and energy our community depends on. We need to bring that energy to every proposal.

Water doesn’t stop at city limits, so regional cooperation matters. Earlier this year, I supported providing Kyle with emergency water, but I also voted to postpone a separate sale of our Edwards Aquifer water rights until Kyle approved its drought and water contingency plan. Helping neighbors through an emergency makes sense. A longer water commitment deserves a clear conversation about conservation on both sides. That’s the approach I’d bring to future agreements: cooperate across the region, ask hard questions, and protect the water our communities share. Team work makes the dream work.

(NOTE: it was NOT adopted). Yes. I believe the Israeli government is committing genocide against Palestinians. I cannot look at the mass killing of civilians, forced displacement, starvation, and destruction of the conditions people need to survive and call it anything else.

In response to community requests, I wrote the 1st draft of San Marcos’s ceasefire resolution using one passed in Minneapolis as a starting point. Neighbors strengthened it with calls for an arms embargo, Palestinian sovereignty and the right of return, and protections for people speaking out. Council Member A. Rodriguez & I brought it to the agenda because our constituents asked us to.

The governor threatened our grants, while the Attorney General’s office held up review of roughly $67 million in financing for local infrastructure. Some said this was outside a city council’s lane. San Marcos residents pay federal taxes that fund weapons abroad while we fight for resources to meet basic needs at home. Then the state threatened local funding over our speech. These decisions reach San Marcos whether council talks about them or not.

I received death threats, accusations of antisemitism, and threats to unseat me, much of it from outside San Marcos. Our resolution condemned antisemitism, anti-Palestinian hate, and Islamophobia. Calling for Palestinian children to live is not antisemitism. BSFR.

My Christian faith teaches me that my neighbor’s suffering is my concern. Veterans helped raise me and taught me to value the freedoms they served to defend. Above all, constituents organized for more than a year to call for this resolution. They showed up and asked their elected officials to act. My responsibility was to carry that call into City Hall.

The resolution failed 5–2, with Councilwoman Rodriguez and me voting yes. Even knowing it could fail, I believed residents deserved a vote.