I am requesting the Hays County Young Democrats endorsement because I think the views and ideas of the Young Dems highlight my current path. The Young Dems’ guiding light seems to be the one at the end of the tunnel. Willing to take big swings and move toward where we want to be in the future. I tend to take a practical and legal approach to ideas, but watching the Young Dems work for utopia allows me to take small steps in the right direction and help set the stage for those huge transitions. By having the endorsement of the Hays County Young Dems, we can inspire the community to listen and work together. Many times, the older generations disregard new and innovative ideas and pie in the sky dreams but together we can show them that if dreamers and realist work together, we can move towards a better future.

I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Government with a minor in History and a certificate in European Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. I earned my Juris Doctorate from Baylor Law School. I am a 12-year military police veteran, having served with the United States Air Force, the Air National Guard, and the State of Texas. Throughout my military career, I led hundreds if not thousands of people in the United States and around the world.

I began my legal career as a prosecutor in the Williamson County District Attorney’s Office, Felony Division, during my three-year bar card period. Given my law enforcement background, I worked closely with my mentor on cases ranging from state jail felonies to first-degree felonies. I also helped establish the first DWI and Drug Court in the McLennan County Courts at Law.

I currently run my own practice, focusing on criminal defense and civil rights law. I have led people of diverse backgrounds and personalities, understand how to manage budgets effectively, and consistently maximize available resources. Having experienced the justice system from every perspective as a victim, prosecutor, defense attorney, and expert witness I bring the insight and experience necessary to do this job well.

I will rebuild trust between law enforcement and the community, address the mental health issues that are leading to criminal cases, and ensure that only cases with real evidence are filed. I can begin tackling all of these issues by fixing the intake division of the District Attorney’s Office. The intake division is the first set of legal eyes that sees a case, and it has the expertise to advance each of these goals. If law enforcement is doing a great job in its interactions with the community, we should be highlighting that to show the high number of outstanding officers we have in this county. If interactions with the community are illegal, hostile, or leading to distrust in law enforcement, they must be addressed immediately through the chain of command. The intake division can also identify cases involving community members with mental health issues and begin addressing those needs right away to avoid delays in the case. Outside of the office, I plan to work with other community leaders to create proactive programs that help residents with mental health challenges before an interaction with law enforcement ever occurs. Lastly, we must seek justice, not quotas or convictions. If a case is lacking evidence, we can work with the agency to try to gather it immediately. If sufficient evidence does not exist, it is not justice to place guilt on someone without proof. This process can also be used to help train officers on what is required to ensure that the right defendant is found guilty with sufficient evidence. By doing this, we will save resources and put procedures in place to lower the risk of wrongful convictions.

DNA. by Kendrick because it speaks to the idea that what we’re born with or who we’re born to doesn’t define who we become. We all carry war and peace within us, and we each have the power to succeed or fail with our God-given gifts. What matters is how we choose to use them. “I was born like this… I transform like this.” We all have good and bad in us, but some of us learn to control ourselves and make something out of nothing. “Shit I’ve been through prolly offend you…” When people haven’t been exposed to the same level of struggle, they question your abilities and qualifications. It’s because they can’t imagine doing what you’ve already done. “Excellence means the extra work… salute the truth… I got loyalty, got royalty inside my DNA.” Put in the work. Ignore the haters. Embrace the truth. Never forget: I am untouchable.

NO, actually hell no. I do not support the current state of ICE in the United States. When the 50-plus people were kidnapped, I went to a meeting in Dripping Springs and shared the stories of my clients who have also been affected by these racist policies, not only enforced by the sheriff’s office but by the District Attorney as well. I have been defending undocumented clients against these policies in the criminal courts of Hays County for years. I have also been very outspoken in public about how I believe that ICE is violating the Constitution and making our communities unsafe. I just spoke at the Kyle City Council meeting to try and shine a pragmatic and nuanced thought on the subject. I think I hit the mark because I didn’t get booed by the racist ICE supporters like the rest of the speakers.

No, I do not support these technologies in Hays County. First, there are the privacy concerns, but even if those could be addressed, I still wouldn’t support these ideas not because the technology itself is bad, but because it requires us to give up a level of control and freedom that I am not comfortable with. People will always be the reason that things that could be neutral and helpful get ruined. No person should have this much power. If those in control of these technologies want to have profiles on all of us, monitor everything we do, and use our police force as personal henchmen, they could. We have already seen abuses of these powers by offices stalking people and harming citizens. We know that these technologies are being used to profile people and track down undocumented residents. The worst part is that once our leaders allow outside people to use our information gathered by these technologies, we will be unable to hold anyone accountable. They remove the ability to hold anyone accountable because our local leaders can simply say, “That is above my pay grade” or “outside my control.”

I do not support AI data centers or similar projects in our area. I believe they are being rushed in under the guise of bringing jobs, without looking closely at the future effects they will have on the environment. Hays County already has significant issues with water preservation and conservation, and these AI data centers are going to compound those problems. With a data center currently being proposed in San Marcos and another coming to Uhland, I have been actively educating myself on the short- and long-term impacts of AI data centers so I can advocate against them. Beyond water use, these projects also place a major strain on our local power grid and infrastructure, while providing relatively few permanent jobs in return. Our community should not be asked to sacrifice its natural resources and long-term sustainability for short-term corporate gains that mostly benefit outside interests.

Yes, I do believe what started out under the guise of responding to an attack has turned into a genocide. While I understand there is not much local government can do to sway the leaders of foreign countries, I think it’s important for our leaders to be on the right side of history and not be afraid to share their opinions. The resolution is the City of San Marcos’s way of showing support for a ceasefire and telling the rest of the world that they value peace over political posturing.