Julie Oliver
Julie Oliver (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Texas' 25th Congressional District. She lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.
Elections
2020
See also: Texas' 25th Congressional District election, 2020
Texas' 25th Congressional District election, 2020 (March 3 Democratic primary)
Texas' 25th Congressional District election, 2020 (March 3 Republican primary)
General election
General election for U.S. House Texas District 25
Incumbent Roger Williams defeated Julie Oliver and Bill Kelsey in the general election for U.S. House Texas District 25 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Roger Williams (R) | 55.9 | 220,088 | |
| Julie Oliver (D) | 42.1 | 165,697 | ||
| Bill Kelsey (L) | 2.0 | 7,738 | ||
| Total votes: 393,523 | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 25
Julie Oliver defeated Heidi Sloan in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 25 on March 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Julie Oliver | 69.6 | 56,151 | |
| Heidi Sloan | 30.4 | 24,512 | ||
| Total votes: 80,663 | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 25
Incumbent Roger Williams defeated Keith Neuendorff in the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 25 on March 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Roger Williams | 87.6 | 63,146 | |
| Keith Neuendorff | 12.4 | 8,965 | ||
| Total votes: 72,111 | ||||
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Libertarian convention
Libertarian convention for U.S. House Texas District 25
Bill Kelsey advanced from the Libertarian convention for U.S. House Texas District 25 on March 21, 2020.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | Bill Kelsey (L) | |
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2018
General election
General election for U.S. House Texas District 25
Incumbent Roger Williams defeated Julie Oliver and Desarae Lindsey in the general election for U.S. House Texas District 25 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Roger Williams (R) | 53.5 | 163,023 | |
| Julie Oliver (D) | 44.8 | 136,385 | ||
| Desarae Lindsey (L) | 1.7 | 5,145 | ||
| Total votes: 304,553 | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Martin Luecke (Independent)
Democratic primary runoff election
Democratic primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 25
Julie Oliver defeated Christopher Michael Perri in the Democratic primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 25 on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Julie Oliver | 52.2 | 12,005 | |
| Christopher Michael Perri | 47.8 | 10,984 | ||
| Total votes: 22,989 | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 25
Christopher Michael Perri and Julie Oliver advanced to a runoff. They defeated Kathi Thomas, West Hansen, and Chetan Panda in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 25 on March 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Christopher Michael Perri | 32.8 | 13,896 | |
| ✔ | Julie Oliver | 26.5 | 11,220 | |
| Kathi Thomas | 21.2 | 8,976 | ||
| West Hansen | 10.6 | 4,479 | ||
| Chetan Panda | 9.0 | 3,835 | ||
| Total votes: 42,406 | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 25
Incumbent Roger Williams advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 25 on March 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Roger Williams | 100.0 | 51,122 | |
| Total votes: 51,122 | ||||
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Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Julie Oliver did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign website
Oliver’s campaign website stated the following:
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Universal Health Care Medicare for All. You can count on Julie to fight for a healthcare system that works for all Americans more than any other candidate, because she doesn’t accept money from Pharmaceutical lobbyists, private insurance companies, or special interests. In fact, Julie doesn't take a single dime from any PAC. We know that a single-payer system will save lives, and we know that it is logical and responsible -- much more than our current system, under which millions of our fellow human beings are unable to get the care they need, and which still costs the most, and produces the worst outcomes. Yet while insurance premiums, co-pays, and deductibles (and with them, the amount of people unable to see a doctor or afford their prescriptions) continue to increase, and while medical GoFundMe’s become the norm, those in power have stymied any efforts at achieving universal healthcare. Medicare for All takes the massively popular, wildly successful health care plan that LBJ, Democrat of Texas, signed into law in 1965, and expands it for all Americans. It means that more of our fellow human beings can be well and get the care they need -- and it will have a transformative effect on the American economy. By allowing every American to seek preventive care, we avoid unnecessary and preventable hospital visits. Guaranteed universal healthcare reduces the administrative fees that all of us subsidize in the massively wasteful corporate healthcare business in America. And we alleviate the strain on Texas' rural hospitals -- meaning they no longer have to seek reimbursements, deal with denials, uncompensated care, or fight with bloated claims departments dealing with 10 different payers. Universal healthcare means an increase in productivity across the American workforce because when people are well, they can live and work to their full potential. And Medicare for All is the logical step for entrepreneurs -- bringing the freedom that comes with separating insurance from employment. When providing insurance is no longer a barrier to starting your own business, it no longer keeps you from chasing your version of the American dream. Ultimately, and most importantly, ensuring that every one of our fellow human beings is able to seek the care they need is the moral choice we face as a country. Millions are uninsured or under-insured. One in four Americans skip medical treatment due to the cost of care. One in five Americans can’t afford the medicine they need. And the United States still spends twice as much per capita on health care than any other country. Medicare for All is a moral and economic necessity. In Congress, Julie will:
Julie’s Record:
A Green New Deal Climate change is an urgent crisis that demands immediate, bold action. Texas’ environment produces sufficient wind and solar power, which means our state is uniquely positioned to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. We need to end subsidies and handouts to the fossil fuel industry, transition the U.S. economy to 100% carbon-neutral electricity by 2030 and 100% renewable electricity by 2035, eliminate emissions from all new light- and medium-duty vehicles, and make all new buildings zerocarbon. In order to meet these targets in an inclusive manner, Julie believes that we need to develop a clean energy workforce, hold polluters liable, and support frontline communities. That's why Julie believes that we need to fight for a Green New Deal. It ensures a just transition to good-paying jobs for those working in the fossil fuel industry, while ensuring that front-line, indigenous communities and communities of color have the chance to build opportunity and to rebuild after being left behind by the fossil fuel economy. And by massively stimulating the American economy, a Green New Deal will raise wages and drive innovation while saving the planet. Right now, the entire global economy is built to support corporations who are deeply incentivized to continue perpetrating catastrophic climate change. To address the many problems we face as a result -- environmental and economic -- a Green New Deal calls for a holistic combination of solutions at every level. But our current path is unsustainable and unjust. An economy that was already overtly skewed to favor those at the top is now teetering on the brink of a recession, while America's massive income inequality is worsening. Meanwhile, our lives and livelihoods rely upon clean air and water, healthy farms and ranches, and the ability to sustain the worst effects of climate change—such as catastrophic hurricanes like Harvey and Rita, the drought spreading across Texas, and sea-level rise around Galveston and the Gulf Coast. The existential crisis of climate change demands urgent, equity-oriented action, at scale. You can count on Julie to fight for a Green New Deal more than any other candidate, because you'll never have to worry about where her priorities lie. She has taken the No Fossil Fuels Money pledge, and she has sworn off all PAC money. Julie is fighting for people, not corporations and lobbyists. In Congress, Julie will support legislation that meet the goals of a Green New Deal to:
End Gun Violence in America Gun violence in America is a public health crisis. But Texas Republicans in Congress--obsessively focused on re-election, and susceptible to pressure from the gun lobby--have failed again and again to act on sensible gun safety reform. You can count on Julie to take meaningful action to address the national public health emergency of gun violence more than any other candidate, because she is not afraid to stand up to the gun lobby. In fact, Julie doesn't take a single dime from any PAC. We know that extensive background checks and Extreme Risk Protection Orders will make Texas safer, and that we can raise the standards of gun ownership in this country. And Julie believes that the gun lobby must be held accountable for decades of illegal behavior and misguided policies intended to protect themselves while our communities are devastated and families torn apart. This doesn't have to be our reality. There are concrete solutions to the public health crisis of gun violence in America. It is never too soon to call for them. The parents, students, survivors, and victims of Sandy Hook, Sutherland Springs, Las Vegas, Parkland, El Paso - and every victim of gun violence that is ravaging this country - deserve urgent action. In Congress, Julie will support legislation to:
Real Justice Reform Reform our Justice System Mass incarceration is a crisis facing this country. Texas has one of the largest prison populations in a country that imprisons more of our own people than any other country on the planet. As Michelle Alexander points out in The New Jim Crow, mass incarceration is the process by which people are swept into the criminal justice system, branded criminals and felons, locked up for longer periods of time than most other countries in the world who incarcerate people who have been convicted of crimes, and then released into a permanent second-class status in which they are stripped of basic civil and human rights, like the right to vote, the right to serve on juries, and the right to be free of legal discrimination in employment, housing, and access to public benefits. It tears at the fabric of our society. Our criminal justice system criminalizes poverty, and because of our state’s legacy of institutional racism, the burden falls heavily on the African American and Latinx community in Texas. African Americans are incarcerated at more than five times the rate of whites and face disproportionately tough sentencing in relation to whites. Many of those imprisoned are incarcerated as a direct result of America’s massively failed War on Drugs -- which is more accurately described as a war on people. And although people use drugs like marijuana at roughly the same rates across all races, black Americans are nearly four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than white Americans. Julie believes that we can be more effective at rehabilitation and we can improve safety in our communities at a much lower cost, while improving the opportunities for young people to achieve to their full potential, and that we need to end the U.S. government’s disastrous war on drugs, and encourage comprehensive reforms in drug control policies that have had a devastating effect on communities of color. Abolishing private and for-profit prisons in this country is a top priority for Julie. Not only are they profoundly immoral -- they cost taxpayers more, they perversely incentivize locking people up, and, because they are not subjected to oversight and accountability, they have been shown to have proven higher levels of violence. We know that mass incarceration is counterproductive, expensive and immoral. So our justice system needs ways for nonviolent offenders to be held accountable for their crimes outside of the prison system and to support programs that help rehabilitate them, and any solution to ending mass incarceration must include sentencing reform. We can improve access to mental health services in our society by ensuring that every American gets high quality health care through Medicare for All -- and we can improve mental health services within our prison systems to help diagnose and address those with existing mental health issues and decrease recidivism. We need real, transformative change. Ensure Police Accountability and Heal Our Communities Black Americans make up a disproportionate number of those who are killed by police, and this is a crisis that deserves a federal response. The widespread use of excessive force in American police forces, including the deadly shootings of unarmed civilians -- many in their own homes -- undermines the public’s ability to trust in the police, and, as a consequence, undermines our law enforcement’s ability to effectively serve the communities they have sworn to protect. Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Aiyana Jones, Eric Garner, Jason Pero, Stephon Clark, Sandra Bland, Botham Jean, Atatiana Jefferson -- all victims of excessive force. They should be alive today. And their stories are not unique. We must hold police officers accountable when they use excessive force by establishing national standards for police conduct local departments who are the recipients of federal funds. That means restricting the use of deadly force unless there is an imminent threat to the life of another person, and every other reasonable alternatives have been exhausted. It means that any local law enforcement entity must demonstrate accountability for all instances of biased policing, including rigorous internal reviews and any appropriate disciplinary actions that were taken, during the time period when federal funds are used. And it means that we need to require that those departments use de-escalation procedures whenever possible. Uphold the Constitution and Ensure Due Process The current system allows bail, but only for those who can afford it -- and as a result, millions of people are locked up simply because they are poor. We have to end money bail. Reforming the bail and criminal justice system will refocus public dollars on community safety and fair representation, and it will ensure that we no longer waste resources on incarcerating those who are not a public safety risk. And make no mistake: the goal of ending cash bail and bail reform is not a better system of mass criminalization that works more efficiently to enrich corporations whose business model relies on electronic surveillance and monitoring. The goal is the creation of safe, caring, thriving communities -- through investments in high quality mental health care, in great public schools, in job creation, and in addiction treatment in our least advantaged communities. In 1963, Gideon v. Wainwright ruled that state courts are required to provide counsel to criminal defendants unable to pay for an attorney -- but that does not guarantee a fair process for defendants who cannot afford a lawyer. Upholding the rights of the accused falls on public defenders who are overworked and who are incentivized to take on case loads that prevent them from adequately providing effective counsel to the accused. Justice requires balance. When public defenders can’t make a living wage, they cannot do the job that our Constitution requires. We need to ensure that public defenders have the resources they need to provide adequate counsel to their clients Real, transformative change Public safety means that our schools are fully funded, that we have safe, affordable housing, and that our focus on public safety in our communities centers mental health services, treatment for addiction, and health care. You can count on Julie to take meaningful action in Congress to fight to end mass incarceration and to reform our system more than any other candidate, because she believes that we need to end the corrupting influence that corporate private prison groups and lobbies like the GEO Group and Core Civic have on our government's policy. Nor can she be swayed by the predatory lending industry, the private bail industry, the private probation industry, or any industry that profits from incarceration and the fees associated with the cycle of debt associated with involvement in the criminal justice system. In fact, Julie does not take a single dime from any PAC. She is truly committed to putting people first. In Congress, Julie is committed to:
Growing Prosperity in Rural Texas Julie was born in South Oak Cliff but at age eleven her family moved to a little town called Ovilla. As the daughter of a public school teacher, she understands the challenges that working Texans in rural Texas face. For too long, country club politicians in DC have paid lip service to rural Texans and funnelled money to big corporations while our hospitals close, teachers lack adequate resources in schools, and infrastructure lags behind the rest of the country -- a problem that is only being exacerbated as automation takes more jobs. While these politicians say “America First,” they support agriculture policy that allows foreign corporations to buy out our local mid-sized producers -- allowing mergers and opposing policies like COOL that allow foreign meat producers to undercut Texas cattle ranchers. And for decades, this country’s agriculture system has grown increasingly concentrated in the hands of big corporate multinational agriculture monopolies. That makes our system unfair, unsustainable, and unstable for farmers, workers, and consumers. Texans have seen this play out in “get big or get off the farm” policies to corporate consolidation in seed, fertilizer, pesticide, farm machinery, meatpacking, and more. That has paved the way for giant agribusiness monopolies to hollow out rural communities while they make enormous profits. There are currently four corporations that control 88% of the beef industry, and there are three corporations controlling 66% of the pork industry -- that leaves Texas’ farmers with too little power to negotiate fair contracts, and as a result, they’re left with few options other than entering unfair contracts that allow corporations to dictate how they raise their livestock, set their prices, and bring their stock to market. That's why Julie believes that we need to break up Big Ag to level the playing field for Texas’ small and mid-sized farmers and ranchers. That means enforcing our antitrust laws so Texas farmers can work their own land and be competitive in today’s markets. Texas’ rural hospitals have been facing a crisis for many years. At least 18 hospitals in rural Texas have closed since 2013 and 80 Texas counties have 5 or fewer doctors. This is an urgent crisis that demands our immediate attention, especially in the midst of a global pandemic. Julie has 15 years of healthcare finance experience and a deep understanding of how we can get healthcare delivered to every single Texan. We need to increase funding to build more rural hospitals. And just as rural Texas communities are underserved by medical care, that problem is compounded by the lack of high-quality internet and choice in providers. As of 2016, only 69 percent of rural Texans could access high-speed internet. In our wired economy, with big companies automating our jobs, and an epidemic that has exposed the importance of telehealth and connected classrooms, Julie believes it is critical that every household in rural Texas be guaranteed high-speed broadband internet. More than 4 million Texans, mostly in rural areas, currently lack internet access. As technology has become tantamount to opportunity, Julie knows that we must work to bring broadband to rural Texas, so that every Texan can engage fully in our modern world. If Texas businesses are going to thrive, new jobs are to be created, and our economy is to remain competitive in the national and global economies, Congress must fund the investment in guaranteed high-quality broadband. It is essential for health care services, for our schools and education system, our economy, and the day-to-day needs of every Texan. On top of it all, the COVID-19 recession has affected every single household in America. Rural Texas is no exception. That’s why Julie is fighting to revitalize rural Texas’ economy, invest in rural communities, and create a stronger framework for a more prosperous and inclusive rural economy. You can count on Julie to fight for rural Texas more than any other candidate, because you'll never have to worry about where her priorities lie. She has sworn off all PAC money. Julie is fighting for people, not corporations and lobbyists. In Congress, Julie's commitments include:
A Pathway to Citizenship & True Immigration Reform We need to fundamentally reform our immigration system so that it reflects who we want to be -- a country where our fellow human beings are treated with dignity and respect, regardless of their immigration status. Texas knows better than perhaps any other state how much we benefit from the contributions immigrants make to our success, to our culture, and to our communities, every single day. We know that immigration is fundamentally good for us as a state, as a country, and as a society. And we recognize, as Texans, how urgent it is that we rewrite this country's immigration laws in a way that reflects our shared experience as the defining border state. And it is critical that we recognize how fundamental the consequences of slavery of kidnapped Africans and the systemic genocide and erasure of Indigenous people are to the story that we tell ourselves about our state and our identity. But the "othering" of immigrants as economic scapegoats has long been a shameful part of our country's history. Texas politicians have used racist dogwhistles to scapegoat immigrants, turn us against one another, and deflect from their own corruption for years. And -- as we saw in El Paso on August 3 -- that rhetoric has real consequences, putting our families and communities in grave danger. Under the Trump administration, we have reached a low-point. Children have died in our custody, and men and women -- making the impossible choice to flee their homes due to political violence or the effects of climate change, to make the treacherous journey to our doorstep, or simply seek opportunity are detained in overcrowded, dehumanizing conditions operated by corporations who profit by exacerbating the problem. We are at a moral crossroad -- with terroristic raids at workplaces, courthouses, hospitals, and schools, targeting families, separating infants from mothers, and indefinitely detaining those seeking legal asylum, including toddlers and children, in what facilities that can only be called modern day concentration camps. Julie believes that walls, further militarizing our border communities, and laws like SB4 which divert resources from local law enforcement make us less safe. It is time to re-establish our reputation as a country that welcomes the stranger and embraces our shared humanity. You can count on Julie to take meaningful action to fight for a fair immigration system more than any other candidate, because she believes that we need to end the corrupting influence that corporate private prisons like the GEO Group and Core Civic have on our government's policies of mass deportation. In fact, Julie doesn't take a single dime from any PAC. In Congress, Julie will support legislation to:
Strengthen Unions & Support Working Families Unions built the American middle class. To rebuild it, we need to strengthen unions and ensure that our workplaces are safe, healthy, and free from harassment. We know that unions raise wages and benefits -- even for those who don't belong to unions. But in Texas, and across the country, organized labor and collective bargaining rights have been severely restricted. And there is a connection between the decline in union membership over the past several decades, and the increasing wealth and grotesque income inequality that is making it harder to see a doctor, afford rent and bills, and for those of us who weren't born wealthy just to get by. We also know that corporate profits have never been higher, and while wages stagnate, the gap between the very rich and everyone else keeps growing. Since the Republican tax bill was rammed through Congress, American companies have already announced more than half a trillion dollars in stock buybacks -- but Americans' real wages arent increasing. And only 10 percent of the population owns nearly 80 percent of the value of the stock market -- half of Americans own no stock at all. That's why Julie supports the Accountable Capitalism Act. By ensuring that in any company with over $1 billion in tax receipts at least 40% of its board of directors would be selected by the company's employees, everyone would be able to share in the benefits of company growth -- not just rich shareholders. Julie is part of the movement to bring about the kind of change it will take to level the playing field, by supporting union membership, standing with unions, and to fight runaway income inequality. Julie believes that we should make it easier to join a union, not harder, that working people should be able to bargain for better wages and benefits for themselves and their families, and that in addition to better wages, every Texan is entitled to paid sick leave and childcare. As we rapidly accelerate to reduce carbon pollution and create jobs under a Green New Deal, by investing in infrastructure projects, wind and solar energy, and more efficient buildings and transportation systems, we'll be creating millions of new, good-paying, union jobs. You can count on Julie to fight to ensure that more power gets into the hands of employees and unions more than any other candidate, because she is not afraid to stand up to corporations and the billionaire class. Julie has always been a fighter, was endorsed by Senator Elizabeth Warren--one of the most pro-union fighters out there--in 2018, and she doesn't take a single dime from any PAC, so you'll never have to worry about her being in the pocket of any special interest. In Congress, Julie will support legislation to:
Restore Our Democracy & Get Big Money out of Congress Since the day Julie decided to put everything on the line and run for Congress, ending the public cancer of corruption in our political system has been a signature issue and, with universal healthcare, one of her absolute top priorities. Many candidates claim to run corporate-PAC-free campaigns -- but very few can claim, like Julie can, to run campaigns that have refused all PAC money and that are 100% funded by individual contributions. To Julie, it is the only way that she feels that she can ensure that those she wants to represent and serve know that she is not in anyone’s pocket. And Julie has always been a leader on this issue, running a campaign 100% funded by individual donations in 2018 that still raised more money than every Democrat that had run in this district before her combined - without PAC money, without pollsters, and consultants, just showing up, doing the work of knocking on doors and listening to people. Running her campaign in the most grassroots, fundamental, and true-hearted way she knew how was the only way Julie felt was right and truly honest. That kind of person-to-person connection is the way democracy should work in this country - not slick TV ads, and not billionaires buying votes. That's why Julie committed to open-to-the-public, once-a-month town hall meetings back home in the district, so that she is accountable to this community in Congress. We have to get big money out of our elections, once and for all. Of the many crises we are facing in this country -- of gun violence, of a climate crisis driven by the fossil fuel industry, of mass incarceration, of the human rights violations we are seeing at the border, of endless war driven by the defense industry -- we could meaningfully address all of them by ending the corrupting influence of money in our politics. Julie understands that corporations are not people, and while it’s critical that we reverse Citizens United, she plans to go further, with a signature bill -- the Tax the PACs Act, which would tax corporate PACs at a rate of 70 - 90%. For organizations like the NRA or the Family Research Council, whose sole purpose is lobbying Congress for ideologically motivated gain, we should impose an onerous tax of 70 - 90% on 501(c)(3) organizations that engage in political activity or lobbying beyond a certain threshold of their spending or beyond what they claim is their charitable purpose. Corporations engage in political activity to add to or protect their bottom lines, which arguably is an income-generating activity deserving of taxation. If Corporations want to fund political activities through PACs, Congress should tax the PACs – and tax them onerously to discourage the “investment” -- 70 - 90% on donations received by Corporate PAC You can trust Julie to take meaningful action to end the corrupting influence of money in our politics more than any other candidate because she is truly committed to accountability, radical transparency, and will always be 100% PAC-free. Congress is supposed to represent people -- actual human beings with bills to pay, healthcare costs, and dreams to pursue. PACs, lobbies, corporations, special interests, joint committees who only care about the next election -- these are not people. Members of Congress should not be beholden to them. The hyper-polarization and toxicity and dysfunction we're seeing is because corporations are able to buy outcomes. And the majority of the people in this country who don't have lobbyists or a PAC fighting for them loses out. If we can get big money out, if we can end gerrymandering and if we can stop the undue influence of outsize spending on our elections we will have an institution worthy of the people it's supposed to serve. Julie is a proud signatory of the No Fossil Fuel Money pledge. In Congress, Julie is committed to:
Expand Voting Rights in America The right to vote is foundational to our democracy. But our elections administrators must rely on a patchwork system that is understaffed, underfunded, and that relies on technology that is embarrassingly insecure and out-of-date. It is time to make voting in America easy, convenient, and secure. And in order for a democracy to succeed, it needs to be accessible, transparent, fair, honest, and responsive. But unless we can ensure that our government is accountable to the people it exists to serve, then political and economic elites will continue to rig the system to benefit themselves, with the explicit purpose of further consolidating their wealth and power. Nowhere is that more clear than Texas. Ever since Jim Crow -- and indeed, ever since Reconstruction -- Texas has severely restricted the right to vote. Those restrictions have explicitly targeted Black and Latino communities. Poll taxes, literacy requirements, and grandfather clauses, voter ID laws, extreme racial gerrymandering, and laws that today are designed to make it hard to vote and hard to register to vote -- all were designed to keep Black people, Latinos, and even poor whites from having an equal say in our democracy. When those failed, armed vigilantes would resort to violence, often with the blessing of local authorities. That pattern of corruption is not unique to Texas -- until recently, New York state had some of the country’s most restrictive voter registration laws. But the Jim Crow south has largely borne the brunt. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was supposed to fulfill the promise of the Fifteenth Amendment of 1870, which states that the right to vote “shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” Representative John Lewis, one of Julie’s personal heroes and who became known as the “conscience of Congress”, called it “one of the most vital tools of our democracy.” The VRA only came about because of the courage of an entire movement of people who demanded change -- those who rode Greyhound buses, knowing full well that they would be arrested, and who were arrested and served time in the Mississippi State Penitentiary fighting for the right to vote. And it came at great price -- with atrocities like those carried out during the civil rights movement, when four young Black girls were killed by white terrorists in the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, or during the Bloody Sunday attacks by Alabama state troopers on those who marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. But immediately following its passage, the Voting Rights Act came under attack, and it has been under attack ever since, and, finally, it was gutted by the John Roberts Supreme Court in Shelby v. Holder, which allowed the former Confederate states to begin restricting the right to vote again without federal oversight. Sixty years after Bloody Sunday, voting rights and democracy itself in America have entered an age of accelerated voter suppression and restrictive voting laws. It is time to fight back. We should bring every American into this process -- Republicans, Democrats, independents or none of the above -- by ensuring that we have Same Day and Automatic Voter Registration to reach our democracy’s full potential. Automatic Voter Registration is as common sense and nonpolitical as it gets. Whenever anyone in this country gets a driver’s license, enrolls in classes at a public university, or applies for benefits like Social Security, they would be automatically registered to vote, unless they opt out. We need to restore the enforcement provision of the Voting Rights Act, end the partisan and racial gerrymandering that allows politicians to cheat the American people out of democratic representation, get the corrupting influence of big money out of our politics, and enshrine the right to vote in America once and for all. You can count on Julie to take meaningful action to fight to enshrine the right to vote and to end attacks on voting rights more than any other candidate because of her firm belief that democracy exists to serve people, not politicians or corporations. In fact, she does not take a single dime from any PAC. So while other lawmakers compromise behind closed doors and allow their arms to be twisted, you will never have to worry whose side Julie is on. It will always be the people. In Congress, Julie is committed to:
LGBTQIA Equality Every American deserves equal treatment under the law--no exceptions. Same-sex couples are entitled to access the same federal benefits as any other Texas family, and we should protect people from discrimination in every aspect of public life. LGBTQIA+ Americans are entitled to full federal equality. As the sister of an out gay woman who grew up in small town Texas, Julie knows that LGBTQIA Texans are not asking for special treatment -- they’re asking for equal treatment, under the law. But despite the hard-fought progress made since the Stonewall riots, LGBTQIA Americans are still not guaranteed equal protection under the law. In Texas, your employer can fire you, simply because of who you choose to love. In Texas and in many states, you can be denied housing, or you can be barred from adopting a child in need of a loving home, simply because of your orientation or gender expression. And across the country, transgender Americans are subjected to alarming rates of violence. Texas leads the country in fatal violence against Black transgender women. And a volatile combination of a lack of strong laws to prevent gun violence along with a culture of animosity directed towards the LGBTQ+ community by Texas Republican leadership, has led to very real dangers for LGBTQ, transgender, and intersex Texans. And we have to pass the Equality Act, once and for all, so that we can update our federal laws to ensure comprehensive protection for LGBTQ people from discrimination in employment, housing, education, and access to public spaces. The Equality Act would ensure all people have the rights they deserve. Discrimination is still an urgent issue in this country that demands a federal response. Every American must be treated equally under the law, and everyone should be entitled to dignity, respect, and safety at home, at school, or at work, no matter what. In Congress, Julie will support legislation to:
Support Veterans & Military Families Every veteran deserves our respect and gratitude for their work both in service and since returning to civilian life. Many politicians talk big about their support for veterans, but few get into the trenches to fight for those who served. Those who put their lives on the line for this country are owed a coherent strategy and a definition of victory for the endless wars -- estimated at $250 million a day -- that this country has been fighting in the greater Middle East for the last 18 years. Julie cares deeply about veterans and military families -- her Dad is a vet, and she knows that veterans don't stop serving when they come home. Julie is very grateful for the advocacy and leadership of the veterans who testified about their health problems stemming from haphazard burning in Iraq. We have to act urgently to care for those who have been exposed to burn pits, and we have to ensure that this never happens again. You can count on Julie to take meaningful action to uphold our commitments to veterans and military families more than any other candidate, because Julie doesn't take a single dime from any PAC -- that means, when she's hearing legislation in Congress having to do with our national security, you will never have to wonder if Julie is acting on behalf of a military defense contractor. She is only accountable to this community. Julie is committed to addressing America’s healthcare crisis broadly, and especially as it pertains to veterans and the ability for veterans to get their disability claims met in a more timely fashion. Veterans risked their lives to support our democracy, and it’s time that we use our democracy to more fully support them. Julie will increase access to VA clinics and veteran support services, and fight to streamline processes so that it’s easier for our vets to get help when they need it. In Congress, Julie is committed to:
Civil Rights for People with Disabilities Every person has inherent value and deserves a life of dignity and independence. Twenty-nine years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the fight isn’t over for civil rights, equal opportunity and economic self-sufficiency of people with disabilities. In Congress, Julie is committed to listening to and continuing to learn from the disability community as we continue to build on the legacy of the ADA -- to ensure the nearly 3 million Texans with disabilities, including mental health disabilities, have equal opportunity to participate in our communities, have a high quality of life, and to live with dignity and independence. Americans with disabilities still face significant challenges in this country, in some of the most basic and fundamental ways, in a world that often overlooks them, does not take their basic needs into account, or places barriers -- physical, communication, and sensory -- in their way such that it prohibits full inclusion. Further, the lack of affordable housing threatens the freedom, safety and well-being of every American, and for the disability community, institutionalization cannot be the only option when their access needs cannot be met due to widespread lack of affordable, integrated housing. As part of her commitment to ensuring that every American has high-quality healthcare, Julie recognizes that the solution must be accessible, affordable, and responsive to the needs of everyone, include people with disabilities -- and that they must be able to control their own healthcare, make their own healthcare decisions, and have their rights protected. In Congress, Julie is committed to:
Make College & Trade School Free And Cancel All Student Debt Open universal public college, community college and trade school to all, and cancel all student loan debt. Julie was a single mom when she began college, and higher education opened opportunities for her that she knows are not typically afforded to the poor in this country. Like many working class and poor Americans, Julie was only able to afford college because she was able to rely on Pell grants and the earned income tax credit. And she believes that every student in this country deserves the same opportunity that she had. But resources for public education have been in decline for decades, and as federal support for low-income students has failed to keep pace with the rising costs for everything from food to housing to healthcare, the value of aid has diminished, requiring students to turn increasingly to loans in higher amounts. The Great Recession hit this country hard, and while Congress bailed Wall Street for gambling with America’s future to the tune of trillions of dollars in aid, states were slashing their higher education budgets. And for the most part, that funding has never been recovered. Today, college students, graduate students, and their families are trapped in a vicious cycle of crushing debt. Nearly half of all students who enrolled in college do not complete their degree, and must still pay down thousands of dollars in debt. Texas students, on average, borrow $25,794, while their starting salaries only average $34,132. That equates to a debt-to-income ratio of 74%. When parents' loans were factored in, that ratio jumped to 92%. And Black students in Texas had debt-to-income ratios of 117%, compared with 68% for white students and 71% for Latino students. For many Americans, especially those that live in rural communities, a traditional college degree doesn’t represent the best path forward to the best opportunities in their lives , which is why Julie believes we have to include debt-free trade school, technical degrees, trade certificates in any solution to the student debt crisis. The enormous amounts of student loan debt crushing families in this country are not just a drag on our economy, nor are they only preventing students from completing their degrees -- the student loan debt crisis is responsible for exacerbating the racial wealth gap in America, by disproportionately affecting Black and Latino families who carry more student loan debt, higher balances, higher interest rates, and are more heavily targeted by the predatory lending industry. The situation is unacceptable and demands bold action. We know that investing in education yields enormous benefits for this country’s security and prosperity. Higher education is at the center of achieving a just and equitable society -- and instead of tax cuts for multinational corporations and the very rich, which offload the costs of education and healthcare onto everyone else, Congress’ priorities must return to investing in our own people. It is time for our country to treat world-class public higher education, including trade school, as a fundamental right -- so that we can achieve the best-educated workforce in the world, and ensure that all of this country’s future leaders have the same opportunity to succeed that Julie had as a single mom from a poor family in South Dallas and later rural Ovilla. You can count on Julie to fight for universal public college and trade school more than any other candidate, because she knows the struggles that low-income and working families face, and she knows first-hand how transformative the value of an education can be in lifting Americans out of poverty and giving them a chance to succeed. And in Congress, you will never have to worry if Julie is susceptible to pressure behind closed doors, whether it’s from banks, the predatory lending industry, or any entity that benefits from exacerbating the student loan debt crisis because she doesn’t accept money from special interests. In fact, Julie doesn't take a single dime from any PAC. Today, it is nearly impossible for students to find the same kind of opportunity that Julie had. And with $1.5 trillion student loan debt crisis in this country — $85 billion of which is carried by students and families in Texas alone — we need bold, transformative solutions so that everyone has the same opportunity to succeed. In Congress, Julie is committed to:
Reproductive Justice Our state and our country are facing a healthcare crisis among women because of ideological attacks on women's access to reproductive healthcare. Every woman should have the choice of when she wants to have children, when she doesn’t, and every woman should have the freedom to raise those children in a safe, healthy environment. But we know that attacks on women’s reproductive health have led to Texas’ alarmingly high maternal mortality rate, which affects African American and Latinx women disproportionately due to the inequities in our healthcare system. And we also know that it is not just about choice, it is also about access -- because there can be no choice without access. We have to embrace policies that do not devalue the lives of women. All women should have equal access to reproductive health care, birth control and other preventive care. We should provide greater access to contraception services, we should provide more Texans with science-based sex education, and we should make sure that everyone has healthcare--including access to medically safe abortion. Julie believes that questions about a woman's health and future and bodily autonomy should be left to a woman and her doctor -- not right-wing ideologues who have no business making these decisions. Julie personally doesn't believe that anyone can say they’re pro-life but then do everything they can to devalue the life of the mother, and that you can’t oppose abortion, but support policies that gut public education, take healthcare from sick children, the elderly, Black and brown people, people with disabilities, and engage in racial profiling and mass deportations, including immigration policies that specifically aim at breaking apart families. In Congress, Julie is committed to:
Protecting Texans and our economy from coronavirus COVID19 is a public health emergency. It poses a threat to the American economy, millions of lives, and it demands a serious, immediate, science-based response. The United States is more vulnerable to coronavirus than many countries due to our high numbers of uninsured people, millions of us without paid sick leave, and state and federal leadership that has downplayed the challenge while not preparing this country for the threat that coronavirus poses. And in Texas, where 5 million people do not have health insurance and may not seek care due to the cost, the situation is especially dangerous. We need to take decisive action. That's why Julie is calling for a 5-part action plan as part of our response to coronavirus:
The US has known about how dangerous the virus was since late January. But instead of managing the spread in this country, we witnessed an abject refusal by the Trump administration to adequately respond or prepare. Making Mike Pence -- a science-denying ideologue -- the head of the taskforce to address coronavirus has only made matters worse. The taskforce’s refusal to use the World Health Organization’s coronavirus tests led to our inability to conduct widespread testing. That has slowed diagnoses -- and with a highly transmittable disease that can spread in a matter of hours or days, that has already had devastating effects -- as there are now hundreds of known cases in the U.S. and multiple deaths. And that unpreparedness has now hit Texas’ economy especially hard, with the unprecedented cancellation of the SXSW conference -- which has cost Austin an estimated $300 million in revenues and will most severely impact tipped workers and those in the service industry who are already struggling in a city that has become less and less affordable. Roger Williams, the incumbent Republican Congressman Julie is challenging, has not only repeatedly approved massive cuts to federal programs that are essential to this country’s health security -- he has led the effort to end protections for people with pre-existing conditions from insurance company discrimination and rip healthcare from millions of Americans. Williams recently repeated the administration’s lie to District 25 constituents in an email, stating that “the risk still remains low for spread in our communities” -- this is not true, and repeating the administration’s lie to hundreds of thousands of Texans is a dangerous abuse of taxpayer funded communications. We should remain clear-eyed and communicate calmly about the situation to avoid creating unnecessary panic as the virus spreads. But we need to take clear, decisive action to stabilize our economy and to keep Texas families healthy. The Trump administration needs to be held accountable for its disastrous response, and for lying to the American public about the rate of coronavirus’ spread. That has left everyone less safe. In the short term, every single person in the country must be able to talk to a doctor if they think they might have coronavirus and to get the recommended testing and care if they do, without fear of the treatment’s cost. Julie believes that every person in this country should have health care under Medicare for All. But there are still emergency measures we can take to mitigate the coronavirus’ impact. It is possible that the economic effects of the coronavirus may trigger a global recession. Congress must act and pass a fiscal stimulus package to head off the possibility of a recession. In the short term, there are concrete steps we can take to ensure an adequate response to coronavirus. Congress should extend Medicare to cover every American for primary care visits and ER care, especially for those over the age of 50 who may have chronic health issues. Stopping the spread of infectious disease must be our top priority, and we should remove financial barriers to care for patients who may be contagious wherever possible. Julie is committed to passing a national paid family leave program so that every Texan can take care of a loved one, get care for themselves, or to be with a new child and to take time away from work to do so. And as part of our response to coronavirus, Congress must institute an emergency paid leave program so that any Texan presenting coronavirus symptoms can get time off of work, fully paid, in order to see a doctor, get treatment, or provide care to a family member or loved one. Julie is also calling for Congress to give the FDA anti-monopoly authority to begin addressing critical supply chain chokepoints revealed by the coronavirus. We should use all legal means to ensure that the medical technologies and drugs necessary to manage our response to coronavirus can be produced in the United States in the quantities necessary to address the crisis. When a coronavirus vaccine is developed, health insurance companies and federal health programs must cover the cost. And most importantly, we must recognize that diseases do not recognize man-made borders, and that means practicing ethical and evidence-based infection control. The Trump administration has banned the CDC from using “evidence-based” or “policy-based” in its official documents -- that’s unacceptable for an agency whose mission must be informed by science. The coronavirus pandemic makes it painfully clear how important it is to uphold the principles of science and fact-based transparency. This district should have a member of Congress who can work with state and local leaders in Texas to ensure that our monitoring of the disease and our response are based on facts and science, not on fear. Diseases like coronavirus remind us why we need a functioning State department to foster healthy international relationships, and the importance of inter-agency operability and real expertise. It is also a sobering reminder of how underfunded the American healthcare system is, and how we need a massive investment in this country’s inadequate public health infrastructure, and leaders in positions of public trust with real expertise who are prepared to jump into action at a moment's notice. For Texas to have the health care infrastructure foundation that will help us catch infectious diseases before they spread, it will require that we fully fund health care in our state and across the country. Julie is calling for these steps to be taken to combat the coronavirus:
Julie’s Record:
Homes for All Everyone should have stable, safe, and affordable housing. As the daughter of a public school teacher who spent her childhood in inner city Dallas before moving to a rural working class Texas town, and as someone who experienced being un-housed herself as a teenager, Julie has first-hand, lived, deep experience in an area of public policy that affects every person in Texas and across the country today. For most people, housing is our largest single expense. For the average American, paying rent or keeping up with a mortgage payment consumes nearly a third of their income, and for those who are working-class, middle-class, and the working poor, the amount of money we spend on shelter accounts for half of our pay. And there are twenty-one million American families – over a sixth of the United States – who are paying more for rent than they can afford, which means they are at a high risk of homelessness. This affects all of us -- and the way we address this problem at scale and in a meaningful way is not by half measures or criminalizing poverty. In America, it is a moral outrage that any of our fellow Americans should have to experience homelessness. Julie understands that higher wages, lower rents, and ending mass incarceration all play a role in addressing the collective societal failure of homelessness, specifically, and housing affordability generally. But we have to go to the root of the issue. The way we address the systemic problem with housing affordability is by spending real money to build new housing. That is how we have the deepest impact. And the way we unwind the inequities in the system are by 1) cracking down on institutional investors’ ability to buy single-family homes backed by the federal government; 2) funding the construction of more private affordable housing for extremely low-income households; 3) combatting exclusionary zoning that racially and economically segregates communities; and 4) addressing decades of racism in federal housing policy. And that is exactly what Julie is committed to doing in Congress. So how did we get here? The housing affordability crisis in America has grown so multifaceted and vast because for decades politicians have failed to pay it sufficient attention, particularly in Congress, due to a misconception that this was solely a local issue, or solely a city issue. It isn’t. Because housing is fundamental to our lives, it sits at the intersection of nearly every area of policy. And the national shortage of affordable, stable, and safe homes extends far beyond metropolitan areas into rural Texas. And as housing costs in Austin and across Texas have skyrocketed, those in power at the state level have continued to reward the real estate industry, corporate landlords, and multinational corporations with massive tax breaks, while families are forced to move further and further away from schools, the neighborhoods they call home, and from job opportunities that might otherwise spur growth. To put this in perspective with an example from our district, the average cost of a two bedroom home in the Pecan Springs or Springdale neighborhoods -- which are traditionally Black and Latino, working class neighborhoods in central East Austin -- is now $325,400. But that is far, far out of reach for people who already live in the Springdale and Pecan Springs neighborhoods -- where the typical household earns $31,317. The average renter makes 35 percent less than the national median family income and holds almost no savings. And as developers continue to build fancier new units targeted at higher-income families rather than units targeted at lower-income families, rents continue to rise, forcing longtime residents out, driving up costs for everyone. That’s why Julie supports the American Housing and Economic Mobility Act. It makes historic federal investments to increase housing supply across the country, in rural, suburban and urban America; it reduces rental costs by 10% over the next 10 years; and as part of the investment in building millions of new homes, it would create 1.5 million new jobs and spur huge economic growth. By incentivizing states and cities to eliminate racially exclusionary zoning laws, we can focus on increasing homeownership rates for low-income families of color. As part of an ambitious, aspirational housing policy, we can immediately approach this issue by lowering the cost of developing housing by increasing the supply of affordable housing with billions of federal dollars into programs that subsidize developments in rural, low-income, and middle-income communities, and we can strip away the zoning laws that made developing housing so expensive in the first place, and which often keep low-income people from being able to move to wealthier neighborhoods. That brings down costs for everyone. In Congress, Julie intends to make the fight to increase affordable housing, safeguarding against predatory lending, preventing corporate landlords and property owners from exploiting renters with impunity, and making it easier for young adults to own a home top priorities. You can count on Julie to fight for a housing justice more than any other candidate, because she doesn’t accept money from real estate PACs, big banks, or any of the special interests who profit from exacerbating inequality in housing. In fact, Julie doesn't take a single dime from any PAC. The lack of affordable, stable, and safe housing threatens the freedom, safety and well-being of every American. And because our homes are such fundamental parts of our experience as human beings, housing policy sits at the intersection of so many issues that will profoundly impact our lives today and into the future. It is time to ensure that everyone in America has a safe and affordable place to live. In Congress, Julie is committed to:
Ensuring humane treatment for animals Julie believes that we have an ethical responsibility to protect animals from abuse and cruelty. In Congress, Julie is committed to:
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| —Julie Oliver’s campaign website (2020)[2] | ||
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Julie Oliver’s campaign website, “Issues,” accessed September 30, 2020
