POLICY
As a former State Representative, Solomon Ortiz Jr. worked to do what is best for Nueces County. With his solid experience in how the legislature and state government works, Solomon (Sollie to his friends) stands ready to immediately take on the important issues facing our state and area. From day one he will hit the ground running to solve problems, improve education and women’s healthcare and proactively work on other issues that affect his constituents and other Texans. Solomon has already been a leader in the Texas Legislature serving as Deputy Whip of the Texas House Democratic Caucus and Treasurer of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus. He has also served as the Nueces County Democratic Party chair and hopes to bring those organizational skills to the legislature once again.
PUBLIC EDUCATION
Nueces County has great public schools, but we must meet every educational need with solutions that will be good for our students in rural, suburban and urban school districts.
Our public schools must prepare a generation of students for the jobs of the future whether through workforce training or a solid academic education that will help students succeed in higher education.
Parents should become more involved in school and education, working with teachers, administrators and their own children to ensure that they are learning the lessons necessary to be successful in life.
Additionally, the legislature must approve the kind of spending for public education that attracts and retains the best teachers and school administrators for those who educate our children.
NO TO VOUCHERS
I DON'T believe the taxpayers should foot the bill for sending our children to private schools. You cannot have a strong public education system in Texas if you siphon money from it to pay for private schools.
ENVIRONMENT
While we do and must support our business community and the jobs it produces, we should also be aware of the strong environmental impact of everything we do in Corpus Christi and along the coast.
We all want to leave our world a better place, so as we see our environment changing in real time we must do everything possible to ensure that we find new ways to protect it. We have numerous nonprofits, community projects and educational institutions like the Harte Research Institute that have put Corpus Christi at the forefront of efforts to find ways for our diverse economy to work together.
MARIJUANA
DECRIMINALIZATION
I support legislation like House Bill 3652 which was passed by the Texas House this year and would allow the use, possession and transportation up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis by adults 21 and older. The bill would also allow people to grow up to 12 cannabis plants at home. Additionally, the bill contains provisions to expunge convictions for past low-level marijuana offenses. I also believe that possession of up to one ounce of marijuana or cannabis concentrate should be reclassified as a Class C misdemeanor and not result in an arrest. A similar bill passed unanimously out of the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee in 2023.
TAXES
Texas should rein in skyrocketing property taxes & be accountable to citizens for how tax dollars are being spent.
MEDICAID EXPANSION
Texas is now only one of ten states that has not expanded Medicaid. Expansion would help 1.5 million low income Texans with healthcare and the ability to seek preventative care. This ultimately leads to a healthier Texas as well as easing the strain on our medical facilities.
HIGHER EDUCATION
Nueces County is home to some of the best higher education in the state of Texas with Del Mar College and Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi.
As your state representative, I will work to ensure that both
Del Mar and Texas A&M – CC receive the resources they need to continue being a vital part of our state’s education system, training students in workforce development, the medical field and other academic opportunities that keep them at the top of “the best” lists around the country.
WOMEN'S HEALTHCARE
I am a strong believer that a woman should have the right to make healthcare decisions for themselves. In particular, I believe that there should be exceptions to the current abortion law allowing exceptions for rape, incest and the woman’s health. Additionally, I oppose efforts by some on the far right to limit birth control access and I oppose measures to arrest or fine people who drive on taxpayer funded roads to get women to other states for their healthcare needs.
WINDSTORM INSURANCE
The Coastal Bend and other coastal areas in Texas have been unfairly targeted in recent years when it comes to windstorm insurance. Our residents need affordable and fair insurance that doesn’t have the high rates and low coverage of current insurance policies. As your next state representative, I will support windstorm proposals that are fair and affordable for both businesses and homeowners.
Guns
I am a gun owner and supporter of the Second Amendment. I’m not looking to take away guns from responsible owners, but I also support common sense gun law reforms including red flag laws and legislation to ensure military grade weapons don't fall in the hands of those who would do harm to our families.
JOBS AND THE ECONOMY
Texas leads the nation in job creation and in 2022 added 650,100 new jobs, more than any other state. Our state’s business friendly environment is good but we should also ensure that we protect our workers who are the backbone of our economy.
We should not let the state of Texas take away the rights of cities and counties to pass ordinances and laws that protect workers and consumers. And, we should support strong workforce development that will help us train Texans for the jobs of the future.
This is especially important in District 34, where the diverse economy of Nueces County is in full sight of everyone. Nueces County is home to one of the biggest ports in the country, tourism pulls in millions of dollars because of our beaches and natural attractions, and small businesses are becoming a reality everyday as the economy grows. We must work to diversify our economy, bring more jobs to our area and make it easier for all of our citizens to meet the needs of the workplace as well as the financial needs of their families.
HUMAN RIGHTS
Our beliefs in equality and human rights are being derided by those who seek to burn books, reduce the First Amendment to shambles and do away with the civil rights of some Americans.
Until all Americans are considered equal, we must stand up to injustice when and where we see it.
Human rights are not determined by the color of one’s skin, the financial position of our neighbors, the country in which we were born or who we choose to marry.
