I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to all who voted for me in this election. It has been an honor to participate as the Green Party candidate. I also congratulate everyone who voted and I encourage those who did not vote this time to vote in the next election. I see voting as an individual’s way to express political power and it is better to vote than to not vote. Yet, the vote and this election is just one part of the actions we must take. Democracy and the public interest are not limited to election day. They are a way of life and not a special event.

I joined the Green Party in 2014 when I realized the establishment parties are not capable of providing the leadership we need for the future. In this campaign season, that is all the more more evident as the establishment parties cling to the past and to their sponsors. Yet, we are not helpless, in spite of the conventional wisdom. Do not forget that they need us more than we need them. In American history, it is usually the third parties that show the way when the establishment is failing. We all must make an effort to help restore the environment and improve our society. Voting for Green Party candidates is part of the answer.

In Congress, I will pursue these ideas that make room for change and provide benefits for everyone.

The great drought of 2011 and the floods and flash drought of 2015 show the future for Texas. Climate change is momentous, powerful, and slow moving, yet we are being caught by surprise. We cannot reverse it immediately, but I believe we can limit the change over the long term and we can cope if we adopt proper policies and continue to adjust those policies as we learn more. If we do not begin to adapt now, we will be reacting out of desperation later, only to be overwhelmed by an increasingly hostile environment. I believe the public should support a policy to restore the environment and I also believe a policy to restore the environment will succeed only if it is supported by the public.

Inequality and oppression have increased in our society due to systematic favoritism to special interests. The establishment parties feature sponsored politicians – officeholders whose loyalty is to their sponsors, not the public. They believe there is no sacrifice too great, no burden too heavy, and no price too high for the American people to pay in order to serve the multi-national corporations and financial oligarchy. These corporate fiefdoms are the latifundia of our society. Whether is is by ever growing debt, the Wall Street bailout, the oil wars, the drug wars, the healthcare system, the prison system, or the educational system, establishment politicians exploit the public on behalf of their sponsors.

We need a new focus on quality of life and on social justice. I believe America becomes stronger when all Americans are treated fairly, with respect, and are able to participate in the economy. The American ideals of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness apply to all Americans. However, the establishment parties have promoted and deepened social divisions along the lines of wealth, age, gender, and race. Divide and conquer is the method of the establishment parties. Their goal is to exploit the public for the benefit of their sponsors. Extreme income inequality.is one area where we see the result. As a few become wealthy, the working class becomes poor. As the aged are exploited by the healthcare corporations, the young are indentured by student debt and Obamacare. As social conditions deteriorate and poverty increases, wedge issues are promoted and racial tensions are inflamed to deflect anger away from the establishment.