Kolkhorst Failing Voters
To the Editor:
Thank you for running State Senator Lois Kolkhorst’s press release describing her activities in the current legislative session. It is important that her constituents know how she is representing them. Once again, it seems that she is more interested in representing Governor Abbott than she is representing the people who actually sent her to Austin.
In his State of the State address, Governor Abbott outlined a series of measures that will insure that Texas leads the nation in the number of casualties if/when another pandemic ravages the population. The governor has found a willing accomplice in our state senator. The press release says a lot about “freedoms” but not one word about “responsibilities” or “shared obligations.” Should a similar pandemic occur, Texans will have the freedom to spread the virus far and wide, but not the freedom to conduct their lives knowing that their fellow Texans are doing the most they can to keep everyone healthy. Texans are known for their selfless commitment to others, yet Governor Abbott and Senator Kolkhorst betray this cultural touchstone.
The saddest part, of course, is that there is so much that Senator Kolkhorst could do to improve the lives of the people who actually live in her district. She could propose a bill to help rescue rural hospitals like our own St. Mark’s Medical Center. She could push to improve access to healthcare and mental healthcare in her mostly rural district. She could author a bill to help communities like the City of La Grange divert trucks around demonstrably dangerous roads like the infamous “Bluff” on US 77. She could advocate restoring all of the roadside parks and parking areas in Fayette County – including the very first roadside park in Texas.
The fine people of Texas Senate District 18 deserve better. When it comes to representing her actual constituents, Senator Kolkhorst has had a rocky start to this year’s legislative session. I hope that future press releases from her office will show that she has turned away from representing Governor Abbott and turned toward representing the people of our diverse communities.