Ep. 6 [BONUS] - Lauren Ashley Simmons for Texas State Rep. District 146
#6: This episode’s guest is Lauren Ashley Simmons! Lauren is running for Texas State Representative because District 146 families have lost their seats at the table. The current District 146 representative has abandoned Democrats and now votes with Greg Abbott to take away our rights, destroy our public schools, and attack our kids and LGBTQ+ families.
Lauren is a mom and a union organizer who fights for the very people that Greg Abbott and Republicans attack every day. As a Black, nonbinary person who presents as a woman, Lauren understands these struggles because she lives at the intersection of discrimination based on race, class, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
Lauren currently organizes Black low-income women and Black migrant women, has been a fierce advocate for state employees and Houston teachers, and is a proud Communications Workers of America (CWA) member. She is also a part of the Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project (BLMP), a safe haven for Black migrants escaping persecution in their home country.
Lauren’s life experiences give her a perspective that will serve many of those in District 146 well. She knows what it’s like to be without power and keep fighting. Lauren went literally overnight from being a comfortable middle-class kid to a 19-year-old mom on food stamps.
In Lauren’s words, “The Black women in low-income apartments where I lived taught me how to survive – how to stretch every penny. I owe them a debt. That’s why I do what I do.”
You can find Lauren and support her campaign at www.laurenashleysimmons.com and on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter/X at lasimmonstx146.
To block walk or virtual phone bank: www.laurenashleysimmons.com/field
Links/resources in the episode:
Equality Texas
TENT
Everyday Trans Activism is a production of Parents of Trans Youth, a social impact business providing learning, support, and community to parents and caregivers of transgender, nonbinary, and gender-diverse kids.
Host Mandy Giles (she/her) is the Texas parent of two transgender young adults and a fierce advocate for trans kids, their families, and the transgender community.
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FULL TRANSCRIPT
Mandy: [00:00:00] Hey y'all and welcome to Everyday Trans Activism. I am your host, Mandy Giles. My pronouns are she/her, and I am the parent of two transgender young adults and the founder of Parents of Trans Youth. So we are doing something a little bit different in this bonus episode. We will be talking about a very important democratic primary race in Houston.
Our super special guest is Lauren Ashley Simmons, who is running for Texas State Representative in District 146. We're going to talk about why she's running and why this Democratic primary race is so important for LGBTQ+ Texans, particularly trans kids. Also joining us are Brad Pritchett, Deputy Director of Equality Texas, and Melanie, the parent of a transgender minor living in District 146. Melanie has chosen to be anonymous on the podcast and go by a pseudonym because the climate for families of transgender minors [00:01:00] and the larger transgender community is really hostile and volatile right now in Texas. And that is the reason for this special bonus episode, because Lauren is a champion for LGBTQ+ Texans.
So before we get into the meat of the issues, Lauren, please introduce yourself and let us know why you are running.
Lauren: Thanks so much for having me on. I really appreciate the opportunity. I am Lauren Ashley Simmons. I'm a candidate for State Representative in House District 146, and I'm running for a number of reasons, but I think what encompasses all is I'm running because we have lost our seat at the table in state government. It does not feel like our district is being represented in the way that aligns with the values of most of the people who live in 146. Texas is a is a Republican-held state. And so we have districts that are gerrymandered and 146 was built by design to be a very big blue Democratic district.
And it feels like at [00:02:00] this moment, we're represented by somebody who does not align with those values. I never envisioned running for office. This is not something that I thought I would ever, ever do. I'm a community advocate. I'm a union organizer. There's nothing more that I love than to be behind the scenes.
I love helping people find their voice. I love helping people acknowledge their own power. I've never, I'll never ever say that I'm a voice for the voices because people have a voice. A lot of times we don't like to put the microphone or the megaphone in the hands of the folks who are most impacted by the issues, and that's what I get to do as an organizer every single day.
There were just a lot of issues that I felt were not being addressed properly by the person who was, our current representative and I will have to say, yes, those two votes that, she took that I felt were very dangerous and very harmful for our community maybe put some fire under me, but you think about what happens with local government.
And as far as our state legislature, so much of what we endure on a daily [00:03:00] basis. It comes directly from Austin, our access or lack of access to health care, lack of access to abortion. I mean, even our minimum wage not moving an inch since 2009 is something that could be addressed in the legislature. So I just felt like if I was going to run for something, this is the seat that I would, you know, I needed to run for.
I needed to stay to be, um, I guess intentional about winning because there are so many people who are on the end of those votes that come out of the legislature and again, I work with, I organize primarily low-wage workers, migrant workers, Black women specifically, and I see every day the impact that those decisions, those laws that are passed, those laws that are not passed have on the people that I care about.
And I work on behalf of I mean, when you look at the composition of our district, especially you see the economic disparity, what's going on with our school district that's been taken over by the state. There was an opportunity that I felt like I had to take because if I [00:04:00] you know, sat down and was quiet and this representative goes back in the next legislation, next legislative session in 2025 and, further neglects us or even, do what they did this last time and support dangerous legislation, then I'm partly responsible for that.
So it's a lot of different issues, a lot of compounding issues, but mainly what I want to make sure is that we have a voice in state government, that we reclaim our seat in state government, and that the district reflects the representation and the representation reflects the district.
Mandy: Oh, thank you so much for letting us know what I guess I was about to say in your heart to run and that sounds very, uh, condescending or just, I don't want to minimize that, that you, you have a lot of really important issues that, you're fighting for and working for.
And, I'm glad you're running. I was going to say at the end, but I'll say it now. I don't live in your district. If I did, I would vote for you, but I can't because it'd probably be illegal, but you would have my vote if I were in your district, I [00:05:00] promise.
So a big reason why we're doing this episode is that your main opponent in this race, the Democratic incumbent Shawn Thierry has been on the wrong side of LGBTQ and especially trans rights issues of late, particularly her vote and her long-ass speech in favor of SB 14, the gender-affirming healthcare ban for adolescents. So, Brad, I want to ask you, from a policy perspective, why Representative Thierry's vote in favor of this ban of SB 14 was such a big deal.
Brad: Thanks for having me, Mandy. And always a pleasure to be in any space with you and with you, Lauren. Yeah, I mean, I think that, number one, SB 14, just on its face, is another attempt by the state of Texas to really chip away at our access to bodily autonomy, right? The Texas legislature has made it its [00:06:00] mission, to tell people what we are and are not allowed to do with our bodies.
And if we don't have free agency over our bodies, the one thing we are born into the world having control over and owning outright, then there's no such thing as actual freedom. We can't claim that we are the freest state in the country if we're telling people what they can and cannot do with regards to accessing lifesaving health care.
So just on its face, SB 14 is just bad policy. I recall the days when the Affordable Care Act was under consideration at the federal level and hearing Republicans say that this was going to lead to government making all of your healthcare decisions and death panels. And that's why they raged against the Affordable Care Act.
And what we're seeing play out in real time is Republicans doing the thing that they claimed that their opponents were doing. They are making decisions for people. They're making decisions for families. They're making decisions for kids as to what kind of healthcare they can and cannot access. And it's extraordinarily dangerous.
It sets a terrible policy precedent, and we know firsthand the harm that it does to [00:07:00] not just kids who need to access this health care that has been proven to be lifesaving, but to the families who have had to pack up and leave the state of Texas to guarantee their children are able to maintain access to that type of health care.
Shawn Thierry's vote on this was, I would say, more or less surprising. During the legislative session, organizations like ours at Equality Texas were talking with lawmakers to ensure that they had all the facts about what these bills would actually do, and moreover, the facts about healthcare that's life-saving for trans youth.
Shawn Thierry continually refused to meet with anyone from our organization, or with people who lived in her district who would be directly impacted by it. She avoided folks, she claims that she did her own research. Shawn Thierry's background is in law, not medicine. And then gave a rambling 11, 12-minute speech on the floor that really just amplified a lot of these right-wing talking points around healthcare for trans folks.
Uh, stuff that is just not factually accurate. We have a member of our staff who did a full, line-by-line breakdown of everything she said and why it [00:08:00] was wrong. I don't know that it was super surprising, given what we saw from her resistance to even talk to anybody in the community.
One of the things that it did do was lend itself to this argument that cutting off life-saving healthcare for kids is bipartisan. Shawn Thierry was not the only Democrat to vote in support of SB 14. She was the only one who gave a speech on the floor of the House defending herself. And then cried that she was being victimized as a result of her terrible policy perspectives, when it's really the kids that have been targeted by this legislation who have a right to cry about what the state is doing to them.
So, from a policy perspective, it's just a bad policy. It literally forces people to have to relocate from the state. It is cutting kids off from healthcare that is scientifically proven, and I just want to say that as many times as I possibly can. The research shows us that this healthcare saves lives. This healthcare saves kids’ lives. And over and over again, every study that we see that is reputable tells us that information. [00:09:00] So when we have lawmakers who are placing themselves above science, who are claiming to be experts in a field that they have no expertise in, that is really dangerous because we should be relying on scientific experts and the folks who actually treat folks who need this type of care to give us the facts about this type of healthcare.
So Shawn Thierry vote, I don't think was as surprising as her willingness to adopt right-wing talking points. And then when you start to look at the other votes that she cast and this continued I guess, I don't even know the best way to describe it, this continued de-evolution of her on LGBTQ issues, where she's attacking members of the Texas House by calling them quote unquote the gay ones, during the course of this campaign, and then taking just buckets of money from these folks who are intent on dismantling public education, who are Donald Trump's, some of Donald Trump's biggest donors in Texas, who, quote unquote are doing independent expenditures for her from these like crazed right-wing [00:10:00] organizations it's really revealed a lot about who she is as a person.
And just as an aside, I've known Shawn Thierry for probably the better part of a decade. I was the head of a Democratic Club that endorsed Shawn Thierry when she ran for judge and she was close friends with an LGBTQ couple that I've known for a long time And every time I would see her at the Capitol, especially in 2021, she would come to me and give me a hug and say, you know I'm with you on your issues. No matter what, I'm always with you and I was like, great, appreciate that. But when it came time to prove it in 2023, Shawn Thierry turned her back on the LGBTQ community.
And the couple that I know who was really good friends with her, I called them and said, I need your help to talk to her because she won't talk to anybody. Um, and their response was, she's not returning any of our phone calls. I don't know what happened between the 2021 session and the 2023 session, but it has been a nosedive of character and integrity and a willingness to embrace some of the just harshest and most [00:11:00] heinous lies about LGBTQ+ people and who we are and how we live and the things that we need to keep ourselves alive.
Mandy: Well, that right there is just a ton of reasons that Representative Thierry is not the person for the job. It does not represent all people in her district. And when you were talking about that, she needs to, she and others who were in favor of these bans and, of legislation that attacked trans kids, the LGBTQ community, that she needs to listen to doctors and scientists who, who know that the medicine is sound, it's, it's best practices, evidence-based and listen to constituents.
And so Melanie, I want to ask you, how did Representative Thierry's vote impact you as a constituent and as the parent of a transgender minor?
Melanie: Hi everyone. Hi, Mandy. Thank you for having me. I will address [00:12:00] those two issues, but first I actually kind of want to circle back to something that Brad brought up that I think is really important.
Yes, like Thierry, right? She claimed during her speech that she had done all this research and I just wish that people understood. No one cares more about the evidence for and the quality of gender-affirming health care than the parents of children, Receiving that care. No one cares about that More than those of us for whom. This is a live issue affecting our child she says she researched everything before her vote. And it's like, girl, this is a theoretical for you, it is a live issue for me. And I assure you, as the actual parent of an actual trans child who actually lives in your district.
I too have done my research, [00:13:00] right? We've consulted with world-class physicians across a variety of specialties. there's something that's a little bit insulting there, that somehow Shawn Thierry is asserting that she cares more, about the well-being of my child and is looking out for my child in a way that, better than what I, a parent, can do.
Besides the fact that she has been, a continual font of misinformation and parroting back right-wing talking points on this, getting back to your original question about how this vote impacted me both as a constituent and as a parent of a trans kid.
This bill has meant that we now have to travel out of state for basic health care that we used to get down the street and used to be covered by insurance and used to be really no big deal at all. Right now we have to travel hours, out of state to access the same care.
[00:14:00] It means that we live our lives with low-grade background paranoia. Are we going to get reported to the state, for continuing to seek this care out of state for our child? It has forced us to make contingency plans about living here and then like contingency plans for contingency plans. We had to preemptively hire a stable of attorneys, and then of course we have to pay out of pocket for all this for travel, for the care itself.
Emotionally, though, I would say it's been brutal. As Brad pointed out, Thierry's vote on this bill was symbolic in a way because it didn't make a difference in the passage of the bill. It's going to pass no matter what. And in some ways, the fact that it was a symbolic vote is actually, made it hurt worse, because she could have just voted no at [00:15:00] no political cost to her, Unless of course you count the right-wing Republican support she has since gained by voting yes.
But even if she was really motivated from some misguided place of conscience, that was tainted by her consumption of anti-trans rhetoric and meeting with anti-trans activists. She still could have just sat out the vote, She could have gone to the bathroom like she did during Paxton's impeachment vote.
So, the bill has been harmful for us.
Mandy: Yeah, that's an understatement for sure. and I'm sorry that your family is going through that. I have definitely heard about this low or higher level of fear that is just, it never quite goes away because also not, I don't want to get too much into that issue, but there's still the directive from the [00:16:00] governor on the books to the Department of Family Protective Services, to investigate families of, trans kids for giving them, the healthcare that they need.
So that just, it just adds and adds and adds to the insult and injury made to the trans community, trans kids, and their families.
Melanie: Would it be okay if I step in with just one last, I think it's important in general. besides just her vote on this bill.
Those things aside, I think it's also too important, important to think about or to talk about how this has affected me as a constituent, As a state rep, she is like my first connection or liaison to state government,
Unless you count my city council members or something like this, state reps are the most basic fundamental connections that constituents have to the levers of state power. And I mean, it's right there in the title, representative. So I felt like it was one [00:17:00] thing for her to, as Brad kind of alluded to, refuse to learn about, refuse to advocate on behalf of my interests as her constituent.
But it's a whole nother thing to listen to her passionately advocate against my interests. It felt like confirmation of the worst stereotypes of politicians. And I mean, I voted for her too, right? I got other people to vote for her. So it felt like a real betrayal just as a constituent in general.
Mandy: Yeah. I thank you for, for saying that. I think betrayal is a word that I keep hearing a lot. On a constituent level, organizational level, on a party level. So, Lauren, I know that you would have voted differently on this bill. Why do you feel so strongly about equality for transgender and nonbinary people?
Lauren: So absolutely. I would have voted differently. One from a personal reason, just of my [00:18:00] identity. And the people who have been most impacted by this, right? This is dangerous. It's dangerous and it's harmful. It has caused people to leave this state. It has caused people to have to make decisions that they shouldn't have.
You should be able to enjoy your children enjoyed being, a parent and not having to think about and looking around your shoulder in this very dystopian way that the government, at any time can step into your home and say, what are you doing with your kid? it's awful on its face for who it directly impacts in this moment.
And that's trans children and the parents and the families of trans kids, but I also think about what this, what, what else, like, what's the next steps, the door that it opens. And this is just something that when this, this happened in our Houston Chronicle endorsement interview, so there's, tape of it, so I'm not making this up.
And I've heard Shawn say this a couple of times about like a child needs to stay in a child's place, right? That this is not a decision that a child can make, and I take issue with that because 1) children have their own autonomy, but also 2) these are not [00:19:00] children just simply making these decisions on their own. They're not driving themselves. They're not applying for the insurance. They're not choosing their doctor. Their parents are very involved in this decision with them and a lot of the way she shields herself is because she will, out of one, in some aspects, she'll say, well, this is what my constituents wanted.
I voted my district and then she'll shield herself by saying, well, you know, it's a mostly Black district and Black folks are conservatives. As if Black folks, first of all, Black people are not a monolith. And I can say that as a Black queer woman on the other side of that, I do feel like you have a responsibility that if you feel that way, then there's some conversations that should happen, right?
That's, that's a part of it. That's your job as a representative. I take issue with it because when you say that my constituents wanted this, then why is it a secret? Because when she sends out mail and not even just the nasty mail that she sent out like during our campaign, but actual like communications from the state legislature where she details all of the things that she did in the last session, the book [00:20:00] ban vote and this particular vote are absent.
You can't find it anywhere. Our campaign has had to go out of our way to send this information out, because she just does not acknowledge it. I found that very frustrating because I was, I was a constituent before I was a candidate because it feels duplicitous to say, you know, in one breath.
Well, you know, this is what my, my constituent was wanted, but then why is there such a visceral reaction when our campaign is putting it out there? Right? Because this is what we wanted. So this is, this is the district champion, you know, around you for this. I think the other part of why this is, such an issue for me is because I have a child with a chronic illness.
My daughter has sickle cell anemia. She takes an experimental dose of chemotherapy, small dose of chemotherapy, every single day to ensure that her red blood cells do not sickle, so that she can live and have a longer life expectancy and all of the good things that come with this miraculous treatment.
My daughter has had multiple hospital visits. She's been [00:21:00] administered opioids in the emergency room when she's in severe pain. She's had multiple blood transfusions. Those are some hard decisions that me and her father have had to make, and I'm talking about some seriously tough decisions where he's crying, and I'm crying, and we're debating back and forth on the way to the ER.
What should we do next? We talked to her. She's nine and there has been times where I've been like, I don't feel comfortable with that. Her dad said, I don't feel comfortable with that. And she says, I'm the one who's dealing with this. I want to speak up for myself. And at every single point, when we're having to make those decisions with her amazing health care team, I've never had to fear Greg Abbott, sending us some letter or sending, child protective services to my home saying, I don't agree with that treatment.
But what this law does, now I, I do, I have that fear because yeah, we can talk about, the culture wars and, demonizing, small groups of vulnerable people, but sometimes I think about like from the business perspective of it all, like maybe the insurance, industry doesn't want to pay for that and they can use this as a, a shield, to not have to do that and so I think to myself, is my baby next [00:22:00] or is insulin next and it, Frustrated me in that way because I can totally empathize with parents who are dealing with this because I know how hard it is to make those decisions. I am not a doctor. I worry all the time about the treatments that my daughter takes because I think about her life expectancy. Will she be able to have children in the future if she wants to you know, what does this do?
But in the moment, the science supports that she takes this medicine. I trust her doctors. I don't need anybody else helping me make that decision. And I love my daughter and I would do anything that I needed to do to make sure she had that health care would fly her to the moon if I had to. And I've had conversations with families who've had to make that tough decision to leave this state.
I boo-hoo cried in the middle of Snooze AM Eatery with a parent of a beautiful trans girl, because I saw how tired she was and she talked to me about the emotional cost, the financial cost. [00:23:00] I even think about the kids who leave and their friends in the classroom trying to figure out where did their friend go because when my baby misses a week of school, her friends are sad.
They send notes, they bother her on her phone, they're like, where are you, Sidney? And so I think about, I think about the whole ecosystem that is affected by just a really unnecessary, let me tell you, and I keep saying this, it was a, it was not a legislative priority. Nobody needed this. Nobody asked for this.
No. And so, yes, it's 100 percent important to make sure that we are doing everything we can to not put vulnerable communities in harm's way. But I also think about who else is impacted. Who's to say that we go into the next session in 2025 and now we're picking apart even more healthcare decisions that families have to make that are outside of gender-affirming care.
And that made me really frustrated because again, I can totally empathize and sympathize with parents who are having to just make the decision that's going to keep their kid alive because that's [00:24:00] ultimately what you're trying to do as a parent. You just want your baby to thrive. And I remember being so frustrated and not at the parent for saying this, being frustrated that she felt like she had to justify her child's existence to me because she said, I want to show you a picture of my daughter because if you see her, she looks just like a little girl. I got so mad. I said, you don't have to justify your baby's existence to me. You care for your baby. I don't care. Your child doesn't have to pass for me to understand this issue. You have left this state and left everything that you love behind because you care about your kid. That's enough for me. I don't need any more than that.
And it's hard because politics is personal and I, and again, I don't have anything personal against Shawn Thierry, but what bothered me the most is just the lack of accountability around this issue, the not wanting people to know, if you're a champion on this issue, be a champion on it, be loud and proud about it, but to also go as far as ignoring your own constituents and all these other folks in the state that are impacted by this. I don't get it and I [00:25:00] don't need to get it, but it lets me know that I'm doing this for the right reason, you live in a big city like Houston to be safe from some of the stuff you have to deal with in the rural areas. And it broke me to see her on Fox News, using me as a Black person, as a shield, to say I voted my district. That hurts because I can bring you the most conservative Black person out of 146 right now and have them list things that they needed things that should be a legislative priority and I can guarantee you if it makes the list, it's low in the list of hierarchies because for one, there are some major issues in 146. It's almost a tale of two different districts. You go on the southeast side, you're dealing with rampant gun violence. You're dealing with public schools that have been taken over that are under resourced and underfunded.
You can look at even the Sunnyside area. For example, I always ask people, how long does it take you to get to fresh food? What grocery stores are out here? Do you feel safe in your home? None of those issues for her wanted a 10-minute, 12-minute [00:26:00] speech, but you got up to do this. And so that bothered me because either you care so much about your, to vote your district or you don't.
And I just think it's really unfair to use our community that way. Because you wanted to vote the way you wanted to vote for whatever reason. And so absolutely no, of course not. I would not, I would not have voted that way. But I do think about the larger implications as well as like, what has this opened the door to?
And I also, and I didn't get to say this earlier, but I want to thank you so much, because again, I don't need to know all of the intricacies about, gender-affirming healthcare. I'm not a doctor, but I do thank you for the labor that it takes to teach people like me who don't know. Thank you for putting yourself in harm's way because I know people are violently abusive.
And I see sometimes the things that you post that people have sent you and it breaks my heart because one I know they probably, well maybe they would say it to your face, [00:27:00] but it bothers me that people feel comfortable anonymously behind the computer screen saying really nasty things when you are just doing the same thing I'm doing as a mother and that's trying to keep your child healthy and alive so they can thrive.
Mandy: Well, now I'm speechless. You have made me cry. I was excited to meet you at the caucus endorsement meeting. I know it was, it was great to meet you in person then. Well, thank you. And you're welcome. I, I do this work in similarly to, to give people the correct information. So it sounds like Thierry, like you said, she is, is not held accountable, ist not to be trusted, and certainly does not take her constituents’ priorities into account. And like you said, you felt like you were being used and no one wants to feel that way.
Lauren: And I'm sorry, let me just add this. I forgot to say this earlier to kind of speak to, her views on this. So, you know, obviously campaigns get nasty and I've had to deal with some personal attacks about things that [00:28:00] happened in my past, but this last negative mailer that went out, she wants to frame me as this, as this criminal, but she included a picture of me with a drag queen from a performance that I was a part of a few months ago, and it's on my Instagram. These are not like secret pictures. Every picture she took was literally pulled off my Instagram, but that picture with the drag queen was so telling. I said, because I know what you're doing with this because you're hoping that this gets to, conservative, maybe pockets of our district, the Black people that you like to use our community that you'd like to use the shield.
To equate that with, immorality and criminal behavior or whatever, she wants to frame me as. And I found that completely abhorrent. I was disgusted by it. Because first of all, that person doesn't, and I'm going to have to contact that person to let them know, Hey, I'm sorry, you've been using this negative mailer because now their life is in jeopardy.
Right, because she's using this and it lets me know this is who maybe you've always been because for you to take a picture of me with a drag queen and find some issue [00:29:00] with that, to use it in a campaign mailer, as if to say, look, these people are trying to take our seat. From us.
Yeah. And what does that mean? And somebody said, maybe she forgot she was in a Democratic primary. And I said, maybe so I said, but I know exactly. I said, as a Black woman, I know exactly what she's doing. I know who she's trying to rile up with this and it hurts. Talk about me. Say whatever you want to say about me. I decided to run. So, it's fair game, but it's the implications of that. I found that truly disgusting. if you want to be homophobic, you want to be transphobic. Okay. We're going to say like the kids say, say it with your chest, stand up in it. Don't play around with it. Don't pretend. And again, it lets me know very deeply and intimately that you should have never ever been our representative because you do not align with the values that we have in this district.
Mandy: Just there's so much of the backstory that I just had no idea and it just sounds like she's kind of talking on both sides of her mouth and that she's not in this for the right reasons and Lauren, I know you are. [00:30:00] So this whole thing about the vote, it seems to be a defining issue in, in the race. Using your association with drag queens as a negative, that tells me a lot about where she is standing on LGBTQ issues. But Lauren, how can you keep this issue of equality for transgender and nonbinary people still going front and center after this campaign is over? Because we know you're going to win. And so, so once it's over, how can you still keep fighting for that community?
Lauren: I think there needs to be a lot of healing. I think probably one of the first things I want to do, once I get acclimated in the legislature because we're going to claim victory here - is try to invite some of those same families back to the Capitol to meet with me and give them the opportunity to, fill me in and give me an update and let me actually ask them, how can I best advocate for you? Because that's what I do as an organizer. And I feel like that's what you should do [00:31:00] as an elected official who represents people's interests.
I can't go back with the magic wand. I wish I could and erase the trauma. These are traumatic events that have happened to people. But what we can do is bring people back to the table.
Because I think sometimes we forget that government actually does have a job. It serves a purpose. It serves a function in our everyday lives. And if this has been maybe your first or only interaction with government, you lose faith in the process. How many of those people won't ever vote again? Or how many of those people are just totally disconnected from what has happened because you feel this level of betrayal.
And so I think there just has to be a lot of work done on the other side of it. Again, as a legislator, I know it's my job to reach across the aisle and make friends that I normally wouldn't make friends with. But I want to have some real conversations with some of those folks who think that this is an issue that they should have voted for and been happy with and ask them.
Now that this has happened, how are your [00:32:00] constituents better off? Who gained from this? Like really being able to have those real conversations and what else could we have prioritized in that moment? Because I think about right now, my children are both at school and I have a knot in my stomach. I remember when, you know, when Koa told somebody, I was like, my kids are driving me crazy at home, but at least I don't have to think about them being shot at school when we had to be home for COVID.
I think about those parents from Uvalde who have, who spent so much time at the Capitol. Who could not get their issue heard, who could not get their issue front and center. Because we're focusing on so many other things and everybody is scared to have these conversations.
And we talk about being brave and that's another thing that frustrates me. There was no bravery in this vote. What would have been brave is for us to try to think about passing like some sensible gun legislation, for example. Like that's where you're brave. If you're gonna lose an election, that's the election you lose for. Even, you know, as much as we don't want to give Republicans credit, those Republicans who, voted the right way on vouchers, [00:33:00] like they were going to talk about like bravery and bucking against party norms. Those are the opportunities where we should be standing up for people. So I really want to do that work to try to heal and let people know that your voice matters.
I'm sorry that this happened to you because I am going to apologize to people. I don't care. I'm I wasn't her, but that's still the office that I'm holding. And that's the district that I'm representing and really finding a way to bring people back into the fold and bring people back to the table because I could not imagine.
And because I go to the Capitol for different advocacy days and legislative visits all the time and most for the most part, it's work-related stuff and it doesn't cause a whole lot of controversy, but I know what it's like to feel unheard. All right. To be dismissed and we have to do a better job because these are the races that matter, for so many different reasons.
But when we talk about getting rid of Greg Abbott and Ken Paxton, if we are losing people in these races, we'll never have a statewide victory. Because how do you [00:34:00] feel right now as a Democrat living in 146? I know how I feel. And if I wasn't running for this seat, I don't know what I would be doing. I probably would be feeling even, you know what, well, good grief. I don't even have a representative now. There's no hope for me for anything else. I probably would just disengage from the process totally. And I just don't want to see that happen to people.
Mandy: I really like your emphasis on the healing and restoring hope in the process. I do gosh, I cannot tell you how many people I have talked to from, uh, from everything that's happened in the past couple of years, at the Capitol that that the Capitol is a place of trauma for so many people. So I think healing is really, really important.
Brad, as the representative of an organization who is working for the rights of LGBTQ Texans, how does this hit you? Like would Lauren be a representative that the equality coalition could work with and count on and help [00:35:00] restore faith in the process?
Brad: I think that what you just heard from Lauren is 100 percent the reason that folks in HD 146 need to be voting for Lauren. We can talk all day about Shawn. So everything we just heard from Lauren is the exact reason why folks in HD 146 should be voting for Lauren during this election.
Just being introspective enough to say, I know I don't have the answers, but I will listen to the people who are educated on these issues, and I will find ways to try to build consensus. That is something that this district doesn't have right now in its current representative. Something that Lauren was saying that I think just shows, shows why she has a really great mindset to be a state representative, and that is talking about how SB 14 is basically the first step on a slippery slope, and you have to look no further than what has been done on reproductive rights in our, in our state, especially, and across the country, but when you had these attacks [00:36:00] on abortion access, which inevitably lead to attacks on now contraceptives, which inevitably now lead to places like Alabama declaring that embryos for IVF treatments and procedures are people, like it is a slippery slope.
So when we go into a situation like healthcare for trans youth, that is the first step to something that is going to get worse before it gets better. so you can already expect in the next legislative session, because they're already doing it in other states, that the next step is to go after healthcare for trans adults, because they're going to say, we've already done it for kids, let's do it for everybody.
Because we set a precedent for it. So Lauren, having that ability to look forward as to how types of legislation like this can be used down the line is what you want in a state Representative, somebody who will look at these bills and say, no matter what the bill is, maybe on its face, it makes sense. But how does it affect us later?
What is the next step in this process? You need a state representative who's going to take the time to actually do real [00:37:00] research, talk to people who are experts on these issues, and make a decision that is informed. Because none of us have all the information, and we have to trust the people who do have that information to help us make informed decisions.
So I think that everything Lauren said just underscores not just her passion for this district and the people in it and making sure that those people recognize that they have somebody who will listen to them and their concerns may not always agree because not everybody always agrees, but who's willing to at least listen and take your input seriously and can actually have that policy mind to say, how does this lead to the next thing?
What is this going to do beyond this moment where I'm giving a speech on the floor of the Texas House in support of or opposition to a bill? That is something that we need in more elected officials. And the other thing, as an organizer myself, when I see somebody who has done organizing work and that organizing work is centered around improving people's lives, those are the people we need running for office.
Lauren has [00:38:00] fought to give people access to healthcare in a state where we have leaders who refuse to do things to expand access to healthcare or make healthcare more affordable. We get bills all the time that are, chipping away at our ability to make decisions about who we are and how we treat our bodies.
When Lauren is fighting for better wages for people in a state where people need to be able to actually pay for food and live their lives, having an organizer mentality is something that I think is really, really useful for somebody who's going into elected office. Because you have been face to face with folks in communities watching real people struggle with real issues.
And that type of knowledge in a place like the Texas legislature is so informative for bills that need to get filed because you can say I knocked doors for two years and all I heard about was lack of access to health care. I'm going to do something about it.
And one of the things I will say about Shawn Thierry, and I don't want to bash on Shawn Thierry all day. She's not worth my breath. But. She touts a lot about the work that she did around infant mortality, which was really important [00:39:00] work, so this is the one prop you'll get. Shawn Thierry did a lot of work to help with the infant mortality crisis in Texas, but she doesn't have that mindset where she thought about the SB14 bill, because, yes, you did work to keep babies alive, what happens when those babies turn out to be transgender or nonbinary, and suddenly you're the person who helped cut off their access to that life-saving healthcare? There is no foresight in the work that she's doing. It is, it is all id. It is ego, it is now, it is what can I get out of this moment?
That's why she did a victory lap on Fox News. So, from an equality coalition perspective, having a member of our in Lauren at the Capitol is obviously going to be somebody we are excited to work with, but also somebody that we know is going to prioritize issues of equality and fairness beyond just LGBTQ folks.
As the, as the LGBTQ community, we are as intersectional as anybody else, so there are tons of issues that intersect with our ability to live [00:40:00] and thrive in Texas. And Lauren has been on the right side of so many of those issues. So I, for one, am very excited to have an opportunity to work with Lauren in the next legislative session.
So again, I would just say the people of House District 146 are extraordinarily lucky to have an opportunity to vote for somebody like Lauren.
Mandy: So Melanie, you live in District 146 and I know that you have had less than stellar experiences trying to tell your story to and communicate with your Representative and her office. Tell us a little bit about that. Just, just from a, from like a constituent trying to talk to their Representative perspective and why you think Lauren is the better choice for office.
Melanie: So, first of all, I, I really thought, initially, when we knew this legislation was coming down the pike, that I would focus, whatever energy I had on people who I thought were perhaps at risk for, voting the wrong way on this.
And I really thought that my Representative, I didn't get the sense that she was, like, our biggest ally. But I, I didn't expect for her to, vote the way that she did or respond. So viciously. So I had tried originally, but as we, as a vote approach, like about, I would say a month before the vote, I tried to make an appointment to come to the Capitol, meet her, tell our story and try to explain why this vote would be so catastrophic for us.
Maybe my first mistake was telling the person who answered the [00:42:00] phone that what I wanted to talk to her about was SB 14. Maybe if I had just concealed that she would have actually granted me some face time. But, she did a clever thing where she's like, Oh, well, we have an open-door policy. You can come anytime. And I'm like, okay, that's great. But I'm driving all the way from Houston to come meet you in Austin. And I had already heard stories about people trying to meet with her. And then her like not showing up and they're waiting there all day. I don't have time for that.
So can I just make an appointment? And they were like, we don't make appointments, but you can come any time and she'll meet with you. And I was like, maybe could you just tell me a day that, for sure she'll be there and be able to meet with me? maybe you don't even have to tell me, at, two o'clock she'll meet with you. But if you just say, like, on Thursday, then I will devote the whole of my Thursday to going down there and waiting until it's convenient for her to meet with me and they couldn't even do that. So that was sort of my [00:43:00] first sign that maybe this wasn't going to like maybe I was a little bit too optimistic in my views of how she was gonna vote on this. And then of course I start to see in social media she is posting pictures of her meeting with anti-trans activists and, representatives of anti-trans activism organizations.
I went on to Twitter, which I use anonymously, and begged her to, if she wouldn't meet with me, that at least she meets with the orgs that represent my interests, So, TENT and Equality Texas, and, because she was refusing to meet with, Emmett, and refusing to meet with Equality Texas, Brad's group. And, [00:44:00] eventually, like after, drawing a lot of heat on Twitter, she did, I think, meet, or got a call, maybe she did a call, or her legislative director, excuse me, not her, her legislative director did a call, I think, with Equality Texas, and, she did eventually meet with, I think, a couple of parents, outside the house chamber, a friend of mine eventually met her, but, as my friend was trying to explain, her experience, the joys and the challenges of raising a trans child in Texas, Thierry just cut her off, wasn't interested and tried to insist that it was a phase and that, maybe, these were consequences that the child wasn't capable of granting assent to and it was just like, really, really shocking, to the point that she eventually blocked me on Twitter. I was always, super deferential and respectful. [00:45:00] However, I did tell her if she voted for SB14, that I would support a primary challenge for her.
That seems to have really set her off, and she accused me of bullying her, both publicly and privately. I think it wasn't until the LGBTQ caucus threatened to lodge a House ethics complaint against her that she unblocked me. She's like messaging reporters and stuff about me, like it's kind of wild.
I have visited with some more moderate Republican legislators about this stuff, and they paid me more lip service than my own State rep who I voted for, was willing to give me. So, so that was my experience.
I want to spend a little bit of time speaking to what it is about Lauren, Lauren and her politics that I [00:46:00] think make her the right candidate, She gets it, She gets why this vote was wrong. She gets why Thierry's interactions with constituents was wrong.
And I think it's because her comparison, between the difficult healthcare decisions that she's had to make for her child. Suffering from sickle cell and the difficult decisions that we've had to make, healthcare decisions that we've had to make for our child, It's so salient, Because she may not be the parent of a trans kid, but Lauren, she recognizes that we can find solidarity in our different but similar struggles,
Lauren said something in her introduction about not wanting to be a voice for the voiceless, right? Which is what Thierry says that she is. But actually I would say right now I am counting on Lauren to be my voice. You see I'm appearing anonymously [00:47:00] on this show part of what this legislation and the cultural climate that people like Shawn Thierry are contributing to is that it makes it an existential danger for parents of trans kids to use their voice publicly. We risk getting doxxed. I mean, I have a personal friend whose child's medical records were illegally accessed and then leaked to right wing disinformation campaigns.
That is a risk that I cannot take, and we risk drawing a target on our back for CPS is why I'm anonymous on the show. And in silencing the voices of trans kids’ parents, electeds like Shawn Thierry, they have robbed this group who should be, these kids most vocal, loudest allies, Their parents, their own parents. And, I used to be able to engage, [00:48:00] publicly and engage in democratic processes, to support my son and his interests.
But now I'm voiceless, and Shawn Thierry participated in making that a reality. But Lauren has demonstrated both in what she said today, but also I feel like through, her work as a union organizer and through her grassroots activism for public ed, she will use her voice for those of us who can't speak. And, I need it. We all need it. We need it now. I wish that it wasn't the case, but it is.
Mandy: When you said that basically your voice was taken away and that you used to be involved in the democratic process, it made me think kind of circling back to what Lauren was saying about how restoring, faith in the democratic process and democracy and giving people that hope and that healing again.
And so I think that is going to be just a, uh, a [00:49:00] gift, when Lauren is elected, cause we know that she will be. So, Lauren and Brad and Melanie, thank you so much for taking the time to tell the story of why Lauren Ashley Simmons is the Democratic candidate for Texas House District 146.
So Lauren, now this is your chance to give us the scoop on voting and donating to your campaign and all that kind of good stuff. So where do people go? People from out of state are going to be asking, how do we help or out of your district? Where do you want people to go?
Lauren: Thank you so much. So yes, I need all the help I can get. This has proven to be a very expensive race and we'll talk about campaign finance laws and all that stuff. It makes me, it drives me crazy. So you can follow me on social media at LASimmonsTX146. You can go to my website, LaurenAshleySimmons.com. You can make a donation, which I would love, but you can also sign up to [00:50:00] volunteer.
And so if you're out of state, you may not be able to join us for a block walk on the weekends, but we do virtual phone banking, and that would be a big help as we're trying to reach as many voters as possible. Mainly because the turnout is so low for primary races. And it has been. Again, as much as I want to get elected, which is my primary goal, we will never, ever see a statewide victory unless we are getting our folks out to vote in these elections that they, and they all matter.
And so if you go to Lauren Ashley Simmons dot com forward slash fields, you can sign up for volunteer opportunities that way. I would love to be able to connect with as many of you as possible. So please feel free to follow me on social media. I do my best to engage.
I've been a little off this last couple of weeks because I'm dealing with a death in my family. I have a very close relative who's passed away, and we've been doing some funeral planning, you know, the timing is never right, but this was really, really, um, personally, because I just felt like I've been so busy, and I felt, I feel really guilty that I kind [00:51:00] of missed some cues about this person being as sick as they was, but, we're dealing with that right now, but yeah, that's where you can find me, follow me, send us a contribution, sign up to volunteer. I would love to have you as a part of our team.
Mandy: Wonderful. And I will have all that information in the show notes and in the episode description so that you know where to go. And, and I'm sorry for your family's loss, Lauren. I think that just tells you where your priorities are, that it's your family and that's the people that close to you and I, for me, that's really important.
Man, if I could just vote for you, that would be awesome, but I can't cause it's, that would be unethical and illegal. So again, thank you all for being here today. And, again, thank you for your time and your wisdom and your input on everything. And, do, do I say good luck, Lauren? Do I say Yay? What, what, what is the best? Not break a leg. Do it. Just, I hope you win. Hope.
Lauren: Look, hope I win. Wish me luck. Okay. And just for everybody, so we're in the early voting period right now. Early voting goes until March 1st, and [00:52:00] March 5th is election day. So we are coming up really close on, the end stretch of this thing. So I'm excited.
Mandy: Okay. Everybody, in the district go out and vote for Lauren. And then, if you are not in her district and not in Texas, then you can, sign up to, donate and to volunteer. And again, I'll have that, all that information, in the show notes and also in, the episode description.
So, again, thank you all my guests, Lauren, Brad, and Melanie, and, I appreciate you so much.