Roland Gutierrez in 2024 TX Senate race
On Budget & Economy:
Voted against state budget because no teacher pay raise
[On education funding]: "The fact that there is no pay raise in this budget is a huge slap in the face to every single one of our teachers. Teachers are expected to selflessly dedicate their lives to the education of our children. In Uvalde, teachers
sacrificed their lives for our children. And they won't even help them keep up with inflation?" Gutierrez said in a statement. "This is the biggest surplus ever. Teachers deserve better than this bullshit from the Texas Legislature."
Source: Texas Tribune on 2024 Texas Senate race
May 25, 2023
On Civil Rights:
Endorsed by the Human Rights Campaign
Proud to announce that I have been endorsed by the Human Rights Campaign! Everyone in the LGBTQ community should be free to live their truth, and
I will always fight for equal treatment under the law!
Source: Facebook posting on 2024 Texas Senate race endorsement
Sep 17, 2020
On Crime:
Filed bill to end qualified immunity for police officers
Gutierrez filed Senate Bill 575 to end qualified immunity for police officers, a judicial doctrine that shields government officials from liability for constitutional violations. He said ending qualified immunity will make it easier for the families of
the Uvalde shooting victims to seek damages after the flawed law enforcement response to the Uvalde school shooting, in which hundreds of officers descended on the school but did not confront the gunman for over an hour.
Source: Texas Tribune on 2024 Texas Senate race
May 25, 2023
On Drugs:
State senate platform included legalizing marijuana
In 2020 he was elected to the Senate, in part by running on a platform to legalize marijuana, reclaiming what had been a Democratic district for more than a century from a
Republican incumbent who had taken office in a special election.
Source: Texas Monthly on 2024 Texas Senate race
Jul 10, 2023
On Energy & Oil:
Motivate oil companies to invest in renewable resources
[Opponent Colin] Allred has pushed his colleagues not to take too punitive an approach on fossil fuels as a way to lower carbon emissions. Instead, he favors financial incentives to grow renewable energy. Allred proposed additional federal
investment in technology to capture carbon before it's released into the atmosphere.Gutierrez has a similar view. He said he wants Texas to become a leader in renewable energy, but he also wants to ensure oil field workers are not left behind.
They should be transitioned to jobs in renewable energy that pay at least as much, he said. "I'm not one of those guys who says we're going to throw out the baby with the bathwater in Texas,"
Gutierrez said. Gutierrez said he supports using tax credits to motivate oil companies to invest in renewable resources. He also said he has supported a carbon tax, or a tax on fossil-fuel emissions.
Source: Texas Tribune on 2024 Texas Senate race
Aug 9, 2023
On Foreign Policy:
We must fight to maintain democracy in Ukraine, elsewhere
Ukraine is about democracy. We must fight to maintain democracy in Ukraine or any part of the world because when its challenged, it affects us. We cannot allow fascist dictators like [Russian President Vladimir] Putin to take us back to World War II.
We cannot allow ourselves to be in a situation where they overrun countries in Europe. Cannot happen. Must not happen. Just like democracy is challenged there, it's also eroding here.
Source: WFAA News on 2024 Texas Senate race
Jul 10, 2023
On Government Reform:
Supports term limits for members of Congress
Gutierrez expressed support for term limits for members of Congress. "I don't know if it's two or three [terms], but at some point, you need fresh ideas," he said. Gutierrez already poked at Cruz over the issue in January, when Gutierrez filed a bill to
require U.S. senators from Texas to serve no more than two terms.Allred stopped short of backing term limits but said he understands the rationale behind the idea. He said legislation to fight partisan gerrymandering, tighten campaign finance
laws and expand ballot access would more directly address frustrations with Congress.
"If you're able to address voting rights and campaign finance, which
I think are the two real root causes of most of our problems, then I don't think you have to look at something like term limits," Allred said.
Source: Texas Tribune on 2024 Texas Senate race
Aug 9, 2023
On Gun Control:
Been a leading voice in state senate on gun violence
As a Texas State Senator, Roland has been a leading voice in the state's capitol in preventing gun violence. After the Uvalde massacre, Roland fought side by side with the parents and families of the
19 children and 2 teachers to uncover the failures in the Department of Public Safety and state's response to the shooting.
Source: 2024 Texas Senate campaign website RolandForTexas.com
Aug 28, 2023
On Gun Control:
For universal background checks, red flag laws
Preventing gun violence is one of Gutierrez's top reasons for running. He represents the district where the Uvalde school shooting took place last year and has spent the year energetically pushing for gun restrictions at the Texas Capitol. "The Safer
Communities Act was a good start, but not nearly enough," Gutierrez said of the post-Uvalde federal law that increased background checks for gun buyers under age 21.Gutierrez said he wants to see universal background checks, red flag laws that allow
judges to temporarily seize firearms from people who are deemed dangerous and an increase in the minimum age to buy an AR-15 from 18 to 21. As for stopping the future sale of such firearms, he said he is open to a ban with exceptions for law
enforcement, military veterans & farmers who can prove they need such a weapon for something like killing feral hogs, a common problem in rural Texas. Gutierrez said he supported a voluntary buyback but questioned whether a mandatory program would work.
Source: Texas Tribune on 2024 Texas Senate race
Aug 9, 2023
On Health Care:
Established the Warrior Resiliency Center to treat PTSD
As State Representative, Roland prioritized mental health programs by establishing the Warrior Resiliency Center in San Antonio to focus on the treatment of PTSD for veterans and all Texans. Roland pushed the state to provide resources to survivors of
sexual assault by creating a crisis call center that provides emotional and legal support. Roland also pioneered the Farmer Suicide Prevention Hotline to address the mental health needs of rural Texans, which has saved 60 lives and counting.
Source: 2024 Texas Senate campaign website RolandForTexas.com
Aug 28, 2023
On Health Care:
Health care a universal right; for Medicare for All
Gutierrez predicted health care will be a major point of debate in the primary. He supports a single-payer health care system like "Medicare for All," calling health care a "universal right." "We can afford to do this in a right way where corporations,
where employers still pay into a system that isn't gouging," Gutierrez said. "We have to have a very real discussion on this, on how we pay for it, and part of that is we have to take out some of that tremendous amount of profit."[Opponent Colin]
Allred does not support a single-payer insurance plan but supports other initiatives to expand access to health care, including the creation of a public option to buy Medicare if there are no other affordable alternatives.
Gutierrez said he wants to
eliminate the ability of "rogue governors like Greg Abbott" to decline Medicaid expansion. Asked for details, he said there are "myriad ways" for the federal government to make states like Texas comply.
Source: Texas Tribune on 2024 Texas Senate race
Aug 9, 2023
On Immigration:
Against border wall; for pathway to permanent residency
[Opponent Colin] Allred advocated for border security measures, including mandated E-Verify. But he dismissed a border wall as "ridiculous" and a waste of money.Gutierrez was also critical of a border wall, calling it a waste of time, money and
resources. More broadly, he said the United States needs to reimagine immigration policy by overhauling visa programs and working with Latin American countries to help people better understand job opportunities in the U.S. before they travel to the
border. Gutierrez said he supports a pathway to residency for the millions of people who have long been in the country illegally, with a mandated time period and financial penalty. He distinguished that from a pathway to citizenship, which people could
apply for five years after they become lawful permanent residents. He said he favored a pathway to residency and an earlier pathway to citizenship for "Dreamers," or young people who were brought to the country illegally as children.
Source: Texas Tribune on 2024 Texas Senate race
Aug 9, 2023
On Environment:
Opposes wastewater plant that would contaminate aquifer
Gutierrez has joined politicians and residents fighting the construction of a wastewater plant that would dump millions of gallons of treated effluent into Helotes Creek. Gutierrez stated the project is "a threat to public health, safety, and the
welfare of my constituents and all those who depend on the Edwards Aquifer.""Once these aquifers become contaminated, impractical and costly water purification treatment would be required before the water would be safe to consume," he said.
Source: San Antonio Report on 2024 Texas Senate race
Jun 5, 2023
On Abortion:
Total Pro-Life Score: 0% by Texas Right to Life
When Representative Matt Krause proposed increasing the funding for the life-affirming Alternatives to Abortion Program, Gutierrez voted against the Pro-Life,
Pro-Woman amendment. Gutierrez went out of his way to oppose a Pro-Life amendment to prohibit hospitals that commit elective abortions from receiving tax funds.
Source: Texas Right to Life press release on 2024 Texas Senate race
Nov 1, 2019
On Drugs:
Rated A+ by NORML: legalize marijuana and expunge records
NORML Politician Info: rated A+ - Candidate: Roland Gutierrez (D - TX): Holds office State Senate District 19
- Summary: LEGALIZE, TAX, AND REGULATE/DECRIMINALIZE: According to his campaign website,
Gutierrez strongly supports legalizing marijuana for adult use and expunging previous marijuana convictions.
- Legislation:
- H.B. 1535 - Expands the Texas Compassionate Use Program
-
Co-Author-Medical Marijuana (HB 2107) 2017
- Co-Author-Civil Penalties (HB 507) 2015
- Co-Author-Civil Penalties (HB 81) 2017
- Votes:
-
2021: Expands the Texas Compassionate Use Program, HB 1535: voted Yes
- 2015: Authorizes Medical Use of Cannabis, SB 339: voted Yes
Source: NORML "Smoke the Vote" on 2024 Texas Senate race
Aug 8, 2024
Page last updated: Oct 30, 2024