My name is Brett Robinson and I have lived in the Cypress area for fifteen years, ever since I was nine years old. When my family moved here, our house was brand new and one of the only homes in the neighborhood. As I grew up in the community, I saw it develop with me as well. I care deeply about my fellow neighbors and I am always looking for ways to improve day-to-day lives through public policy.

I am currently a graduate student at the University of Houston, and I will be earning my Masters in Public Administration May 2024. The program teaches advanced courses in leadership, public management, and public budgeting, but my favorite topics are policy research and implementation. I believe this is because I love to solve puzzles like crosswords, picross, and hidato in my free time. For me, the joy I have in solving puzzles can also be found in discovering solutions to policy problems.

During my college career, I was heavily involved on campus. I served as an Undergraduate At-Large Senator, Cub Camp Counselor and Co-Chair, and UH Democrats Vice President. In each of these roles, my focus was always on supporting my classmates. As a Senator, I sponsored legislation that fostered a culture of student inclusivity. In the Cub Camp program, I mentored incoming freshmen to ensure a seamless transition to college life. Lastly, as UHDems VP, I engaged in civic empowerment by registering students to vote and providing networking opportunities to our members.

I have been mostly fascinated with income inequality and taxation policy, but I am also passionate about prison and rehabilitation reform. I have done research projects on these topics specifically.

In general, I am interested in the most difficult areas of public policy. I mentioned earlier that I like puzzles and enjoy coming up with solutions. If a problem is complicated and hard to solve, I am likely to be attracted to it.

It’s hard to narrow it down! As a candidate, it is important to have role models that encourage you each and every day. I admire State Representative James Talarico for his dedication to public service and for putting his constituents first. He has done uplifting work on common sense, bipartisan legislation, such as lowering insulin prices. I also admire Secretary Pete Buttigieg, a devout Christian who calls out Christian nationalism and hypocrisy. As a faithful man myself, I admire how he firmly believes in the separation of church and state, while also being very honest about how his faith guides him.

I highly recommend all works by John Rawls. Rawls is overall a great reference for my political philosophy, but there are other works that have influenced my opinion on specific issues. For example, Lorraine Hansberry's “A Raisin in the Sun” and Judith Jarvis Thompson’s “In Defense of Abortion,” guided my opinion around abortion rights. “In the Country We Love” by Diane Guerrero defined my stance on immigration reform, as it spotlighted the cruel nature of our current immigration system.

I will never forget when I attended a lecture that discussed the “veil of ignorance,” which is a thought experiment created by John Rawls. In general, his theory is that fair institutions require their constructors to cast aside their personal and social status. In other words, pretend you were told you are about to be born, and you did not know what circumstances you were about to be born into. What kind of society would you want it to be? If you could create it, which institutions would you make?

Rawls’ believed that people in positions of power often serve themselves and pass laws in favor of an elite class at the expense of everyone else. As your State Representative, I promise to always look for opportunities to improve your life. It is my belief that we will be judged on how we treat the least among us, and I fear we will be judged harshly if we do not change our ways. Let us start by walking in each other’s shoes, and our compassion will come naturally out of understanding. We should demand this from all our public officials.

The role of a State Representative is quite interesting, because you are elected by a small district in Texas, and yet you enact policy that has an effect on all Texans. Additionally, as we see in the fight for abortion access, state law has the potential to influence policy on the federal level. This means every district in Texas has national implications. For this reason, I will work not only to serve the interests of my district, but the interests of all Texans as well.

My campaign is only a few months old, and I have been approached by many people my age saying I have encouraged them to run for office. I could not be more honored, as I hope to leave a legacy that continues to inspire people to get involved. May we realize just how powerful we are.

I was 8 years old when Barack Obama was running for President, and I had just turned 9 when he was inaugurated. As a kid, I did not fully grasp the importance of his victory, but I vividly remember the energy, excitement, and hope that surrounded his campaign.

My first job was a coach at a Christian sports camp. Each week, I worked at a different church, as we had partnerships throughout the Houston area. I loved serving as a coach and teaching kids about Jesus’s love for them. I came back to the job every summer for five years.

I was very shy when I was a kid. I did not know what anxiety was back then, but I remember keeping to myself on first days of school because I was afraid to meet new people. I know now I'm not the only one, and that it is ok to feel that way. I only bring it up because I imagine many candidates would consider themselves extroverted, and I am different in that regard. However, I continue to be dedicated in letting my district know what the Legislature has been up to. My shyness disappears when I am talking about issues that matter.

My favorite has to be the Hunger Games series. I have always had an appreciation for the series since I was in middle school, but I love it even more now as an adult. It is truly magical how the themes appear to change as you grow up. When you read the series as a kid, you likely put yourself in Katniss shoes, and wonder what it would be like to fight for your life in the Games. But as I got older, I became more aware of the political themes. Donald Sutherland, who plays President Snow in the movies, said he begged to have a role in the cinematic adaptation. It was his hope the story would help motivate young people to get involved in the political process. He once said, “we (his generation) have wrecked this world, and if you are gonna fix it, you gotta do it now.”

Reproductive freedom is the largest focus of my campaign, because my opponent played a key role in the loss of this fundamental human right. If I am elected, it would be because Democrats, Independents, and Republicans alike stood up and declared that his extreme law is unacceptable. It would be a disservice to my community if on day one, I did not immediately put forth a bill that protects reproductive freedom. I promise you, I will work tirelessly to codify Roe v. Wade.

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