Ward Johnson for Texas House District 139 runoff election
This past legislative session was not kind to education.
Instead of adequately funding public schools, K-12 became a battleground for Gov. Greg Abbott’s misguided school voucher goals.
But there was one area of education that fared OK, even well: community colleges.
The Legislature’s $683 million investment in community colleges is part of an overarching reform of the way Texas funds the low-cost higher education institutions.
From her elected board seat with Houston Community College, Charlene Ward Johnson, 56, advocated for the change.
It puts less emphasis on enrollment, which had taken a hit during the pandemic, and instead offers incentives for schools based on metrics including students completing degrees, transferring to four-year institutions or earning a credential of value, meaning they earn a degree that readily translates to workforce opportunity.
We’ll need that same type of advocacy and attention to detail to get the Legislature to give the public school funding formula the updates it needs.
We believe Ward Johnson offers the right mix of advocacy and experience to replace outgoing state Rep. Jarvis Johnson, who happens to be her ex-husband, for District 139.
“I have the leadership experience, dealing with legislation, creating policies, dealing with budgets, being able to bring that to help the community,” she told us.
With experience in the energy industry, serving in customer-facing roles, Ward Johnson could also help provide an important consumerfocused voice to discussions about the ever-struggling Texas grid.
And she’s worked to establish relationships that will help her once in office.
She protested the state takeover of Houston ISD and earned the endorsement of the Texas American Federation of Teachers union.
She has championed higher education opportunities for senior citizens and better workforce preparation, and earned the endorsement of Texas AFL-CIO, as well as former Houston Mayor and state Rep. Sylvester Turner.
Her challenger in the runoff, Angeanette Thibodeaux, 52, also has a wealth of experience, having served as president for the Acres Homes Super Neighborhood and worked for decades across the country in the world of affordable housing, helping major corporations invest in communities.
She has the relationships to be effective in the Legislature
In a crowded primary field, Thibodeaux earned the greatest share of votes at 33%.
As is often the case in primary races, many of the two remaining candidates’ goals overlap: paying teachers more, expanding Medicaid, creating better opportunities for people exiting the criminal justice system, funding affordable housing opportunities across the community and not just in certain areas.
Both have campaign donations from procharter school groups but say they would not support school vouchers.
Ward Johnson was unequivocal: “I am against vouchers, strongly against vouchers, because I believe that public funds should stay in the public school, and that our public education is already underfunded.”
Thibodeaux agreed, clarifying a statement made in an earlier newsroom interview suggesting she was open to considering school vouchers.
“I wanted to see what the fascination was,” she said, explaining she wanted to better understand the motivation behind the bills. “I will never, ever be an advocate or an ally for taking public funds away from the school,” she told the editorial board but, as a parent of a public school student with challenges, she reiterated that her priority is making “sure every child is in the best possible learning environment, and that includes charter schools.”
We believe both have important on-the-ground experiences advocating for their communities and a working knowledge of critical systems that affect Houstonians’ everyday lives.
Ward Johnson convinced us that her elected experience and relationships in the Legislature would help boost her effectiveness in the House and Democrats could use any boost they can get there.