Who Represents Me Essay 1

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Political Science

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Apr 3, 2024

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Carissa Gallardo Professor Lavastida P SC-1113-070 9 February 2024 Farmers Branch, Texas 75234 Essay 1: Who Represents Me? As a citizen of the United States, it is very important that we are informed as to who is responsible for representing us since it helps ensure the basis of a government that reflects the needs of every citizen, as well as ensuring that our voices are heard. Being knowledgeable about what is going on in our government helps us become more involved in learning about our elected officials in every level of government like local, state, and federal. Throughout this essay, it will be seen that the government levels reveal to us the representative issues and viewpoints that are more intensely focuses than those at the local, state, and federal levels. I have selected a few topics from each elected official to discuss and voice my opinion on whether I agree with their point of view or oppose their perspectives. To start off within the local government of my city, the mayor can be identified as the head of our local government and should be the person we address any letters or requests to. The current Mayor of the Farmers Branch city council is named Terry Lynne. Terry Lynne, who is a 24-year resident of Farmers Branch, was born and raised in Dallas. As a young child, he attended Calliet Elementary School, Cary Junior High and Thomas Jefferson High School. He continued to further his education by attending the University of Oklahoma and graduating with a degree in

Business Management. With his Business Management degree, he worked for a total of 7 years in industrial sales selling materials for the defense industry but then he later changed career and went into radio advertising sales for 25 years. Before serving as Mayor, Lynne first served as a Councilmember from 2016 to 2022 and then later ran for the mayor position in 2023. Terry Lynne has stated that as being Mayor his core values are, “Family First, Faith, Integrity, Honesty, Respect, and Service” (About Terry Lynne, 2022). While Terry Lynne has served as mayor, he has established a few priorities that he has hoped to work with the council on, two of his main priorities include slowing traffic down throughout the city and homeless initiative. Terry Lynne’s position on the traffic throughout the city is that he believes that it is too fast and that more traffic enforcement is enforced. He says, “We have more kids than ever before, so we need to make sure our streets are safe for young and old” (About Terry Lynne, 2022). I would agree on his position on slowing down the traffic within the city because while being a resident there for most of life, I have seen many careless drivers on the road and not get caught which can be very dangerous for all the pedestrians driving or walking. The city of Farmers Branch used to have a saying that many people supported which was, “Don’t speed in Farmers Branch”. I think that Terry Lynne has done a great job at representing the people of the city because he acknowledges the issue and makes sure to resolve it. He states, “We need to get back to that and let our officers do what they were trained to do. This will send a signal to bad actors that our police are everywhere and that bad actors are not welcome in our city” (About Terry Lynne, 2022). The issue of homelessness around the city of Farmers Branch has increased through the past several of years, which is why Terry Lynne believes that there should be more done to help those who are in need. I also agree with his positions towards this specific issue because it is something that will likely not go away but there can be less if we come together as a community to help. Terry believes that having a

trained staff who help with the homeless will help decrease the impact of homelessness. He says, “I will work with our neighbors in Dallas to take more responsibility for the homeless that live under and around LBJ, which is City of Dallas property” (About Terry Lynne, 2022). This shows how much he works to make sure every person’s opinion is heard and that the city will continue to thrive and be a place where people feel belonged. Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne was born in upstate New York and lived in Amsterdam, New York, as a young child and later lived in Cooperstown. Before entering national politics, Van Duyne had a distinguished career in local government. She served as the Mayor of Irving, Texas, from 2011 to 2017, where she earned a reputation for her commitment to fiscal responsibility and economic development. Van Duyne successfully ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2020, representing the 24th congressional district of Texas, demonstrating her continued commitment to public service. Her political platform has frequently placed a heavy emphasis on conservative principles, such as individual liberty, limited government, and a dedication to economic development. Van Duyne has many different positions on many different issues but the 2 issues that she voices the most are about children’s education and health. Van Duyne believes that no student should have to pay loans after college, she proposed the Combating Predatory Lending in Higher Education Act. It amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to cover loans for graduate students and parents. The bill also adjusts the Cohort Default Rate (CDR) to include defaults on these loans in the calculation. Van Duyne said, "Students should have the opportunity to pursue higher education without fear of predatory loans hindering their ability to learn and threatening their financial future” (Education, n.d). I agree with Van Duyne’s position on this issue because if we continue to have to pay off student debt after we graduate, I feel like many students will most likely develop a fear of attending college

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