Dawn Richardson

Dawn Richardson was born in New York, New York. Richardson's professional experience includes working as a teacher and administrator. She earned a bachelor's degree from LeMoyne College in 1981 and a graduate degree from the University of Phoenix in 2010.[1]

Richardson has been affiliated with the following organizations:[1]

TSTA-Retired

AARP

The Exchange Club of Killeen

Greater Peace Missionary Baptist Church

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Dawn Richardson is a retired educator with 39 years of service, the last 27 years in Killeen,Texas. She has taught 7th - 12th grade science and math, coached basketball, and cheerleading, supported student engagement as student activities coordinator, sponsoring more clubs than she has space to list.

Dawn started teaching in 1981 at her high school Martin Luther High School. She has taught in New York, Hawaii where she met and married her husband of 34 years, Louisiana, and completed her career in Texas. During those years, she earned the accolades Teacher of The Year, Teacher of the Month, Teacher of the Week, High School Blood Drive Coordinator of the Year, and 2015 Administrator of The Year by the STEM Program at Shoemaker High School.

Dawn has been the secretary, vice president, and president of the Killeen Education Association, member of KAASBE, Black Caucus Chair for TSTA, member of NEA, and NSTA, to name a few.

Dawn is an active member of her community. Currently, she is the President of the Exchange Club of Killeen, Community Advisory Committee Member for the Rock Rose Foundation,Youth Director for Greater Peace MBC, Alternate Director for TSTA-Retired Region 12, and actively works to register people in our community to vote.

Dawn is married to Michael and is the proud mom of Killeen ISD graduates, Dayna, Baylor University

grad ’12 and Mycah, St. Johns University grad ’17, and grandmom to pups, Persie and Shadow.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

* Oppose all school voucher plans. Vouchers will weaken the public school systems further and will not ultimately help those students that those who support them say they will

Support fully funding public school system to the average national level or higher.

Support all educational staff with higher wages and benefits

Build in a COLA that is triggered by measurable economic factors and not by the whim of the legislature

Support parental choice within the public school system. * Support reproductive rights and freedoms

Support maternal health

Support infant and child health

Healthcare should be affordable for all citizens and their healthcare should be between themselves and their doctors. *Support veteran health care

Support veteran tax exemptions

Support communities where veterans live

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Public Education, Women's Rights, Healthcare. Every child has a right to a quality education, no matter their status. Every women should be able to govern and control her health decisions, and every American should be able to afford to see a doctor, afford their medicines, and not run the risk of financial ruin

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

My mother, Barbara Jordan, and Nichelle Nichols (Uhura). My mom was the epitome of grace and class. Always dressed professionally and spoke so clearly. She was also a supervisor at Pan American Airlines in the late 1950's. She supervised a department of 300 and was one of only 3 Black women in the department.

The moment that I heard Barbara Jordan speak, I was memorized. She was so eloquent! She is the person that got me into politics. I remember watching and listening to her speak at the Democratic Convention and how they wanted her to be on the ticket as the Vice President which she turned down. I made it a point to tune in every time she was on TV.

The same with Nichelle Nichols. Here was a beautiful intelligent Black woman, being treated as an equal and not an object. Her character let us little girls know that we can be smart and beautiful, as well as be respected.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I am first and foremost approachable. As a former coach, I know how to work with and motivate people. As a classroom teacher, I know that all of us have unique talents and skills, and how to motivate and use those skills. I can work with all people as I respect the opinions of others. We don't always have to agree but we also don't have to be disagreeable. I went to a meet and greet and this gentleman asked me what my positions were. When I told him, he immediately said, no offense just know that I won't be voting for you. I asked him why and it started a dialogue. He thought I was saying one thing and I explained in detail what I was saying. At the end, I said to him, "you misjudged me. You assumed you knew what I was about without hearing anything else from me." He agreed and apologized. I then said "this is why we do these meet and greets so folks get to talk to us and truly hear what we are about". He agreed, apologized again, hugged me, and wished me luck. Now I don't know if he will vote for me or not, but I know that I gave him a lot to think about and that is a step in the right direction in healing the divide that we have in this country.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

To present and represent the best interests of my constituents. Too many elected officials promise one thing and then when elected, fight for their self interests or the interests of those in their circle. I intend to break that trend and represent what my constituents tell me through town halls and surveys, what is the priorities in our district. This is not about me but "we".

What legacy would you like to leave?

That I fought for what the people want, not my personal wants. I want folks to say, job well done, you gave it your all. I want to be able to say that we secured a school system that is fully funded and functioning for the majority of our children. I want to leave a Public School system that teachers want to come to, as opposed to leaving after 5 years. I want to bring community leaders and businesses into the conversation of affordability when it comes to housing in the communities that they live in. I want to leave our teachers and public service retirees in better shape with cost of living raises tied to inflation. Last but least I want to work on our healthcare system. Every citizen has the right to affordable healthcare. Healthy citizens are more productive. More productive citizens build a strong economy. My legacy will be that I worked for the people, not for myself.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The assassination of John F. Kennedy. I was almost 4 and I remember my mom and grandmom just crying their eyes out and explaining how he was going to approve civil rights . They were upset because they didn't know what was going to happen to all of that work of Dr. King and the movement. It was one of many moments that I watched with them.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Very first job was an assistant swim instructor to little children. Had this job for two summers. The head instructor told me that she never wanted the parents in the pool with the children because most times, they slow or hinder the child's progress. I learned this first hand when I had a young boy tell me that when he was little he had a very bad accident in the water. Now this child was three. Then his mom rushes up and says the same thing. I asked her to sit over there (so he could not see or hear her). In less than 3 days, he was jumping in 4 feet of water and by the end of the class, into the 20ft diving pool. The biggest take away was that parental attitudes affect their children's attitudes.

What is your favorite book? Why?

"I know Why The Caged Bird Sings". I read it when I was in 9th grade. So many emotions but the theme that stuck with me is no matter what you have gone through, you can overcome. She was so open about her life and her struggles. Her descriptions made it come to life. You felt as if you were going through it with her. I read that book in three days. I couldn't put it down. It was also the first book that introduced me to the traumas of rape.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Uhura from Star Trek. Intelligent and beautiful, and working in space. She worked on the bridge and was an officer. Captain always treated her with the same respect as the rest of his officers.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Ain't No Stopping Us Now. I have made it my theme song. Love the message. "Don't let anything get in your way"

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

A struggle in my life that I tend to over think my actions. I will do something or say something, and think about it over and over, whether it was right or wrong, or how I could have said or done it better.

Even when everyone is saying that it was great, I still tend to go over it many times in my head.

Is there a particular legislator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Barbara Jordan. She was a statesman who worked across the aisle to get things done. She was a unifying force in the Democratic party.

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

Right now, I want to concentrate all of my energies on the position that I want to attain and do the best for the people in my district

Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

A retired teacher I talked to told me that she brings home less than $1000 a month and how if it wasn't for her neighbor paying bills and buying food for her, she would be homeless as it is only her and her daughter and they barely can afford the rent, let alone anything else.

The married couple of 15 years with a 12 year old son, gets pregnant. They are told that the baby has died. Because she was 7 1/2 months pregnant, they would have to wait for the baby to pass naturally as she was past the date for an abortion. After a week and she started getting sick, the husband drove her to a state to get an abortion to save her life.

A retired police officer is wanting us to do something about retirement benefits because when they retire, their health insurance is extremely high because they do not pay into a system like teachers do with TRS. However, many teachers complain about the cost of their healthcare as well.

So many parents complain about how their child's teacher has too many students in their class. They always praise the teacher for how well they are doing but why doesn't the system hire more teachers.

The young teacher in tears because she has to leave her inner city school due to the rise in her rent. She loves her students but can no longer afford to live any where close to her school.

This older gentleman who isn't taking the medicines that he needs because they cost too much and wouldn't be able to pay his rent.

The lady who told me that she almost lost her house due to her health care costs. She said that the only thing that saved her was the ACA.

Tell us your favorite joke.

Richard Pryor: Two men were on a bridge and seeing all of that water made them want to .... (go to the bathroom). So they decided to go.. The first guys says that this water is cold. The second one said "and it's deep too". First heard that Freshman year of college. Didn't get it until Senior year!

Should the legislature oversee or grant the use of emergency powers?

This would have to be an extreme life or death situation with oversight by all three branches of government. No one person should have that authority. It should be debated and the voting public should have input. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Should be done by a 80% or higher vote of all legislators.

What is the first bill you would introduce if elected?

Codify that no public funds can be use for private education. Public education should be fully funded to the national average or higher. Along with that, the minimum teacher pay should be at the national level, with state funding going to supplement that in districts who are cash poor. Most new teachers leave the profession within the first 5 years of teaching. Among the many factors that are cited is affordability of the area in which they live. Teachers should not have to work two or three jobs to survive. Working extra jobs, does affect their performance in the classroom. Revisit the Recapture statutes to make sure that monies are being distributed fairly and that those school districts that in need are the districts receiving those funds. However, the lionshare of that funding should come directly from the state. There are districts due to their tax base, could fully fund these mandates if they were able to keep the majority of their tax revenue in district. The state then, should step up and fill the gaps in those districts who are tax poor.