The Race for District 32

Two candidates are campaigning to win TX-32, the U.S. House of Representatives congressional district that includes the Park Cities.

The Democratic leader in this race is the incumbent Rep. Colin Allred, a former NFL player and a current civil rights attorney. Republican Genevieve Collins is a businesswoman and Southern Methodist University graduate who seeks to unseat him this November.

Allred worked as an assistant in the Department of Housing and Urban Development under the Obama Administration. In 2018, he ran for his first public office position, beating Pete Sessions for the position he currently holds.

Allred took inspiration from those close to him to propel his career dreams. “I spent my evenings, summers and school breaks at great YMCA camps and was helped by so many unsung heroes who went above and beyond the call of duty to give a kid who didn’t know his father a chance to chase his version of the American Dream,” he said.

He also said that support gave him the platform he needed to play in the NFL, to become a civil rights attorney, and to serve in Congress.

Being a congressman has allowed Allred to see flaws in the government, and there are specific areas he wants to improve.

“The current spread of COVID-19 has highlighted how our system fails so many -- from young people preparing to go off to college and facing the rising cost of higher education, to access to affordable health care, to how inequities disproportionately affect communities of color,” he said.

“We need real leadership that focuses on uniting us as a nation, not dividing us.”

Although Allred is proud of the House for improving healthcare costs, he says in his next term, he hopes to pass legislation into law that will lower health care and prescription drug costs for all Americans.

The coronavirus caused many politicians, as well as citizens, to re-evaluate the effectiveness of the healthcare system. As a result of this, Allred is adamant about passing a coronavirus relief bill.

“We must pass a COVID relief bill that has a national strategy to ramp up testing and contain this virus, as well as get North Texans, schools, local governments and small businesses the economic relief and help that they need,” he said.

Allred also feels passionate about alleviating the current social unrest.

“We need real leadership that focuses on uniting us as a nation, not dividing us. We should all remember that there is never a reason for violence,” he said.

He said he believes the federal government plays a crucial role in maintaining tranquility, and the federal government should always work to ensure justice is done, which includes guaranteeing the basic rights of individuals are not violated. Additionally, he believes all law enforcement must work to de escalate tensions with protestors.

As a result of the protests, a large debate has prospered about whether or not the police should be defunded.

“I do not support defunding the police,” Allred said. “But I do believe we need to make more investments in those areas to

help disadvantaged communities and to acknowledge that many of the problems we ask our police officers to deal with would be better addressed by social workers and substance abuse counselors.”

Allred’s opponent, Collins, is a seventh generation Texan who dedicated the majority of her professional career to working in the business world and helping turn around low-performing school districts. This will be her first time running for public office.

According to Collins, she decided to run for office in order to bring common sense, business sense and a sense of urgency to Washington D.C.

Collins stated her career gave her the skills needed to be a congresswoman. “As a business woman I have created jobs, forecasted growth and actually balanced budgets,” she said. “I am a problem solver, and I want to bring that same mentality with me to Congress.”

Her grandmother, Calvert Collins, was the first woman to be elected to the Dallas City Council in 1957. She said her grandmother has taught her the value of hard work and how to lead with reason and grace. She remains her greatest inspiration.

Additionally, Collins feels a deep passion for education.

“I believe that every student deserves access to a high-quality education so they can be adequately prepared for a thriving future,” Collins said.

In regards to the pandemic, she feels the global pandemic effectively shed a light on the disparities in the education sector.

“Since the very start of the pandemic, students have required greater access to broadband and increased connectivity than ever before in order to combat the learning loss that has no doubt become standard across all districts navigating this new normal,” Collins said.

More specifically, she said unequal access to technology for students is what is preventing the achievement gap from closing. She said she will use her background in education and business to ensure every student has the ability to access a quality education regardless of their zip code.

Collins also said that she wishes Congress would do a better job of budgeting.

“Congress has failed for years to institute a consistent and logical method for managing our nation’s finances,” she said. “As a businesswoman, our

business would have closed years ago if I conducted business the way Congress crafts a budget. I will work to institute zero-based budgeting to get our spending under control, so future generations won’t be paying endless debts.” In attention to social reform, Collins said she would like to see policing reforms such as use of force, consistency at all training academies on racial bias and a federal registry of police officers in order to weed out the bad actors.

“I’m not running for office to join the DC status quo to kick problems down the road, I’m running to put Texas first and address the challenges facing our district,” Collins said.

Despite the candidates’ differences, both Allred and Collins touched on the threat of China to Americans.

“China represents the single biggest overall threat,” Allred said. “We must stand up to China, and protect American companies and workers. We must also hold China’s government accountable for their continued abuse of basic

human rights and civil rights. I have done so on the Foreign Affairs Committee and will continue that important work.”

Collins said she thinks China is an impending threat that continues to conduct cyber espionage.

Early voting began Oct. 13, and voters from Wylie to Richardson to Highland Park in the U.S. House Texas District 32 will continue to cast a vote for one of these candidates until Nov. 3.