Candidate Name:
Kelly Stone
What office are you running for?
Texas Railroad Commissioner
With which party are you running for office?
Democratic Party
Election Date
Primary March 3rd
Why are you running for office?
As an educator, environmental activist, and mother of two, I’m running for Texas Railroad Commissioner to protect and defend our environment against the greed and destruction of Big Oil.
What is the biggest issue facing your community and how do you propose helping?
The biggest issue we’re all facing is the climate crisis, and my goal Is to eliminate the permitting of venting and flaring of natural gas and to incorporate the goals of the Green New Deal into the Texas Railroad Commission’s regulations and policies. Texas is responsible for 51% of all the gas emissions for the United States, and this not only affects our the health and wellness of humans and the environment. It is causing the loss of resources and catastrophic weather events all over the world, and this creates climate refugees in environmental sacrifice zones which deepens the economic inequality faced by larger sums of people. I believe that disrupting the Texas Railroad Commission and changing the debate is one of the most impactful places in Texas to create real change to tackle the climate crisis.
How do we fix the partisan divide in our country and start working together again?
Whew. This is a tough question. This divide has been deepened through many avenues: 24-hour cable news networks, the war on drugs, Facebook and Twitter, stagnate minimum wage, for-profit healthcare and for-profit prisons, institutionalized racism, misogyny and homophobia… I think the way we have to fix this is by breaking down the systems of oppression we have institutionalized and start over.
Who is your hero?
Lots of sheroes: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Margaret Sanger, Madonna, and of course, Beyonce
What are your hobbies?
Motherhood isn’t really a hobby, but it sure takes up a lot of my time and energy! I’m also a river enthusiast who paddles and swims as much as I can, and I spend a lot of time as an activist, cleaning and speaking up for the river. Some would call stand-up comedy my hobby, but it’s been a part of my career (declared on my taxes) for many years. Oh, and food…food is maybe my favorite hobby. I sure love eating.
What is the most recent book you read?
I’m actually in the middle of two books right now: “Make Trouble” by Cecile Richards and “There’s Nothing in the Middle of the Road but Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos” by Jim Hightower
Do you have any kids/pets/talking houseplants?
I have two feminist boys and two hermit crabs they made me buy on a beach trip. I wish I had a garden.
How can our readers get involved in your campaign?
We have a volunteer sign-up on our website under “Join the Resistance”, and we need a ton of folks to help us make calls, block-walk, boost social media messages, wear shirts/buttons, and display upcycled or homemade signs.
What question do you wish we’d asked, and what is your answer?
Did you play high school football?
Why yes, I did play high school football, challenging Title IX in the 90’s! I was the kicker on the JV Football team at Aldine Senior High School in Houston, Texas, and my “locker room” was the laundry room. Boy, was that a stinky place to to choose to fight the patriarchy!
Candidate Social Media:
Post created from answers submitted by candidate to our Meet the Candidate survey.
