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MCALLEN, Texas - Democrat Thomas Garcia says he is the \u201cchoice for change\u201d in the race to become the Texas State Board of Education member for District 2.

Voters will elect a new member for the District 2 slot because incumbent Ruben Cortez is running in another election in 2022.\xa0

In an in-depth interview with the Rio Grande Guardian, Garcia points out he taught in schools throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. He also points out he founded a college access program at PSJA ISD at the age of 19. And he incorporated this program into a nonprofit organization servicing Rio Grande Valley schools.

He graduated from Princeton University as a first-generation college student.

Garcia provided four bullet points in his interview:

1. He is FOR expanding mental health resources and reducing the workload on teachers and counselors.
2. He is FOR expanding ethnic studies and dual language programs.
3. He is FOR expanding digital literacy and computer science programs.
4. He is FOR increased transparency and oversight of taxpayer funds in schools.

In his interview, Garcia said he hopes to get more young people involved in the political process.

\u201cI am excited to meet a lot of young people. A lot of people want to get into the political process. For many years I have been working on college access, getting high school seniors into college. And for so long I have seen young people who want to do good in their community. They just don\u2019t know how. They don\u2019t have the platform. Throughout this campaign I hope I can give them that platform to get more civically engaged.\u201d

Editor\u2019s Note: The attached podcast is the first in a two-part series on SBOE District 2 candidate Thomas Garcia.\xa0

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.