Voting rights started HD 98 Democratic candidate's activism

Shannon Elkins entered the race for state House District 98 planning to raise a few issues. But she wasn’t expecting to be the only candidate who entered on the Democratic side. Now that she has the Democratic nomination though, she’s out to win the seat in November. Elkins is challenging five-term incumbent Giovanni Capriglione for the northern Tarrant County seat. Capriglione has accomplished little during his decade in office, but he did author the anti-abortion trigger law that made abortion illegal in Texas with the repeal of Roe v. Wade. With redistricting, the district lost the city of Haslet and added a piece of Euless. That added Democratic voters. The district now includes Keller and Colleyville and most of Grapevine, Southlake and Westlake with a piece of far north Fort Worth. Elkins, a member of the LGBTQ community, said she’s been a voting-rights activist for a long time. “When HB 25 [preventing trans girls from participating in school sports] passed, those two worlds collided,” she said.

Elkins said HB 25 is “wrong, unfair and dangerous,” and is simply being used as a wedge issue. When the billed passed, she said, “I thought I’d file for the primary and make some noise.” And when she became her party’s nominee, she decided, “We’re in it, and we have a lot to fight for.” The issue of HB 25 disturbs her not just as a member of the LGBTQ community, but as a teacher. Elkins said she has her school district’s support as a lesbian — her district has a non-discrimination policy — and when she spoke to her principal about running for office, he indicated she should “go for it.” Elkins supports full funding for education. As a middle school special education teacher, she said she relies on the help from her aides and school support staff. While school districts have been raising teacher pay, she said, other people working in public schools deserve more money as well. She wants the Legislature to help with funding those positions. “They’re important,” she said of those employees. “They’re not being treated as the professionals they are.” Elkins compared her education priority to the Republican agenda of blaming trans kids or their supportive families for problems in public schools or worrying that some white children will be insulted if Texas racial history is taught accurately. Elkins, who is pro-choice, said she is concerned with how the new abortion ban in Texas will affect fertility treatment and women who suffer from conditions like an ectopic pregnancy that can’t be brought to full term.