Texas Elected Officials Endorse Supreme Court Expansion

Press Release / February 21, 2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 21, 2023

CONTACT: [email protected]

WASHINGTON, DC— More than 40 Texas state and local elected officials announced their support for adding four seats to the Supreme Court, a proposal with growing support from local elected officials across the country.

The statement signed by the officials reads, in part: 

“The conservative supermajority on the Court poses an immediate threat to our long-standing fundamental rights. This Court has become part and parcel of the Republican Party’s agenda to maintain minority control at all costs, having been installed in plainly anti-democratic ways, and consistently ruling to further entrench the GOP’s minority power.

“A solution exists that would immediately restore balance to the Court. That solution is to add four seats to the Supreme Court in order to ensure a Court that properly balances the interests of everyday Americans against those of corporations and the Republican Party. Moreover, adding four seats would ensure that the Supreme Court is more reflective of the people it purports to represent. And of course, adding four seats could be accomplished by a simple act of Congress with a simple majority vote.”

In Congress, Supreme Court expansion is supported by Texas Reps. Veronica Escobar, Sheila Jackson Lee, Greg Casar, and Jasmine Crockett. 

Texas’ leaders join a growing group of state and local leaders for court expansion. This month, local leaders in New York and Pennsylvania have also announced their support, joining previously-announced groups from Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina, and Washington State.

A full list of the signers can be found below.

State Representatives:

  • Rep. Rhetta Bowers
  • Rep. Liz Campos
  • Rep. Christian Manuel Hayes
  • Rep. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins
  • Rep. Jessica Gonzalez
  • Rep. Jarvis Johnson
  • Rep. Jolanda Jones
  • Rep. Armando Martinez
  • Rep. Christina Morales
  • Rep. Penny Morales Shaw
  • Rep. Ana Marie Ramos
  • Rep. Ron Reynolds
  • Rep. Ramon Romero Jr. 
  • Rep. Jon Rosenthal
  • Rep. Carl Sherman
  • Rep. Shawn Thierry
  • Rep. Armando Walle
  • Rep. Gene Wu

Other elected officials:

  • Austin City Councilmember Vanessa Fuentes
  • Austin City Councilmember Jose Velasquez
  • Beaumont Councilmember Audwin Samuel
  • Carrollton City Councilmember Richard Fleming
  • Cedar Hill Mayor Steve Mason
  • Corpus Christi City Councilmember Jim Klein
  • Dallas City Councilmember Casey Thomas
  • DeSoto City Councilmember Kay Brown-Patrick
  • DeSoto City Councilmember Leticia Huges
  • El Paso County Commissioner David Stout
  • Everman City Councilmember Johnny Allen
  • Fort Bend Commissioner Grady Prestage
  • Fort Worth City Councilmember (former) Kelly Allen-Gray
  • Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis
  • Harris County Treasurer Dylan Osborne
  • Houston Vice Mayor Pro Tem Martha Castex-Tatum
  • Houston Independent School District Board First Vice President Myrna Guidry, Esq.
  • Lancaster City Councilmember Keithsha Wheaton
  • Missouri City Councilmember Jeff Boney
  • Port Arthur Mayor Thurman Bill Bartie
  • Port Arthur Councilmember Donald Frank Sr.
  • Port Arthur Councilmember Thomas Kinlaw, III
  • Port Arthur Councilmember Kenneth Marks
  • Tarrant County Commissioner Roy Brooks
  • Travis County Clerk Dyana Limon Mercado
  • Waco City Councilmember Andrea Barfield

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