Rice Dems, Rep. Ann Johnson discuss state politics

By Simon Leton     2/18/25 10:11pm

The Rice Young Democrats hosted Texas Representative Ann Johnson for a dinner and discussion Feb. 7. Johnson, who represents the area surrounding Rice in District 134, spoke with undergraduate students about policy issues including reproductive rights, criminal justice, climate change and Texas political culture. 

The discussion with Johnson focused on how the Democratic Party could rally grassroots support and mobilize voters to change the partisan dynamic in both Washington and Austin. Johnson said the Rice Democrats’ efforts in the presidential election — door-to-door campaigning and engaging with voters on and off campus — were strong steps toward achieving these goals. She also discussed the difficulties of legislating as a member of the minority party, since the Texas House is currently split between 62 Democrats and 88 Republicans. 

“If you don’t want them winning, you have to take away their majority,” Johnson said during the event. 

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Bela Jotwani, a member of the Rice Young Democrats, said that the event, which had about fifteen attendees, was approachable. 

“I thought it was really nice that it was a little bit more personal, especially more than her giving a speech,” said Jotwani, a McMurtry College freshman.

 Jotwani said she appreciated the opportunity to meet Johnson, with whom she was familiar with from the news and social media. Jotwani also said she was impressed by Johnson’s approach to Democratic policies in Texas.

“I grew up in Houston, and I think that a lot of issues that Democrats fight for here are different. It’s different from being a Democrat in California,” Jotwani said.

Rice Young Democrats co-president Benjamin Kagan said that the idea for the event came from Johnson’s work with POLI 224: How to Run for Office. Johnson previously spoke during a class session.

“She was such a dynamic speaker, and she was so engaging and helpful for our learning journey,” Kagan, a Baker College freshman, said. “I thought it would be a really great thing to bring her to campus because she’s one of these people where when you hear them speak, you’re energized and you just want to go out and make change.”

Sammi Frey, Kagan’s co-president, said that she appreciated Johnson’s position on hot-button issues.

“She is standing strong on topics like reproductive justice, climate change, education policy and things like that in a time where everything is up in the air,” Frey, a Hanszen College sophomore, said. “We are having things get overturned and shut down at an unprecedented rate. Having a sense of security is really, really important and that’s why we brought her.”

Students also had the opportunity to speak to Johnson one on one.

“We were thrilled with the way that the event went,” Kagan said. “We really appreciated Representative Johnson’s willingness to have an open and honest conversation with students about the state of things and her willingness to call out some of the things that she thinks we’re doing well, as well as talk about the things that we need to improve here in Texas.”

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