(Photo courtesy of Danyahel “Danny” Norris)
Many Democrats, especially in Texas, have advocated for a younger generation of leaders to step up and continue the fight that their elders began.
Although there are many younger leaders willing and able to carry the torch, some veteran political leaders still have the fire in them as well, which often leads to contentious battles between the old guard and the new wave.
In the race for Texas House District 142, which includes areas of northeast Houston and suburbs like Humble, Texas, state Rep. Harold Dutton is facing a strong challenger in attorney Danyahel “Danny” Norris.
RegalMag.com recently chatted with Norris about his run for office ahead of the March 3 primary.
Regal: You’re running against a longtime incumbent. What was it about Harold Dutton’s tenure that made you feel you could bring something better to Texas House District 142?
Norris: A few things led me to run for this seat. First of all, Representative Dutton is one of the primary authors of the 2015 law that has led to the disastrous takeover of HISD. Secondly, Representative Dutton has made many other major missteps within the last few years of his tenure, like allowing the anti-critical race theory (CRT) bill to pass out of the education committee in 2021 when he was the committee chair, not impeaching Ken Paxton during his impeachment trial in 2023, returning early in 2021 when all the other Democrats left Austin to prevent the 2021 voter suppression efforts of Republicans. Finally, and most importantly, while Representative Dutton has put much effort into holding schools accountable, he seems to be missing the larger point that schools are more of a barometer of the neighborhoods that they reside in. For instance, 97 percent of the students at Wheatly High School, which triggered the HISD takeover in 2023, are considered economically disadvantaged. That is an issue that cannot be addressed completely inside the walls of a school building, but needs to be addressed by the state and local representatives, to ensure that resources are poured into the area to help alleviate some of the issues caused by socioeconomic factors and poverty, and Representative Dutton is not addressing that in any capacity.
Regal: On your website, you say you’re trying to leave the world and those in it better than they were when you first encountered them. How good/bad were things in the district when you were growing up and how are they now?
Norris: While I did not grow up in District 142, I have lived in the district for more than a dozen years now, when my family bought our home there in 2013. I have been informed by many long-term residents and former residents how not much has changed in the district for the people of the district in decades, and that is a large part of why they are looking for change in this office.
Regal: What will you do to better your district?
Norris: My objective is to actually listen to the concerns of the community and address them in the order of priority given to them. When I took a survey of the district last year, I found out the top three concerns from the district were economic opportunities, healthcare access, and education, in that order, and my goal is to address those concerns in the same order. So, my plan is to work with local organizations and businesses to help generate more and better paying jobs for those who live in the district, expand access to affordable healthcare, fully fund the public-school systems, and return those schools to local control.
Regal: Talk about your voting rights lawsuit against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott?
Norris: In 2020, in the height of the pandemic, my wife and I voted in one of the drive-through voting made available that year. We made this decision to ensure that we didn’t contract Covid, which was most threatening for my wife, who was due to her high blood pressure, a high risk for having detrimental effects with the virus. The following year, the legislature made drive-through voting illegal, and made voting access more less accessible in District 142, which is predominantly minority (nearly 90 percent), as opposed to other districts which have less minorities. As such, I sued the state and its leaders, including Greg Abbott and Ken Paxton, in 2021, and the lawsuit has been pending ever since.
Regal: What impact did the closure of North Forest Independent School District have on District 142?
Norris: Closure of North Forest took place right around the time I moved into District 142, in 2013. While I wasn’t in District 142 at the time, I know that it caused the District to be forcibly absorbed by HISD, and resulting in yet another group of socioeconomically disadvantaged set of schools to come into the northeast portion of HISD system. Just a couple of years later, allegedly in an effort to get the schools on the northeast portion of HISD to perform better, Representative Dutton co-authored the bill that ultimately led to the takeover of HISD in 2023.
Regal: Who do you blame for the district’s closure?
Norris: Similar to the situation in HISD, many of the schools in North Forest ISD were and remain full of economically disadvantaged students, which tends to lead to issues in academics. Ninety-eight percent of North Forest High School students are economically disadvantaged. This is basically the same demographics as the neighboring high schools, which reside in District 142, Wheatly (97 percent) and Kashmere (98 percent) High Schools, which were both cited in the takeover of HISD. As I mentioned before, schools tend to be a barometer of the neighborhood, and it appears that the school district struggled largely in the area of academics, which ultimately led to things like low enrollment (because people don’t tend to want to send their children to struggling schools) and the resulting financial problems that come with the low enrollment. All these things appear to have led to the ultimate takeover. As such, it’s hard to put the blame on anyone in particular, but my suggestion to address the issues that led to the closure of North Forest and the takeover of HISD is to address the socioeconomics of the area by providing more economic opportunities to the residents in the area.
Regal: What will you do to address environmental racism in your district?
Norris: District 142 is home of many instances of environmental racism, including the cancer cluster in Fifth Ward, along with severe cases of other health challenges to residents, causing residents in it to have the lowest life expectancy in the county (around 20 years less than other parts of the county). This is a result of large pollutant corporations being able to literally poison the neighborhoods they are in. My plan is to prevent such pollutant corporations from being able to do such things through state regulations and working with the federal and local representatives to help hold them accountable at every level possible.
Regal: What does the controversial Dutton (to hell with you) recording say about him as a leader?
Norris: Leaving a voicemail telling someone “to hell with you” shows a lack of respect, temperament, and the ability to listen to valid arguments against his record. It also shows that (he) prefers to burn bridges than to build them. All are bad qualities of a representative, and yet another reason for him to no longer represent the district.
Regal: Why do you think the union endorsed you and not Dutton? And why have they endorsed his past opponents?
Norris: As mentioned earlier, Dutton is responsible for the takeover of HISD, which put him at odds with a number of the unions, especially the teachers’ union. Particularly, his unrepentant attitude about the takeover of HISD, despite many of (the) unprecedented actions of the appointed superintendent and board, which has led to high teacher turnover and a drop in enrollment, has caused many of the unions to prefer another person to take his place. Thankfully, they found me worthy to do so, and endorsed me, as well as a couple of other candidates who ran for this seat in the past.
Regal: How will Houston Independent School District (HISD) school closures impact your district, if at all?
Norris: Three of the 12 schools that are proposed to be closed are located in District 142. Also, a fourth school, which is just outside of the district, and is slated to be merged with one of the schools in District 142. So, the impact of the closures are greatly felt by District 142.
Regal: What makes you the best candidate to represent a district with so much socioeconomic diversity?
Norris: I grew up in both economically challenged neighborhoods and more affluent suburbs. I have a former classmate who has been featured numerous times in Forbes, as well as a classmate who was featured on “The First 48.” This, plus my background as an attorney, engineer, educator, and activist, makes me the ideal candidate to represent such a socioeconomically diverse district.
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