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Benjamin Hernandez
Benjamin Hernandez (independent) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Texas' 9th Congressional District. He lost in the general election on November 6, 2018.
Hernandez completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2018. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Hernandez earned his B.A. from Rice University in 2005 and his M.B.A. from Rice University in 2007. His professional experience includes working as the chief financial officer for the Houston Health Department.[1]
Elections
2018
General election
General election for U.S. House Texas District 9
Incumbent Al Green defeated Phil Kurtz, Benjamin Hernandez, and Kesha Rogers in the general election for U.S. House Texas District 9 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Al Green (D) | 89.1 | 136,256 |
 | Phil Kurtz (L) | 3.9 | 5,940 | |
 | Benjamin Hernandez (Independent)  | 3.8 | 5,774 | |
 | Kesha Rogers (Independent) | 3.3 | 5,031 | |
| Total votes: 153,001 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 9
Incumbent Al Green advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 9 on March 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Al Green | 100.0 | 32,881 |
| Total votes: 32,881 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Benjamin Hernandez completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Hernandez's responses.
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
Immigration. Houston is the most diverse city in the country. As a community, we have focused not on where people are from, but on what they can become, what strengths they bring to our community and how we can work together to make a better Houston. Our country is no different. Just as Houstonians have embraced immigrants, we as a nation must do the same. Congress must pass legislation that addresses the status of DREAMers; provide a path to legal status for the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the shadows, and reform our current system to provide balanced family reunification policies as well as continue providing visas that attract talent to our country. There must also be fair and just options for people seeking refuge from violence or persecution. Families should be kept together when seeking refuge at our border. The asylum definition should clarify "persecution" and "particular social group" to reflect current immigration challenges in Central America. Immigration courts should be moved and operate under the federal judicial branch to provide independence from political influence. Criminal Justice Reform. Our system needs help. If we ever get a chance to talk, ask me about that time in 2014 I got arrested and spent a night at the city jail. That experience showed me firsthand how our current system disproportionately affects black and latino men. We need to comprehensively address the use of force in police departments, and promote more fair and just interactions with vulnerable and communities of color; invest in the infrastructure for community policing as a measure of prevention; implement policies that decrease mass incarceration; encourage and incentivize evidence-based community reentry programs; and reform our current cash bail system to ensure equal justice that isn't based on a defendant's ability to pay. Healthcare. Good health should be a part of all of our lives. Houston is home to the largest medical complex in the world, but both our state and country have little to show for it in terms of health outcomes. I won't bore you with statistics, but just know that the United States spends the most money in the world on healthcare per person, but we don't have anywhere near the best health outcomes. Good health starts with people having equal opportunity access to good healthcare regardless of how much money they make. The Affordable Care Act was a good start and the next step is Medicare For All, a single payer system that will cover people in our country and over the long run bring down the cost of healthcare. Health is a human right and in this country we've gone far too long without treating it as such. Others. I'll also work on gun safety, worker rights, education, climate, campaign finance, and reduction in the national debt to protect Social Security and Medicare. Politicians move on from issue to issue every single day, but I won't move on and forget these issues.
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?
I'm passionate about gun safety. This year in the span of three months, we had two mass school shootings and Congress did not even take up the issue for discussion. I've had the chance to work with a lot of students involved in the local March for Our Lives organization. I'm excited to see their passion for change and for representatives that aren't bought by and controlled by corporate interests. I want students to go to school every day knowing that their elected representatives did everything in their power to ensure that their environments are as safe as possible. As far as what I want to see done, I have to be honest and say that I've only held a gun briefly and never actually fired one. But that's me. I know there are a lot of people out there for whom guns provide a level of personal security, or who use guns in recreational form. I want to be clear here: I am not out to take everyone's guns or do away with the second amendment, but we've got to do something about gun violence in this country. Gun violence is a public health issue; let's treat it as one. The American Public Health Association and the American Medical Association have both weighed in and called the gun violence a public health crisis. We need to have a Congress that will take an honest look at guns and pass sensible legislation to implement background checks for all gun sales; raise the minimum age to purchase firearms; ban bump stocks, assault style rifles, high capacity magazines and close the private sale and gun show loophole; stop gun purchases by those on the federal "no fly" or terrorist watch lists; and support funding for federal research and public health surveillance on firearm-related injuries.
What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?
Elected representatives need to be genuine, have courage and care about the community. You can't represent a community if you don't care about a community. You can't care about a community if you aren't working for it. You can't work for a community if you aren't present. You can't be present for a community when you are just looking out for yourself. And that's where I think the problem is with our current political system. Elected officials make decisions on policy and issues based on whether or not it will hurt their chances for reelection. We need political leaders with courage and who care less about themselves and are willing to do the hard things for the benefit of the community even if it jeopardizes their position. The community needs to be first and last. Always.
What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?
I'm accessible and I listen. I'm not just available for photo-ops and ribbon cuttings. I'm here for you. I commit to holding at least one town hall every three months in the district and they will be free, live streamed, and open to the public and press. Without accessibility I can't begin to follow through on my commitment to represent you. So here's my phone number: 713-855-4789. I answer, I call back, I text. Here's my email: Benjamin@peoplecampaign.org I answer my own emails. I do this and knock on doors with our team because if I am running to represent you, you should be able to get a hold of me. If I don't do what you need me to do, vote me out. I don't want to retire doing this, I'm doing this because it needs to be done right now.
What legacy would you like to leave?
I'd like to leave a legacy of having trained young people to run for office and even my position after two or three terms. I don't need to be a house representative until I retire. We need to develop future leaders now. We often leave political leaders in office for a long time because we have not invested in the next generation. I left my job as the Chief Financial Officer at the peak of my career because I believe that others deserve a chance to lead. It's the only way to ensure that an organization continually has fresh ideas, perspectives, and is prepared to lead in the future. I will do that in Congress. I'd also like to look back and think that I was able to make a difference for immigrants, minorities, youth, and the underserved in our communities. If I can accomplish these things, I would be tremendously humbled and consider my time in elective office a success.
What is something that has been a struggle in your life?
I am an immigrant. I was an unwanted pregnancy, undocumented, and grew up in a disadvantaged community. I went to schools where not much was expected from us. My family was the victim of a sexual assault by a close family member. I got into Rice but had to drop out during my senior year because I couldn't pay for school. I got arrested and put in jail only to have all charges dropped the next day. Each one of those experiences could have defined my life and led me in another direction, but along the way I was fortunate to have people around me who guided me. I'm running for office because I know there are more people out there like me. People who if given the right opportunity in school and in life will be contributors back to society. We have to work to create communities and environments that will support the development of our youth, especially young people with stories like mine. If we can do that, we will all be better off as a country.
Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?
I think it is more beneficial to have leadership experience than government or political experience. With time, anyone can learn the ropes of any new job or position. We do that every time we start a new job. You can gain experience by doing it. I don't think we should just look for government or political experience when electing representatives. We should look for genuine leaders.
What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?
The world is ever changing and I am sure that security and other national challenges will be something we will have to deal with. But we cannot address the challenges of the future if we cannot learn to work together. The level of polarization in this country is concerning because we can't be prepared for the unknown challenges if we can't work together on our known differences.
What are your thoughts on term limits?
We need to implement term limits in Congress to make way for fresh voices and perspectives. We can debate how long those need to be, but we'd be better served by new people in office every so often.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Ballotpedia biographical submission form
The candidate completed Ballotpedia's biographical information submission form:
| “ | What is your political philosophy?
Democracy only works if we work together. We need leaders in elective office who can work together for the betterment of our country. These leaders need to listen more than they speak and above all they need to represent people and not special interests.[2] |
” |
| —Benjamin Hernandez[1] | ||
See also
- United States House of Representatives
- Texas' 9th Congressional District election, 2018
- Texas' 9th Congressional District
External links
Footnotes
