Alexandra Guio is currently running for the Texas House of Representatives District 114 in Dallas as a Democrat. Notably, she is the only woman running in this open seat race.
Born in Bogota Colombia, her childhood was full of changes. Her father, an engineer at Shell Oil, moved her family to a coastal town in Colombia due to the safety concerns living in Bogota. Her mother was then diagnosed with a brain tumor. Because one of the only places that could help her mother was a hospital in Houston, Texas, her family made the decision to move once again, and settled in Katy, Texas, a small town outside of Houston.
Knowing what her parents left when they moved to the United States was a huge motivator for Guio growing up. She knew that her parents valued the opportunity they could have in the United States and this shaped her work ethic in a major way. Guio remarks that she had to work harder than most people growing up, because she was female, an immigrant, and undocumented. She also notes that her family was very vulnerable during this time in her life, as when their visas expired, they had to be very careful.
Guio never imagined she would be run for office. In 2013, she became a citizen of the United States and graduated from SMU Dedman School of Law, which made her the first attorney in her family. Guio was very involved in her community and began to think of ways to step up. During the time leading up to Donald Trump winning the 2016 presidential election, the news and events happening around Guio were very difficult to take in. After a phone call with her father, who had become discouraged after the 2016 election, in which he told her that, “from this point forward, you have to be careful,” she became motivated to run for office.
Guio states that she believes there are many issues currently facing her community. Most prominently, she believes in making sure every child has access to the same quality of education, regardless of where they live. Guio says that public education is very important to her, because it is there that she learned English. She also states the importance of having access to affordable healthcare in Texas, including the expansion of Medicaid in the state. Lastly, Guio advocates for better protections for women in terms of their reproductive rights. She believes that all women should have the right to make choices related to their reproductive rights, as well as that all communities should be allowed proper access to contraception and sexual education.
Guio would advise any women who want to one day be doing the work she is doing to be themselves, unapologetically. She states that there are so many unwritten rules in the world of politics that force you to be someone that you are not, but you end up being more successful if you break those rules. Guio has certainly followed this advice and has been all the better for it.
