Gavin Dass, Democratic candidate for the 1st Congressional House District.

Editor’s Note: This is part of a series of stories on candidates in the 1st Congressional House District race.

Democratic congressional candidate Gavin Dass wants to restore hope in America and create a better future for the country.

“I really wanted to run to make a change because all of my students in class, they do not believe America has any hope, they don’t think they have any future, they think it’s all been gambled away,” Dass said.

Dass is on the March primary ballot along with Victor Dunn, Gavin Dass and Jrmar Jefferson.

The winner will face one of four Republican candidates in the November general election and replace U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler.

Gohmert is leaving his congressional seat to challenge Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the March primary.

Dass said it seems like no changes are being made and both the Republican and Democratic Parties talk about, “how different they are, but at the end of the day they’re not so different.”

Currently America is $30 trillion in debt, the cost of living continues to rise, inflation is increasing and more, Dass said. There is not a lot of opportunity in the future that has been “created,” he added.

“I wanted to run to create an opportunity, to create a future, because right now we really don’t have a future,” Dass said.

Through his college experience at the University of Texas at Austin, Dass said he studied writing and solving policy and how to solve problems. When it comes to creating a new and better future, no new legislation or solutions have been made to accomplish this, he added.

“Historically, that’s always come from young people,” Dass said. “These people who are older, they bring the same ideas up over and over and over again and they never work. I provide fresh perspective.”

If elected, Dass looks to empower and bail out local governments, address issues in the school system, improve infrastructure and more.

Dass said he would approach the issues in America differently and even has legislation ready to pass in Congress. His legislation focuses on real problems America is facing, he added.

Addressing the debt America is in would be a major focus, Dass said. Over $1.17 trillion is owed to state and local governments alone, Dass said.

Local governments do not have enough to pay employees, schools don’t have enough to pay teachers and money the federal government does send gets used for things that are not needed as much, Dass said.

“At the end of the day it’s the people in Washington deciding what’s best for people in these local communities,” Dass said. “These small communities have their own problems that are not blanket solutions that the federal government is trying to deal with.”

Dass said his solution is called the Town and Country Act which has two parts. The idea is to have a bail out program for local governments and a grant program, he said.

During the COVID-19 pandemic the local government got bailed out, Dass said. The Federal Reserves eased back on interest rates for municipal bonds; the American Rescue Plan Act gave billions to state and local governments and more.

However, this was just a “bandage” over the issue of local governments not being able to pay for things, Dass added.

The Town and Country Act would create “new opportunities, new jobs and revitalize these local governments that have been forgotten by both parties,” Dass said.

Dass also looks to fix issues with the school system. Being a teacher, he said, “I’m seeing a side of this country that nobody talks about.”

“One of the reasons I wanted to run was to create the kind of atmosphere that shows to my students that there are people out there who care for you,” Dass said.

His focus would be to address issues with the school system on a local level, Dass said. Right now, the federal government tells schools how to run and it is not working, he added.

Students put a lot of focus on taking tests, leading them to not learning anything Dass said. Teachers teach tests so students will get good grades because if they do not the schools will not get enough funding, he said.

The whole education system is, “just broken,” Dass said.

“I want to use this opportunity in office to spread goodwill in the community, help them understand what our future is, where it’s going and that there’s hope,” Dass said. “… I’m doing this because I want to help people.”

Dass said he was born and raised in East Texas and still lives in Tyler today. He has dedicated his life to serving others through community service, being an Eagle Scout, registering people to vote since he was about 15 and currently through being a substitute teacher in Tyler, Dass said.

“I’ve dedicated my life in service to the community,” Dass said. However, entering the congressional race has still been challenging.

People see him and question him for running at such a young age, Dass said. Having good ideas and plans is not enough – those running have to work for the position and talk to everyone, Dass added.

“It’s not meant for normal people to run and me doing this is something in itself,” Dass said. “I want people to understand that this is an uphill battle, but I’m doing it because I want to represent my community because we need people in there who actually have some skin in the game.”

Early voting for the March 1 primary begins Feb. 14.