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Ashley Bean Thornton
- Dec 30, 2025
- 6 min read
Updated: Dec 31
Table of Contents
Background
Mission
Relevant Experience
Notable Positions & Focus Areas
Considerations for Voters
Disclaimer: The information below summarizes candidate-provided responses and publicly available information. “Considerations for voters” are intended to highlight relevant strengths, gaps, or strategic factors, not to advocate for or against any candidate.
Ashley Bean Thornton Texas House - District 56
“I will listen to you. I will learn from you. I will work hard with you and for you. Together we can build the McLennan County and the Texas we want to live in.
Let’s get to work!”
Candidate Overview
Background
Invented Act Locally Waco
Started Waco Walks in 2016
Founded McLennan County Talks
Received a surprise birthday party from Whataburger for being a superfan
Mission:
To make our communities stronger, protect our freedoms wisely and responsibly, and pull us together instead of pushing us apart
Relevant Experience
She is certified to teach English, history, and sociology in high school and core subjects in elementary school, including the science of reading.
Developed training for oil field operations, retail sales, customer service, and leadership, and others.
Facilitated strategic planning for schools and for numerous organizations in McLennan County
Notable Positions & Focus Areas
Access for all to food, public education, and healthcare
End for-profit prisons
Increase minimum wage
Reduce racial inequality in wealth
Limit corporate property holdings
Protect human rights
Decriminalize marijuana and allow home grow
Restore reproductive rights
Protect natural resources and wildlife
Stop voter suppression
Considerations for Voters
She is very committed to listening to the people, and dedicates more energy to meeting constituents where they are than anything else.
She includes her findings from these conversations on her website.
Positions
Democratic Values
Stance:
Ashley Bean Thornton views democracy as something that must be actively maintained through education, fair representation, and meaningful access to participation, not just protected in theory.
Key Positions & Commitments:
Expanding access to voting while maintaining election security
Supporting online voter registration
Advocating for independent, nonpartisan redistricting
Opposing gerrymandering that dilutes community voices
Approach to Increasing Participation:
Focuses on civic education as the foundation of voter engagement
Invests in local journalism and trusted information sources
Creates forums for community learning and dialogue (e.g., McLennan County Talks)
Prioritizes long-term engagement over short-term turnout tactics
Democratic Norms & Threats Identified:
Gerrymandering as a structural threat to fair representation
Decline of reliable, balanced local media
Straight-ticket voting driven by habit rather than informed choice
Notable Emphasis:
Democracy requires curiosity, patience, and informed participation, not outrage cycles
Believes representation must be earned through listening, not assumed
Healthcare
Stance:
Ashley believes healthcare is a core component of a stable, dignified middle-class life and that access should not depend on income, zip code, or political ideology.
Key Positions & Commitments:
Expanding access to affordable healthcare
Ensuring healthcare policy balances personal freedom with public safety
Recognizing healthcare as integral to economic stability
Reproductive Healthcare:
Supports bodily autonomy and reproductive decision-making remaining with the individual
Opposes dangerous, overly restrictive abortion laws
Seeks pragmatic, harm-reduction approaches rather than ideological absolutism
Committed to reducing maternal health risks driving doctors out of Texas
Populations Centered:
Women facing medical risk under current abortion restrictions
Working families struggling to afford healthcare
Rural and underserved communities with limited provider access
Relevant Expertise & Preparation:
Background in education and community organizing informing holistic health perspectives
Deep engagement with families navigating economic and healthcare tradeoffs
Notable Emphasis:
Rejects “one-size-fits-all” healthcare policy
Focuses on balancing freedom, safety, and long-term community wellbeing
Equity & Representation
Stance:
Ashley centers equity as both a moral and practical necessity, particularly for communities historically left behind by state policy.
Key Positions & Commitments:
Ending for-profit prisons
Reducing racial wealth inequality
Protecting human rights across policy areas
Fighting voter suppression
Approach:
Conducts listening sessions rather than top-down messaging
Meets people where they are, literally and figuratively
Uses community-led feedback to inform policy priorities
Relevant Experience & Expertise:
Founded Act Locally Waco and McLennan County Talks
Served on the Poverty Solutions Steering Committee
Worked directly with economically at-risk students
Notable Emphasis:
Equity work must be persistent, not performative
Policy should be shaped by lived experience, not assumptions
Economy & Cost of Living
Stance:
Ashley frames economic policy around whether working people can realistically achieve a stable, middle-class life, not just whether markets are “doing well.”
Key Positions & Commitments:
Raising the minimum wage
Expanding access to affordable childcare
Supporting public transportation solutions
Ensuring healthcare and education are economically accessible
Cost-of-Living Focus Areas:
Housing affordability
Childcare costs
Healthcare access
Education beyond high school
Populations Centered:
Working families living paycheck to paycheck
Economically at-risk households
Parents balancing work, caregiving, and rising costs
Retirees seeking dignity and security
Approach to Economic Policy:
Seeks balance between working people and responsible corporate participation
Rejects extreme or simplistic solutions
Prioritizes long-term sustainability over quick fixes
Notable Emphasis:
Economic stability strengthens democracy
Middle-class security is a public good
Texas Issues
Stance:
Ashley approaches Texas-specific challenges with pragmatism, balance, and a willingness to learn from what works elsewhere.
Key Positions & Commitments:
Protecting natural resources and wildlife
Limiting excessive corporate land ownership
Supporting responsible cannabis legalization
Ending policies that drive professionals out of Texas
Approach to Climate Resilience:
Open to learning from other states and countries
Supports experimentation, evaluation, and iteration
Emphasizes practical outcomes over ideological purity
Relevant Experience & Expertise:
Strategic planning for local organizations
Community-level policy experimentation through civic forums
Notable Emphasis:
Texas solutions should be rooted in Texas communities
Adaptability is a strength, not a weakness
Education
Stance
Ashley believes public education is the backbone of both democracy and the economy—and that Texas is failing it.
Key Positions & Commitments:
Fully funding public schools
Prioritizing schools serving economically at-risk students
Reforming STAAR testing and A–F accountability systems
Investing in evidence-based early education and literacy
Approach:
Centers research-backed practices
Focuses on long-term improvement rather than punitive measures
Advocates for learning from successful models elsewhere
Relevant Experience & Expertise:
Certified teacher (English, history, sociology, elementary core subjects)
Former public school teacher and spouse of a teacher
Worked in afterschool programs serving low-income students
Notable Emphasis:
Education policy must restore joy in teaching and learning
Schools should be supported, not shamed
Accountability, Ethics, & Leadership
Stance:
Ashley prioritizes integrity, humility, and accountability over ambition or political gain.
Key Positions & Commitments:
Transparency in campaign finance
Honest communication about policy priorities
Ethical leadership beyond minimum legal standards
Approach:
Welcomes constructive criticism
Values difficult conversations early
Makes decisions thoughtfully, then improves them when needed
Relevant Experience & Expertise:
Leadership across education, nonprofit, and training sectors
Experience navigating conflict and accountability
Notable Emphasis:
Living with integrity matters more than winning
Trust is built through consistency and honesty
Immigration
Stance:
Ashley supports humane, balanced immigration policy rooted in dignity, due process, and community stability.
Humane immigration reform
Reducing the role of ICE in civil enforcement
Protecting due process
Approach:
Balances compassion with practical governance
Rejects fear-based policy making
Relevant Experience & Expertise:
Community-based listening and engagement
Experience working across ideological differences
Notable Emphasis:
Immigration policy should reflect shared human values
Candidate Qualifications
Stance:
Ashley Bean Thornton brings deep community roots, lived experience, and a steady leadership style focused on listening first and acting thoughtfully.
Key Positions & Commitments:
Representing community voices authentically
Prioritizing education, democracy, and economic stability
Approach:
Curiosity-driven leadership
Willingness to learn, adjust, and collaborate
Focused on progress, not perfection
Relevant Experience & Expertise:
Founder of multiple civic engagement initiatives
Educator and strategic planner
Longstanding involvement in McLennan County
Notable Emphasis:
Winning is a tool, not the goal
Building a better Texas is the mission—regardless of outcome
Scorecard Summary
Our Score: 34/34
Strong alignment with TMK-Indivisible Waco's core values and endorsement criteria.
Key Positions & Commitments:
Expanding voting access, including online voter registration
Supporting independent, nonpartisan redistricting to end gerrymandering
Protecting bodily autonomy and reproductive freedom
Fully funding public education with targeted support for under-resourced schools
Raising wages and improving affordability for working families
Ending for-profit prisons and reducing harmful incarceration practices
Supporting cannabis legalization with reasonable regulation
Defending separation of church and state in public schools
Advancing humane immigration reform and due process
Approach:
Leads with listening, learning, and community dialogue
Prioritizes education and informed participation over political shortcuts
Willing to engage with ideological opponents without compromising core values
Seeks balanced, practical solutions rather than absolutist positions
Values long-term structural improvement over quick fixes
Relevant Experience & Expertise:
Founder of Act Locally Waco, Waco Walks, and McLennan County Talks
Former public school teacher; certified in multiple subjects
Experience developing workforce training across industries
Strategic planning facilitator for schools and local organizations
Direct experience working with economically at-risk students and families
Notable Emphasis:
Strong backbone on public education, democracy, and bodily autonomy
Transparent about areas where she is still learning rather than posturing
Centers working people and economically at-risk communities
Deep belief that democracy requires education, trust, and persistence
Views elected office as a tool for change—not the end goal
