Texas State Rep Caroline Harris Davila: From Fearful Speaker to Community Advocate

Frequently Asked Questions

How old was Caroline Harris Davila when she first ran for office, and what made her decide to do it?

Harris Davila was 27 when she first ran. She tells Eisenberg she was sitting in her former boss's office working on policy when she took stock of her community and felt it wasn't trending toward a bright future. Initially she only wanted to volunteer or hold signs, but neighbors, and then her parents, pushed her to run herself.

What does the Texas legislature actually pay, and how does that shape her schedule?

Representatives earn $600 a month, and the legislature convenes in Austin for 140 days every other year, with 60 to 80-hour weeks during session. Most of her colleagues hold separate 9-to-5 jobs in the off years, but Harris Davila has made constituent service her full-time work, logging roughly 40 hours a week between events and meetings.

What kinds of requests does her constituent office handle?

The most common request is help securing a driver license appointment, since some constituents are quoted six-month waits. The range extends to emergencies, including a family that needed help streamlining an autopsy for a loved one who had passed away. She also connects constituents to nonprofits and other community resources when her office can't directly help.

How does Harris Davila work with local nonprofits like Will Williams' organization?

She stays approachable by attending community events, then sponsors causes, donates silent auction items, or arranges flags flown over the Capitol. She specifically supports Will Williams' work distributing power wheelchairs and scooters to veterans, even storing extra equipment at her own house in her garage and in rooms her daughter no longer uses.

Why does she emphasize that over 95% of House work is bipartisan?

Harris Davila says people watching national politics assume nothing gets done, but in the Texas House the overwhelming majority of legislation is bipartisan. She uses the statistic to argue that relationships and people skills, which she worries social media and AI are eroding, remain the real engine of governance, and it's a lesson she wants to pass to younger civic leaders.

What does she identify as the biggest concerns she hears from young people in Round Rock?

She hears two recurring worries: job prospects after college, with some friends' kids holding high-level degrees but unable to find work, and housing affordability in a community that's grown more expensive than when she was growing up. She points to trade pathways like TSTC in Hutto, where her brother earned a welding degree, as one answer.