My family first moved to Richardson in 1953. It was a small town then, and we watched it grow. My father was a coach and school administrator, and my mother taught many young Richardson students Spanish over the school television network. I went all the way through school here and was in the second graduating class at J.J. Pearce High School.

Richardson was a young town. The houses were new, the schools were full of children, and everybody knew everybody.

In 1996, I moved back to Richardson with my young son. We joined the church I grew up in. I bought a house in Greenwood Hills and got active in the neighborhood. Richardson may not be a young town anymore, but it still feels like everybody knows everybody. I run into women I was in Camp Fire Girls with in the grocery store and we have gray hair and wrinkles. All around me I saw familiar faces, the parents of the kids I had grown up with. Those same moms and dads that had served suppers at the church youth groups, chaperoned the school field trips and hosted our sleepovers were now retired. They’d worked hard, they had raised their kids and now those kids are middle-aged. Maybe they had paid off the mortgage, maybe they had a pension, maybe just social security. They took care of themselves, but soon they would need someone to take care of them.

I started to wonder who is going to take care of them? Who will help take care of my parents, who will help take care of me?

This year I have met someone who will, someone I trust to look out for the interests of my parents, your parents, our children, and myself: Rain Levy Minns.

Rain has a longtime commitment to public service. For instance, Rain used to be an Assistant Attorney General in Texas. She represented the State of Texas against facilities in which elderly residents died from neglect or abuse. Rain won all of her cases, including the highest arbitration award in the history of her division. Who better to represent the interests of the men and women who built Richardson?

In all the years I have lived here, I’ve never met John Carona. But I know Rain Minns. The people of Richardson deserve a state senator like Rain Minns, and Rain Minns deserves your vote.

Kathleen Lunson is a longtime Richardson Resident.

Editor's Note: Our Echo Election Series is dedicated to allowing major candidates in local race to state their case primarily to people in and near Richardson. We asked candidates in races directly affecting Richardson for an editorial written by anyone they designated. We will release these about one per day until they are all posted. The order of appearance is random. If a candidate appears not to be represented, then they choose not to submit an editorial. We are indebted to the candidates for their participation. We welcome any comments or feedback.