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CP 2020: Interview #2 - Anna Eastman

Anna Eastman
Texas State Representative, District 148
Wednesday, April 22, 2020 at 9:00am
Email Conversation

       My second contact I was able to converse with was Anna Eastman, the Texas State Representative of District 148. We talked over email and she shared her insight regarding the current pandemic on a personal and professional level. When asked if she felt prepared for the outbreak, she said that, on a household level, she was very prepared, but on a professional level, she faced some challenges. Since she was elected in January of this year, she had not hired her staff, so she was forced to make some decisions quickly. On the other hand, she is happy that the pandemic has allowed her to become very engaged with other State Representatives, even if it is over conference calls or Zoom meetings.
        She believes that social media has been both helpful to her profession and effective for communicating the seriousness of the situation with the community. Through social media, she learned the importance of wearing a mask and was able to advocate for her position as well as encourage the mayor to put in a stay at home order. To help understand how the virus works, she listens to various podcasts including "The Daily" in which they have an in depth discussion about a New York Times article. Social media has also allowed her to stay in touch with her constituents and voters and disseminate information through various platforms.
        When asked what she wish was being done differently, she agreed with Lindy McGee, expressing her frustration at the Federal Government for stopping the pandemic preparedness work that had been ongoing across administrations. She wishes that both state and federal leadership would provide a more direct view about what we are going through. Additionally, she wishes we had access to more PPE and were able to test at a larger scale.
          Overall, she feels that the best thing that people can do to help conquer the pandemic is to stay at home and follow social distancing guidelines. She recommends volunteering at Houston Food Bank and CrowdSource Rescue. She was able to share with me a Google sheet full of COVID-19 resources being used by District 148.
Here is what I would like to include in my flyer using what I learned from Representative Eastman:

  • Recommend "The Daily" podcast as a credible media source
  • Recommend volunteering at the Houston Food Bank and CrowdSource Rescue
  • Encourage wearing masks!





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