State Reps. Stefani Carter, R-Dallas, and Nicole Collier, D-Fort Worth, debate which gubernatorial candidate will better represent the state's fast-growing minority communities. 

Attorney Joe Nixon writes that the Texas Ethics Commission's new "dark money" rule for political nonprofits is a loss for free speech in Texas, while Texas Ethics Commissioner Chase Untermeyer calls it a win for transparency in the state.

As the San Antonio City Council prepares to vote on a controversial water pipeline, Amy Hardberger of the St. Mary's University School of Law and Robert Puente of the San Antonio Water System debate whether the project is right for the city.

Health care was supposed to be the No. 1 election issue this year, but it quickly faded. With Ebola now dominating headlines, Ken Janda of Community Health Choice writes, it’s time for a rational debate over health coverage.

Let Max Soffar — an innocent man on death row in Texas who is dying of liver cancer — spend his last days at home, writes Barry Scheck of the Innocence Project.

The debate over how to compute high school graduation rates distracts from Texas' impressive accomplishments, writes Michael Marder, a physics professor at the University of Texas at Austin.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz writes that the United States should ban flights from Ebola-stricken African countries, and state Rep. Matt Krause, R-Fort Worth, denounces subpoenas of pastors' sermons in Houston. 

Dennis Borel of the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities says it's time for a real discussion about disability issues in Texas, and Adrian Farrell, the new consul general of Ireland in Texas, explains why his country is setting up an outpost in the Lone Star State.

Adam Briggle of the Denton Drilling Awareness Group and Ed Ireland of the Barnett Shale Energy Education Council face off over whether Denton voters should approve a ban on fracking in city limits.

Anna C. Dragsbaek of The Immunization Partnership writes that there are several other preventable public health threats in Texas right now that are far more menacing than Ebola — and that Texans would be wise to pay close attention to them.

Wayne Thorburn, a former executive director of the Texas Republican Party, writes that speculation over what a majority-Hispanic population will mean for Texas politics has ignored the fact that decades from now, “Hispanic” may not mean what it does today.

Calvin Tillman, the former mayor of DISH, writes that it's time for real eminent domain reform in Texas, and Houston artist J.J. Harris explains how the oil and gas industry is helping the city's arts scene thrive. 

State Rep. Bennett Ratliff, R-Coppell, says Texans should beware of a possible new entitlement program in disguise, and Mark Miller, the 2014 Libertarian nominee for railroad commissioner, lays out how he would fix the state's oil and gas regulator.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Antonio Garza explains how start-up culture is changing Mexico, and Laura Huffman of the Nature Conservancy writes about a new future in store for the Gulf of Mexico.

State Sen. José Rodríguez says U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz is telling a big lie about the border, and Rio Grande City Mayor Ruben O. Villarreal explains why he welcomes the National Guard to his town.