City Council

Alvarado served on the Houston City Council, District I, from 2002-2007. During her time on the City Council, Alvarado worked to close down nuisance bars in neighborhoods, improve air quality, and secure cameras at problem rail crossings. She was instrumental in the creation of the Parking Commission, and led the effort to establish a deed restriction database. Alvarado also spearheaded the Houston city ordinance that bans smoking in public restaurants and bars.^[2]

State House

In 2008, Alvarado was elected to Texas House of Representatives. She currently resides as the Co-Chair of the Transparency in State Agency Operations committee, the Vice-Chair of the Urban Affairs committee, and as a member of the House Calendars and Special Purpose Districts committees.

Alvarado's primary legislative focus has been on public health, public education, and economic development issues. During her three terms in the House, she has authored bills to qualify all Texas four-year-olds for pre-kindergarten, to increase career and technology education funding, to limit elementary class sizes, and to freeze tuition at public colleges and universities.^[4] She has also authored legislation that would limit the use of sugary drinks in public schools, increase physical education and health education graduation requirements, and ban the use of trans fats by fast food chains.^[4]

An advocate of women's health issues, Alvarado received media attention in 2011 during the debate of House Bill 15, a mandatory sonogram bill. Speaking on the floor of the House chamber, Alvarado displayed a 10-inch trans vaginal wand and described the intrusiveness of the sonogram procedure.^[5]

State Senate

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In 2021, Alvarado engaged in a 15-hour filibuster to prevent the Republican-controlled Texas Senate from passing legislation to restrict voting rights. Filibusters in Texas require continuous standing and speaking.^[6][7]