Israel was a member of the Legislative Study Group, the Women's Health Caucus, the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, and was a founding member of the Texas House LGBTQ Caucus. She previously served as Vice Chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, overseeing the Steering and Policy Committee. She proposed legislation to introduce online voter registration in Texas.[5] In September 2019, she was chosen to lead the Texas House Democratic Campaign Committee, a political action committee tasked with electing more Democrats to the Texas House.[6]
Israel served on numerous boards and committees focused on multimodal transportation, food scarcity, and empowering the next generation of female leaders. During her first term in the legislature, she was named Freshman of the Year by the Legislative Study Group, a Champion of Equality by Equality Texas, and a Progressive Champion by Progress Texas. In 2018, Israel was inducted into the Austin Women's Hall of Fame.[citation needed]
In January 2022, Israel announced that she would run for mayor of Austin in the 2022 Austin mayoral election.[3] In the November 8 general election, she advanced to a runoff election against Kirk Watson and subsequently lost by a narrow margin.[7]
In June 2023, Israel announced a campaign for Travis County Tax Assessor-Collector, following the retirement of longtime incumbent Bruce Elfant.[8] She drew no opponents in either the primary or general elections, and assumed office on January 3rd, 2025.
Personal life
Israel lives with her wife, Celinda Garza,[9] and their dogs, Pippa and Libby, in northeastern Travis County.[citation needed]
