Mike Collier, the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, said Thursday that if voters choose him over his better-known, better-funded Republican opponent, it will be due to five major policy goals that spell out his hope for bringing compassion back to state policies.

Collier also criticized Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, his opponent in the November election, for declining to debate him, stood by claims that Patrick is lying about cutting property taxes and questioned whether Texans are better off under Patrick’s leadership during a free-wheeling discussion sponsored by the Texas Tribune and led by the Tribune’s Evan Smith.

"Are we better off than we were four years ago when he started?" Collier said. "You think about it, our schools have declined dramatically, property taxes are up dramatically. Look at unemployment in the state. We were 15th out of 50 states in unemployment when he began his term, now we’re 29th."

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Collier called the upcoming election a referendum on the future of Texas as defined by his five major objectives:

• Improving public schools by ending vouchers that send public money to private campuses; adding $5 billion to the state budget by ending a loophole that reduced property taxes for large commercial and industrial properties; and reforming student achievement tests so educators can stop teaching to the test.

• Reducing property taxes by addressing a school finance system that fails to provide enough money for public education.

• Improving health care, particularly by expanding the number of people served by Medicaid.

• Preserving health insurance protection for pre-existing medical conditions.

• Ending gerrymandering, which he said is "killing democracy."

"Compassion is missing in public policy, and we all feel it, and we need to bring compassion back. That’s what you get with Mike Collier, and Dan Patrick is the exact opposite on every one of those (policies)," Collier said.

A skeptical Smith questioned Collier’s claim that Patrick is in political trouble, noting that the incumbent has 233 times more campaign cash on hand.

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Collier, an accountant and former chief financial officer of an oil company, pointed to polls that show Patrick with a single-digit lead and said today’s political environment is far more favorable for him than in 2014, when Collier’s first run for public office ended in his defeat in the race for comptroller.

"I swam in this river in 2014, and I swam against a very, very hard current. This time I’m swimming with a very, very hard current," he said. "Because what’s happening … is that we have lots and lots of very high-quality, down-ballot candidates who are supported, who are energized, who are making politics very local."

Collier also said Tuesday’s special election victory by Republican Pete Flores, who filled a vacant seat in the Texas Senate that had been long held by Democrats, was a "wake-up call to Democrats."

"I mean, if you want Dan Patrick to be your next lieutenant governor, and if you want bathroom bills and if you want vouchers and the rest, then don’t set your alarm on Election Day," he said.

Patrick has declined several invitations to sit for a similar conversation, Smith said.