Dennis Sherrard

I am a native Texan. I had a typical upbringing for a kid born in a working-class family. I was fortunate enough to have parents who believed that education was the pathway to growth and success. Being the first in my family to graduate from college, I joined the then-emerging field of information technology and spent my career helping businesses solve complex problems.

I retired from full-time work in 2019 and the following year started a small business. The experience I gained throughout my career gives me the tools necessary to go to Austin and work for the people in Texas to solve hard problems. I’m not interested in just talking about problems. I’m interested in actually solving them. Driven by the values of my family; fair play, compassion, integrity, and hard work, I found a home in the Democratic party. I started my political life working as a campaign volunteer, stuffing letters for George McGovern in 1972, and I have been actively involved as a campaign volunteer, advisor, campaign manager, and political analyst since.

Every person living in this country is worthy of being treated with dignity and respect. The quality of one’s education shouldn’t depend upon their bank balance, zip code, or the color of their skin. Irrespective of one’s faith, sexual orientation, or gender, they should all be treated equally under the law. No one should be hungry, homeless, or without healthcare.

• Expand Medicaid and move Texas from the least insured state with regard to healthcare to the first in the nation
• Significantly reduce poverty and hunger in this state. We have 4M people in Texas living at or below the poverty line and as such, we have millions who are food insecure
• Reliable critical infrastructure for our state is an absolute requirement. We need no more recurrences of the failures of 2021 which resulted in hundreds of deaths.

- Voting Rights Protections - Restoration of Women's Rights regarding their reproductive choices - Reduction of gun violence in the state - Reduction/elimination of poverty & hunger - Better/Fairer tax system so as not to put the burden on homeowners - Fully funded and better quality public education

My father, who was a man of complete integrity, empathy, and determination. Barbara Jordan because of her faithfulness to the idea of the Constitution and the possibility for Americans of all backgrounds. FDR for rescuing capitalism from its excesses and saving this country from going the way of Germany, Spain, Russia, or Italy in the early parts of the 20th century. Truman for making a horrible and hard decision because he had to in order to stop a war. Lincoln for his determination to right an injustice. Lyndon Johnson for his brilliance in moving the most significant public policy legislation through Congress on Civil Rights and the War on Poverty. Dr. King, because of his fearlessness in the face of overwhelming racism and criticism. Jimmy Carter for his commitment to Human Rights. James Baldwin for his stark and clear commentary on the plight of black people in the United States. Barack Obama for his inspiration. Ann Richards for her optimism. A host of others.

Books; Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, Thomas Jefferson, the Art of Power, by John Meacham, Truman, by David McCollough, The First American, by H.W. Brands, All The Kings Men, by Robert Penn Warren, It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis Essays: The Rights of Man and Age of Reason by Thomas Paine; On Liberty by John Stuart Mill, Letters from the Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King; Movies: The Candidate, All The President's Men, Network, Citizen Kane,

Any elected official owes their job to the voters (even, by the way, the voters who didn't vote for them, if they live in their district, jurisdiction, etc.). As such one of the most important characteristics of an elected official is listening to the constituent. The elected official, whether an executive branch official or in the legislature must be able to communicate effectively and be available to their constituents. Communication and transparency of actions are important. The elected official should be someone of intelligence, compassion, principle, and hold themselves to a higher standard of character than others because they have, by virtue of the votes they received, been given the benefit of "trust" before that trust can be verified.

I'm an experienced leader that solves complex problems in environments that are not always easy. I am someone who believes that when we work together we can accomplish many things, but I won't just "go along to get along". I believe the ends or outcomes of the effort must be beneficial to the public at large. I am honest. I am also not one to promise things I cannot deliver. The point of all this effort is to try and improve the lives of the people who I am asking to vote for me, so I don't suffer fools gladly that would attempt to keep that objective from being achieved.

The core responsibility for anyone elected to office is to serve the people of their district, county, state, country, (jurisdiction) first and foremost. If an officeholder is fortunate enough to have values that line up with the majority of the people they serve then the responsibility is to deliver results in accordance with those values but always remember there are others who live in your jurisdiction who do not share your values or who voted for you. They must be served with the same commitment as those who did vote for you. The job of the "representative" whether an executive or a legislator is to make sure that they are helping people and not harming them. The legislator is responsible to their constituent, their district, their state, their county, and then, and only then to their party.

Simply that "he was a good man, and left the place better than he found it."

The Moon Landing by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin with Apollo 11 in 1969. I was 10.

My first job was as a paperboy when I was 11. Then I worked for my dad in his grocery store when I was 14.

A Short History of Nearly Everything is something I've read many, many times. Why? I guess because I like the way Bill Bryson writes, and while I was reading, I realized as he mentions in the forward, "I don't know a lot about a lot"! It's one of those books that gives you a multitude of things to think about and dig into if you are of the mind to do so.

Sherlock Holmes

All Things Must Pass - George Harrison

Being a lifelong Texas Rangers fan. Always so optimistic at the start of the season, always so disappointed at the end.

The legislature is the branch of the state government closest to the people. It is therefore the voice that needs to reflect the will of the people at large and not of a specific party or agenda. The relationship between the executive and legislative branch should be cooperative but the legislature should always be on the side of the people.

income inequality, poverty, climate change impacts on the states economy and people are the overriding issues in this state.

The benefits of a unicameral legislature are speed of outcome. The ability to develop, debate, and vote on legislation moves much quicker in one body. The bicameral structure, as in Texas has benefits in the ability to spread focus towards a broader set of issues. For example. The house of representatives could work on a set of issues to propose legislation and a senate could work on something else. This allows for a larger reach. The disadvantages of course are obvious. It imputes more time in the process. The other issue in Texas is that we only are in session on a biennial basis, and therefore only meet for about 5 months every two years unless special sessions are called by the governor. That's not a lot of time to get a lot of work done. A unicameral legislative body would ameliorate that time crunch somewhat.

I certainly think state legislators need to be well versed in how government works, irrespective of whether they have held office before. The systems, processes, and internal politics of any organization take time to understand and to become productive. Having a fund of information on how government works is beneficial fr the lawmaker.

Yes, to accomplish something in any organization, you have to learn how to work with those in the organization. In a legislature, this could be anything from seeking out counsel from more experienced/senior legislators to those with specific expertise in a subject you are working on, to attempting to build a bridge between opposing viewpoints. The key in my view is to have an open mind, but with specific areas of principle that one won't move on. A lot can be accomplished between people who are in complete disagreement on an issue from a philosophical point, but who agree that the end result of any effort should be something positive for the citizen.

An independent commission that does not consist of existing legislators. The partisan aspect of gerrymandering is destructive to our government system and builds mistrust from the electorate.

Yes, Ways & Means, Elections, Human Services

No, I'm an individual, not a copy of someone else. While I admire many people who have served, I don't want to be a copy of anyone.

No

Yes, The district that I live in (94) is located between Dallas and Fort Worth. As such we are fortunate to have a thriving economy for many in the District. However, the situation is not equitable for the people in my district. I am deeply influenced by the stories of the teachers in the District that I work with, both their personal experiences and those of their students. One such story was from a teacher who is at a school located in an area that includes an abundance of multi-family housing. The teacher told me that she has students that have been bounced to as many as 10 different schools over their academic career because of the transient nature of the parents moving from apartment to apartment, city to city. The impact on these kids is enormous and they often suffer stresses and anxieties that kids with a more traditional academic story experience. As such, there is a need to focus on getting these "nomadic kids" the best possible education, which is not always the case.

Can't. It's not for public viewing. 2nd favorite one is: “Hello, Reverend Smith? This is the Internal Revenue Service. Is Fred Jones a member of your congregation?”

“He is.”

“Did he donate $10,000 to the church?”

“He will.”

The legislature should be the origin point of any "powers" conferred on a government, that aren't explicitly described and defined in the Constitution. There should be a balance between the executive, legislative and judicial branches as to how powers are derived, invoked, and managed. Oversight is definitely the purview of the legislative branch.

Yes, when compromise is possible. I think the climate today has destroyed the comity in elective office.