James Talarico
James Talarico | |
|---|---|
| Assumed office November 20, 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Larry Gonzales |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 17, 1989 |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence | Round Rock, Texas |
| Alma mater | University of Texas at Austin Harvard |
| Website | http://www.JamesTalarico.com |
James Dell Talarico (born May 17, 1989) is an American politician, teacher, and non-profit leader. He currently serves as a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives representing House District 52, which includes the cities of Round Rock, Taylor, Hutto, and Georgetown..[1]
Talarico serves as the youngest elected official in Texas state government.[2] He is also one of the state’s first millennial public officials.
Launching his campaign in 2017 at age 28, Talarico won a historically Republican district that supported President Donald Trump in the 2016 Presidential Election.[3] Using his experience as a public school teacher in San Antonio’s West Side neighborhood, Talarico’s campaign primarily focused on improving public education in Texas.[4]
In his first session, Talarico was appointed to the House’s Public Education Committee.[5] As one of the only educators serving in the Texas Legislature, Talarico co-authored House Bill 3, a massive overhaul of the state’s school finance system.[6]
Early Life[edit]
Childhood[edit]
An 8th generation Texan, Talarico was born at Round Rock Hospital in Williamson County, Texas to Tamara Causey (later Tamara Talarico). He was later adopted by Mark Talarico. He has a younger sister, Madeleine Talarico.[7]
He attended Round Rock ISD schools and graduated from McNeil High School where he was awarded the annual PTA scholarship his senior year.[8]
As a child, Talarico was baptized at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church. As a teenager, he taught Sunday school and Vacation Bible School at St. Andrew’s where his mother served as a deacon and his father served as an elder. He attends the same church today. Talarico’s maternal grandfather served as a Baptist minister in South Texas.
College[edit]
Talarico earned a bachelor's degree in government from The University of Texas at Austin[9], where he gained national press attention as a campus activist. As a leader of the university’s Democratic club and student government, Talarico organized protests for college affordability, higher education funding, and gun safety. Talarico was admitted to the university’s prestigious Friar Society for his campus service.
With the help of the Federal Work Study program, Talarico earned a master's degree in education policy from Harvard University.[10]
Education Career[edit]
Classroom Teacher[edit]
In 2011, Talarico joined Teach For America and taught 6th grade English Language Arts at Rhodes Middle School in San Antonio ISD on the West Side of San Antonio, a historically Mexican-American neighborhood.[11] He lived and taught in the 78207 zip code, long home to the greatest number of people in poverty in San Antonio.
At the end of his first year of teaching, Talarico received one of San Antonio ISD’s “Rising Star Awards,” given to exceptional first-year teachers.
Nonprofit Leader[edit]
After graduate school, Talarico became Central Texas Executive Director for Reasoning Mind, a Texas nonprofit dedicated to equipping classrooms with innovative technology.
The organization’s work attracted the attention of Texas Governor Abbott who joined Talarico on a tour of Robertson Elementary in Round Rock ISD to see the program’s impact.
Political Career[edit]
2018 State House Campaign[edit]
Shortly after Republican State Representative, Larry Gonzales announced his retirement, Talarico launched his campaign for the Texas House in 2017 at age 28. At his campaign kickoff rally, Talarico spoke about “a future where we face the 21st century together with Texas schools that are the envy of the nation, a Texas economy that is second to none, and Texas families that are stronger and healthier than ever before. We can build this future. It won’t happen overnight, but a giant state deserves giant dreams.”[12]
Talarico’s campaign earned statewide attention for innovative tactics including walking the entire length of his legislative district and live streaming the walk on Facebook. Talarico also founded a summer program during the 2018 elections called Camp Campaign which trained local high school students how to run for office.[13]
During the campaign, Talarico pledged not to take contributions from corporate PACs. While his campaign received more small-dollar donations than most Texas legislative campaigns, Talarico still received contributions from high-profile figures including actress Kristen Bell, actor Ben McKenzie, and HEB CEO Charles Butt.
Talarico won both the special and general election against Republican Cynthia Flores, becoming the first Democrat to win the district—in its current form—in three decades.[14]
Texas House of Representatives[edit]
Talarico was sworn into the Texas House of Representatives on November 20, 2018 by outgoing Texas House Speaker Joe Straus. In his swearing-in speech, Talarico said “Our current political landscape is too small for Texas. Our politics are narrow-minded and short-sighted. With every border wall and every bathroom bill, we degrade our reputation and dishonor our legacy.”[15]
Talarico was appointed to the Public Education Committee and the Juvenile Justice & Family Issues Committee. He also serves as a member of the Young Texans Legislative Caucus, the Innovation and Technology Caucus, and the Women's Health Caucus. Talarico joined the LGBTQ+ caucus as one of its first ally members. In his first session, Talarico helped craft 119 pieces of legislation, including authoring ____ bills with his Republican colleagues.
As one of the only educators serving in the Texas Legislature, Talarico used his education background to shape a wide variety of education policies — including House Bill 3, a massive school finance reform package. The $11.6 billion school finance bill included $6.5 billion in new public education spending and $5.1 billion in property tax relief.
Talarico attracted attention when he rolled out his Whole Student Agenda: a bipartisan 24-bill package addressing everything from mental health to sex education. The ambitious legislative package proposed fundamentally changing how public schools serve students. Advocates and educators praised the Whole Student Agenda for starting to change the education conversation at the Texas Capitol.[16]
As the youngest member of the Texas Legislature, Talarico used social media to advance his agenda and communicate with constituents. This included live-streaming a second 25-mile walk across his legislative district, which attracted more than 14,000 unique viewers. During this walk, Talarico was joined by a variety of local leaders including his Republican predecessor Larry Gonzales and Round Rock’s Republican Mayor Craig Morgan.
At the end of his first session, Talarico was named one of the “Best Freshmen Legislators” by Capitol Inside.[17]
Other Political Activity[edit]
In 2019, Talarico became one of the first elected officials in the country to endorse Former U.S. Cabinet Secretary and San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro in the 2020 Presidential Election. Talarico spoke at Castro’s campaign kickoff rally at San Antonio’s Plaza Guadalupe on Jan. 12, 2019.[18]
Talarico was rumored to be a possible candidate for U.S. Congress in Texas's 31st congressional district, but declined to run for the seat citing his focus on state education policy[19]
Election History[edit]
Most Recent Election - 2018[edit]
| Texas General Election, 2018: House District 52[20] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic | James Talarico | 36,798 | 51.7% |
| Republican | Cynthia Flores | 34,340 | 48.3% |
| Margin | 2,438 | 3.4% | |
| Texas Special Election, 2018: House District 52[21] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic | James Talarico | 32,235 | 50.89% |
| Republican | Cynthia Flores | 31,113 | 49.11% |
| Margin | 1,122 | 1.78% | |
External Links[edit]
James Talarico Official Texas House Website
James Talarico Official Campaign Website
James Talarico Official Facebook Page
James Talarico Official Twitter Page
James Talarico Official Instagram Page
- ↑ "Cities - House District 52" (PDF).
- ↑ "James Talarico, youngest state representative in Texas Legislature, settles in for the 86th session". January 8, 2019.
- ↑ "Texas House of Representatives District 52".
- ↑ "Candidate Conversation: James Talarico". spectrumlocalnews.com. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
- ↑ publisher@taylorpress.net, Richard Stone. "Talarico wins seat on Pub Ed Committee". Taylor Press. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
- ↑ "House Bill 3". 2019-09-03.
- ↑ "About".
- ↑ "James Talarico". Run For Something. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
- ↑ "Freshman lawmakers Jon Rosenthal, James Talarico reflect on how UT impacted their future - The Daily Texan". www.dailytexanonline.com. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
- ↑ S, Austin; ers; Fri.; Jan. 4; 2019. "Rep. James Talarico on the 86th Texas Legislature". www.austinchronicle.com. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
- ↑ McNeel, Bekah. "Texas's 'Whole Student Agenda': How a Former Teacher Is Using His Legislative Seat to Push 24 New Bills Supporting Sex Ed, Mental Health, Restorative Justice & More". Retrieved 2020-01-27.
- ↑ James Talarico Campaign Kickoff, retrieved 2019-08-21
- ↑ "James Talarico". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
- ↑ "Texas House of Representatives District 52". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
- ↑ State of Mind, retrieved 2019-08-21
- ↑ McNeel, Bekah. "Texas's 'Whole Student Agenda': How a Former Teacher Is Using His Legislative Seat to Push 24 New Bills Supporting Sex Ed, Mental Health, Restorative Justice & More". Retrieved 2019-08-22.
- ↑ "Talarico Makes "Best Freshmen Legislator" List - Press Release.pdf". Google Docs. Retrieved 2019-08-22.
- ↑ "Julián Castro 2020 Presidential Bid - James Talarico Isolated | C-SPAN.org". www.c-span.org. Retrieved 2019-08-22.
- ↑ "Talarico Announces Re-Election; Ends TX-31 Speculation.pdf". Google Docs. Retrieved 2019-08-22.
- ↑ "Directory: James Talarico".
- ↑ "2018 Special Election House District 52".
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