James Talarico

James Dell Talarico (born May 17, 1989) is a Texas politician and former teacher. He was elected to the Texas State House of Representatives in 2018 to represent District 52, which includes the cities of Round Rock, Taylor, Hutto, and Georgetown in Williamson County.[1] He is a member of the Democratic Party.

James Talarico
Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from the 52 district
Assumed office
November 19, 2018
Preceded byLarry Gonzales
Personal details
Born (1989-05-17) May 17, 1989
Political partyDemocratic
ResidenceRound Rock, Texas
Alma materUniversity of Texas at Austin
Harvard
Websitehttp://www.JamesTalarico.com

Talarico currently serves on the Texas House of Representative's Public Education and the Juvenile Justice and Family Issues committees.[2]

Early life, education, and career

Talarico was born at Round Rock Hospital in Williamson County, Texas, to Tamara Causey and was later adopted by Mark Talarico. He has a younger sister. He attended Round Rock ISD schools and graduated from McNeil High School in Williamson County.

Talarico earned a bachelor's degree in government from the University of Texas at Austin[3] and a master's degree in education policy from Harvard University.[4]

In 2011, Talarico joined Teach For America and taught 6th grade English language arts at Rhodes Middle School in San Antonio ISD in San Antonio.[5] After graduating, Talarico began working as the central Texas executive director for Reasoning Mind, a Texas nonprofit focusing on bringing technology to low-income classrooms.

Political career

2018 state house campaign

Talarico launched his campaign for the Texas House shortly after the incumbent State Legislator, Chairman Larry Gonzales, announced his retirement. Talarico won both the special and general election against Republican Cynthia Flores in 2018.[6]

Texas House of Representatives

Talarico was sworn into the Texas House of Representatives on November 20, 2018. Talarico was appointed to the Public Education Committee and the Juvenile Justice & Family Issues Committee, and currently serves as the youngest elected official in the Texas Legislature.[7]

In the 86th Texas Legislature, Talarico filed a legislative package called the Whole Student Agenda,[8] which included a number of bills addressing public education policy. As a member of the Public Education Committee, he helped draft House Bill 3, which contained $11.6 billion in funds for school finance and property tax reform [9]

Other political activities

In 2019, Talarico endorsed Former U.S. Cabinet Secretary and San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro in the 2020 presidential election and spoke at his campaign kickoff rally.[10]

Election history

2018
Texas General Election, 2018: House District 52[11]
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[12]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic James Talarico 32,235 50.89%
Republican Cynthia Flores 31,113 49.11%
Margin 1,122 1.78%

References
  1. "Cities - House District 52" (PDF).
  2. [email protected], Richard Stone. "Talarico wins seat on Pub Ed Committee". Taylor Press. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  3. "Freshman lawmakers Jon Rosenthal, James Talarico reflect on how UT impacted their future - The Daily Texan". www.dailytexanonline.com. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  4. S, Austin; ers; Fri.; Jan. 4; 2019. "Rep. James Talarico on the 86th Texas Legislature". www.austinchronicle.com. Retrieved 2020-01-27.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. 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.
  6. "Texas House of Representatives District 52". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  7. "James Talarico, youngest state representative in Texas Legislature, settles in for the 86th session". January 8, 2019.
  8. 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.
  9. Svitek, Patrick (June 11, 2019). "Gov. Greg Abbott signs $11.6 billion school finance measure into law". The Texas Tribune.
  10. "Julián Castro 2020 Presidential Bid - James Talarico Isolated | C-SPAN.org". www.c-span.org. Retrieved 2019-08-22.
  11. "Directory: James Talarico".
  12. "2018 Special Election House District 52".
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