Mark Strama

Thomas Mark Strama, known as Mark Strama (born September 10, 1967), is a Google executive,[1] and a former Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives, representing the 50th District from 2005 until 2013. He served as chairman of the House Committee on Technology, Economic Development & Workforce and on the House Committee on Energy Resources. Regarded by many as a rising star in the Democratic Party, he stunned the political world when he resigned from his seat in the Texas House to become the head of Google Fiber in Austin.[2][3][4] Strama was also a major factor in the success of the world's only major public election ever held on the internet, the 2000 Arizona Democratic Primary.[5][6][7]

Mark Strama
Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from the 50th district
In office
2005–2013
Succeeded byCelia Israel
Personal details
Born (1967-09-10) September 10, 1967
Dallas, Texas, USA
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Crystal Cotti
ResidenceAustin, Texas
ProfessionBusinessman

Early life, education, and career

Strama was born in Dallas, Texas, to Thomas and Brenda Victoria Trabulsi.[8] He has one brother, Richard Keith Strama.[8] He graduated in 1986 from Memorial High School in Hedwig Village near Houston. He earned an undergraduate degree in 1990 in both political science and philosophy from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

Early political efforts

After his graduation from Brown, Strama worked for the Ann Richards 1990 gubernatorial campaign against Clayton W. Williams, Jr.[9] He then worked as chief of staff to State Senator Rodney Ellis.[10] During Strama's tenure, the magazine Texas Monthly named Senator Ellis one of the state's ten best legislators.[10] In 1995, Strama began work on Rock the Vote which is credited with helping over one million people register to vote.[10]

Private sector

Strama returned to Austin to found NewVoter.com, the first company to register voters online.[9] Working to bring the economy, efficiency, and convenience of new technology to the democratic process, Strama’s company was acquired by New York-based Election.com in 2000,[11] and helped over 700,000 Americans register to vote online in the 2000 election cycle. Strama was also considered a major factor in the success of the Arizona Democratic Party conducting their 2000 Presidential Primary over the internet[12] He currently holds the franchise rights to the Sylvan Learning Centers in the Austin area.[10][13]

Campaign Academy Program

In 2004, Strama created a program to involve college students in politics.[14] The Campaign Academy allows them to work for his campaign and in turn, Strama invites speakers to give their insights on politics to the participants. In 2008, the Campaign Academy was opened up to people of all ages, including a 10-year-old and a 50-year-old, among many high school and college students. Speakers at the Campaign Academy have included former Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean, Christine Pelosi, Admiral Bob Inman, Garry Mauro, and U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett.

Personal life

Strama speaks Spanish fluently. He married Austin television reporter Crystal Cotti soon after his 2004 election to office.[15] Their first child, Victoria Rose Strama, was born in January 2007. They have since had two more daughters.[16]

Texas Ten Best Legislators

During his five in the Texas state legislature, Texas Monthly magazine named Strama to its list of Texas's ten best legislators three times. He was widely respected.[17]

References
  1. Dinges, Gary; Grisales, Claudia. "Austin's Google Fiber Rollout Advancing Despite Obstacles". govtech.com.
  2. Koh, Elizabeth (June 26, 2013). "Strama Resigns to Lead Google Fiber". The Texas Tribune.
  3. KUT News, Austin http://kut.org/post/austin-rep-mark-strama-resigns-run-google-fiber-rollout-update
  4. KUT News Austin http://kut.org/post/hd-50-special-election-headed-january-runoff-update
  5. Carpe Manana, by Lenard Sweet, 2000 https://books.google.com/books?id=x4Q0JeT4l6QC&pg=PT99&lpg=PT99&dq=mark+strama+%22election.com%22+arizona+primary&source=bl&ots=HvuNehytsK&sig=em4LXn6Gqb0lMlle_0FcHUbF5CI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=2EYNU6qjGOv60gHQloGoDA&ved=0CFkQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=mark%20strama%20%22election.com%22%20arizona%20primary&f=false
  6. New York Times March 2000 https://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/04/technology/04vote.html
  7. Computerworld March 2000 http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/94533/arizona_democrats_online_voting_just_click/
  8. Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997
  9. Amy Smith, District 50: Has Stick done jack?, Austin Chron. (Oct. 22, 2004)
  10. Clean Coal Tech. Found., 2009 Clean Carbon Policy Summit Speaker Biographies (accessed Sept. 20, 2009). Archived 2011-07-13 at the Wayback Machine
  11. Election.com Acquires Premier Online Voter Registration Technology Provider, Election.com Press Release
  12. Net Out the Vote, The Industry Standard
  13. Gibson, R (2001). "Elections Online: Assessing Internet Voting in Light of the Arizona Democratic Primary". Political Science Quarterly. 116 (4): 561–583. doi:10.2307/798221. JSTOR 798221.
  14. Burnt Orange Report
  15. Austin American Statesman Archived 2008-04-10 at the Wayback Machine
  16. "Mark Strama, Google". Urban Land Institute. October 24, 2016.
  17. "Internet 3.0". LBJ Library. May 12, 2014.
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