James Wallace "Jay" Dean (born March 5, 1953) is an American politician. A Republican, he has been the member of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abou ...

for

District 7 District 7 could refer to: *District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam *District 7 (Zürich), Switzerland *District 7, Düsseldorf, Germany *VII District, Turku, Finland *District 7 School (Groton, Massachusetts), United States *District 7 School (Hanso ...

, which encompasses Gregg and Upshur counties in

East Texas East Texas is a broadly defined cultural, geographic, and ecological region in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Texas that comprises most of 41 counties. It is primarily divided into Northeast and Southeast Texas. Most of the region consi ...

, since 2017.

Early life and education

Dean was born in Opelousas,

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

Career

Prior to his election to the legislature, Dean served seven years as a city councilman and then ten years as the mayor of Longview,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, ending his term on May 15, 2016. As mayor, Dean refused to sign a proclamation for

LGBT pride LGBT pride (also known as gay pride or simply pride) is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people as a social group. Pride, as opposed to sham ...

. In 2014, the city of Longview broke a contract with musician

Ted Nugent Theodore Anthony Nugent (; born December 13, 1948) is an American rock musician and activist. He initially gained fame as the lead guitarist and occasional lead vocalist of The Amboy Dukes, a band formed in 1963 that played psychedelic rock an ...

to perform at Longview's Fourth of July concert, with Dean stating that Nugent "didn't really fit what we're trying to put together, a family-oriented program." Following his service as mayor, Dean won the Republican nomination for

on a platform of border security, job creation, and protecting East Texas water and other resources. He won the 2016 Republican primary election and was sworn into the State Legislature on January 10, 2017, succeeding Republican David Simpson, who did not seek re-election. Dean did not face a Democratic opponent in the general election held on November 8, 2016.

85th Legislature

In his inaugural legislative session, Dean filed ten pieces of legislation. All but three were signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott. Dean was selected to serve on the Local and Consent Calendar Committee, the Committee on Investments and Financial Services, and the House Appropriations Committee. Dean was also appointed to serve on the House Select Committee on Opioids and Substance Abuse.

Political views

According to his website, Dean shares "East Texas conservative values"; promises to "protect our gun rights" and "make sure we secure the border"; and is "deeply opposed to the practice of abortion." He has a perfect rating from the

NRA The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent gun rights lobbying organization while conti ...

, and was endorsed in his legislative campaign by Governor Greg Abbott, Texas State Rifle Association,

Texas Alliance for Life The Texas Alliance for Life is an anti-abortion lobbying organization in the State of Texas.Brittney MartinAnti-abortion groups' political endorsement differences show power struggle in Texas GOP ''Dallas News'' (February 2016). The group opposes " ...

National Federation of Independent Business The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) is an association of small businesses in the United States. It is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, with offices in Washington, D.C., and all 50 state capitals. The goal of NFIB is to ad ...

es, and the Texas Association of Realtors. He was praised by the Conservative Roundtable of Texas. Dean ran without opposition for his second House term in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

held on November 6, 2018.

Personal

He and his wife, Jane Willis Dean, moved to Longview in 1981, where they raised their three daughters. A former altar boy, Dean is active in the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and helped to found St. Matthews in Longview.

References

External links

Campaign website

State legislative page

Jay Dean at the Texas Tribune
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dean, Jay 1953 births Living people Texas city council members Mayors of places in Texas Republican Party members of the Texas House of Representatives Businesspeople from Texas People from Opelousas, Louisiana 21st-century American politicians Catholics from Texas Catholic politicians from Texas