James Talarico (Texas Politician)

James Dell Talarico (born May 17, 1989) is an American politician and former teacher. He was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 2018 to represent District 52, which includes the cities of Round Rock, Taylor, Hutto, and Georgetown in Williamson County. Following the 2020 redistricting cycle, Talarico announced his run for a seat in District 50 in 2022, which he won. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

Talarico currently serves on the Texas House of Representatives' Public Education Committee, Calendars Committee, and Juvenile Justice and Family Issues Committee.

Early life and education

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 of Arts degree in government from the University of Texas at Austin, where he organized students for tuition relief. Talarico was a member of the Friar Society, the University of Texas's oldest honor society. He later earned a Master of Arts degree in education policy from Harvard University.

Career

In 2011, Talarico joined Teach For America, teaching sixth grade English language arts at Rhodes Middle School on the west side of San Antonio. After leaving the classroom, Talarico was the central Texas executive director for Reasoning Mind, a Texas nonprofit focusing on bringing technology to low-income classrooms.

Texas House of Representatives

2018

Talarico launched his campaign for the Texas House shortly after incumbent state legislator Larry Gonzales announced his retirement. At 28, Talarico won both the special and general elections against Republican Cynthia Flores in 2018, garnering media attention for walking the full length of the district.

Talarico was sworn into the Texas House of Representatives on November 20, 2018. He was appointed to the Public Education and Juvenile Justice Committees, and currently serves as the youngest member of the Texas Legislature.

In the 86th Texas Legislature, he filed the Whole Student Agenda, a legislative package with 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.

During Talarico's first term, a recording of Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen was leaked by Michael Quinn Sullivan of the conservative advocacy group Empower Texans. In it, Bonnen claimed he had recruited a challenger for "that Talarico kid."

2020

Talarico won re-election against former Hutto City Councilmember Lucio Valdez with 51.5% of the vote. For the 87th Legislative Session, he was reappointed to the Public Education and Juvenile Justice Committees and appointed to the Calendars committee.

During the 87th legislative session, he filed Javier Ambler's Law, demanding an end to police contracts with reality TV shows, in response to the role ''Live PD'' is alleged to have played in the killing of Javier Ambler by Williamson County police. He had previously criticized Sheriff Robert Chody's handling of the incident, calling for his resignation.

Talarico was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes during a five-day stint in the ICU after a 2018 campaign event where he walked 25 miles. In response, he passed a bill which caps prices at $25 for each insulin prescription per month.

At the end of the legislative session, he was named one of the Best Legislators by Texas Monthly magazine.

2022

After his district was made significantly more Republican during the 2020 redistricting process, Talarico announced that he would run in the neighboring House District 50, a safe Democratic seat being vacated by Rep. Celia Israel.

He won the primary election with 78.5% of the vote and won the general election with 76.8% of the vote.

During the 88th legislative session, he passed House Bill 25, which creates the Texas Wholesale Prescription Drug Importation Program and allows Texas to import lower-cost Canadian medications that are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Talarico was an outspoken critic of SB 1515, which sought to have the Ten Commandments displayed in a “conspicuous place” in elementary and secondary classrooms.

Election history

2018

2020

2022

Personal life

Talarico professes a Christian faith and was raised Presbyterian.

References

External links

James Talarico
– Texas House website

James Talarico
– Campaign website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Talarico, James
1989 births
21st-century American legislators
21st-century Texas politicians
American gun control activists
American LGBT rights activists
Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives
Harvard Graduate School of Education alumni
Living people
People from Round Rock, Texas
Presbyterians from Texas
Progressivism in the United States
Schoolteachers from Texas
University of Texas at Austin alumni