DeSoto Democrat Carl Sherman Sr. pushes for more diversity at Texas Capitol
The second-term lawmaker said more difference of perspective will lead to better policymaking.
State Rep. Carl Sherman, Sr., D-DeSoto, (front left) with his Capitol staff. Sherman is leading an initiative to increase the diversity of staff at the Legislature.(Courtesy of State Rep. Carl Sherman, Sr.,)
AUSTIN State Rep. Carl Sherman Sr. is trying to diversify the Texas Capitol one legislative office at a time.
The DeSoto Democrat, who began his second term this month, has lobbied his fellow lawmakers to join his “Diversity Under the Dome” initiative to recruit people from different backgrounds as legislative staffers. Sherman challenges lawmakers to go one step further by hiring staffers from backgrounds that are different from their own.
Carrollton Democrat proposes changing Texas law to let Denton have countywide vote centers
Denton’s surrounding counties Dallas, Tarrant and Collin already have countywide vote centers.
State Rep. Michelle Beckley talks with a colleague on the second day of the 86th Texas legislature on January 9, 2019 at the Texas Capitol.(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer)
AUSTIN State Rep. Michelle Beckley wants to bring countywide voting centers to Denton, which would allow residents to vote at any polling location in the county.
To do so, she is pushing a bill in the Legislature to allow counties with paper-based ballots, like Denton, to participate in the state’s countywide polling place program.