Carrie Menger

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Carrie Menger

Independent

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 8, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

Texas State University, 1998

Ph.D

Texas A&M University at College Station, 2007

Personal

Birthplace

Texas

Religion

Christian

Profession

Scientist

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign YouTube

Carrie Menger (independent) (also known as Heather) ran for election for Texas Land Commissioner. She lost as a write-in in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Menger completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Carrie Menger was born in Texas. She earned a bachelor's degree from Texas State University in 1998 and a Ph.D. from Texas A&M University at College Station in 2007. Her career experience includes working as a research scientist at the University of Houston and at Texas A&M University, College Station.

Menger has been affiliated with the following organizations:

• Texas A&M University Former Students Association.
• Students Services CAPS program through the Association
• Brazos County Texas A&M Club, member
• Aggie Women's Network, member
• Aggie Fish Camp
• Aggie Foundation
• Aggieland Softball League, member
• Angus Association, member
• Presbyterian, Methodist, Catholic, and Evangelical Lutheran churches

Elections

2022

See also: Texas Public Lands Commissioner election, 2022

General election

General election for Texas Land Commissioner

Dawn Buckingham defeated Jay Kleberg, Alfred Molison, and Carrie Menger in the general election for Texas Land Commissioner on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dawn Buckingham (R)	56.2	4,463,452
		Jay Kleberg (D)	42.1	3,350,291
	Submit photo	Alfred Molison (G)	1.7	133,034
		Carrie Menger (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	1,812

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,948,589
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary runoff election

Democratic primary runoff for Texas Land Commissioner

Jay Kleberg defeated Sandragrace Martinez in the Democratic primary runoff for Texas Land Commissioner on May 24, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jay Kleberg	52.9	254,273
		Sandragrace Martinez	47.1	225,964

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 480,237
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for Texas Land Commissioner

Dawn Buckingham defeated Tim Westley in the Republican primary runoff for Texas Land Commissioner on May 24, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dawn Buckingham	68.8	595,554
		Tim Westley	31.2	270,365

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 865,919
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas Land Commissioner

Sandragrace Martinez and Jay Kleberg advanced to a runoff. They defeated Jinny Suh and Michael Lange in the Democratic primary for Texas Land Commissioner on March 1, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sandragrace Martinez	31.8	313,780
✔		Jay Kleberg	26.0	257,034
		Jinny Suh	21.9	216,238
		Michael Lange	20.2	199,764

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 986,816
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas Land Commissioner

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Texas Land Commissioner on March 1, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dawn Buckingham	41.9	679,125
✔		Tim Westley	14.8	239,473
		Jon Spiers	12.6	203,879
		Don Minton	10.6	171,001
		Victor Avila	7.5	121,998
		Weston Martinez	6.6	107,219
	Submit photo	Rufus Lopez	3.1	49,475
		Ben Armenta	3.0	48,029

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,620,199
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Green convention

Green convention for Texas Land Commissioner

Alfred Molison advanced from the Green convention for Texas Land Commissioner on April 9, 2022.

		Candidate
✔	Submit photo	Alfred Molison (G)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2022

Video for Ballotpedia

Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released September 26, 2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Carrie Menger completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Menger's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Carrie Evelyn Menger, PhD grew up becoming familiar with the oil and gas and agricultural industries, outside of La Grange, Texas, learning about mineral leases and participating in 4-H and FFA. I was an Officer in both organizations having wholesome experiences raising chickens, cattle, and swine for breeding, selling, and showing. I played clarinet in the La Grange High School Band! La Grange, Texas High School was a powerful positive contribution. I graduated 4th out of a class of 88 students. At Texas State University, I assisted Dr. Dana M. Garcia in Bluegill Sunfish retinal epithelium research before graduating with a Baccalaureate Degree in Biology and cum laude, Golden Key, Who’s Who, and Tri-Beta honors. I earned a Doctoral Degree in Biology from Texas A&M University (TAMU) under Drs. David Earnest and Vincent Cassone with interim tenure as BRAIN research fellow at the University of Houston. Neuroscience research exemplified successful partnerships yielding peer-reviewed articles, a dissertation, and a genomic gene expression metadata suite. Through community outreach, Insurance Brokerage, and small house building, I became knowledgeable of securitizations and real property conveyances. Experts, good lessons, hard work and studies, manifold, taught me well the skills for leadership - a fiduciary capacity.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Securing a stable Texas future resilient in its handling of natural disasters like hurricanes necessarily means productive communication with state and federal agencies to optimize resource allocations for the mitigation of and recovery from perils that damage homes, infrastructure, and ecosystems. Fulfilling the requirements of the General Land Office entails working with agencies like NOAA, FEMA, and HUD to gain an edge over natural perils, regardless of party affiliations. Diligent attention to funding opportunities, grant writing, interagency collaborations, and the creation of innovative funding facilities promotes faster recoveries and science-based coastal resource management that KEEPS TEXAS PREPARED.

• Texas schools should be safe, competitive, and inclusive within the global market. STEM curricula should be promoted with the expectations that no school be too small to be safe or too large to be socially-inclusive and bully-free. Building positive energy sector partnerships to build royalty-derived cash flows will enhance Permanent School Fund allocations. Enterprising corridors will also incentivize environmental protections through earned “Good Steward” awards that improving lessees’ operational leveraging potentials by accessing new unit expansion opportunities vis-à-vis new, separate unitizations. Partnerships and corridors that benefit Texas schools, the environment, and energy sector enterprising, synergistically, make sense.
• The Texas Demographic Center projects a Texas population of 40 million by 2050 and the rates of land conversions from working agricultural lands to developments will likely overshadow rates of increased food and fiber production per acre of land. According to a Burleson County farmer, the conversions of large acreage farms to smaller acreage tracts diminishes agribusiness and timber profitability so much that the economic incentive to sell the land for development is greater than the return from retaining the land for continued use in agriculture. As Land Commissioner, I will prioritize Ag-use leases of state-owned lands set aside for food and fiber to offset working land conversions elsewhere in Texas and maintain positive cash flows.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Public Service in a State Office is an honorable profession requiring deep knowledge of correct and appropriate execution of the duties of the Office to achieve broad and specific goals, within and across relevant jurisdictions, through diligent and wise use of resources, programs, and personnel in fulfillment of agency relationships among all relevant levels of state and federal governments to best serve our Texas stakeholders within the frameworks of state statutes, common law, the State of Texas Constitution and applicable Laws and Acts of the United States of America. Dr. Carrie Evelyn Menger is preparing to serve you and Texas Governor Greg Abbott in the capacity as Commissioner of the Texas General Land Office for at least the next four years. Why? POLICIES THAT INCREASE 1) state-owned asset-derived cash flows, 2) benefits to Texas Veterans and Military Service men and women through novel and existing Veterans Land Board programs, 3) funding opportunities and awards for scientific research and management of our precious Texas coastal resources, 4) Texas School Safety Center compliance to promote "No School Too Small To Be Safe," 5) core curricular education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), 6) funding accessibility and transactional efficiency for wards, districts, precincts, municipalities and Texas counties vulnerable to disaster storms, and 7) conversions of bad electric grid components to subsurface facilities to KEEP THE POWER ON.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I respect a number of local, national and foreign leaders, and some, not necessarily in their entireties. I select the positive traits demonstrated or exhibited by people whom with I interact or study and apply those better qualities where they can best be used in achieving good goals while avoiding personal issues, unless the interaction is basically personal or extra-professional. Interpersonal relationships, bonding, and imprinting are unique manifestations that sometimes get executives into trouble even through logically pursuing good intentions for a greater benefit to stakeholders. Sometimes instincts come into conflict with logic. Instinct should always be given credence and it implies reason to caution and reassess the logical approach or what is customary. When an executive rechecks, the quality of the information and the directions given may not always be the best or may even be false. Interpersonal relations are a part of Executive Risk, Accountability, and Integrity. Risks discounted by logic can still hurt you in hard ways - sometimes the harm is intentional and malicious. Other times, it is coincidental. Sometimes, an executive will face an angry crowd when her back is against the wall. You have to temper your responses to survive. Get away and assess. Remember, you are accountable to others as a role model. Fight to maintain your INTEGRITY. The angry crowd did not take INTEGRITY away - they just steal a little of your spirit. You relinquish your INTEGRITY. The late Gamal Abdel Nasser, former President of Egypt, is an international leadership I respect. Other leaderships I admire nationally and locally are the late former United States Presidents George H.W. Bush and George Washington, the former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, Senator John Cornyn, the young bilingual Catholic priest at Sacred Heart Church, and my mother - they have seen or have experienced risks. Accountable - INTEGRITY.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The wall separating East Germany and West Germany, its dismantling, is one of the first historically significant events I remember from my youth. It unified so many and a country - several countries, included the United States. Peoples reborn in new spirits of hope, peace, and expectations. As a young girl, I observed the United States of America saw the positive impact of representative democracy in Eastern Europe, even though it came with economic struggle. The legacies of Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush are preserved, in part, through demonstration of parts of this wall. Some of it remains, on display, in Texas, in Aggieland. Accessing the Brandenburg Gate, previously blocked by the Berlin Wall, but now opened through revolution, saw the uncountable occasions of entry and passage through this gate for the first time since the early 1960s. In the United States of America, there are still Berlin Walls. One that needs to come down really bad is the one that blocks the gate for members of the LGBTQ Community. The current leadership at Texas A&M University and parts of East Texas, and elsewhere, need a piece of this wall, too, showing that they can dismantle a barrier for a community and open the gates for LGBTQ to make entry and safe passage. Revolutions emerge because of what preceded that which commenced on the 9th of November 1989 - oppression. Friendship is not oppression. It is our foundation for innovations - it is our Texas motto. Let's solve.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was working on the farm and ranch taking care of vegetables and chickens, pigs, and cattle. However, the first job off of the farm I enjoyed for a summer prior to leaving for college was a technician assistantship position at a tractor and agricultural equipment dealership outside of La Grange, Texas. I learned so much in managing resources helpful to the shop and in helping the mechanics and the customers, both in the store and in the field. Two of my fondest memories from working at this dealership include wholesome learning experiences with two proficient mechanics. First, with Mr. Calvin Bohot, a huge man with an even bigger heart, I would work alongside in repairing and servicing combines in the shop or outside in rice country, Texas. Being a small lady, I could squeeze into compartments or get that fallen bolt in the nook behind the auger or under a sieve. Second, working with Mr. Larry Krenek, a friendly and modest-tempered gentleman, and the main diesel mechanic, I learned through a wise joke that weevils do not cause cavitation in piston heads! I learned, also from this job, how labor translates into payroll and how contributions to my country's general fund, Social Security and Medicare programs are supported by the work of the nation. I gained the knowledge that 401K and health benefits were earned rather than expected. Today, some perceptions of these types of benefits and their relative entitlement status are much different.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Note: Menger submitted the above survey responses to Ballotpedia on September 27, 2022.

Show past responsesHide past responses

September 24 submission

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Carrie Evelyn Menger grew up becoming familiar with the oil and gas and agricultural industries, outside of La Grange, Texas, learning about mineral leases and participating in 4-H and FFA. I was an Officer in both organizations having wholesome experiences raising chickens, cattle, and swine for breeding, selling, and showing. I played clarinet in the La Grange High School Band! La Grange, Texas High School was a powerful positive contribution. I graduated 4th out of a class of 88. At Texas State University, I assisted Dr. Dana M. Garcia in Bluegill Sunfish retinal epithelium research before graduating with a Baccalaureate Degree in Biology and cum laude, Golden Key, Who’s Who, and Tri-Beta honors. I earned a Doctoral Degree in Biology from Texas A&M University (TAMU) under Drs. David Earnest and Vincent Cassone with interim tenure as BRAIN research fellow at the University of Houston. Neuroscience research exemplified successful partnerships yielding peer-reviewed articles, a dissertation, and a genomic gene expression metadata suite. Through community outreach, Insurance Brokerage, and small house building, I became knowledgeable of securitizations and real property conveyances. Experts, good lessons, hard work and studies, manifold, taught me well the skills for leadership - a fiduciary capacity.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Securing a stable Texas future resilient in its handling of natural disasters like hurricanes necessarily means productive communication with state and federal agencies to optimize resource allocations for the mitigation of and recovery from perils that damage homes, infrastructure, and ecosystems. Fulfilling the requirements of the General Land Office entails working with agencies like NOAA, FEMA, and HUD to gain an edge over natural perils, regardless of party affiliations. Diligent attention to funding opportunities, grant writing, interagency collaborations, and the creation of innovative funding facilities promotes faster recoveries and science-based coastal resource management that KEEPS TEXAS PREPARED.

• Texas schools should be safe, competitive, and inclusive within the global market. STEM curricula should be promoted with the expectations that no school be too small to be safe or too large to be socially-inclusive and bully-free. Building positive energy sector partnerships to build royalty-derived cash flows will enhance Permanent School Fund allocations. Enterprising corridors will also incentivize environmental protections through earned “Good Steward” awards that improving lessees’ operational leveraging potentials by accessing new unit expansion opportunities vis-à-vis new, separate unitizations. Partnerships and corridors that benefit Texas schools, the environment, and energy sector enterprising, synergistically, make sense.
• The Texas Demographic Center projects a Texas population of 40 million by 2050 and the rates of land conversions from working agricultural lands to developments will likely overshadow rates of increased food and fiber production per acre of land. According to a Burleson County farmer, the conversions of large acreage farms to smaller acreage tracts diminishes agribusiness and timber profitability so much that the economic incentive to sell the land for development is greater than the return from retaining the land for continued use in agriculture. As Land Commissioner, I will prioritize Ag-use leases of state-owned lands set aside for food and fiber to offset working land conversions elsewhere in Texas and maintain positive cash flows.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Public Service in a State Office is an honorable profession requiring deep knowledge of correct and appropriate execution of the duties of the Office to achieve broad and specific, goals within and across relevant jurisdictions through diligent and wise use of resources, programs, and personnel in fulfillment of agency relationships among all relevant levels of state and federal governments to best serve our Texas stakeholders within the frameworks of state statutes, common law, the State of Texas Constitution and applicable Laws and Acts of the United States of America. Dr. Carrie Evelyn Menger is preparing to serve you and Texas Governor Greg Abbott in the capacity as Commissioner of the Texas General Land Office for at least the next four years. Why? POLICIES THAT INCREASE 1) state-owned asset-derived cash flows, 2) benefits to Texas Veterans and Military Service men and women through novel and existing Veterans Land Board programs, 3) funding opportunities and awards for scientific research and management of our precious Texas coastal resources, 4) Texas School Safety Center compliance to promote "No School Too Small To Be Safe," 5) core curricular education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), 6) funding accessibility and transactional efficiency for wards, districts, precincts, municipalities and Texas counties vulnerable to disaster storms, and 7) conversions of bad electric grid components to subsurface facilities to KEEP THE POWER ON.

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

A high-impact quality extending from the General Land Office arises from its jurisdiction being supportive and dedication to Texas history, legacy and future. In the state of Texas, property ownership began with land grants - conveyances to colonies and to families of large narrow tracts of land known as porciones, and even larger tracts of land for grazing along the Gulf of Mexico - up to 600,000 acres. Many of these Spanish land grants were in the South and East Texas regions; however, the first Spanish land grant was in East Texas in 1716 to establish a mission. After the Mexican Revolution, an Independent Mexico, August 1821, managed through various leaderships and colonization acts to retain and attract U.S. colonists with provision of written conditioned agreements of land ownership and life. Some of these conditions were the underpinnings of the Texas Revolution, 1835-36. The Treaty of Hidalgo later establishing new territory for Texas, three years after the Republic of Texas ascended to U.S. statehood in 1845, expanded Texas from the Nueces River to the Rio Grande River. Systematic surveying of the territories and leagues of Texas was started in the early 1800s by Stephen F. Austin. Later, another major contributor to the measurement of Texas lands and boundaries was George Washington Smyth, an early Commissioner of the General Land Office. Smyth's surveys, like others are archived in the General Land Office, recording the beginnings of historic chains of ownership of Texas lands conveyed for public and private use. And, today, with some 13 million acres of land, including submerged lands extending three leagues beyond our Texas shores, as per the 1845 Annexation agreement signed by President Andrew Jackson, are managed by the Land Office's jurisdiction. Preserving chains of ownership and accurate measurements of Texas lands, including oil and gas surveys of state-owned lands, is a classic quality of legacy preservation - supportive and dedicated to future.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I respect a number of local, national and foreign leaders, and some, not necessarily in their entireties. I select the positive traits demonstrated or exhibited by people whom with I interact or study and apply those better qualities where they can best be used in achieving noble goals while avoiding personal issues, unless the interaction is basically personal or extra-professional. Interpersonal relationships, bonding, and imprinting are unique manifestations that sometimes get executives into trouble even through logically pursuing good intentions for a greater benefit to stakeholders. Sometimes instincts come into conflict with logic. Instinct should always be given credence and it implies reason to caution and reassess the logical approach or what is customary. When an executive rechecks, the quality of the information and the directions given may not always be the best or may even be false. Interpersonal relations are a part of Executive Risk, Accountability, and Integrity. Risks discounted by logic can still hurt you in hard ways - sometimes the harm is intentional and malicious. Other times, it is coincidental. Sometimes, an executive will face an angry crowd when her back is against the wall. You have to temper your responses to survive. Get away and assess. Remember, you are accountable to others as a role model. Fight to maintain your INTEGRITY. The angry crowd did not take INTEGRITY away - they just steal a little of your spirit. You relinquish your INTEGRITY. The late Gamal Abdel Nasser, former President of Egypt, is an international leadership I respect. Other leaderships I admire, nationally and locally, are the late former United States Presidents George H.W. Bush and George Washington, the former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, Senator John Cornyn, the young bilingual Catholic priest at Sacred Heart Church, and my mother - they have seen or have experienced risks. Accountable - INTEGRITY.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Honest, Integrity, Competence, Reliability, Informative

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I have a genuine and compassionate desire to help address the concerns of Texas, to solve problems, and to assist in areas of Texas government and superintending that best apply my skills in Informatics, Biology, Scientific writing, Grant writing, Ranching and Land Management, Real Estate, Fiduciary Representation, and Leadership. I have the desire to be a team leader rather than a "Big Boss" and I know this requires sacrifice. As Commissioner of the General Land Office, I must always be accountable to high standards of ethics scrupulously applied in and out of the Office. In maintaining an ethical Office, one having no improprieties that may compromise reasonable expectations of good character or excellent service to stakeholders, my management of State of Texas resources, cash flows, legacies, and treasures will follow the noble ideals that define Texas and that serve the Texas future to the best of my ability each day. What does this mean? My best each day is to afford the best for Texas schoolchildren, our veterans and military service men and women, our state public and privately owned business partnerships, and the very important Land Office personnel in Austin, Texas and throughout the state, including personnel at that three-league line, over our Texas submerged lands, that get soaked. Guided by Texas Administrative Codes, the Texas Natural Resource Codes, and good principles, my leadership will also serve Texas to preserve our treasured historical legacies and environmental areas - ecosystems and food webs. The General Land Office will be a sentinel for Units of Life so important in Texas Ecology. A Biologist is dedicated to preserving and understanding life. I will be loyalty and obedient to my colleagues and principles in pursuit of this and other high-aspirational goals that benefit our coastal resources while improving standard operating procedures to effect high-quality informatics, archiving, asset management services, and partnership development.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The wall separating East Germany and West Germany, its dismantling, is one of the first historically significant events I remember from my youth. It unified so many and a country - several countries, included the United States. Peoples reborn in new spirits of hope, peace, and expectations. The United States of America saw the positive impact of representative democracy in Eastern Europe, even though it came with economic struggle. The legacies of Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush are preserved, in part, through demonstration of parts of this wall. Some of it remains, on display, in Texas, in Aggieland. Accessing the Brandenburg Gate, previously blocked by the Berlin Wall, but now opened through revolution, saw the uncountable occasions of entry and passage through this gate for the first time since the early 1960s. In the United States of America, there are still Berlin Walls. One that needs to come down really bad is the one that blocks the gate for members of the LGBTQ Community. The current leadership at Texas A&M University and parts of East Texas, and elsewhere, need a piece of this wall, too, showing that they can dismantle a barrier for a community and open the gates for LGBTQ to make entry and safe passage. Revolutions emerge because of what preceded that which commenced on the 9th of November 1989 - oppression. Friendship is not oppression. It is our foundation for innovations - it is our Texas motto. Let's solve.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was working on the farm and ranch taking care of vegetables and chickens, pigs, and cattle. However, the first job off of the farm I enjoyed for a summer prior to leaving for college was a technician assistantship position at a tractor and agricultural equipment dealership outside of La Grange, Texas. I learned so much in managing resources helpful to the shop and in helping the mechanics and the customers, both in the store and in the field. Two of my fondest memories from working at this dealership include wholesome learning experiences with two proficient mechanics. First, with Mr. Calvin Bohot, a huge man with an even bigger heart, I would work alongside in repairing and servicing combines in the shop or outside in rice country, Texas. Being a small lady, I could squeeze into compartments or get that fallen bolt in the nook behind the auger or under a sieve. Second, working with Mr. Larry Krenek, a friendly and modest-tempered gentleman, and the main diesel mechanic, I learned through a wise joke that weevils do not cause cavitation in piston heads! I learned, also from this job, how labor translates into payroll and how contributions to my country's general fund, Social Security and Medicare programs are supported by the work of the nation. I gained the knowledge that 401K and health benefits were earned rather than expected. Today, some perceptions of these types of benefits and their relative entitlement status are much different.

What is your favorite book? Why?

My favorite historical book written by David McCullough is "1776." This historically accurate account of the many struggles in and outside of the battlefields of the American Revolution won my spirit over to whom I feel is one of our country's most stalwart and inspiring heroes, General and President George Washington. When times became very difficult for our early pre-nation's out-matched Continental Army and General Washington had experienced so much loss with his daughter dying of epilepsy and his closest friends walking away - some whom turned against his ideals for a new American way, General George Washington held true to a course for victory. If he were just an ordinary leader, WE WOULD NOT BE citizens of a great and awesome, powerful and welcoming, federation of states in democratic representation named the United States of America. His life is truly inspiring and exemplary. The other book, even more powerful than the aforementioned, is a textbook I found in my mother's bookshelf - acquired from a library sale. It was an early edition of "Medical Physiology" by Arthur C. Guyton. I read this book over the summer after I graduated from high school, and it changed my life. I fell in love with the Cell and its physiology - the explanations of muscle fiber contractions, isotropic and anisotropic sarcomere bands, and tetany and the basis of the electrocardiogram. The interactions of drugs with the cell's physiology that either help alleviate or exacerbate a cycle of diminished cardiac stroke volume output. Then, the neuron, the soma, the dendrite, the Schwann cell and the axon. The synapse, the sole feet, the cleft, and neurotransmitter to post-synaptic potential. I was enlightened. I told Dr. Joseph Koke, my Cell Biology Professor at Texas State University, that I had learned about the Cell from a book I found in my mother's shelf. He asked who wrote it. I answered Guyton. That moment led us to become friends and co-authors because we both loved the Cell.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

The last song that got stuck in my head was

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

Governmental experience should guide official professionalism to embody wholesome values and intentions for respectful dialog during the resolution of issues and the performance of the duties of an office while serving as a fiduciary.

Having experience always helps as it is a conditioning for the application of new knowledge. And familiarity with procedural pipelines does help.

However, Texans are rugged individualists who are, also, state-of-the-art refined - our Texas cultural ethos aspires to GET TO IT but to GET BETTER, concomitantly.

Going into a new office, means reasonable dissection of the procedural circuits prior to any reconfigurations found necessary to better accomplish agency goals. If learning new lines of communication or management organization, or even, procedural processes are hurdles for an administrator, that person was not correctly chosen for the job. I aspire. I self-critique. I improve. We solve.

My goals are for the best benefit of my domain. My domain is assisting everyone in the General Land Office workforce accomplish their individual and team goals in a healthy, positive, supportive, and hardworking environment. I am accountable to each person in this workforce and to Governor Abbott. My framework will promote professionalism and obedience to the lofty aspirations of fiduciary responsibility, and I will flex as needed to extend compassion and constructive criticism and superintending with a smile.

Why?

Friendship is our foundation - friendship is our Texas motto. We are all Texans. That's official.

Carrie Evelyn Menger, PhD.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

Organizational, communicative, and principled leadership skills are very important in establishing and managing a General Land Office that cost-efficiently uses its resources and assets to result in the best benefits for stakeholders through sincerest of efforts. The bureaucratic management style normally effective for sharply delineated personnel duties and functions may be reconfigured organizationally tying together experience and team networking to enlighten workflow dynamics, to cross-train, and to more flexibly resolve just-in-time management scenarios. Communication with and across state and federal agencies and with the public must be done clearly and concisely, objective-focused, while defining any parameters that qualify the discussions, where allowed. Inviting criticism, scrutiny, and suggestions from personnel and the public is part of leadership accountability and this feedback process is so critical for identifying areas needing improvement and areas predominantly successful. Maintaining a diverse and inclusive workforce that lives out, through service at the General Land Office, wholesome core values to meet and exceed the duties of the Office will be my mission. Being guided by the rules of Law, where core values are not compromised, to ethically serve to the best benefit of Texas schools, veterans and military service men and women and our Texas environment and resource partnerships, is our highest-aspirational goal at the Texas General Land Office as it will be assisted through my capacities as Commissioner. Carrie Evelyn Menger, PhD.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Note: Menger submitted the above survey responses to Ballotpedia on September 24, 2022.

See also

2022 Elections

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