Jack Blackshear

Jack Blackshear

Education

High school

Bryan Adams High School

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Army

Service / branch

U.S. Navy

Personal

Profession

Business owner

Contact

Personal website

Jack Blackshear was a candidate for District 8 representative on the Garland City Council in Texas. He was defeated in the general election on May 6, 2017. Click here to read Blackshear's response to Ballotpedia's 2017 municipal candidate survey.

Blackshear was also a 2016 Democratic candidate for District 112 of the Texas House of Representatives.

Biography

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

At the time of his 2017 run for office, Blackshear was retired from his position as owner and operator of B&B Lighting. Blackshear served six years in the U.S. Navy and 21 years in the U.S. Army. He has also served as a deputy voter registrar, an election judge, a precinct chair, and the president of the Garland Area Democratic Club.

Elections

2017

See also: Municipal elections in Garland, Texas (2017)

The city of Garland, Texas, held an election for mayor and city council on May 6, 2017. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was February 17, 2017.

Mayor Douglas Athas ran for re-election in 2017. The city council seats in Districts 3, 6, 7, and 8 were also up for election. Robert John Smith defeated Jack Blackshear, James Scot Sullivan, and Terry G. Kaliney in the general election for the District 8 seat on the Garland City Council.

Garland City Council, District 8 General Election, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Robert John Smith	58.03%	513
Jack Blackshear	25.11%	222
James Scot Sullivan	10.97%	97
Terry G. Kaliney	5.88%	52
Total Votes		884
Source: Dallas County Elections, "May 6, 2017 - Joint Election," accessed June 9, 2017

Click [show] on the right for information about other elections in which this candidate ran.

2016 See also: Texas House of Representatives elections, 2016 Elections for the Texas House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election was held on March 1, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was December 14, 2015. Incumbent Angie Chen Button defeated Jack Blackshear in the Texas House of Representatives District 112 general election. Texas House of Representatives, District 112 General Election, 2016 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Angie Chen Button Incumbent 57.22% 31,234      Democratic Jack Blackshear 42.78% 23,351 Total Votes 54,585 Source: Texas Secretary of State Jack Blackshear ran unopposed in the Texas House of Representatives District 112 Democratic Primary. Texas House of Representatives, District 112 Democratic Primary, 2016 Party Candidate      Democratic Jack Blackshear  (unopposed) Incumbent Angie Chen Button defeated Chris DeHart in the Texas House of Representatives District 112 Republican Primary. Texas House of Representatives, District 112 Republican Primary, 2016 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Angie Chen Button Incumbent 77.42% 11,140      Republican Chris DeHart 22.58% 3,249 Total Votes 14,389

Campaign themes

2017

See also: Ballotpedia's municipal government candidate survey

Blackshear participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of municipal government candidates. The following sections display his responses to the survey questions. When asked what his top priority would be if elected, the candidate made the following statement:

“	Improve our infrastructure (streets)	”
—Jack Blackshear (May 1, 2017)

Ranking the issues

The candidate was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the city, with 1 being the most important and 12 being the least important: city services (trash, utilities, etc.), civil rights, crime reduction/prevention, environment, government transparency, homelessness, housing, K-12 education, public pensions/retirement funds, recreational opportunities, transportation, and unemployment. This table displays this candidate's rankings from most to least important.

Issue importance ranking
Candidate's ranking	Issue	Candidate's ranking	Issue
1	Government transparency	7	No item ranked at this value by the candidate
2	No item ranked at this value by the candidate	8	No item ranked at this value by the candidate
3	No item ranked at this value by the candidate	9	No item ranked at this value by the candidate
4	No item ranked at this value by the candidate	10	No item ranked at this value by the candidate
5	No item ranked at this value by the candidate	11	No item ranked at this value by the candidate
6	No item ranked at this value by the candidate	12	No item ranked at this value by the candidate

Nationwide municipal issues

The candidate was asked to answer questions from Ballotpedia regarding issues facing cities across America. The questions are in the left column and the candidate's responses are in the right column. Some questions provided multiple choices, which are noted after those questions.

Question	Response
Is it important for the city’s budget to be balanced?Answer options: Not important; Not important, but required by state law; A little important; A little important, but required by state law; Important; Very important	Very important
Which level of government do you feel should set a minimum wage?Answer options: None, Local, State, Federal	Local
What do you think is the best way to improve a city’s public safety? Candidates could write their own answer or choose from the following options: Increased economic opportunities, Increased police presence/activity, Harsher penalties for offenders, Public outreach/education programs	Public outreach/education programs
How do you think your city should emphasize economic development? Candidates could write their own answer or choose from the following options: Changing zoning restrictions, Create a more competitive business climate, Focusing on small business development, Instituting a citywide minimum wage, Recruiting new businesses to your city, Regulatory and licensing reforms, and tax reform	Create a more competitive business climate
What is the one thing you’re most proud of about your city?	Law enforcement/Fire Dept
What is the one thing you’d most like to change about your city?	Beautification. Make our city more attractive to others. This will make people want to live here.

Additional themes

Blackshear's campaign website highlighted the following issues:

“	Back Our Police and Fire We must have the backs of the brave women and men that get up every day to serve and protect our great city. The Garland Fire Department has proudly earned an 'ISO' rating of 1 - the highest possible score. Our city should continue to engage with both the police and fire departments that their needs are being met. Bring Businesses Growing our local economy and creating jobs is in the interest of everyone. Filling empty buildings, maintaining competitive dynamics for development, and listening to our constituents are keys to making Garland a vibrant economy. Build Our Roads and Sidewalks We must ensure that Garland is a maintained city for our residents and businesses. Fixing our roads and sidewalks for the long haul, not just a simple band aid, should be a top priority on our agenda. We can accomplish this by investing in local repair projects and collaborating with other local agencies, like the NTTA and state legislature, to address our highway route concerns. Parks and Recreation Garland is full of beautiful land that we can harness to create well kept and clean options for our communities. Let's start by working on our current park and land use and then look for development opportunities to serve our citizens.	”
—Jack Blackshear's campaign website, (2017)

In response to a question from the Dallas Morning News about the three most important actions he would take if elected, Blackshear said:

“	Maintaining the highest standards in public safety -- police and fire/EMS. My emphasis would be on the people. We must take care of the people. This will be a priority for me in each annual operating budget. Maintaining our infrastructure -- streets, water, and sewer. Much of these big ticket items will require continued borrowing, but bonding must be structured to ensure taxes do not increase. Retaining and attracting business to provide good jobs and to expand the tax base. I would accomplish this by providing great services -- police, fire, utilities. Where it makes economic sense, judicious use of incentives should also be considered on a case-by-case basis.	”
—Jack Blackshear

Endorsements

2017

Blackshear received endorsements from the following in 2017:

• AFL-CIO
• Dallas County East Democrats
• Garland Area Democratic Club
• Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 100
• Texas Alliance of Retired Americans

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Jack Blackshear Garland. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Jack Blackshear - Google News

See also

Garland, Texas	Texas	Municipal government	Other local coverage

External links

Suggest a link

• Garland Mayor & City Council
• Campaign website
• Social media
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