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Sass

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Sass
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Democratic Party

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Restaurant server
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Sass (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Texas' 35th Congressional District. He did not appear on the ballot for the Democratic primary on March 1, 2022.

Sass completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Sass was born in Salem, Michigan. His professional experience includes working in the restaurant industry, including serving, hosting, cooking, delivering, and managing. Sass has been affiliated with the Equal Vote Coalition, the Center for Election Science, and Income Movement.[1]

Elections

2022

See also: Texas' 35th Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House Texas District 35

Greg Casar defeated Dan McQueen in the general election for U.S. House Texas District 35 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Greg Casar
Greg Casar (D)
 
72.6
 
129,599
Image of Dan McQueen
Dan McQueen (R)
 
27.4
 
48,969

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 178,568
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 35

Dan McQueen defeated Michael Rodriguez in the Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 35 on May 24, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Dan McQueen
Dan McQueen
 
61.3
 
4,161
Image of Michael Rodriguez
Michael Rodriguez
 
38.7
 
2,632

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 6,793
Candidate Connection = 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 U.S. House Texas District 35

Greg Casar defeated Eddie Rodriguez, Rebecca J. Viagran, and Carla-Joy Sisco in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 35 on March 1, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Greg Casar
Greg Casar
 
61.1
 
25,505
Image of Eddie Rodriguez
Eddie Rodriguez
 
15.6
 
6,526
Image of Rebecca J. Viagran
Rebecca J. Viagran
 
15.6
 
6,511
Image of Carla-Joy Sisco
Carla-Joy Sisco
 
7.6
 
3,190

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 41,732
Candidate Connection = 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 35

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 35 on March 1, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Dan McQueen
Dan McQueen
 
21.3
 
2,900
✔
Image of Michael Rodriguez
Michael Rodriguez
 
14.9
 
2,034
Image of Bill Condict
Bill Condict Candidate Connection
 
11.2
 
1,529
Image of Marilyn Jackson
Marilyn Jackson
 
10.8
 
1,473
Image of Dan Sawatzki
Dan Sawatzki Candidate Connection
 
10.4
 
1,414
Image of Jennifer Sundt
Jennifer Sundt
 
9.5
 
1,299
Image of Sam Montoya
Sam Montoya Candidate Connection
 
9.0
 
1,227
Image of Alejandro Ledezma
Alejandro Ledezma Candidate Connection
 
6.1
 
833
Image of Jenai Aragona-Hales
Jenai Aragona-Hales
 
4.3
 
589
Image of Asa Palagi
Asa Palagi
 
2.4
 
327

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 13,625
Candidate Connection = 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.

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for U.S. House Texas District 35

No candidate advanced from the convention.

Candidate
Image of Michael Idrogo
Michael Idrogo (L)

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.

Candidate Connection = 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

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Sass completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Sass' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

After being laid off from both of my restaurant jobs in March 2020, I had time to reflect and realized as the nation was unraveling that I had an opportunity to create real, positive change. That’s when I decided to run for US House of Representatives in an incumbent-less district in Austin, TX to show the country that there truly is a way we can move forward together.
  • Regular people should be represented by regular people, and that's exactly who I am: a regular person. The most important attribute I hold is that I relentlessly care about the well-being of people.
  • Regardless of whether I win this race, I will continue my mission to empower every individual to become the best version of themself.
  • My focus is on solutions that include all people. I'm genuinely unconcerned with your political affiliation — your voice will be included in my decisions.
The four pillars of my platform are Universal Basic Income, Voting Method Reform, Government Accountability, and Directly Addressing Division. That's not to say that healthcare, education, and clean air and water aren't important; this is to say that there are fundamental changes needed to align the actions of our government with the needs and desires of the people. Until we start addressing these pillars (which all work together), I have little expectation that we'll see serious movement on any of the other important issues people care about.

You can learn more about these pillars on my site:

https://VoteForSass.com/platform
I try not to idolize anyone. We all bring something positive to this world and we all have flaws. I find it best to learn from all of those around us and who we interact with. Patience and forgiveness have been powerful tools in allowing me to bring out and discover the best in people, which has been crucial in my own growth.
Eventually, I'll have a page dedicated to my political philosophy on my website. Maybe it's ready now when you're reading this!

https://VoteForSass.com/philosophy

If not, check out my YouTube channel. There's plenty of content there that should help to put my philosophy in perspective.

https://VoteForSass.com/connect
Authenticity, a drive to deeply understand as many issues as possible, and genuine care for the well-being of the people and the planet.
To serve *all* of the people. Yes, that's a bit vague, but representatives are responsible for a vast array of important issues and each representative has a slightly different role to play. A statement of intent is vital to determining which practical responsibilities are the most crucial for each representative. My mission is to empower every individual to become the best version of themself, so I see my core responsibility as advocating for the empowerment of people.
I hope, if nothing else, I can fuel a spread of relentless kindness.
I think 9/11 is the appropriate answer. Ironically, I think I stayed home sick from school that day in first grade. I recall hearing about the lockdowns from other students the next day. At first, it didn't seem like a big deal to me at 6 years old — not much different from a natural disaster. Of course, it wasn't too long until I learned more about the details and that the context I put it in was completely wrong. Today, I still think about how the world was different those first few years before 9/11. The shift feels not unlike what we're experiencing with COVID-19.
My first real job was at Pizza Hut as a part-time delivery driver. Within 6 months, I was the youngest manager in the region. After nearly 3 years with the company and working at over half a dozen different locations, I decided to move onto a higher-paying position elsewhere in the restaurant industry.
Maybe Tony Stark? With that kind of money and influence, I could create an immeasurable about of positive change in the world.
That Kingdom Hearts track that plays in the background of the Hollow Bastion stage on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
The US House of Representatives is the only (semi-)proportional legislative body at the federal level. It's the closest link most Americans have to the writing of laws that affect the whole country (despite the near-zero connection between public opinion and passing legislation). On the flip side, the US House represents one of the peaks of power for political elites. The Speaker of the House, the Senate Majority Leader, and the US President together form the leadership that controls major factions of our country. As one of the oldest elected bodies in the world that is still in operation today, the US House shows us a unique perspective of how outdated democratic mechanics can create immense concentrations of power and extreme division. While fixing some of these mechanics is part of my platform, I also hope to bring some modern perspective to a body that often finds itself stuck in the twentieth century.
There are pros and cons. There's a social aspect to being an elected representative: people look up to you for leadership. Competence in that area can be crucial for gaining the trust of the people when it's needed most.
However, as we've seen, "experience" in government or politics can quickly turn into entrenchment. As we continue with our representative democracy, the balance between competence and corruption will need to be weighed. I have a plan to start moving us toward a more modern vision of democracy, called liquid democracy, that brings the best of representative democracy and direct democracy together while leaving the ugly parts behind. This can be mixed with citizens assemblies that write legislation instead of representatives. However, all of those fancy ideas will take time to come to fruition, so we'll have to work with what we've got for now. And what we have right now is a lack of fresh perspective. Better people for the job exist, many of whom don't have any experience (in some ways that may be better in this moment). The challenge is getting them into office.
Division, scarcity mentality, and unresponsive government. If we can solve these problems, we should be on track to address any and all additional challenges like dysfunctional education and environmental destruction. The way we get there is through my platform: Universal Basic Income, Voting Method Reform, Government Accountability, and Directly Addressing Division.

Check out more of my thoughts on my site:

https://VoteForSass.com/platform
Not particularly. I don't suspect I'll be treated favorably by party elites once I'm on the Hill because my focus will be on the people, not doing favors to get a seat at my favorite table. While I recognize committees as an important part of how bills actually work their way to the floor for a vote, I have a plan to get over those humps with a modern approach we've yet to see in Congress. It will be tough — progress always is — but that won't deter me. To learn more about my plan, check out my site:

https://VoteForSass.com/government-accountability
It really should be four. Everyone, candidates and voters alike, is sick of the now perpetual campaign season. Four-year terms could help to quell that and give House members a better opportunity to actually get something done in Congress, but that change would require a constitutional amendment, which is unlikely to happen anytime soon. There are higher priority issues to focus on first.

I’m in favor of term limits across all elected government offices as well as for appointed positions of leadership. The argument that 30 years of experience is needed to get the real work done only holds any truth because it’s how we’ve chosen to operate. The work of the government should be understandable by the people. Laws should be simple and our systems should be navigable. Eliminating entrenchment will help us to move forward.

Check out more of my thoughts on my site:

https://www.voteforsass.com/political-limits
I believe we should focus on building consensus rather than finding a simple majority, which are fundamentally different concepts fueled by different democratic mechanics. Unfortunately, I won't get to write the House rules, so I'll have to do my best to work around the two-factionalism inherent in the simple majority system. I have a concrete plan on how to perform that workaround, which you can read more about on my site:

https://VoteForSass.com/government-accountability

To answer the question directly, yes, I believe that compromise is necessary and desirable for policymaking. However, the nature of that will look different for different policies in different legislatures. As an example, for my Freedom Dividend proposal, I expect both the level of and funding for the basic income to be negotiated down, so I will enter those negotiations prepared for that reality.
Considering my platform includes an unconditional basic income that is paid for in part by implementing a value-added tax, this power plays a vital role in actually getting it passed. Winning over House members should be less difficult than winning over Senate members, so it will be good practice for me to start in the House.

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.

See also

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External links

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U.S. House Texas District 35
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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 20, 2021


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