Representative Rafael Anchia

Today we were paid a visit from a man destined by the Texas Monthly Magazine to be the governor of Texas in 2018. As a man of his stature, Rep. Anchia was friendly, amiable, and genuinely interested in giving back to his community in Dallas, as well as improving the wellbeing of Texans. This morning, the students of the Campaign Academy, alight with buzz over the Miami Heat's acquisition of LeBron James, were in lively discussion about the NBA and its future. Little did we realize the Representative sitting in the corner, quietly observing us in our discussion. As Marc Duchen our advisor introduced Rep. Anchia, we could not help but feel surprised that the Rep. had been in the room the entire time, and we hadn't even noticed. As he stood facing us, he asked us the million dollar question, in his words, "Why in the world, would anyone want to run for office?" and then proceeded to tell us about his experiences while running for his local school board elections. He instructed us on the matters of weighing the positive consequences of running versus the negative consequences of running as well as telling us why he decided to run for office. Rep Anchia inspired us all, with his personal story comparable to the American Dream, in a way that truly changed the way, or the lens in which we viewed the actual election process in a campaign. We would like to thank him for his time, especially when he agreed to talk to us during his vacation time, and like to thank him for the wisdom he imparted during his session with us. We hope that more men like Rep. Anchia get elected to office, and one day we hope to see him as Governor of Texas.