TX-03: Van Taylor (R)
About Van:
Van and his wife, Anne, married after his return from Iraq and are the proud parents of three young girls: Laura, Helen, and Susie. The Taylor’s reside in Plano near the land Van’s great-grandfather farmed during the Great Depression, but spend much of their time cheering on their girls on the soccer fields and volleyball courts.
Van graduated from Harvard earned his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Harvard Business School. After business school Van joined Churchill Capital Company, a firm focused on real estate finance where he still works today. He also serves as Vice Chairman of Texas Gulf Bancshares leading one of the most financially sound banks in Texas. Texas Gulf Bancshares employs over 100 people and hasn’t taken a dime of bailout money.
After graduating from college, Van volunteered to serve his county and received a commission in the United States Marine Corps. He then joined the Marine Corps Reserves to continue serving his country while earning his MBA.
On September 11, 2001, Van was serving his final day at the 4th Civil Affairs Group at the Anacostia Naval Annex. He was supposed to have lunch at the Pentagon that day, but instead watched smoke rise from across the Potomac River as the Pentagon burned from the 9-11 terrorist attack.
Van swore that fateful day to continue to serve and make a difference. Two years later, he deployed to Iraq where he fought with 2nd Force Reconnaissance Company.
While deployed, Van led the first platoon into Iraq for his brigade and a mission that rescued 31 wounded Marines during the pitched Battle of An Nasiriyah. For his service in Iraq, the Marine Corps awarded Captain Taylor the Combat Action Ribbon, Presidential Unit Citation, and the Navy Commendation Medal with “V” for valor.
Widely respected as an effective leader and problem solver, as our State Senator Van Taylor worked across the aisle to get results. Bringing Republicans and Democrats together Van carried over eighty bills that became law with each bill earning bipartisan support. Some of these solutions include:
- Working with Collin County nonprofit organizations and local survivors, Van Taylor authored and passed sweeping protections for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking.
- Authoring and passing legislation to protect our children from online sexual predators.
- Authoring and passing legislation that revoked taxpayer-funded pensions for criminal elected officials and educators convicted of crimes against children.
- Keeping his campaign promise, Van authored and passed legislation making it easier for our military men and women to vote while serving overseas.
- Successfully passing his “Truth in Taxation” rule forcing politicians to state clearly in the first line of every bill if there is any attempt to raise taxes or fees.
- Leading the effort to combat the prescription opioid epidemic in Texas.
- Authoring and passing bipartisan border security legislation that gave our military personnel serving on our border the legal authority to defend themselves.
Additionally, Van knows elected officials work for the people. That is why he maintained a 100% meeting policy with constituents during his entire time in the State Legislature. This policy ensured he was available to everybody who asked to meet resulting in numerous pieces of legislation passed on behalf of constituents and closing over 1,000 casework files helping constituents with state agencies.
The biographical information above was sourced from the campaign website; see link above for more information.
