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Ep. 39: Is San Antonio the Key to Flipping Texas? (Zack Dunn)
40 Plays2 days ago
This week, Kate and Alex sit down with Zack Dunn, Democratic nominee for Texas House District 121 in San Antonio, the second of two House seats in the area that are closest to flipping. His seat is targeted by the DLCC and HDCC, two groups helping flip seats in the Texas legislature. Zack was recording while in Corpus Christi, where the convention was happening.
Plus: Kate gets back into a courtroom on the defense side; Alex gets hired by Veterans for All Voters to help defend Texas election law in federal court after the Texas GOP moves to close its primaries; and Zack shares he's about to become an uncle for the first time.
What we cover:
- Zack's path from UTSA student government to the Obama White House to the Bexar County DA's office
- Zack's connections to the Castros and San Antonio politics
- Why HD-121 hasn't elected a Democrat since 1981, and what's different this time
- The $5 million GOP primary in his race pitting two of the biggest donor groups against each other
- How the voucher fight is showing up at the doors across every part of the district
- Lessons for Democrats running in "unwinnable" seats
- Convention week in Corpus Christi and the statewide coordination effort for November
Guest: Zack Dunn for Texas House District 121
Website: zackdunn.com
Social: @dunnfortexas
Love what we're doing? Become a member at patreon.com/missiontexaspodcast — just a few dollars a month keeps independent Texas media alive. And if you can't spare the cash, a five-star review goes just as far. God bless Texas. 🤠
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Transcript
00:00:07
Speaker
This is Mission Texas.
00:00:11
Speaker
Welcome back to Mission Texas. Today, I'm joined by Zach Dunn, Democratic candidate for Texas House District 121 in San Antonio, where I spent about four years right out of college. Zach and I actually go back more than a decade.
00:00:27
Speaker
You can believe it. We met in 2014 when I was a campus organizer at UTSA. Get rowdy. That's right. Back both of us were young Texans trying to figure out what public service and politics could look like in our own lives. And since then, Zach has built a career, taking him from UTSA to law school, to private practice, to public service as a civilian attorney for the Air Force, and now the Bexar County DA's office.
00:00:54
Speaker
And for those of with discerning ears, that's right, I said Bexar County. It's not Bexar County. Get out of here, you closers. where he works on some of the toughest cases involving family violence and sexual assault.
00:01:06
Speaker
Now he's running to represent the community that raised him. Zach, welcome to Mission Texas. Thank you for having me. Kate, it's wonderful to meet you again today. Thank you. Yeah. It's good to see you Thank you both for having me. I'm honored. So thanks again.
00:01:20
Speaker
Yeah, I was going to get the Air Force fight song on. Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. because of our mutual background. But it's really great to meet you and thank you for running. Thank you.
00:01:35
Speaker
Thank you. Yeah, it's exciting. I led bio heavy in your introduction, but let's take it back ah even further. Like, what is your origin story in in this race? People who run for office don't just decide, you know, out of nothing. There's usually some kind of backstory that leads us to that decision. Yeah, yeah. At the district attorney's office right now in Bexar County, you're exactly right. So I'm a special victims unit a prosecutor. So I prosecute domestic violence, sexual assault, crimes against children. That's all I've done. And that's what I've been doing for about four years now. So most fulfilling work I'll ever do for the rest of my life. Right. At the district attorney's office, many, many people were thinking of being a judge. They want to be the district attorney. Um, and I think that's wonderful.
00:02:20
Speaker
You know, we're, we're a military family. So, you know, being back in my hometown feels different and serving my community, like in the way that I have been like one victim, one child, one person at a time.
00:02:32
Speaker
ah I looked around and nobody had filed to run in Texas house district one 21. And i thought, okay, again, military family, we grew up across the world, but This is where I came back to, you right? My high school's in this district. My parents still live in the district.
00:02:49
Speaker
And I felt like it would be a very special opportunity to go from serving, again, one person, one victim at a time to serving the whole community. So that is how the decision came to be to run for Texas House District 121. So I know what you mean when you say military family, but to the listener who has no idea who you are, tell them what do you mean.
00:03:09
Speaker
So both parents were active duty military. They served in the United States Air Force. The best branch. Absolutely. yeah And my my father served for 31 years. So, you know, he retired in 2014, but that's how we ended up in San Antonio. So I went to Reagan High School, like I said, and Reagan, I think Reagan was the 10th school that I attended before I graduated high school.
00:03:33
Speaker
And so that too is, you know, I was able after UTSA, was able to do some, some take advantage of some great opportunities on the East coast. And I'm very thankful for that. But at the end of the day, it's like, this is my hometown now. This is where I'm from. Right. Again, my folks are still here. My best friends are here.
00:03:51
Speaker
And so coming back to the Bexar County DA's office and doing the work that I've been doing and again, running in this spot, It just means something different, right? I didn't grow up in this district. I didn't have that opportunity, but I'm thankful we got here when we did and I couldn't imagine living anywhere else, you know?
00:04:09
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, you you took San Antonio and UTSA in particular as your home very seriously. I don't think I led with this in the the intro, but guys, he was the student body president at UTSA. Hey.
00:04:25
Speaker
If you can win that, I mean, you can win this. You know what? The the thing at UTSA, and this is a true story, um not one that often gets told, actually. I was at UTSA my first semester, and I did literally nothing but drive to school, take my classes, and drive home every day.
00:04:43
Speaker
And it was winter break of the first semester, and I go to my mom, and I said, hey, They're like, i got kind of lied to, right? You told me that college would be a great experience. You told me I'd make lifelong friends.
00:04:55
Speaker
You told me that it would change my perspective. And wow, really hasn't done none of that. And I'll never forget it. It was at the island in the kitchen. And she said, okay, ah how do you expect to get anything out if you've put nothing in?
00:05:11
Speaker
thought, okay, fair enough. Well said. that night ah That night, I literally printed out a roster of every single student organization on campus. There were about 380 student orgs. Wow. And I thought, i don't even know to begin. I've done nothing, literally nothing.
00:05:28
Speaker
And I showed up to my first student government meeting, and that's all it took. um A lot of universities um can do snow cones on a Saturday, right? Which is great. It's still serving your student body. It's still visibility. It's still lightening up the mood.
00:05:45
Speaker
But my first meeting at the UTSA Student Government Association, I don't exactly remember what we talked about, but I am absolutely certain it involved hazelwood exemptions, right? For military service members through Texas.
00:05:56
Speaker
And they were basically going to break up the student government team to different representatives and state senators across the state. We're all going to divvy up and travel to talk about what's happening at UTSA. And I thought, okay, see, like this is different. yeah um This is meaningful.
00:06:12
Speaker
And yeah, after that, things worked out, ran for student body president, and I owe my whole life to UTSA. I'm very thankful for that. Well, it's not it's quite as big a deal, and I promise to let Kate ask the next question, but I'm just going to annoy her for a second because i was also a student body president.
00:06:30
Speaker
Yes. In Sherman. In Sherman. Absolutely. We'll take it. It's becoming a running joke that I'm going to mention Sherman every episode. I'm going to do a groan sound effect. Take it away. What do you got? No, I mean, just, I'd heard, so we had Christian Carranza on the podcast early on, who's, I'm assuming your neighbor district in how close-knit the San Antonio communities are. Like, it's mostly about like, where'd you grow up? What high school you go to? It's military USA.
00:06:59
Speaker
And so how does one just go like, like having not maybe grown up there the whole time, but like the entree into San Antonio politics, like, and I assume that by being in the bear County DA's office, you have some amount of like politicking going on, but like, how did you like get in there? What was your impression?
00:07:17
Speaker
You know what? It is a super fair question. And I think instinctually and, and, Really, it seems instinctually and intuitively, you would think Bexar County DA's office, you're interacting with judges all the time. a lot of defense attorneys are elected officials.
00:07:30
Speaker
You think it's a one-to-one. Truthfully, though, for me, everything kind of goes back to UTSA and being student body president. So because I was in student government, I met a guy and he had been an intern with Julian Castro, who the time was the mayor of San Antonio.
00:07:47
Speaker
And Congressman Castro, his brother, was having an opportunity to work in his D.C. office. Well, I applied and they said, hey, thanks, but no thanks, young man. ah Applied again. and it was only because somebody in student government literally asked them to pick up. This is all just he really took my resume and put it to the top of the stack.
00:08:06
Speaker
And that is how I got my first internship with Joaquin Castro. Well, because I worked for Castro. And because I was student body president, there was a debate on campus.
00:08:16
Speaker
And at the time, the two candidates running for District 8 were local business name named Rolando Briones and this kind of Trinity guy named Ron Nuren something. Like, you know, when you pronounce the guy's name. and And I met Ron Nuremberg that night, went and and of course, to become mayor of San Antonio. But we met that spoiler.
00:08:36
Speaker
yeah Yeah, a little bit. Yeah. Not everybody on this podcast knows who Ron Nierenberg is, but Ron Nierenberg is the most jacked mayor I think America has had in in many years.
00:08:47
Speaker
I think that's exactly right. and yeah And he's going on his way to become the Bexar County judge now, right? That's exactly right. He's a Democratic nominee for judge. You're right in spades. He's going to do great work. And again, I met him because i was at UTSA, student body president, met these people.
00:09:02
Speaker
Well, at the same time, too, there a lot of boards and things that were happening at UTSA. The community was exploding, right? At the time, UTSA was taking on more students. We got to be involved with the community. So I read this book by this former mayor named Nelson Wolfe.
00:09:16
Speaker
And he was still around San Antonio as the county judge. So I read his book and requested a meeting with him and said, hey, I read your book. Here's my highlights. Here's the like 130 questions I would ask the author.
00:09:29
Speaker
You're the author. So that's how I worked. I worked for Nelson Wolf and I worked for Ron Nirenberg and I worked for Joaquin Castro. That's a who's who's list of San Antonio political legends right there.
00:09:40
Speaker
Well, and it it really, Alex, it changed my life. and And so, Kate, so that is where... For me now, running in for office in 2026, I rely so heavily on those three gentlemen. It's late night phone calls. It's quick pieces of advice.
00:09:57
Speaker
It's how would you do this? And there is there is no campaign without the three of them. Really, there's none. I'm very thankful for them. So are they the ones that you have to thank to say like, hey, you're running in this race or we have no one else? Yes. So, yes.
00:10:14
Speaker
They tapped you on the shoulder and was like, hey, Zach, here's what you're going doing next. Well, I called them and I said the same thing I said to y'all. I don't want to be a judge. I do not want to be the DA. love being an ADA, but I'm in this area of District 121. No one's filed.
00:10:30
Speaker
And they're just full support. um I love those gentlemen. Again, there is no campaign without them. But another person too, that kind of ah really deserves a special spot in terms of how I'm even sitting here today is the woman that ran last time, Laurel Jordan Swift. She was a democratic nominee, Texas house district 121. I had never met her and you can't just LinkedIn message somebody.
00:10:56
Speaker
james have threeium So I was like, well, I need to, I need, if she's going to run again, I'm going to back her and it's still meaningful service, but I'm going back her up all the way.
00:11:07
Speaker
So I still have the LinkedIn message and it was basically like, Hey, my name is Zach Dunn. I'm a prosecutor. You don't know me. And she calls me out of the blue. I was with, I guess the person of the hour, my mother, was with my mother out on the town and Will Smith calls me and I'll give you my exact language to her. It's very descriptive. I don't know what I was thinking that day, but this, you call her up. This is exactly what I said.
00:11:32
Speaker
ah Hey, Laurel, Zach Dunn here again. i said, if you decide to run again, i will block walk for you until my feet bleed. And she was like, yeah, that's a little descriptive. Thanks for that. ah She was like, look, um I'm not running for office again. i don't know what's in the air. I don't know what the vibe is. i don't I can't move my finger on it, but like this is it.
00:11:54
Speaker
You're the guy and ah you have to run. So she also too was an early entrant that was so supportive to how district 121 came to be.
00:12:06
Speaker
Can I just give a thousand foot perspective though on that? Because I ran before and I think I announced in like the summer. And then, so I had kind of a fall runway to then, then file. And there's a filing window. Like you don't have like an infinite filing. So you're saying that you're in the midst of the filing window, which is what, like 30 days or something before,
00:12:27
Speaker
December. I don't even know. I don't remember. But like, so you're like, no one is filed. like That's exactly right. You're exactly right. The filing deadline, I believe, was like December 8th, if I'm not mistaken. This was Veterans Day.
00:12:40
Speaker
How perfect is that? It was Veterans Day. It was Tuesday, November eleventh And that is where everything started. That is when I got my phone call from Laurel. That is when I had the meeting with my mentors. That is when my life changed forever.
00:12:54
Speaker
um It happened in real time with my mother, picked up the phone. I put the phone down and i couldn't or really articulate how special, but something was happening. It was in the air. And yeah, I had less than a month to file for office. Yeah, to your exact point.
00:13:07
Speaker
Yeah. And if you missed it, dear listener, what Zach told her on the phone was, I would walk Okay. So another important name failed to mention because your resume just, it's too packed. Too many good things to talk about.
00:13:29
Speaker
We recently had an episode about ah my entrance into politics through the Obama campaign. Yeah. I thought you were going to say you, Alex. thought you were going to say you're the person. No, no, no, no, no. Not me. Not me. This guy, this skinny guy with the funny name, he ended up winning, right?
00:13:47
Speaker
That's right. And did you get an internship at his White House? that That's correct. And that is... That's humble. Look at this guy. Well, forgive the lack of originality.
00:13:57
Speaker
Only about five minutes ago, you heard a very similar version of this story. I applied for the White House internship. I did not get it. ah But through my role with the student government association, being student body president, I knew a guy that had successfully been a white house intern.
00:14:13
Speaker
And so we met at the Starbucks on Wurzbach Parkway, right? by campus ah We met for about two or three hours and he walked me through exactly what he recommends with my narrative, you know, what I stand for, who I am as a person.
00:14:30
Speaker
After that three hours, I applied again for the White House internship and I got it. So I only got it because a UTSA roadrunner that I had known for years went out of his way. to i I was owed nothing and I was given everything. That is the only reason i got that White House internship is because someone stuck out their neck for me.
00:14:49
Speaker
Look, it's a skill to be able to to recognize whenever you know there's someone who knows more about something than you do and to take their advice seriously. I mean, I wish we had public officials who would do that more often, frankly.
00:15:03
Speaker
Absolutely. Absolutely. And I think the thing for me too, when i graduate right before I graduated UTSA, you did not ask this, but this is my stream of consciousness coming at you hot. Right before I graduated UTSA, student body presidents can give like a farewell address.
00:15:18
Speaker
Hey, you know, this was what we did, all the good stuff. And for me, you know, my number one piece of advice to the students that I was leaving was that, look, the initiatives will come and go, right? There's a brand new crop of students every year. What was the Hazelwood discussion of today is the GI Bill discussion of tomorrow. And everything evolves.
00:15:38
Speaker
And I said, but the one thing that will be permanent for me is the friendships that I've made here. And I don't think anything matters more than the relationships that I've made. And that was my advice to them is focus on that, that what is more important than that. And even today, what matters more, right? We recently connected. Thank God I'd known you all those years ago, Alex, like that's how we connected. And it's like, it was such a, such a great time to be involved at UTSA and politics back then. And you and I were in different worlds altogether, but we still overlapped. So, man, that's a great guy. How can we help each other? And it's like, here we are 12 years later, right? Like what matters more, you know? Does that mean that you were like rubbing elbows with like Jon Favreau and like the Posse of America guys or what? Like, what does that mean? my my My claim to fame was I got to, he did like a speaker series every every week. First Lady Obama came and you had, you know, of course the president spoke, but one of the speakers was Valerie Jarrett.
00:16:36
Speaker
Oh yeah. in The president's administration, you know, the entirety of those eight years, if I'm not mistaken, And that is the one question i got to ask her. And it was basically about, you know, how do young people best fit in? Right. and And if I remember her advice correctly, it was like, find your place and just get involved. Right. So if you're going to run, run. If you're going to help a candidate, help a candidate. If you want to join a nonprofit, do that. If you want to get involved a local government,
00:16:59
Speaker
but just do it. I think it was more of like a ah call to action, right? Like don't be nervous. Don't have paralysis through fear of where to start. Just get in there and get your hands dirty. And that was my, the one, that was the one elbow i didn't necessarily rub, but I did technically talk to her by asking the question.
00:17:17
Speaker
I love how, I mean, isn't she from Chicago, like the but Obamas? And she's like, get your hands dirty. Like, get in there. Chicago politics style. I just wanted to put a shout out that I did not get a White House internship when I was in college. I applied and I did not get in. But maybe I should have applied again. However, I was in college during the Bush years. So we'll just put that.
00:17:35
Speaker
ah behind us as my age. you You mean W, right? W, hey, hey, what the heck? I'm going to get out of here. ah But so when you're jumping in your Veterans day you're like, well, no one's in 121. I mean, you had to have known that there's an incumbent and also the vote margin. And so you're like, yeah, doable.
00:17:59
Speaker
Absolutely. Yeah. So for me, vote margin doable, right? was about a five point race, 47 and a half to 52 and a half. Yeah. How are people not looking at it if it's a five point race? Like that's insane.
00:18:12
Speaker
Well, and you know, and and I, and I've said this before, we had a, we had an early event and you I had all three candidates. I guess I'll zoom out for a quick second before jumping back into the five points. Last time that this district Texas House District 121 was held by a Democrat. Want to a guess?
00:18:30
Speaker
I wouldn't have known had I not run. No, I don't know. Tell me. It was the last time someone sat in the seat was February 16th of 1981. 81, wow. 81 is the last time. And I had to really research that. had to like go through some- It's not long ago. the year before my birth. I don't know what you're talking about. So basically the Reagan revolution swept Democrats out for good.
00:18:53
Speaker
Swept them out for good. For a long time, you know Joe Strauss, the Speaker of the Texas House, represented this area. that's that district. Exactly right. Okay. That's exactly right. And so for for almost the majority of that time from 81 to about 18, we never had a Democrat running.
00:19:11
Speaker
not Not even running, not even putting their name on the ballot in that district. And so, you know, we've had three women across four cycles to run as a Democratic nominee in Texas House District 121. Laurel Swift is one of them that I had mentioned earlier.
00:19:25
Speaker
But I have what they don't have. I have them. The three of them are so different. These are the most incredible women that I've ever met, right? Like they all...
00:19:36
Speaker
bled to move this district in the right direction. If we're able to do things the right way and if we're able to campaign ah full out gasp and if we're able to do exactly kind of what I believe we need to do, which is essentially hitting the doors and meeting voters where they are,
00:19:51
Speaker
than will have won this election on their shoulders. So I'm i'm very thankful for the the work that those three women have done. And again, Laurel Swift got us with the closest margin. So again, about 47.5 to 52.5.
00:20:03
Speaker
Of the challenger races in the state of Texas, we are the second closest race in the state last cycle. Right after. Right after another San Antonian. Yeah. Christian Kraza.
00:20:15
Speaker
Absolutely. So she's back at it again. an incredible candidate from her district as well. she was ah She was also a campus organizer the year that we met. Oh, is that right? Okay. We know each other from that. You know, for most people, it's degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon. For Texas Democrats, apparently it's it's me.
00:20:33
Speaker
That's right. Everyone knows And Sherman, yeah. And Sherman, Texas, that's right. But I guess I want to put into perspective, though, like I'm in a district right now, a congressional seat where. They lost by 20 points in last cycle because it was just a really bad cycle. It was a bad cycle for Democrats. Theirs was by five points. We're predicting that we'll get within hopefully five here.
00:20:57
Speaker
We'll have swung things by 15. So if you can get that kind of momentum after all the you know all the work that y'all are putting in, I mean – It's a Taylor Ramat sized swing. Yeah. Taylor Ramat sized swing here. I mean, can you tell us more about that? And also I wanted to segue into like the DLCC and what is that? What are you expecting from them?
00:21:19
Speaker
Cause we understand that they've targeted 12 races, including yours. That's right. That's right. Um, So the the bottom line for this campaign, again, is we're we're trying to take the most aggressive door knocking approach that the district has ever seen. Right.
00:21:33
Speaker
You can really kind of break up the district into three, if not four kind of geographic segments. ah Basically. There's two kind of circular roads that go into San Antonio. 410 is the inner loop. The loops.
00:21:48
Speaker
And 1604 is the bigger loop. If you're looking at Texas House District 121, you can basically break it up into the below 410 group. You can break it up into the between 1604 and 410 group, and you can break it up into the north of 1604 group. So you've got, again, kind of three quadrants, kind of most basically broken up by those major roads. The only Democratic candidates we've ever had, all of them are from below the bottom loop.
00:22:13
Speaker
They're from that the 410 area. And so it's ah it's a great area. You can do a lot of turnout there. Democrat or Republican, we have never had a candidate in District 121 from the north 1604.
00:22:25
Speaker
from the area north of sixteen four That's where I'm from. So that's where my high school is, Reagan High School, kind of on the border of the... So that's the area that I'm from. And so you know it kind of gets more red the more north you go in the district. And so I think it's a great particularity of just circumstance being where I'm from, but also some great opportunities with respect to people that I know in these neighborhoods or these areas that we can engage and target for a meaningful block walking operation that, again, doesn't cede any ground in the district and kind of
00:22:58
Speaker
has a focus that is central to who I naturally am. The approach for the district, if you look at just in 121, but kind of looking out, you know that's a very localized approach to things, right? Knocking the doors, meeting people where they are.
00:23:12
Speaker
Going out a little bit further, right? The house the HDCC, House Democratic Campaign Committee, This is a group that basically early on highlighted five races that are ah of of top import for them. Races that the margin was extremely close and that they want to make sure that we're we're supporting as they're supporting as much as they can. I'm very thankful that Texas House District 121 was included in that.
00:23:34
Speaker
And then if you kind of branch out little bit further, so. The local HDCC is kind of at the state level and at the national level, you have the DLCC, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. This is a group that basically decided that there are 12 races that ah have the momentum and they want to make sure that the resources are given to push them as as far as they can go.
00:23:57
Speaker
So something that we tell voters all the time, something I've told my my volunteer team, um the the team certainly that works with me on staff is we're not waiting for anyone. We're not waiting for anyone to come in, right? This isn't the Battle of Helms Deep where I look up and wait for Gandalf to come in. i want whatever resources to come. I but i do love my Lord of Rings. Yeah, come on. i want you to know that our foot is on the gas and we're not we're not taking a single day for granted. Even in the primary, when I didn't have an opponent, I was like, okay, well, this is going to be an opportunity then to get my name in the district as much as I can. There will not be an event held in Bexar County that I don't go to.
00:24:34
Speaker
Of course, I'll prioritize my own district, but We had an event in Elmendorf, which is the southern part of Bexar County. It was like an hour and a half long drive for me that day. But there a bunch of community leaders there. bunch of our labor leadership was there. A couple of veterans were there.
00:24:50
Speaker
And they're like, hey, Zach, if you have the time, we'd we'd love to have you. We'd love to talk with you. We'd love to meet you. I'll be right there. If you're going to help this campaign, if you're going to be at the HGCC, you're going a state level leader. If you're a national Democrat, then when you help us, you know that our foot is on the gas.
00:25:07
Speaker
Can I just first say that Elmendorf sounds like a place that would exist in Middle Earth?
00:25:14
Speaker
I love how you describe the ah city as surrounded by the the rings, you might say. Two rings to the wall. Absolutely. And I actually am very familiar with your district, turns out. um Before I was a campus organizer, before there was a campus organizing part of Battleground Texas, I was just a field organizer. And that was actually my turf, was up up and there. And I was living at a duplex in Alamo Heights.
00:25:41
Speaker
And so when you are knocking the doors in Stone Oak, which has a great Alamo draft house, by the way, agree Stone Oak and Alamo Heights and on the north side for those kind of non-traditional areas for Democrats.
00:25:56
Speaker
What do you notice? Like what what are the voters talking about there um before anybody brings up national politics, right? Like what are the issues that are geographic and specific to that area?
00:26:08
Speaker
Absolutely. So what we did recently, we sent out 22,000 text messages to the district. Those that had a positive ID for us in the primary or the Bexar County judges race, a CD 21, a congressional district 21 is up there.
00:26:20
Speaker
Um, there was like a lot of great synergies going on. So we broke up the responses and, uh, basically tied it tied into into van. We broke up all the responses into the three districts, four districts, really.
00:26:32
Speaker
And the number one issue across the board, no matter what region of the district you're in was education. That was the one that came up the most frequently. And the second, of a course, was kind of the economic opportunities, economic availability, affordability. Those issues were across the board for the three. That was the The number one result, education. Number two, kind of affordability.
00:26:55
Speaker
When we go up to the north, I will tell you that the thing that has been ah most interesting is that when we knock doors up there and we talk to voters up there, I almost usually don't even get past the work that I do.
00:27:10
Speaker
When I find out that my parents were veterans and they find out that I'm a prosecutor, um that is the bull that is the majority of our conversation. They are fascinated by the fact, the the work that I do, because, you know, the DA's office has 16 different divisions. You have all kinds of work. Criminal law is a massive field.
00:27:28
Speaker
But working in the special victims unit, crimes against children, domestic violence, sexual assault, um I spend almost 90 percent of my time at the doors talking about the work that I do at the Barrett County DA's office. which is great because it goes into community safety issues or what what are things that we could do in Austin, right? These are just, it's a great avenue. It's a great segue, but particularly in the northern part of the district, they really love talking about my parents' veterans and my parents' military service and the fact that they're veterans and my time as a prosecutor. So you're like proto, I guess, and you've now walked across
00:28:00
Speaker
I'm just going extend the metaphor throughout the rest of the episode. This extended metaphor? This is great. yes The ring. You've got to get the ring to the the fires. now You've already been back there and back again. so is your campaign manager your Samwise Gamgee? If you're the proto here. We have a lot of Samwises. And I think, too, there's a great fellowship that I've been aligned with.
00:28:27
Speaker
I don't think I can reiterate enough, but i'm I'm so thankful for the Joaquins and the Rons and, um you know, the Nelson Wilson, whatnot, and, or the previous candidates that have run, right? The three women, Selena Montoya, Becca DeFelice, Lil Swift, the team that I have, my parents getting out there in the district.
00:28:46
Speaker
It is the one chance we have, right? Is all of these people buying in, whether they're a former, can whether they're staff. We had our first volunteer event, um, On June 11th, it was a couple of weeks ago, and we had about a deck of cards there. We had about 52 people show up, and almost half of them were people that I worked with, prosecutors that do not live in Texas House District 121, but they want meaningful change in Austin, and they know what I stand for because they worked alongside me.
00:29:15
Speaker
And that's a huge, up we've already gotten them on the doors too. Very similar to to our our our main protagonist. I feel like I'm being carried and I'm very thankful for that.
00:29:27
Speaker
So you you mentioned that public education was the number one issue that came up and that doesn't surprise me one bit about San Antonio. yeah i was a teacher in San Antonio and one of the reasons why my wife and I chose to rank San Antonio first on our Teach for America wishlist was because Joaquin Castro and his brother were pushing this.
00:29:52
Speaker
it It ended up being called Pre-K for SA when it passed, but it was being marketed at the time whenever we were applying as the Brain Power Initiative. Yes. And... It was like this self-tax that the city was going to take on to fund high-quality universal pre-K.
00:30:08
Speaker
Dallas ISD just did this. I'm thrilled. But like that's something that was happening way back then for San Antonio. Absolutely. San Antonio has been on the frontier forefront of this. The voucher fight in San Antonio changed.
00:30:22
Speaker
come up at every single block walk, right? Because you're essentially right giving public money to private institutions and quality of our public education is being continually eroded and degraded.
00:30:38
Speaker
And where are the accountability metrics even when it comes to how we're basically utilizing and processing these vouchers? Why is it that, like, if you're talking just per pupil allotment, I think to bring it back to 19 levels, 2019, we would have needed an increase of about $1,500 per student. Instead, it was a $55 increase per student. Wow.
00:30:57
Speaker
So you're just, you're constantly taking away from the one thing that objectively makes our state better on on almost any metric, right? um Socioeconomic, upward mobility, um quality of life, economic output. These are all measured things and and public education is the start.
00:31:16
Speaker
And so, ah yes, it comes up all the time. It's an issue that resonated pretty clearly across every quadrant of the district. And it's one that ah we are going to focus quite heavily.
00:31:29
Speaker
give us a sense, though, of what your opponent is saying, though, against that? I mean, the incumbent. And as I understood, there was a primary challenge in that race. There was a primary challenge in way. So Texas House District 121 was really one of the most expensive primaries in the history of the state.
00:31:46
Speaker
um So I think ah just over $5 million dollars were spent on the Republican side. On that house primary, the the state house primary? That's correct. $5 million? dollars
00:31:59
Speaker
$5 million. Was I reading correctly that TLR got involved in that race? Texans' lawsuit reform? That's correct. Wow. that's On behalf of the incumbent or the challenger?
00:32:11
Speaker
On behalf of the challenger. Oh. The drama unfolds. Yeah. and there was saying la Wait, you're still going against the incumbent though, right? I'm still going against the incumbent. The challenger got about 28% of the vote in Texas House District 121. So yeah, that district, certainly our district, that fight took center stage for their primary. um And with respect to his views on on public education, you ah you know my opponent was very very much outspoken in in favor of the the voucher program.
00:32:43
Speaker
And ah this this is essentially, many people would argue how he won his primary to begin with. because the incumbent at the time was a gentleman by the name of Steve Allison.
00:32:55
Speaker
And Steve Allison was certainly a proponent of public education. And at the time, Mark LaHood was the challenger and again, you know, his stance with the voucher program is what enabled him to get quite a bit of support from the governor and from other interested parties. And so that is certainly a choice that was made. And I think, again, it's led to a furthering of the degradation of our public education system in the state of Texas. So, I mean, just for our listeners, I don't think we've talked about the TLR versus TTLA groups. And these are like
00:33:30
Speaker
The lawyer groups here for the state of Texas and the state government, right, and TLR, Texans for lawsuit reform, tend to side with Republicans mostly, but NTTLA, the Texans for trial lawyers, and they are a more Democrat-friendly group, and they tend to represent plaintiffs' firms.
00:33:49
Speaker
I, for one, know because Cassandra, my opponent, is very involved with that group, and they had a lot of support for her. and so I'm a member as well. transparency Oh, you're a member. I couldn't even be a member of the time, I asked. so But what's interesting is that TLR has really stuck its neck out to support more moderate type Republicans. And I know that they're very much against people like Ken Paxton and And um so it's a very interesting world where they're now, you know, giving money to a primary challenger in this race.
00:34:20
Speaker
So I'm wondering, like, how how do you see those groups at play here now gearing up for the fall? Well, time will tell. um time will tell. I certainly think that, you know, the trial lawyers take great positions on these issues. And, you know, they're certainly standing by the candidate that that helped them out. And I respect that.
00:34:41
Speaker
um And we'll see. time will Time will tell how these issues unfold moving forward. So yeah I don't know how I didn't put this together before, Zach. Yeah. But just talking about Mark LaHood, I'm like, LaHood, LaHood, that's a name I remember from when I lived in San Antonio. Is there any chance at all that he's related in any way to Nico LaHood?
00:35:01
Speaker
you know just i Googled it off screen just now. I'm like, wait, they're brothers? They're brothers. yeah no no It's awesome. Yeah, it's awesome. And I've known, you know, i've I've worked across the aisle from both of them before many times.
00:35:14
Speaker
And of course, they're both defense attorneys, right? and I'm a prosecutor. So yeah. ah Yeah, i've known I've known Nico much longer because when Nico was the district attorney, that's when I worked for Nelson Wolf, who was the Bexar County judge at the time.
00:35:28
Speaker
So, known Nico a little bit longer. Of course, I've known Mark as, you know, he's been a defense attorney while I'm a prosecutor. But yeah, I think it's a natural foil. I think it's quite nice. You know, a defense attorney against a prosecutor come November. That's so true in San Antonio. It's like the seventh biggest city in the country, but it is like a small town. Like everybody knows everybody. It's incredible. Everybody knows everybody. It's incredible. There used to be a breakfast place, El Mirador, in town.
00:35:55
Speaker
You couldn't walk two steps in El Mirador without seeing someone. And some of the people that i've known that I know now and that I've worked with, on this campaign, 2026, I met at El Mirador back when I was at UTSA in 2012.
00:36:09
Speaker
Because to your point, yeah, seventh largest city, but it's it's such a small town. And yeah, people have their opinions on things and they can certainly differ or whatnot. But at the end of the day, people know each other's families. People know, you know, you got to see these people at work every day. So you make it work. And so and and I think that's a great thing about San Antonio is you have to make it work.
00:36:32
Speaker
Right. Because even when I had announced that i was running in Texas House District 121, I still ran into Nico all the time. And it's it's been great. It's a small world and we all know that everyone's just trying to do what they believe is right.
00:36:46
Speaker
And I think that makes San Antonio a pretty special place. That's good. Well, I wanted to ask just a random question. You're not in San Antonio right now, are you, Zach? and I am not in San Antonio right now. No, you are you are seeing youre seeing me in the great city of Corpus Christi.
00:37:06
Speaker
We're here for the Texas Democratic Convention. So I'm pretty excited. A lot of state leadership is here. It's a great opportunity for candidates to to meet our partners, be they in neighboring communities or some anywhere across the state.
00:37:21
Speaker
ah So yeah, you're catching me in real time from Corpus Christi. Yes. Well, I think our episode will come out after the convention occurs. What are you anticipating? Because there's a day where everyone caucuses in their various groups, and then there's a day where we hear from party leadership. There's a big vote as to our chair.
00:37:41
Speaker
i mean, what are you, what are the vibes? What are you predicting will happen? ah Maybe ah we'll know what happens at after this airs, but yeah ah what are you expecting out of this weekend?
00:37:54
Speaker
and I think the biggest thing for me is while I, you know, again, great relationships going back many years in San Antonio, and that's most important, right? That's the area that I want to represent. That's the reason that I ran.
00:38:08
Speaker
But what's really unique about this kind of stretch of days is that this is my opportunity to meet, like I said, kind of our partners, stakeholders, kind of people that really want to do a lot of meaningful things across the state that are not San Antonians, right? These are people where maybe they're running in the Valley or in Houston, right?
00:38:26
Speaker
And we're all very different candidates. but We're all challengers. We all want to succeed. We all want to represent the state well. And that's the thing i'm I'm most looking forward to is, okay, what nuggets or things are they doing that I think could really apply well in San Antonio? You know,
00:38:42
Speaker
what do they think about these things? How have they dealt with this in their own communities? Oh, that's a parallel to San Antonio. Oh, that's a little bit different from San Antonio. And I don't get that, right? It's kind of, it's it's a, maybe an odd parallel, but maybe a very natural parallel. Kind of reminds me of my time at the White House, right?
00:38:59
Speaker
And at the White House, I don't think I, in a my first couple of days, I don't think I met a Texan there are There are plenty of Texans there that I got a chance to meet. But I think in the first three days, I think I met a lot of people from the, because I got to start early at the White House internship. So was a lot of East Coast individuals that were there just just at the start.
00:39:18
Speaker
And so I'm talking to people from neighborhoods I've never even heard of. With issues in their communities, I can't fathom because it has nothing to do with San Antonio. But I remember them. And that certainly informed how i want to lead or how I interact with people. So I get to do that now kind of at a Texas level. So yeah, I'm excited. If you, when you win, you have to say that when you win, you have to have those relationships in order to pass laws. Right. I mean, and and I guess what I'm hearing from the party is we're gearing up for the fall is that we're getting this coordinated campaign. There's a Texas together campaign. initiative. And so I'm imagining that that' there's a lot of talk about that.
00:39:57
Speaker
and um And I'm sorry I'm not there. i went to the last one in El Paso and I felt the same way. It was so great to be connected to people across the state and see people that you'd only seen on social media or connected with over the phone. And what are you, do you anticipate that kind of coordinated effort amongst the party? Because I hear you, you're saying, I'm going to do it myself. I don't need this help. but We're going to be doing this. The foot's on the gas already. But in some ways, there seems to be They're trying to do a coordinated effort, at least. and like What are you hearing for that?
00:40:27
Speaker
100%. I think there's going to be a lot of great coordination that's happening. There's going to be synergies just in San Antonio. Even then, the neighboring district, 118, with Christian. She's great candidate. We're going to do everything we can to make sure we can be additional members of that delegation. Ours, of course, is a flip that hasn't happened since 1981. So we have a Bexar County plan and we've got plans just amongst candidates. And even with respect to, you know, we've got three congressional districts that overlap with Texas House District 21.
00:40:58
Speaker
We've got 21, 23 and 35. What about ah and I know all those candidates. They're they're fantastic. Right. Katie, Kristen and and Johnny. They're great. how How are we going to work together? Right. But then you've got a central Texas thing.
00:41:09
Speaker
And then you've got a statewide effort and you've got all these groups that are buying in. So I don't want anyone to think that we're waiting for the help. I want people across the state to want to buy in so much because they're looking at that 121 race and going of like, oh my gosh, Zach's on the doors today again.
00:41:25
Speaker
Zach's doing this again. He's hosting another meet and greet. He's meeting voters where they're at again. They're doing another, so like whatever it is. I'm not taking my foot off the gas. And I think what I'm quite thankful for is that no one else seems to be taking their foot off the gas either. Even if there's great talk about energy that we haven't felt in a long time, Great.
00:41:42
Speaker
Well, I'm going to make sure that that energy stays amped. I think a lot of people feel the same way because it has to happen. like We need new leadership. If everyone buys in like that, I i think it can be quite special. The excitement is definitely here in Corpus, but the excitement was already there in San Antonio. I'm excited to see kind of how the layers will will wrap into a very meaningful November opportunity. Well, and on that happy note, I think we ought to transition. my My favorite new segment of our show is called Good News, Zach. And I think ah Republicans are really good at evangelizing and sharing their story and and spreading their good news, their gospel.
00:42:21
Speaker
We've got to get better at it a Democrat. And so we've got to flex that muscle. We've got to get some reps in. What is something that is good news in your life, personally or professionally? It's just so good, you've got to share it.
00:42:33
Speaker
Oh, I'll give you the easiest highlight of my entire life. This isn't good news of the week. This isn't good news of the month. This isn't, even if things go well in November, and I believe they will, we're going to do the work.
00:42:46
Speaker
This won't even compare, that won't even compare to what i'm about to tell you. Man, I'm hyped. I am going to be an uncle.
00:42:56
Speaker
I'm very excited. You know, again, you're in a military family, you you pick up and you move with you knows me and my sister, pick up and move every two years. I owe my whole life to her.
00:43:07
Speaker
I love her. And so yeah, later on this year, i will be an uncle. And that's the most excited I've ever been. uncle jack This is your yeah first time becoming an uncle? I get emotional just thinking about it. I'm stoked. So I'm looking forward to November and i we're working for it. But nothing compares to that. I'm very i' stoked.
00:43:27
Speaker
Yeah, that's amazing. Okay, what about you? Yeah, well, maybe Zach will appreciate this or not. I was a prosecutor for almost seven years as well, and now I'm on the defense side ah and I got some appointments. And then this week, it was my first time to be in court again, but on this defense side, had an appointment.
00:43:49
Speaker
And I'm proud to say that I helped a gentleman um make sure that he got out. So he was arrested. He was ah talking to the prosecutor about whether he should be detained pending his trial, and he ended up getting...
00:44:01
Speaker
Conditions of release, which means that he can see his family. His mom has cancer and was able to be with with her pending the ire resolution of this case. So I'm happy to have done my job and been able to come to an agreement with the government on that. And it was my first time back in court. So i was really excited. was just very weird, you know, being on the other side. but And then all the prosecutors looked so young. I was like, oh, my gosh. Like, it's been so...
00:44:28
Speaker
It's been a minute since I've been here. So that's my good news. That's awesome. if If people have been listening to Joe very carefully, they'll know that I had done an amicus brief on behalf of Veterans for All Voters by Veterans for All Voters to do a full court press in that federal district court.
00:44:46
Speaker
And what I mean by that is we are going to work up an effort to intervene in that case, not only as Veterans for All Voters, but some of the individual veterans who signed on to the amicus brief. Two people being sued, the state of Texas and Secretary of State Jane Nelson.
00:45:05
Speaker
State of Texas was represented by none other than Attorney General and now Senate candidate Ken Paxton. He rolled over and filed a consent judgment, which means He's not going to defend the state's laws at all.
00:45:18
Speaker
We think you should win Republican Party of Texas. God bless Jane Nelson. She actually hires a law firm to defend state law. Here's where it gets interesting.
00:45:30
Speaker
Jane Nelson is resigning from her office on the 17th of July. yes And last week, I believe, or i maybe a couple weeks ago, ah Republicans had their state convention.
00:45:47
Speaker
And what did Governor Abbott say there? He said... Close primaries. Let's close the primaries. And so we're all freaking out. What if the new Secretary of State just says, oh yeah, I give up too.
00:46:02
Speaker
So we don't want there to be nobody left in that case to defend our laws. And so my law, my new law firm, Ryman Clark was hired to try to defend Texas election law on behalf of Texas veterans.
00:46:18
Speaker
And I think that's pretty special. That's awesome. Yay. that's awesome it's oh Yeah. Some good news. Yeah, well, then we're going head into our last segment, Zach. we're going to put you in the hot seat. you're We're calling it our last word. So we want to hear from you about flipping Texas. like What does it mean for you? You're our general warrior soldiers. Tell us what we need to do. And yeah i know you're knocking doors. I know we're talking about a coordinated effort. But like do we need more precinct chairs in your area? Do we need more people in the party? like How do we how do we flip your seat? How do we flip Texas? Give us your last word.
00:46:54
Speaker
That's a great question. And I think there's a lot of things. Do I need more precinct chairs in my district? You bet I do. And do we need to make sure that our coordination is perfect? You bet we do. And is the work of the convention that's about to happen in a couple of days extremely important with respect to platforming and ideas and concerns? You bet it is.
00:47:13
Speaker
If I'm really giving advice though, I'm going to take it all the way back to the beginning and just get involved, get your hands dirty. If that we we had someone that came into a block walk and but it was a couple and there was a third person there and they were like, look, we we love you, Zach, but we don't know what to do Never heard of van, never done a block walk, never. I'm not even really sure how much they had voted in the past.
00:47:41
Speaker
And I said, look, How about this? We'll walk through a together. We'll go through the whole presentation and don't break up different turfs. Don't block walk separately. What's the three of you go out there together? And I'll be, I'll be the area right there. So we'll all be like really, really close together.
00:47:57
Speaker
And they were like, yeah, I mean, I guess we can do that. Right. And they had a good time and they loved it. And, and now they're all going to come back and volunteer again.
00:48:08
Speaker
And they're not going to have to block walk with a buddy because now all of them know how to do it. I don't care exactly what that looks like with respect to you getting involved, but get your hands dirty. If you can, you know, some people are in a position financially where they're able to make contributions. Fantastic. All of it goes to helping us reach voters. Some people in their neighborhoods, they know that they're community leaders. So they'll host a meet and greet. They'll let me come to their their home and speak to people that they really care about.
00:48:32
Speaker
I've had meet and greets of, I think the smallest one I had was seven people. Loved it. had the largest one was about 50 or 60. I loved i loved it Uh, whatever it is.
00:48:44
Speaker
and And even one of those meet and grits of someone like, Hey, uh, I don't know what to do. i don't like, do I need to get food? do What do I do? And I was like, look, forget the details. One, thanks for having me.
00:48:57
Speaker
Two, or we'll walk all that out. Three, just invite maybe a couple of friends that you really care about that you think could want to get involved in some capacity and I'll do all the rest. So it's a long-winded way of saying it, but just, just get in there.
00:49:11
Speaker
Let the candidate figure out, let their team figure it out how you best fit in and kind of how we can maximize that energy. But if you come, you come volunteer for us, then you're a part of something special and we're going to make sure you have a great time. And I think that is how we're going flip this, this, this, this district, certainly in the state.
00:49:28
Speaker
Amazing. Get your hands dirty. Similar to the message we had with our friend who also worked in the Obama years, it was respect and power includes. you're respecting their time, you're empowering them and we're being inclusive. So let's take back that. Let's get back that. i love it Well, Zach, thank you so much for being on our podcast. How can we support you? Where can we find you?
00:49:49
Speaker
Yeah. So my website is ZachDunn.com. Z-A-C-K. Dunn, D-U-N-N, so Z-A-C-K-D-U-N-N.com. That's my website. The social media handles are just at Dunn for Texas, D-U-N-N-F-O-R-T-E-X-A-S.
00:50:07
Speaker
um You'll notice ah you know a lot of, ah I'm big on a tie, no jacket. That's the prosecutor life. I feel like I'm roaming the halls. Black and white signs. We've got the law and order SVU font, whether it's on the website or something.
00:50:21
Speaker
ah economist That's where I've seen that font. Oh, I love Are you knocking doors with a tie on? Is that what you're saying? ah We haven't, but we will.
00:50:36
Speaker
Hey, okay. I want to see a picture of that. Absolutely. All right. yeah that's You can find us. Yeah. So you're doing that when you in the law and order thing, do you do the dun dun? And the Dun Dun is great because that's my last name. That's what I'm saying. Have you been? Yeah, you're right. back it's It's sitting there. my gift to you if you haven't used it yet.
00:50:53
Speaker
Absolutely. Dun Dun. We got some creative ideas for the Dun Dun. All right. god bless Texas.