Joe Pickett Bio

Joseph “Joe” Pickett is the Democratic candidate for State Rep. Dist. 79.

Official Website: http://www.joepickett.com.

Bio from Website:

Joe C. Pickett is a member of the Texas House of Representatives, where he is presently serving his eighth term. Rep. Pickett is currently serving as Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation. In addition, he is a member of the House Committee on Defense and Veterans Affairs and the House Committee on Redistricting.

Representative Pickett has been honored once again with a membership on the House Research Organization Committee. This committee reports on all legislation which is scheduled for floor debate. The reports are a balanced analysis and include the pros and cons of each bill. He is also a member of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus and has been recognized by the following organizations:

Texas Transit Association Legislator of the Year Texas Public Employee’s Association Legislator of the Year Texas DPS Officers Association Legislator of the Year Texas Council of Child Welfare Boards Representative of the Year West Texas Poison Control Center Network’s Legislator of the Year

Previously, he served on the Committee on Appropriations and served as Chairman of Budget Oversight (CBO) for the Committee on Land and Resource Management, as a liaison between the two committees. In addition, he served on the Committee on Border and International Affairs which has jurisdiction over international commerce and trade, as well as economic development, tourist development, and public health and safety issues affecting the border, as well as serving on the Select Committee on Individuals Eligible For Immediate Care Facilities. He has also served as Vice-Chair of the Committee on Juvenile Justice and Family Issues, Licensing and Administrative Procedures and has served on Criminal Jurisprudence, where he worked on legislation related to stalking, DWI and Penal Code revisions. He was also appointed to the Select Committee on Foster Care and Adoption.

Representative Pickett also served on the national board of directors of the American Metropolitan Planning Organization (AMPO). AMPO is a national nonprofit, membership organization serving the needs of metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) nationwide. They function as a condition for spending federal highway or transit funds in urbanized areas, federal highway and transit statutes require the designation of MPOs which serve their areas in planning, programming and coordinating federal highway and transit investments.

He is a member of the El Paso Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and the MPO’s former Chairman, as well as former Chairman of the Transportation Policy Board. In addition he currently serves on the Texas Transportation Council in Austin whose mission is to serve as a non-partisan and independent forum to research, organize, and promote a new direction for transportation that is based upon transparency, accountability and efficiency in order to improve mobility and restore public faith in the management of our state=s transportation infrastructure.

Representative Pickett started his political career as a City Council member for the City of El Paso, Texas. During his time on City Council, he was appointed to serve on the Central Appraisal District Board for El Paso County and the Pension Board for the City of El Paso.

Representative Pickett holds a Texas Real Estate Broker’s license and has been a real estate educator for more than two decades. He has written his own text book for continuing education classes and still teaches one or two days a month, schedule permitting. He is the author of several children=s books, with two of his books already published and being marketed throughout the United States. It is a big part of his efforts to support children’s literacy programs.

Representative Pickett’s civic involvement includes membership on the boards of the Advocacy Center for the Children of El Paso, the Texas YMCAs Policy Council and the Advisory Council for Health Sciences for the University of El Paso. He has been a member of the Lions Club for the past 18 years, a former member of the El Paso Crime Stoppers Board, and served five years as a volunteer board member, then Chairman of a local credit union. The main thrust of his civic involvement has been the forming of a 501-C3 non-profit organization that fights graffiti, supervises troubled youth who are required to serve community service hours and enhancing the aesthetics of the community through tree planting, cleaning and building renovation projects. The association was awarded a national honor by the “Keep America Beautiful” organization. It also has been awarded a grant from the Office of the Governor for work in the community.

His love of cars has earned him the reputation of being somewhat of a car collector. He has several antique and unusual vehicles that include a varied selection, one-of-a kind’s such as John Wayne’s hunting vehicle that he used in his ranch in Arizona, a double-decker English bus that belonged to a famous Southwestern artist named Ted DeGrazia, four working fire trucks that are used for children’s charities and parades and several military vehicles.

Representative Pickett is a proud father of four children, three girls and a boy.