JB: First off, I'd like you to introduce yourself to our readers and listeners. Tell us who you are, what you do, and where you come from.
KE: Well, I'm Kirk England, State Representative, from and represent Grand Prairie and South Irving. And I'm proud to say now that I've got a D next to my name. But born and raised in this community, in Grand Prairie specifically, raised my family here. I have a business here, I've been an insurance agent for about 25 years in Grand Prairie. Elected to the legislature in February 06 in a special election, and then re-elected in November 06 for a regular session.
I ran as a Republican, and it took me one session in Austin to make me realize that the commitment I had made to my district, to always vote and run and fight for those issues that were important to my community, that I would always do that without party politics getting in the way. I found that that was not easy to do, almost impossible to do with the party that I was affiliated with. So, a big decision a couple of weeks ago.
JB: Let's go back for a second — you got in in February of 06. What was your motivation for getting into politics in the first place? Was there a single event or was it a gradual thing, or did you feel called by your constituency? How did that happen?
KE: You know what? It was the fact that just for all of my adult life, I had been engaged in community issues and community politics, local politics. My politics had been working on council races and school board races and working for friends and working on school bond packages. Those kind of local issues. When the former state representative announced that he wasn't going to seek re-election, it made sense for me at that time to run for office and go be a voice for the community in Austin.
JB: Now, you did already mention the big issue, of course: that you decided to switch parties, from being a Republican to being a Democrat. You said it was hard for you to represent your district in, I guess, a non-partisan way so long as you were representing their best interests. Can you tell us a little bit more about what was behind your decision? Was there a definitive moment or was it just sort of a mounting horror, I guess, as you observed what was going on around you? I mean, what brought you to that day when you made that choice?
KE: Great way to describe it, Josh, as a mounting horror...
I thought our discussion, as well as what England relates about his constituency, was pretty informative. It also makes me wonder if England will be the only one to switch. The rest of the interview is available here.
