Dan Flynn
| Daniel Archie "Dan" Flynn | |
 | |
Texas State Representative for
District 2 (Rains, Hunt, and Van Zandt counties) | |
| In office January 2003 – January 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Tom Ramsay |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Bryan Slaton |
| Born | February 21, 1943 |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Susan Flynn |
| Residence | Van, Van Zandt County Texas, USA |
| Occupation | Businessman, rancher |
| Religion | Church of the Nazarene |
Daniel Archie Flynn, known as Dan Flynn (February 21, 1943-October 28, 2022), is a Republican businessman and rancher from Van, Texas, who from 2003 to 2021 was the state representative for District 2, which at that time encompassed Hunt, Rains, and Van Zandt counties in the northeastern portion of his state.[1]Flynn is also the former interim county judge of Van Zandt County, based in Canton, Texas, located to the east of Dallas.[2]
In December 2008, Flynn attracted statewide attention when he introduced unsuccessful legislation which would have mandated that public documents be printed only in English.[3]
In 2011, Flynn served on the House Defense and Veterans Affairs and the Homeland Security and Public Safety committees.[4] He is a member of the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission, which audits the operations of state boards, commissions, and agency.[2]
Late in 2010, Representative Bryan Hughes of Mineola in Wood County, claimed that Larry Phillips, a Republican lawmaker from Sherman in north Texas, told Hughes that both Flynn and Erwin Cain, the newly elected conservative representative from Sulphur Springs, would be significantly redistricted for the forthcoming primary election on March 6, 2012. The alleged redistricting threat against Flynn and Cain was based on their opposition to the second-term reelection of House Speaker Joe Straus, a Moderate Republican from San Antonio, who depended on Democratic votes to remain the presiding officer of the chamber. Straus steps down in January 2019. In a hearing before the House Ethics Committee, chaired by another East Texas Representative Chuck Hopson of Jacksonville (an ally of Speaker Straus), Phillips denied having made such a threat to Hughes. Neither Hughes nor Phillips taped the conversation. No judgment was rendered by the committee because of the lack of corroborating witnesses.[5]
Flynn narrowly survived redistricting. On March 1, 2016, he won nomination in the Republican primary, 14,917 votes (51 percent) to intra-party rival Bryan Slaton's 14,336 (49 percent).[6] After his re-nomination, the pro-life Flynn, was accused of lacking knowledge on the issue of abortion. Flynn was a co-author of the Texas law since placed on hold by federal judges requiring that abortion providers have local hospital access.[7]
In his 2018 primary election, Flynn again defeated intra-party rival, Bryan Slaton, a pastor from Hunt County, 11,803 (51.7 percent) to 11,013 (48.3 percent). After his reelection, Flynn called once again to permit public school teachers in Texas the option of displaying the Ten Commandments in their classrooms. He has been unsuccessful in previous attempts to pass such legislation. Flynn said that he does not understand why his proposal is controversial and, in the eyes of liberals "unconstitutional". "It’s just allowing teachers to put something in their room that is about values," he said.[8]
In the Republican primary on March 3, 2020, Slaton easily unseated Flynn and went on to win the November 3 general election with 81 percent of the vote.
References
- ↑ Legislative Reference Library of Texas: Dan Flynn. lrl.state.tx.us. Retrieved on December 2, 2020.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Dan Flynn State Representative District 2. daflynn.com. Retrieved on November 16, 2011.
- ↑ "Representative files to make English state's official language," Daily Texan On-line.
- ↑ Dan Flynn: Texas House of Representatives Member Page. house.state.tx.us. Retrieved on November 16, 2011.
- ↑ "Texas House Ethics Panel Takes No Action on Alleged Redistricting Threats by Vice-chair Phillips," November 23, 2010. americanindependent.com. Retrieved on September 28, 2011.
- ↑ Republican primary returns. Texas Secretary of State (March 1, 2016). Retrieved on March 3, 2016.
- ↑ Texas Abortion Lawmaker Dan Flynn Lacks Basic Abortion Knowledge. Newsweek (March 3, 2016). Retrieved on July 24, 2016.
- ↑ Anna M. Tinsley (December 10, 2018). Time to allow the Ten Commandments in Texas classrooms? One state lawmaker thinks so. Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved on December 11, 2018.