A Tribute to Two Treasurers

There are a few statutory requirements for running for Governor in Texas. The state construction requires that one believe in God. Texas statute requires that one either pay a filing fee or collect a ridiculously large number of signatures. The final requirement is that a candidate find someone to be the campaign treasurer.

I have been extremely lucky to have two top-notch individuals to serve as treasurer in both of my campaigns. A brief tribute is in order for both of these wonderful people.

My first treasurer was my sister, Marsha Lynn Williams. I won the lottery when Marsha was born, it made up for the fact that I was to win no other lotteries. Marsha was incredibly generous, kind, and loving. I always thought that you could tell a lot about someone based on the people that they hung out with, and I have to say that there must be truth to that.

On May 24, 2024, on what would have been Marsha's 70th birthday, her wonderful friend, David Fairfield, organized a celebration of her life in Galveston. It was incredibly moving. She and her friends had devoted countless hours to the Ronald McDonald House.

I can't begin to tally all the good times I shared with her. Unfortunately, her volunteer work as my campaign treasurer was not one of them. She had absolutely no warning how many hours she would be forced to listen to outraged voters demanding that I remove all the pictures of me in women's clothes on my personal Facebook page - something which I absolutely refused to do.

Marsha died in 2021 at the all too young age of 67. I still miss her, but I am constantly reminded of her by the presence of her cats, Oreo and Boozer.

I have been incredibly fortunate to have another high-quality individual to serve as treasurer of my current campaign. Gary Bennett is an eighty-something cisgender male who has no discernible ties to the LGBTQ community. He does have a passion for justice and a deep-seated love of the environment. Gary also has a penchant for telling god-awful puns, so he is not perfect.

I am extremely blessed. They can truly be called the best feature of my campaign(s).