On The Record: Allan Jamail

For this episode of On The Record, we speak with Allan Jamail, the SDEC Committeeman for Senate District 6 from Houston.

How did you get started in politics?

As a police officer, I spoke out at City Council meetings expressing the views of my fellow officers and myself on issues important to the city and the police department. My officer friends asked me to seek the position of president of the Police Officers Association, which I did. I was elected and re-elected 11 consecutive terms.

While serving my 11th term as president of the Police Officers Association, I was elected to City Council. In my second term as City Councilman, the police chief died and I resigned my City Council seat to become the police chief.

The City Council and I got crossways, and I was terminated as Police Chief. I then ran for the City Council seat over the Police Department and was elected as Police Commissioner (Councilman) for my third Council term.

After retiring from city politics for a while, I was appointed by the mayor as Emergency Management Director. I was later elected Mayor.

Throughout my city political career I was active in Democratic Party politics and was elected to many Senate and State Conventions.

In 2004, I was elected by Senate District 6 State Convention Delegates to be a National Delegate to the National Convention in Boston, Massachusetts. At the 2006 State Democratic Convention, the Delegates of Senate District 6 elected me to the State Democratic Executive Committee.

Did you come to politics in your youth or later on?

I became involved in politics later on in my life.

What would you say are the primary issues concerning Senate District 6?

The primary issues for Senate District 6 are the economy, exporting of jobs, national border security and illegal immigration.

I also think other issues for the area are the Iraq war, air pollution, lack of Congressional oversight on foreign imports, over-taxation and lack of representation.

How do state politics affect your neighborhood?

There are too many laws being passed that don’t include or provide the means for their enforcement.

Do you have any ambition for higher office? Do you have plans to run for any other party office, or possibly even public office?

I don’t have any political ambition for higher office. My present political goal is to help locate and support good qualified candidates for all levels of government who I feel will best represent the citizens.

What are you looking forward to in the coming cycle?

I am looking forward to an elected majority of Democrats, both nationally and in Texas.

What advice would you give to young people just getting into politics?

Stay honest and don’t give up your principals or moral values for political gain.