JOHN SHARP HAS LONG CAREER IN PUBLIC SERVICE

John Sharp has been a presence in Texas public life for nearly 40 years, most recently, since 2011, as chancellor of the Texas A&M University System, where he has built A&M’s enrollment and reputation.

Sharp’s contract as chancellor, which had three years remaining, was extended in August by three years to 2023 by the A&M System Board of Regents.

Sharp is a 1972 graduate of A&M, where he was elected student body president. He received a master’s degree in public administration from Southwest Texas State University, now Texas State, in 1976.

Sharp, who had a business in Victoria, was elected to the Texas House in 1978 and to the state Senate in 1982.

Four years later, he was elected to the Texas Railroad Commission, and four years after that he was elected to the first of two terms as state comptroller. His reelection in 1994 came the last year any Democrat was elected to statewide office in Texas. He subsequently ran and lost twice for lieutenant governor.

As comptroller, with Texas facing a $4.6 billion budget shortfall in 1991, Sharp brought together more than 100 auditors, experts and state employees to find ways to provide state services for less.

That audit,“Breaking the Mold: New Ways to Govern Texas,” recommended $4.2 billion in savings in a $30 billion budget, about half of which was adopted by the Legislature, and it was studied as a model by the Clinton White House.