Jonathan Stickland

Background

In 1988, Stickland's parents moved the family from his native Plano in Collin County to Hurst in Tarrant County, where he attended W. A. Porter Elementary School and Smithfield Middle School. He enrolled for his freshman year at Richland High School and then for two years at the newly opened Birdville High School of the Birdville Independent School District, both in North Richland Hills in Tarrant County. Stickland ended up leaving high school between his junior and senior year and obtained his G.E.D.

Stickland entered the community college, Tarrant County College, and also Parkland College, at which he studied sales and marketing.

After college study, Stickland went to work in the pest-control industry. He took a full-time sales position with Truly Nolen Pest Control and then as manager of residential accounts for Prime Pest Management, both in Fort Worth. He obtained a pest control state technician license and launched his own consulting business, which he still operates.

Stickland and his wife, Krissy, met in church. The Sticklands have two daughters.

Elections and House committees

When the incumbent Republican Representative Todd Smith did not seek reelection in 2012, Stickland defeated Roger Fisher, 6,332 votes (60.2 percent) to 4,190 (39.8 percent) in the Republican primary election held on May 29, 2012. In the general election on November 6, 2012, in conjunction with the U.S. presidential race, Stickland faced no Democratic opponent and defeated the Libertarian Party nominee, Sean D. Fatzinger (born c. 1978) of Fort Worth, 37,084 votes (80.7 percent) to 8,884 (19.3 percent).

In the Republican primary election held on March 4, 2014, Stickland defeated challenger Andy Cargile (born 1946), a retired principal and school district trustee, 7,612 votes (65 percent) to 4,102 votes (35 percent).

Stickland is a member of the House committees of (1) County Affairs and (2) Special Purpose Districts.

Legislative positions

An anti-abortion legislator, Stickland supported in 2013 the ban on abortion after twenty weeks of gestation; the measure passed the House, 96-49. He co-sponsored companion legislation to increase medical and licensing requirements of abortion providers, a law that the opponents claim could shut down many abortion clinics. These issues instigated a filibuster in the Texas State Senate by Wendy R. Davis of Fort Worth. The Texas Right to Life Committee rated Stickland 78 percent favorable, presenting him with a "Former Fetus" wall plaque which was briefly displayed on the wall outside Stickland's office at the Capitol building.

Stickland voted against the legislation to establish a taxpayer-funded breakfast program for public schools; the measure passed the House, 73-58. He co-sponsored legislation to provide marshals for school security as a separate law-enforcement entity. He voted for the extension of the franchise tax exemption to certain businesses, which passed the House 117-24. He voted against the adoption of the biennial 2013 state budget. He voted to require testing for narcotics of those individuals receiving unemployment compensation. Stickland voted against a bill relating to unlawful employment practices regarding discrimination in payment of compensation, which nevertheless passed the House, 78-61.

Stickland co-sponsored the measure to forbid the state from engaging in the enforcement of federal regulations of firearms. He also co-sponsored legislation to permit college and university officials to carry concealed weapons. He voted to reduce the time required to obtain a concealed-carry permit in Texas. He backed the redistricting bills for the state House and Senate and the United States House of Representatives. Stickland voted for term limits for certain state officials. He voted for legislation to forbid one individual from turning in multiple ballots.

Conservative group ratings

In 2013, Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle Forum, managed in Texas by Cathie Adams, a former state chairman of the Texas Republican Party, rated Stickland 100 percent favorable; the Young Conservatives of Texas, 97 percent. The Texas League of Conservation Voters rated him 38 percent; a similar group Environment Texas rated him 12 percent. The interest group, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, founded by Michael Quinn Sullivan, rated him 100 percent. The National Rifle Association scored Stickland 92 percent.

2016 re-election campaign

In the Republican primary on March 1, 2016, Stickland faced opposition in his bid for a third term from Scott Weston Fisher, the senior pastor since 2000 of the Metroplex Chapel in Euless, who carried the backing of former Governor Rick Perry, who in 2008 appointed Fisher to the Texas Youth Commission. Stickland defeated Fisher in the primary election with 58% of the vote.

Comments made by Stickland in December 2015 on online forums generated controversy amid his primary campaign against Scott Fisher. Stickland apologized for his remarks.

2017 Legislative session

In 2017, Stickland offered an unsuccessful amendment to prohibit state aid to the abatement of feral hogs. In retaliation for Stickland's amendment, his Republican colleague, Drew Springer, Jr., of Muenster, backed by Speaker Joe Straus of San Antonio, obtained passage of another amendment to defund $900,000 from the Texas Department of Transportation earmarked for Stickland's hometown of Bedford.

Stickland in 2017 authored HB375 which would allow Texans, who were legally able to own firearms, to carry handguns without a permit from the state of Texas

Stickland is one of only twelve House Republicans organized through the House Freedom Caucus, which he claims is the true representative of most conservative Republicans statewide. He has emerged as a critic of Speaker Joe Straus and an ally in the House of Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, the presiding officer of the Texas State Senate. In 2017, Patrick and Straus quarreled over the bathroom bill sponsored by State Senator Lois Kolkhorst of Brenham, which would require persons to use the public rest room corresponding with their genitalia at birth. Straus agreed to a more moderate bill because of what he called concerns about economic boycotts of Texas by business and athletic groups who view the bathroom legislation as infringing on the rights of transgender persons. The Patrick-Straus split created an impasse on the legislation as the regular session wound down. Stickland said, "I absolutely think that there is a fight going on for the heart and soul of the Republican Party."

Stickland used a legislative procedure called "chubbing" to prevent the consideration of over 200 bills by the Texas House, effectively killing the bills, in what Texas media referred to as the "Mothers Day Massacre."

Online controversy

In 2001, before he was a State Rep, Stickland used controversial language when he called another poster on the FFToday forums a "bratwurst loving homo."

In 2015, the political newsletter Quorum Report published many posts made online by Stickland given to them by his Republican primary opponent, Scott Fisher. On an unnamed fantasy football forum, Stickland, using the username "stick", made controversial comments regarding marital rape and marijuana use. However, Stickland stated in a prepared statement to the Quorum Report that "by the Grace of God my past sins are forgiven."

In May 2017, Stickland became engaged in an online feud with political columnist Virgil Texas, who compared Stickland's large figure to that of a "disgusting glazed ham" and accused him of being a "Sig Sauerkraut-packing chud", regarding Stickland's support of the bathroom bill. Stickland claimed his feelings were hurt by this comparison, and in return accused the columnist of being intolerant.