Ben Barnes

Known throughout the lands of Texas, Ben Barnes, politician, lobbyist, and businessman, has made a mark on his state over the past 45 years. He’s circled around Texas like a tornado with an agenda since 1960 when he was elected to the House of Representatives at the age of 22. He gained favor with President Lyndon B. Johnson and then Texas Governor John Connally. Pretty high class company for a guy fresh out of college and just finished with a job selling vacuums door-to-door.

Barnes dazzled his way through the revolving doors of Texas politics making changes and advancements quicker than a Texan could say: "Yee HAW!" By 26 Ben Barnes was Speaker of the House. He was personally appointed by President Johnson to various committees, including: the Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, U.S. Representative to the NATO Conference in 1967 and United Nations Representative to Genevea, Switzerland in 1968.

Spending all this time traveling around the world representing various factions of the United States Government it’s a wonder that Barnes had any time or energy left to make positive changes in the Texas legislature. Well, apparently Barnes didn’t sleep at all because in the midst of his travels he still found time to serve as chairman of the House Rules Committee and as vice-chairman of the Banks and Banking Committee. He passed and supported numerous legislations including the creation of the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation.

Barnes was a trailblazer, seeing an inequality in regards to mental health and retardation he did something about it and he was under the age of 30. His efforts to improve education were second to none. Ben Barnes, politician of the highest rank, played a key role in creating the Coordinating Board for the Texas College and University System. He participated in the development of many Texas state bills and ideas and instituted positive educational changes including increasing teacher’s salaries.

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