John Sharp

John Spencer Sharp (born July 28, 1950) is an American Democratic politician from Texas, who has served since 2011 as the chancellor of the Texas A&M University System.

In 1972, Sharp earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Texas A&M University in College Station, where he was a member of Squadron 6 in the Corps of Cadets and was elected

Class president his sophomore year, and eventually Student Body President.

Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army Reserves.

He belongs to American Legion Post 76 in Austin.

In 1973, started working as an analyst for the Texas Legislative Budget Board.

He was selected by the Lt. Governor William P. Hobby Jr. to be on the 10-man committee that implemented zero-based budgeting.

Sharp began his political career as the chief campaign aide in Phil Gramm's campaign for the U.S. Senate in 1975.

After being asked by the The Bryan-College Station Eagle why he decided to take the job, he was quoted, "A perfect set of examples is the federal government's involvement with the brucellosis program and forced busing. I think Gramm has the courage to stop things like that."

In 1976, Sharp received a master's degree in Public Administration from Texas State University in San Marcos while working full-time in Austin with the Legislative Budget Board.

In 1978, Sharp returned to Victoria, Texas, where he opened a real estate firm with a partner, the former County Commissioner Gene Martin.

In 1978, Sharp ran unopposed and was elected to the Texas House of Representatives from the 40th District in Victoria and was later named one of the best newcomers to the House by Texas Monthly, along with Bill Messer.

From 1979 to 1987, he was a member of both houses of the Texas State Legislature.

Just a few weeks after his re-election for a third two-year term in the general election of 1982, he ran for the seat left open in the Texas Senate in the special election that took place after John Wilson had won re-election despite already being dead.

He won the special election runoff against Tim Von Dohlen and served a full four-year term in the Texas Senate.

He was appointed to the several committees, including the Senate Committee on Finance in 1985.

In 1985, while in the state legislature, Sharp proposed a law restricting abortion rights in Texas.

Then-State Treasurer Ann Richards helped kill the bill.

When he ran for statewide office, Sharp moderated his anti-abortion views.

He was elected to the Texas Railroad Commission in 1986.

From 1987 to 1991, he was a commissioner of the Railroad Commission of Texas.

In 1990, Sharp was elected as the 35th State Comptroller of Public Accounts for the State of Texas.

From 1991 to 1999, he was the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.

He was re-elected in 1994.

In 1998 and 2002, he was the Democratic Party's nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Texas.

Sharp is also a principal in the Austin office of the Dallas-based Ryan & Company, a tax consulting firm.

In 1998, he did not seek a third term as comptroller but instead lost the race for lieutenant governor to Rick Perry, by 2% of the vote.

Government Sharp ran for lieutenant governor again in 2002, but was defeated, losing by 6% to David Dewhurst, then the Land Commissioner.

Upon taking office as Comptroller, Sharp pledged to "make government work more like our most successful businesses."

During his eight years as Comptroller, Sharp established the Texas Performance Review (TPR), an ongoing audit on state government.

During Sharp's two 4-year terms as Comptroller, the TPR changed the way government does business through the Council on Competitive Government.

Other programs implemented under the leadership of Sharp during these eight years included:

As Comptroller, Sharp also commanded the Texas Lottery.

He contracted out most of the work, with the state lottery having only 189 employees (compared to California's 1,000 and Florida's 750), He later turned it over to the new Texas Lottery Commission.

In 2005, he was appointed as chairman of the Texas Tax Reform Commission.

The son of an oil field worker and a school teacher, Sharp grew up in the small farming community of Placedo, Texas.

In 2005, Sharp was asked to head an education task force – called the Texas Tax Reform Commission – charged with preparing a bi-partisan education plan for the state.

The special session convened on April 17, 2006.

Sharp accepted the offer and removed himself as a potential candidate for governor in 2006.

The task force issued its final plan several months later, and the legislature adopted it.