Dennis Wilson announces candidacy for Texas House District 13
Retired Limestone County Sheriff Dennis Wilson has announced his intention to seek the Republican nomination for the newly redrawn Texas State House District 13.
The new district now includes all of Bosque, Falls, Freestone, Hill, Leon, and Limestone Counties, as well as a portion of McLennan County. With over 45 years of law enforcement experience under his belt, Wilson believes he is uniquely qualified to serve in the state legislature at a time when public safety issues such as border security, immigration, human trafficking, and drug trafficking are some of the most critical concerns facing our state.
“I have spent my entire adult life working to keep my neighbors safe,” said Wilson. “I see this campaign as a continuation of that service. I am no stranger to the legislative process, so if elected, I pledge to take the fight to secure our border, and tackle the violet crime that comes about as a result of lax border security, to the Capitol in Austin. This is the defining issue of our time, so for the sake of our children and grandchildren, we must roll up our sleeves and get it right.”
During his tenure as Limestone County Sheriff, Wilson served as the President of the Sheriff’s Association of Texas, as well as on the Legislative Committee and Jail Advisory Committee of the Association. In 2013, Governor Rick Perry appointed Wilson to the board of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. Currently, he serves on the Heart of Texas Region Mental Health Mental Retardation Center Board of Directors. His passion for improving the behavioral health care system in Texas also led him to work with the staff at Sam Houston State University, the Criminal Management Institute of Texas, the National Institute of Corrections, and other law enforcement and correctional officer associations on educational and mental health training.
“Being Sheriff was never about me,” Wilson continued. “It was always about service to the people who elected me and our taxpayers in Limestone County. Every day that I pinned on the badge, I took pride in defending those who could not defend themselves and being a watchdog over the tax dollars that were entrusted to my care. Being a state representative will be a different kind of challenge, but the goal with respect to public safety will be the same. My job will be to ensure that state and local law enforcement have the resources they need to turn the tables on the cartels and traffickers, and to step into the breach at the border where the Biden Administration and Washington bureaucrats have failed us.”
Dennis Wilson is a native of Groesbeck where he worships at the Church of Christ. After high school, he attended Cisco Junior College and Navarro College where he earned an associate degree in education. Shortly thereafter he graduated from the Heart of Texas Council of Government Police Academy, and later earned his Master Peace Officer certificate in 1994. He and his wife, Karen, still reside in Groesbeck. They have two grown children, Anson and Lindsay, and two granddaughters, Rylee and Brynlee.