Transcript 0:00 How do you as an elected official use your platform for, let's say, organizations and maybe others that you're involved with? I don't want people to look at the government as a solution. 0:07 [laughs] We are not the solution drivers. It's the nonprofits, the people in the communities. Yeah. This is who we need to support and why we need to support them. 0:14 When you think of the words public servant, what do you think of and how do you define that? I think it's putting the interests of others above yourself. 0:20 Most of the people going into this are sacrificing the salaries and the time with their families to go to Austin to legislate and, and do good for the state. 0:29 Welcome to the Purpose Driven Capital podcast, where we help you align your money with your mission and maximize your impact. Here's your host, Matt Johns. 0:38 Today, I had a great conversation with Texas State Representative JC Jetton. 0:43 Now, while the word politician may stoke different gut reactions for different people, elected officials are public servants elected to serve the people of their community, and they often do so at a personal sacrifice. 0:55 Representative Jetton is a tremendous example of that. From his first days in the legislature, he's been widely recognized for his effectiveness, notably having been named the Freshman of the Year in his first term. 1:08 His public service started early. He joined the Army, both in active duty right after 9/11 and now again in the reserves. 1:14 In fact, in the interview, we talk about how this made headlines during the last legislative session. JC is also a small business owner and, as I just learned, pastor of an emerging church. 1:25 JC is a great human being, and regardless of whether you identify with him politically, his desire to serve the common good is abundantly clear. You can certainly see that here. 1:36 Welcome to my conversation with Representative JC Jetton. 1:40 And I just had the opportunity to, uh, travel to Taiwan and Korea this year, and most recently we were a part of the relief efforts and actually monitoring Hurricane Beryl, and then the part of the relief efforts afterwards. 1:51 And so it's been pretty busy. Well, you're just at, you're just finishing your second term now in the Texas House of Representatives. How does it compare to what you expected? What did you expect coming in? 1:59 What was the, the reality for you? Yeah, so I had the, I had the benefit of, back in 2013, I started off as a legislative staffer, and so I've worked in the building. I knew what it meant to be a legislator. 2:09 I, I knew the policy side. The one thing that I, I really wanted to do differently was going to be the service side, and so we, we f- we focused a lot on policy, but we also focused a lot on serving the community. 2:20 And so it was everything I expected it to be and more. 2:23 Um, we had great opportunities to really impact the state for future generations when it comes to just making good policies, and a lot of the stuff that we did over the last two sessions will be impacting Texas families for generations to come. 2:36 And so I'm proud of our work. Now, from your time serving in the Army to your time serving in state legislature to your efforts supporting local nonprofits, you've directed your life to serve the greater good. 2:50 What do you think that desire came from? For me, it all goes back to 9/11. 2:54 I turned 18 on September 14th in 2001, and so it was at a pretty pivotal point in my life is coming into adulthood, and the first major event was 9/11. 3:03 And really the patriotism and the, the uniting of the country afterwards really impacted my view of this country. 3:10 Also, being the son of a Korean immigrant, I have both on my dad's side being a seventh-generation Texan, having deep roots here, but also understanding what it means to be an immigrant, to understand the American dream. 3:20 We just have a lot to be proud of here, and it really wasn't until my kids, my oldest was getting close to school age, when I started really thinking about what, what kind of country are we leaving behind for him? 3:30 And is, is everything that we've gotten to benefit from prior generations still gonna be there for him and his children? And that's what really got me to shift my focus a lot more towards service. 3:41 And so whether it's military and defending this country or the legislature and ensuring we have good policies and protecting the American Dream or the nonprofits and helping communities and our neighbors a- as directly, um, I've, I've... 3:53 I wanted to help in every way I could. Mm-hmm. 3:56 Yeah, and that's shining through right now in what you're doing, especially in the legislature and then of course in your business and in charitable activities even today, and it will be continuing, it looks like, in the near future here. 4:04 But now coming back to elected office, there's a stigma around politicians in general. 4:10 I mean, generally speaking, there's a, a negative stigma around politicians being a little bit less public serving and maybe a little bit more personally serving. But I would argue that's not true for most politicians. 4:20 When you think of the words public servant, what do you think of and how do you define that? Sure. I, I, I think it's putting the interests of others above yourself. 4:27 A- and when you're at the local levels, you know, I, I get accused every once in a while of, "Oh, you make that six-figure income, and you're just getting rich off of this." 4:35 You know, when you remind them that, hey, we, we get $600 a month to be a legislator [laughs] in the state of Texas, it is a sacrifice. 4:42 And so most of the people going into this are sacrificing the salaries and the, and the time with their families to go to Austin to legislate and, and to do good for the state. 4:52 And so I, I do believe that the majority of them go down there with the intentions of serving the people well, and, and, and I have a lot of good friends there that, that are doing that and continue, will continue to do that. 5:02 Unfortunately, there's that small handful that make the media that really taint it for the rest of us. 5:07 And it, it's kind of like if you think about, most people don't know this, but the majority of bills that go through the legislature are, are bipartisan bills. You know- Mm-hmm... 5:15 99% of the stuff we do, we all agree on, and it's that 1% where we all fight, and that's all anybody ever knows about or talks about. 5:22 And there's actually a lot of good that, that occurs in this state from, uh, those public servants. 5:26 And, you know, we, we have to continue to encourage good people to run and be in office because it is getting harder and harder to stay in this field and be in this field. But it's absolutely necessary. 5:37 Well, and to that point, what are the biggest misconceptions about public office and especially elected officials themselves? Sure. 5:44 I, I, I think the biggest misconception is that you, you get elected, and you have all these financial benefits, which really then makes it a, "All right, well, I need to retain office for the, the money and power." 5:54 And really at the end of the day, it's a sacrifice. I- if you're doing it right, and the majority of people I think are doing it right, it's a real sacrifice to your income and to your, to your family. 6:02 And so I do think most people go there with the right intentions, and so. Mm-hmm. Now, along with the public policy side and all that, 6:10 you're focusing on building kind of an infrastructure for life for everybody in the, i- in your constituency and those who you serve as, uh, for the state of Texas in your case. 6:17 But government can't do everything, and so there has to be this public partnership with private citizens, and that's mainly facilitated to, for the greater good through charitable organizations and that kind of thing. 6:28 How do you see that interplay going between government and nonprofits? Yeah. 6:33 Actually, and this is one thing I, I've been talking about for ever since I was elected and before that, you know, just being involved with organizations like Attack Poverty. They are the ones that are on the ground. 6:42 They're the ones that know the people the best, and they're the ones that are able to best direct resources and help to the people that need it the most. 6:50 And so I've always been a big supporter of policy, whether it's through the budget or through legislation, that really equips nonprofits and local groups to be able to be the hands and feet in the community to impact things. 7:04 You know, the g- government doesn't do much well. [laughs] And so the more that we can put a structure in place, provide the resources for those key areas that we know we need help on, a- and I'll just... 7:15 For example, one of the biggest ones, and I know I'm skipping a hell of it, but Isaiah 117, 117 when it comes to our DFPS and CPS, one of the, one of the things we did in our last budget cycle and through legislation ha- has been to do community-based care, which really does put more of the onus on local nonprofits around the state to handle a lot more of the foster care and the adoption process so we can get... 7:39 You know, we can keep more families together. And then where families do need to be separated, we can put children in the right homes. 7:45 And it has been very productive where we've been able to implement that in Fort Bend County and our regions. 7:50 It's, it's being implemented now, and I think it's gonna be, I think it's gonna be better for the families and kids here. Yeah, no, totally agreed. And that, uh, they're a tremendous organization. 7:57 We were at the event last week- Yes... and we had a chance to hear more about what they do and meet some of the folks there. But I look at organizations like that, and I look at your presence there. 8:05 You use that presence a- as more than just an opportunity to have a table and have some folks come and support. You use that because you have a platform. 8:12 How do you as an elected official use your platform for, let's say, organizations like that and maybe others that you're involved with? Sure. No, I, I think, you know, it, it kinda goes back to that public servant thing. 8:22 Like, I don't want people to look at the government as a solution. We are not the solution drivers. It's the nonprofits, the people in the communities. Yeah. 8:28 And so the more that I can highlight and push the focus back on, hey, these are the people that are doing the good things in our community, this is who we need to support and why we need to support them, a- and, and when they are keeping kids safe and in a good place between that time period when they're taken out of their homes and put into a new foster home, that's a, it's a crucial time that people don't think about. 8:46 And, you know, and the government doesn't have a good solution for that. We've, we've had, uh, big problems with Children Without Placement, and, uh, they, they help solve that problem. This is nonprofit at work. 8:55 They, they're filling a void that's needed, and, you know, they deserve our support. Yeah. 8:59 Now are, are there any other ways that you're able to kinda get out the word or get out the word for what these needs are maybe and for nonprofits to work for those specific needs? 9:07 I mean, that's, that's one of the benefits of being in the legislature is we hear from constituents all the time. A- and so we do... 9:12 You know, a lot of the legislation that we've put together for the last two sessions has been built upon things that have been brought to our attention. 9:19 The Children Without Placement issue was one that we happened to learn during session because as we're budgeting, so I'm Article 2 chair, which is all the public health funding for the state of Texas and health and human services, so it's inc- includes DFPS, Department of Family Protective Services, and HHSC and, uh, DSHS. 9:36 The, the DFPS, um, we've needed a lot of reform and funding for to make sure that we're, we're, we're taking care of, of the, the most vulnerable children in our society, and so that's where I learned about that issue. 9:47 But going through COVID and Winter Storm Uri and the different instances we've had, nonprofits and the people on the ground have been the ones that have been able to tell us, "Hey, here's the void. 9:57 Here's the issue we've had." And fortunately we've a- been, uh, we've been able to either support those nonprofits indirectly or find funding through the state to help support them. 10:07 And do you find that what you're doing with that particular issue is common among other, uh, your other colleagues on the, either in the House or the Senate or in general? I, I think in general it is. 10:15 I think we all want to be supportive of nonprofits. 10:18 I think there is a philosophical difference mostly within, between the parties of whether or not it's the nonprofits, the people, the churches, the, the different groups that are there to fill that void, or should it be the government. 10:30 Mm-hmm. And I fit strongly into that side that says, listen, we the people on the ground, we know our neighbors better than the government ever will. 10:37 [laughs] And we can spend that, our, our resources, our time and treasures better than the government can in directly supporting our neighbors, and that's who we want to support. 10:46 That's who we want to make sure they understand the issues that are occurring in their community. Mm. Most people don't understand that we have a shortage of foster parents. 10:51 Most people don't understand that we have an issue when a child is taken out of the home, that there's no place for them to go between that point and when they finally find a foster parent. 10:59 Like, these are things that we need to make sure our neighbors know so that they have the ability to go out and help their neighbors. Mm-hmm. 11:05 Now I wanted to kinda switch over to your, to your military service because this is something that's, you alluded to earlier and... Well, you didn't allude to it. You spoke very directly- [laughs]... 11:13 to your military service and, and your desire to go out and serve your country after the atrocities of 9/11. But then looking into this last legislative session, there was a really interesting, uh, occurrence. 11:23 I just wanted to ask you about it because you were going on, on the fourth special session, I guess. So it had gone way past its normal time, and you were called into the reserves. At that point. 11:32 So by Texas state constitution, my understanding is you get to a point, you're a replacement- Right... at that point to go onto the legislative floor, and you chose your wife, Fanny. So how did that conversation go? 11:43 [laughs] And, and how did, what was her opinion? What was, what were her thoughts out of that? Yeah, no, absolutely. No, I, I'm really proud of my military service. I, I, I've gotten to serve twice now. 11:52 Um, this is my second time in, a- and, and I rejoined primarily, I know you didn't ask this, but I'm gonna go ahead and tell you. 11:57 It, you know, it, it's, I'm really disheartened by the number of young people that aren't encouraged to go a- and just the, the sentiment that's growing that we don't have a country worth fighting for anymore. 12:06 I firmly believe we do, and that's why I rejoined at the later age that I did. 12:11 Rejoined, and I'm really proud of the service, uh, that we're, you know, the example that I get to provide for, for my kids, but also for other young people. Mm-hmm. Yes. 12:19 I, I, I was, I was gone this last, this last summer for several months, and the, the people of Texas voted to add to the Constitution after 9/11 to allow elected officials to appoint someone when activated by the military. 12:30 The whole idea behind that was we wanna encourage our elected officials to continue their service in the military, uh, which after 9/11, many of us did want to, uh, make sure that we are, we're, we're serving our country in every way possible. 12:42 Mm-hmm. And so the, the, the conversation was kind of funny. You know, Fanny, my wife, is, uh, pretty private. She does not like the limelight. Sure. 12:50 But, uh, there, there was no way she was gonna allow me to select someone else. [laughs] And so, and so she, she didn't know what it all meant, though. 12:58 And so on the first day, I send my letter in to the speaker, say, "Hey, my, my wife is who I'm appointing or selecting." The body still has to vote on it, and she still has to get sworn in. Oh. 13:07 And so it became a first day of the session, she gets called up to the front onto the speaker's dais and has to, in front of everybody, get sworn in. 13:14 [laughs] It's like, oh, that's, I know what she was thinking, like, "Darn it." [laughs] And so, but it was, it was really good. She got to vote on the property tax cuts, and so- Mm... 13:23 she has a perfect, spotless voting record- [laughs]... that surpasses anybody's. So if everybody's property taxes went down, my wife contributed to that, and so [laughs] it's fine. 13:33 That's a, that's a fun story that very few people in the entire US population will ever be able to say that they've had. That's right. That's right. It's good. 13:40 Now, you're kind of I guess winding down your political life in the Texas legislature, at least this round. You've got your small business. You've got plenty of other things you're involved in right now. 13:50 How do you see your contributions now, and then what do you hope your legacy will be, uh, sometime down the road in the future? You're, you've done all this at a very young age. 13:57 [laughs] So what do you see all this leading to in, in the future? Sure. And it, and it's really hard to tell. For me, the service just never goes away. 14:04 I, I don't know if I told you this, but I'm also a pastor of a small home church. No. And so [laughs] I'm also a pastor of a small home church. 14:10 And so, [laughs] and so, you know, th- those are the things that are important to me is getting to teach and speak into the lives of those at our church, the teens especially. 14:18 Um, we have a great group of teens that, uh, we just happened to get to go to, uh, show them do a college tour this last, last Monday. 14:24 But hopefully it's the lives that we got to touch through legislation, through the charity, through the church, through all the different things that people's lives were improved by it, and that my greatest desire is for this American dream that we have to continue long after I'm gone. 14:40 Mm-hmm. And I think that we really, truly run the risk of losing it, especially if you look around the world right now at all the things that are going on and what's going on in our country. 14:48 If we don't find a way to unite around those common core values and principles that we all agreed to after 9/11, and going back to the declarations, like we, I mean, if it, like we have something to unite around, and I hope that we're able to do that again because it's the only way we preserve this country for future generations. 15:07 Mm-hmm. And so we, we have something good, and I hate for us to lose it. Well, it's obvious. We, we, [laughs] we can see it in you as you, you're talking about it and as you represent. 15:15 But J.C., thank you so much, or I guess Representative Gittan. [laughs] Thank you so much for, for taking this time with me- Yeah... 15:20 and for sharing all that you have and all the service that you have to our country, a- and of course, I guess to your faith and the community and everybody else. So thank you for all you do. All right. Thanks, man. 15:29 We hope you enjoyed this episode of the Purpose Driven Capital podcast. If you found this valuable, be sure to like, subscribe and share. Are you ready to align your money with your mission? 15:40 Discover the Purpose Driven Capital framework, access practical tools, and build meaningful connections to grow your movement and multiply your impact at PurposeDrivenCapital.co. 15:50 The views and opinions expressed in this show are solely those of the individuals speaking and do not reflect the views or opinions of Honeyhive Capital, any broker-dealer, investment advisory firm, or its sponsors. 16:02 The content is for informational and entertainment purposes only. 16:05 Nothing in this content or any communications from it should be treated as constituting financial, investment, legal, tax, or other advice of any kind, or as a recommendation to buy or sell an interest with respect to any investment. 16:18 We look forward to you joining us next time.
