Commission application number 360 submitted by Jason Callahan on 09/30/2020

First Name Jason
Last Name Callahan
Voter Unique Identification number 1130660013
Ethnicity White
Gender Male
Age 35-44
Education Level Post-Graduate Degree
Major Pursued mathematics
What is your occupation? professor
Submitted Address
City Austin
State TX
Zip 78704
Verified Address
City Austin
State TX
Zip 78704
Do you have a spouse or domestic partner? Yes
Are you applying to be the student member of the commission? No
Have you been continuously registered to vote in the City of Austin for the last five years? Yes
Have you voted in 3 of the last 5 City of Austin general elections (or corresponding runoff if applicable)? Yes
Been appointed to a state or city office? No
Been elected to a state or city office? No
Been a candidate for a state or city office? No
Served as an officer, employee, or paid consultant of a political party? No
Served as an officer, employee, or paid consultant of the campaign committee of a candidate for elective state, county, or city office? No
Been a registered state or local lobbyist? No
A paid employee of the City of Austin? No
A person performing paid services under a professional services contract with the City of Austin? No
A person performing paid services under a professional or personal services contract to the City Council of the City of Austin or to any individual member of the City Council of the City of Austin? No
A controlling person of a person performing paid services under a professional or personal services contract to any member of the City Council of the City of Austin? No
Contribute or bundle one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more in aggregate to candidates for City of Austin elective office? No
Please describe your relevant analytical skills. My PhD in mathematics is in the field of geometric topology whose techniques have been used to study gerrymandering in redistricting. I have taught mathematics at UT-Austin and St. Edward's University for the last seventeen years, and a student whose research I supervised recently used geometric techniques to study racial gerrymandering in Texas congressional districts and presented our research at several conferences.
Please describe your ability to be impartial. Teaching mathematics at UT-Austin and St. Edward's University the last seventeen years has required me to be impartial as has serving as Faculty Senate President to which I was elected this past year.
Please describe your appreciation for the City of Austin's diverse demographics and geography. I fell in love with everything about the City of Austin including its diverse demographics and geography in 1996 when I started visiting as I finished high school in San Antonio. I moved here in 1999 and have been loving it ever since as I've lived on both sides of the river and both sides of 35.
Please provide your employment history. I attended UT-Austin for undergraduate and graduate school, earning my PhD in mathematics in the field of geometric topology whose techniques have been used to study gerrymandering in redistricting. I am now a full professor with tenure and Faculty Senate President at St. Edward's University, where I have been since 2009 and where a student whose research I supervised recently used geometric techniques to study racial gerrymandering in Texas congressional districts and presented our research at several conferences.
Please provide any other information you wish to be considered during the selection of the most qualified applicants for the Commission. I was named one of the "sixty most qualified applicants" when I applied for the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission in 2013.
How did you hear about redistricting/Applicant Review Panel? Radio, redistrictATX.org
Disclaimer Agreement Checked
Disclaimer Signature Jason Callahan
District District 3
Does this application qualify? Yes