Brady Whatley is a CPA by trade, but a conservative activist by nature.
Hardly a week goes by that the Denton County resident doesn’t send at least one email to his friends, neighbors, and elected officials, with an update on a political issue or a call to action for greater government accountability and transparency.
While he’s renowned for those emails, Whatley isn’t just a keyboard warrior. He’s served as a Denton County Republican Party precinct chair and was the Flower Mound Republican Club’s 2014 Volunteer of the Year – along with his wife Brigitte and their two children, Jessica and John.
Whatley’s entire family volunteers with Generation Joshua, an offshoot of the Home School Legal Defense Association that teaches students how to be activists and Christian servant leaders. Together the family has knocked on doors for conservative North Texas candidates including State Sens. Bob Hall and Konni Burton and State Rep. Matt Rinaldi.
Whatley first became aware of current events and politics while growing up on a cattle farm in a small East Texas town. He credits a fifth-grade teacher, who was a big fan of Reagan and spoke a lot about politics, with “opening his eyes” to conservative viewpoints. Whatley says he’s followed politics ever since.
When Whatley was a senior in high school, a government teacher often let him and another student debate current events in class – an opportunity to hone his skills of political persuasion.
Soon after graduating from Texas A&M at Texarkana with a degree in accounting, Whatley moved to the Metroplex, where he’s lived for 20 years.
What first got him actively involved in state and local politics, he says, was monitoring the Texas House and seeing Speaker Joe Straus’ stranglehold on the body and on Whatley’s area representatives.
More than anything, he says, representatives’ unresponsiveness to constituents and willingness to defend Straus, particularly in Speaker races, “strengthened my resolve to change their minds, or else to change as many minds of people in the county as I could.”
Whatley says he stays actively engaged, and encourages others to do the same, because he wants to see Denton County politics become more conservative and keep the gains that have already been made.
“I want to see things continue to move to the right,” Whatley says. “Texas legislators as well.”
Whatley advises fellow Texans looking to get involved and make a difference, “Do not underestimate how loud your voice is.”
Because political power in Texas is determined in Republican primary elections, and the numbers are small in those elections, Whatley says you don’t have to be wealthy or influence that many people.
“If you get plugged in, you’ll be surprised how responsive your local representatives are.”
Whatley was one of several outstanding citizen activists to receive a Conservative Leader Award at this year’s Empower Texans Conservative Leaders Gala. In a recorded introduction of Whatley presented at the event, his friend Darlene Pendery explained why:
“I’ve learned so much from you through the years, and I’m glad I’m one of your 500-600 email recipients, because every time you write something it is with passion. It always rings true. You are one of the most well-informed and well-read conservative leaders I know, and you have a passion for Christian conservative values.”
Pendery concluded that Whatley is “my favorite crusader for our cause.”
Many Texans couldn’t agree more.
