About David Hardt
In the summer of 2002, David Hardt walked into the office of Pauline Dixon, a retired schoolteacher and longtime Democratic activist who was running for Congress against powerful Republican incumbent Pete Sessions. Over the course of the campaign, David helped Pauline raise thousands of dollars and became her most loyal volunteer. Pauline was unable to defeat the Republican incumbent, but the lessons David learned on that campaign strengthened his commitment to the Democratic Party.
David was driven to join Pauline’s campaign because, as a gay man living in a conservative state, David recognizes that America is a nation in need of progressive change. In Texas, obstacles born of conservative hostility are a fact of life for GLBT residents. When his partner Steven Hartsell was gravely ill, David was barred from Steven’s hospital room by a conservative staff and a state government that refused to recognize their relationship. In his professional life, David has lost clients who didn’t care about his qualifications, but judged him solely on his orientation. Like the Democratic Party, David believes that the opportunity afforded to Americans shouldn’t be based on where you’re from, how you look or who you love.
Hoping to make a difference in his community, David joined the small, local Young Democrats chapter. By mid-2004, he was the club’s treasurer and de-facto leader. Under David’s guidance, which continued through 2005-06 during his term as president, the Dallas County Young Democrats grew to become the most important Democratic organization in Dallas and one of the largest YD chapters in the nation.
David fostered this growth by aggressively recruiting new members and funding an executive director for the organization. He expanded the club’s executive committee to make the organization capable of handling large projects, and forged strong ties with other local Democratic groups and leaders.
Since 2003, David has served on the Young Democrats of America National Committee as the male representative of Texas. In 2006, he served as chair of the YDA Site Selection Committee for the 2007 National Convention.
Under David’s leadership, the DCYDs were a key component of the surprising countywide victories won by Dallas Democrats in 2004. The larger, more effective Young Democrats organization David Hardt built in Dallas was integral to the local party’s sweep of all contested countywide races in the 2006 elections.
While most active within the Young Democrats, David Hardt has also been a leader and organizer within other parts of the local party. A member of the Dallas County Democratic Party’s Finance Council, David has given generously to help strengthen the local party’s infrastructure. As a leader within Dallas’s GLBT community, David has served as a board member of the Stonewall Democrats of Dallas and supported the local branch of the Human Rights Campaign. He was a delegate to the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston.
David lives in Dallas, Texas, with Steven, a lawyer, their dog and two cats.
Throughout his adult life, David Hardt has actively worked for a fairer, more progressive America, and it is through the Young Democrats that this commitment has been most clearly expressed. David has seen the positive change that active youth participation in politics can bring, and the ability of a vibrant Young Democrats organization to encourage and increase that participation. As YDA president, David will build a stronger nationwide Young Democrats organization to unlock the potential of young voters everywhere.