Allen resident John Slavens is running as a Republican, and Plano Resident Michael Filak is running as a Democrat.
Johnson has been elected to U.S. Congress since 1991.
The primary election for the Democratic and Republican parties is scheduled for March 1. Feb. 1 is the last day to register to vote, and early voting takes place Feb. 16-26. For polling locations, visit www.votedenton.com and www.collincountytx.gov/elections.
Michael Filak
Filak is currently a vice president at Mphasis, an HP-owned company, and has worked for other IT firms, including IBM and CGI.
Michael Filak is running for Texas' third congressional district.[/caption]Filak said his main motivation for running for office is to leave his children with a better world.
"If you go around the world and you ask parents what's the most important thing they want for their kids, the most universal answer is they want them to have a life that's better than they have," he said. "... I realized if I want my kids to have a better life than me then I'm going to have to leave them a better world, and this is not a better world."
If elected, Filak said his main priorities would be to provide easier access to health care, strengthen women's rights, re-establish the middle class, strengthen the public schools system and take steps to protect the environment.
"Health care should be a right, not a privilege," he said. "... It's not only having affordable health care, it's having accessible health care."
www.michaelfilak.com
John Slavens
Before deciding to run for public office, Slavens worked as a certified public accountant, a career from which he retired three years ago.
John Slavens is running for Texas' third congressional district.[/caption]Slavens said the fact that he is not a career politician shows that he is dedicated to making a long-term difference in the country.
"For a career politician, all he cares about is getting elected and staying elected," he said. "I believe that you need people who are not career politicians so that they can make decisions based on what's good for us long-term... I'm just doing this to serve, not be served."
If elected, Slavens said his three main priorities include limiting federal government in Texas, keeping God as a focal point in government and securing the Texas-Mexico border. Slavens pointed out that the borders to France were closed following the terrorist attacks on Paris in November.
"It is not good to have open borders," Slavens said. "There are people that hate us, and we have to secure that border. Then we have to fix the process. We have to make the legal immigration process better because we want immigrants here."
www.johnslavensforcongress.com
