Tom and Ava were married in 1987 and moved north to Chicago for thirteen years. Shortly after purchasing their first home in Evanston, Illinois, Tom and Ava were blessed with the arrival of their daughter, Marissa.

While living in the Chicago area, Tom worked at a major regional brokerage firm, the Chicago Stock Exchange, and founded and ran a financial services technology practice at an international consulting firm. In 1998, Tom founded a software company in Evanston, Illinois and, in 1999, wanting to return to the South to live closer to his extended family, moved the company to McKinney, Texas. In 2001 Tom sold his company to an internationally-recognized brokerage firm and helped the firm integrate his company’s software, employees, and operations over the next several years. In 2007, Tom “retired” from the software and financial services business, so that he could devote more time to public service, family life, and personal development.

Tom attended law school at night (while working full time) and received his J.D. from Texas Wesleyan University School of Law in Fort Worth, Texas.

Today, Tom, Ava, and Marissa live in McKinney, Texas where they work, play, volunteer, learn, and enjoy life together with family and friends.

Tom’s childhood experiences allowed him to develop a profound appreciation for America’s natural beauty and a deep respect for the millions of ordinary Americans whose optimism, pragmatism, and hard work have built and sustained a country that has been an inspiration to all who live here and for many throughout the world.

During his childhood, Tom’s family spent many weekends hiking, picnicking, and camping in our nation’s forests and parks. Splashing in clean streams, walking amongst natural beauty, and sleeping beneath clear skies filled with bright stars instilled in Tom an enduring love for our country’s natural treasures, a commitment to their preservation, and a willingness to act in defense of our irreplaceable environment.

Immersed in the center of the financial services industry for over twenty years, Tom witnessed the benefits of fiscal realism during the Clinton administration and the destruction wrought by presidential irresponsibility and congressional acquiescence during the Bush administration. He had a bird’s-eye view of the market meltdowns of 1987 and 2000, as well as the boom of the 1990s and learned valuable lessons about the power of competent governance and its ability to have a positive impact on the world’s economic confidence. [side bar]

Founding, growing, and operating a small business through the 1990s and into 2001 gave Tom the opportunity to learn first-hand the challenges facing small businesses. The stark difference between Congress’ coddling of large corporations on the one hand, and neglect of small business owners on the other hand became obvious to him. Having seen the difficulties faced every day by small business owners and recognizing small businesses as the most powerful generators of job growth, Tom has become at once a champion of small business and a skeptic of handouts and bailouts to large corporations who are unwilling to adapt to an increasingly complex, global, and technological world.

In keeping with his commitment to life-long learning, Tom attended law school at night, and passed the Texas Bar Exam on his first attempt. While attending night school, Tom got to know many other professionals who also worked hard all day and yet strove relentlessly at night in order to learn new skills to make themselves more marketable in today’s global economy. He saw close-up the enabling power of student aid and the motivational influence of dedicated educators.

Tom’s excitement in studying the principles of early-America’s democratic ideals and dreams of representative government is tempered only by the shared sense of homesickness that all Americans feel when watching modern-America’s Congress. As envisioned by America’s ingenious founders, Congress was intended to be a co-equal, deliberative branch of government where each elected representative represented the interests of his or her constituency. Today, strict party loyalty compromises the express will of the voters, dangerously concentrates power in an imperial, neo-Nixonian presidency, and breeds corruption unbecoming of a society that takes pride in the rule of law.

Over 70 years ago a wise theologian gave this admonishment to an assembly of youth: “Where your passion intersects the needs of the world, therein lies your mission.” Quoted by contemporary thought-leaders in countless books an articles, this articulation drives Tom’s ambition to serve.

He is a passionate advocate, whether for individuals in need of representation, small business owners seeking to maintain their competitiveness in a global economy, or children struggling to learn.

We need and deserve better representation than we are getting.

Tom’s passion intersects with our needs: Representing us is his mission.

Tom’s life experiences have put him in touch with thousands of people who work hard each day to make a better life for themselves, their families, their communities, and their country. Tom Daley believes literally in the role of “representative.” He understands that our elected officials are employed by the voters to represent their interests, values, and priorities in the U.S. Congress.

A life spent amongst striving people, facing with them the realities of governmental inaction, struggling with them through the chilling effects of Congressional corruption, and sharing with them a dream for a stronger America, broader prosperity, and a better tomorrow qualify Tom Daley to represent the multifaceted community comprising the Third Congressional District of Texas.