Evan Fisher
| Evan Fisher | |
| Chair Libertarian Party of Dallas County | |
| — | |
| Personal Details | |
| Party: | Libertarian Party |
Thomas Evan Fisher, commonly known by his middle name in Libertarian Party circles, is a founding member and the current secretary of Law School Libertarians at the University of Minnesota. After serving as president for the first year of the organization's existence, he declined to serve as president for a second year and instead endorsed Justin Wilson, the current president. He is also the president of the University of Minnesota's student chapter of the Federalist Society.
Fisher is a former Chair of the Libertarian Party of Dallas County and member of the Texas Libertarian Party's Executive Committee. He was elected Chair during the Dallas County Convention in March 2008 and was elected to a full term two-year term on the Texas LP's Executive Committee at the Texas State Convention of 2006. He had already served in that position from December 2005, when he was appointed to fill a vacant seat by the existing Executive Committee. Fisher stepped down as Chair of the Libertarian party of Dallas County when the he moved out of Texas, thereby becoming disqualified for the office by the very bylaws he had helped to draft. Fisher now resides in St. Paul, Minnesota, and he attends the University of Minnesota School of Law in Minneapolis.
Fisher ran for a seat in the Texas Legislature (District 108) in 2006 against Republican incumbent Dan Branch and Democratic Party challenger Jack Borden. Fisher, along with most of the Texas LP candidates, earned an endorsement from Cannabis Culture magazine. His campaign focused on the issues of school choice, government reform, and an opposition to laws supported by Rep. Branch, including a ban of same-sex marriages, a law requiring parental notification of abortion for minors and a new business tax scheme. Fisher earned 4% of the vote in the three-way contest.
Fisher's first activity with the Libertarian Party began as an activist and donor during the Harry Browne presidential campaign of 2000. He credits Browne as the most influential figure in his political philosophy. Before joining the LP, he was a volunteer for various Republican Party efforts, beginning with the Bob Dole presidential campaign of 1996.
Fisher has long been an advocate of the separation of church and state, reform of public schooling by means of voucher-less school choice programs, decriminalization of marijuana, and the abolition of what he considers to be unnecessary regulatory agencies, such as the Texas Lottery Commission and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.
Fisher was born in Longview, Texas, on January 22, 1980. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas at Tyler, where he served as the Opinion Editor of the school's student newspaper, and a master's degree from Southern Methodist University. He lived with his wife Sarah in Dallas County from 2003 to 2008. Fisher is the youngest of four brothers; his older brother Drew is also a libertarian and the lead singer of the rock band Core Factor.
In 2006, the Dallas Voice, a weekly alternative lifestyle newspaper, incorrectly listed Fisher both as a Republican and the incumbent in his 2006 campaign. Despite Fisher's requests for a retraction, the erroneous Voice article can still be found online.