Billy Horton

Billy - was raised in Texas grass roots politics and activism. The son of a
Labor Union Leader and Democratic Party Official, Billy grew up organizing campaigns
in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex and across the State of Texas. Mr. Horton has worked
with, and managed numerous campaigns from the county to the presidential level. He
served on the national field staff of the presidential campaign of Mike Dukakis in 1988,
advised the 1992 Clinton Presidential Campaign and was a senior advisor to the Howard
Dean Campaign in 2004. Billy has also managed 2 Governor’s races in the state of
Texas (1990, 2002), served as a consultant to three US Senate campaigns and consulted
and managed numerous legislative races in both Texas and Pennsylvania.

A graduate of the University of Texas where he majored in government, and a native
Texan. Mr. Horton has worked on political campaigns and initiatives in Florida,
Mississippi, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. He has performed
his most extensive political work in Texas where he served as deputy campaign manager
for Jim Mattox for Governor, Campaign Manager and general consultant for Marty
Akins for Governor, and as the State Field Director for the Garry Mauro Land
Commissioner and gubernatorial campaigns.

Mr. Horton has served in numerous capacities for several State and Federal agencies
including, the Texas General Land Office, Attorney General’s Office of Texas,
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, the EPA, NOAA and the Marine Spill Response
Corporation. He has extensive public policy experience in environmental affairs and
local government issues.

Mr. Horton also worked for the advertising agency of GSD&M where he managed a
statewide field organization developed to monitor the Texas Lottery Program. This field
team was comprised of 63 trained field professionals who were responsible for visiting
and surveying every lottery location (16,000) three times per year. This approach has
become a model for most every lottery organization in the country.

Billy Horton founded Hard Count, Inc. in 1992. Hard Count was the first Grass-Tops
business to be founded in Texas that specialized in Grass-Tops / Grass-Roots and Public
Policy Strategies. Over the past 13 years Hard Count has performed work for numerous
fortune 500 companies, various associations and several cities and counties. Mr.
Horton, his wife Lisa and their three children currently reside in Austin, Texas.