TAC Blog

When Daphne Tenorio thinks about what it means to be the first Hispanic person to serve as Hays County Treasurer, she doesn’t focus on herself. She thinks about “all of the other little girls and little boys” who might see her in office and realize that leadership can look like them, too.

Tenorio says the real story starts with her mother, who came from a family of migrant farm workers and was the first in her family to graduate from high school. Tenorio says her mother broke “glass ceilings so that a next generation could come in and achieve what they were dreaming of.”

Her mother later worked as a CPA, so numbers were part of Tenorio’s life from an early age. While other children practiced numbers in workbooks, Tenorio learned by putting checks in numerical order at her mother’s firm. She even remembers sleeping under conference room tables with her sister while her mother worked on government budgets during legislative sessions.

Tenorio’s path to government elected office started on the Hays County PTA, where she advocated for families in the community who didn’t have the opportunity to be in the classroom. She also served as the first president of the Hays County Mariachi Booster Club, creating a fundraising festival that continues to this day. 

This community involvement inspired Tenorio to run for a higher office. 

“One day my kids came home from school and I said, ‘Hey, get in the car. Mama's going to go file for the city council position that's about to open up.’” Tenorio said. “So we went to the city hall, and within 15 minutes before the deadline, I filed to run for city council.”

Tenorio won her campaign and served two terms on Kyle City Council. She later became the first female president of the Association of Hispanic Municipal Officials and served on the Texas Municipal League board before ultimately becoming Hays County Treasurer in 2023.

“I’ve always firmly believed that a public official is also a teacher, and a teacher should be able to communicate with the constituency and be able to explain things,” Tenorio said. “My job is not only to perform the job and the duties, but also to answer those questions, whether they're tough questions or whether they're easy-peasy questions.”

Across her roles in public office, professional associations and parent organizations, Tenorio said one lesson has remained constant: Make people feel welcome. Connection, she said, begins with “humanizing people, giving them dignity, and treating them with respect.”

Her advice to others considering public service is equally simple: listen and serve for the right reasons.

“If you’re wanting to be a true public servant, please make sure you’re serving from the heart,” Tenorio said. “That’s the only way this is going to work.”