Before his election, TJ Cox focused on combinations of business and good works. He founded the Central Valley NMTC Fund -- a certified community development organization which uses the federal New Markets Tax Credit program for disadvantaged communities and neighborhoods. TJ Cox’s victory in 2018 was an adventure in and of itself. He originally planned on a candidacy for CA 10 – a district that had attracted nearly a dozen Democratic candidates. He was unlikely to be one of the top two in the non-partisan primary. He switched to CA 21 – persuading the 2016 losing Democrat to leave the race. Elected, he is on the Agriculture Committee. A good place for someone in California’s Central Valley. Addressing the government shut down, he introduced a bill to allow government employees not getting their paychecks, to borrow up to $6,000 from the government.