Public Safety Commission

The Public Safety Commission oversees the DPS. Its five members are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the state senate for staggered, six-year terms.

Allan B. Polunsky, Chairman
8000 Robert F. McDermott Fwy., Ste. 1600
San Antonio, TX 78230-3892

Allan B. Polunsky is managing partner and founder of Polunsky and Beitel L.L.P. He is a past member of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice, where he served 13 years, including five as chairman. He is also past president of the City of San Antonio Industrial Development Authority, past chairman of the San Antonio Zoning Commission and a past board member of the Finance Commission of Texas. Additionally, Polunsky is a past board member of the San Antonio River Authority, Special Olympics of Texas and San Antonio Food Bank. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin and a law degree from St. Mary’s University, where he was a member of the national honorary legal fraternity, Phi Delta Phi. Mr. Polunsky currently serves as chairman of the Public Safety Commission where he has served since March, 2007. His term was extended by the Governor on December 30, 2009 for six additional years expiring December 30, 2015.

Carin Marcy Barth, Member
P.O. Box 56048
Houston, TX  77256-6048

Barth is co-founder and president of LB Capital Inc., a private equity investment firm established in 1988. She serves on the board of Western Refining Inc., Encore Bancshares, Inc and is chairman of the Endowment at Texas Tech University. Additionally, she is a board member of the Methodist Hospital Research Institute and the Ronald McDonald House of Houston. She formerly served on the Texas Tech University System Board of Regents and was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as chief financial officer of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development from 2004-2005. Barth received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama and a master’s degree in business administration from Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management. She replaces Ernest Angelo of Midland, who formerly served as chairman of the commission, for a term to expire Dec. 31, 2013.

Ada Brown, Member
300 Crescent Court, Suite 1500
Dallas, TX  75201

Ada Brown of Dallas is an attorney at McKool Smith. She is a past Dallas County Criminal Court Judge and past prosecutor with the Dallas County District Attorney's office. She is a board member of the Dallas Bar Association and chair of its Criminal Justice Committee, and a barrister in the Patrick E. Higginbotham Inn of Court. Brown also teaches trial advocacy as an adjunct professor at Southern Methodist University's School of Law. Additionally, she is a member of the JL Turner Legal Society, Mensa Genius Society, American Bar Association and Northway Christian Church. Brown received a bachelor's degree from Spelman College and a law degree from Emory University School of Law. She has served as a commissioner since October 2008 and was reappointed by the Governor for a term to expire Dec. 31, 2017.

John Steen, Member
300 Convent St., Ste. 2440
San Antonio, TX  78205

John Steen is an attorney in private practice and former gubernatorial appointee to the Texas Commission on Economy and Efficiency in State Government as well as the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, where he served ten years, the last six as chairman. He is vice chairman of the University of Texas at San Antonio Development Board, trustee of the Texas State History Museum Foundation, and a member of the Distinguished Leaders Council and past chairman of the World Affairs Council of San Antonio. He is a member of the executive committee of the UT System Chancellor’s Council, a fellow of the San Antonio Bar Foundation, and a life fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation. He was the 2007-08 president of the Fiesta San Antonio Commission. Commissioner Steen graduated with honors from Princeton University and received his law degree from the University of Texas. He served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserve. He is an honor graduate of the Army’s Military Police School and twice has received the Commander’s Award for Public Service from the Department of the Army. His term expires January 1, 2012.

A. Cynthia "Cindy" Leon, Member
P.O. Box 4087
Austin, TX  78773-0110

A. Cynthia "Cindy" Leon of Mission is a retired Regional Director for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. She is a life member of the Naval Reserve Association, Navy League, U.S. Naval Institute and the Reserve Officers Association. She is also a member of the International Women's Forum and Leadership Texas, and past chair of the Dallas-Fort Worth and San Antonio Federal Executive Boards. She served as a Captain in the U.S. Navy Reserve. Leon earned a bachelor's degree from Austin College and a master's degree in public administration from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She is also a graduate of the Federal Executive Institute in Charlottesville, VA. Her term expires on Jan. 1, 2016.

Commission meetings are held at the call of the Chairman. All meetings are open to the public and announced in the Texas Register and the Open Meetings website at http://www.sos.state.tx.us/texreg/ . The public is invited to attend all meetings.

Minutes are posted after they have been approved by the Commission.

Liaison for the PSC (512) 424-7780