He points to the following examples: the hiring of Robert Lawton, the “most outstanding candidate,” as the county’s first professional appointed manager; the passage of two budgets — the first “handicapped” by a $3 million shortfall — and the introduction of “unprecedented” transparency to county government, with open participation at council meetings and public interviews of prospective appointees to outside county boards, authorities and commissions.

Haas said he wants another term to “move into phase two of laying the foundation” for the home-rule government.

“I see it somewhat like highway paving. We’re laying the smooth macadam over the more dense stone foundation,” he said.

His goals for another term: earmarking budget surpluses to pay down the county’s $400 million debt; hiring the best candidates for charter-mandated division-head positions; developing a written countywide vision plan covering the next two decades; and continuing to “bring decency and respect to county government.”

His campaign website is harryhaas.com.

Haas has a bachelor’s in history, with a minor concentration in Spanish, and a master’s degree in education — both from The George Washington University.

He worked as a teacher in Washington, D.C., and Fairfax County, Va., schools for four years and is now a teacher in the Dallas School District.

Haas and his wife, the former Kristin Fenstermacher, are expecting their first child.