You Should Meet David Panton

From Emory University’s Goizueta Business School:

David Panton is a partner and co-founder of Navigation Capital Partners.

David is the board chairman of Atlanta-based Brown Trucking, a transportation and logistics services provider. He also serves on the board of Dallas-based Exeter Finance, a specialty auto finance company; and Chicago-based Prepaid Solutions, a payments solutions provider.”

Panton went to Princeton University and Harvard. In both he roomed with a young Ted Cruz.

While he lived in Jamaica Panton served as Senator for the Jamaica Labour Party. Wikipedia tells us, “Despite its name, the JLP is a conservative[3][4][5] political party, albeit one with ties to the Jamaican labour movement.”

Cruz and Panton have been close friends since their time in college. Earlier this year Panton endorsed Cruz’ bid for the Presidency. In doing so he said these things about Cruz:

I support Ted’s candidacy not only because of our close friendship, but because I believe he has the bold, consistent, principled leadership that America needs. He is also the most brilliant person I know,”

[…]

Panton, a former Rhodes Scholar and the first head of Generation 2000 (G2K), the group of young professionals affiliated with the JLP, believes that much of what the media has reported about Cruz is wrong.

[…]

“Unlike the media portrayal of him as a firebrand, Ted is one of the kindest and most caring people I know. He cares deeply about other people and making a difference in their lives, as he did in mine, as a loyal friend, strong supporter, and committed mentor.

“When I was elected as president of the Harvard Law Review, my first call was not to my parents or family members, but to Ted, who at the time was clerking for Judge Michael Luttig, prior to his clerkship on the Supreme Court, as the first Hispanic clerk to Chief Justice William Rehnquist,” Panton said.

[…]

“I believe that — like when the voters of Texas got to know Ted, the person, not the caricature — the American people will also eventually recognise that as a Hispanic with a Cuban father who fled oppression, and as a principled, experienced, eloquent advocate for the Constitution, he has the background, skills, and abilities to be an outstanding president of the United States,” Panton said.”

This is indeed a friendship that has stood the test of time.
Panton is also quoted in an essay over at Bookwormroom.com:

Unlike what others may say, I consider Ted to be very kind. He is a very, very gentle-hearted person,” Panton told The Daily Beast. “He took me under his wing and was a mentor to me. He was very kind to me. I am a much smarter and much better person today because of Ted Cruz.”