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David Dewhurst (born August 18, 1945 in Houston, Texas) is the Republican Lieutenant Governor of Texas.
[edit] Personal lifeDewhurst is a businessman, a rancher, and a community leader in Houston, where he has served on civic and charitable boards. He graduated from Lamar High School in Houston[1] and earned his bachelor's degree and played basketball at the University of Arizona in Tucson. He was previously an officer in the U.S. Air Force, an agent of the Central Intelligence Agency, and worked in the United States State Department. In 1981, Dewhurst founded Falcon Seaboard, a Texas-based diversified energy and investments company. He breeds registered Black Angus cattle and rides cutting horses in American Quarter Horse Association and National Cutting Horse Association competitions. [edit] Political career[edit] Land CommissionerDewhurst was elected as Commissioner of the General Land Office of Texas in 1998, when the 16-year incumbent, Garry Mauro, waged an unsuccessful campaign for governor against George W. Bush. A self-described "George Bush Republican," he defeated Democratic State Representative Richard Raymond, then of Benavides and thereafter of Laredo. Dewhurst received 2,072,604 votes (57.42 percent) to Raymond's 1,438,378 ballots (39.85 percent). A Libertarian polled the remaining 2.72 percent. [edit] Lieutenant Governor[edit] 2002 ElectionDewhurst was elected Lieutenant Governor in November 2002, when he defeated former Democratic Comptroller John Sharp of Victoria. He succeeded Bill Ratliff. (Ratliff did not contest the lieutenant governor's position in the primary, opting instead for re-election to his state senate seat.) Dewhurst polled 2,341,875 votes (51.77 percent) to Sharp's 2,082,281 (46.03 percent). (Two minor candidates polled the remaining 2.19 percent.) In that campaign, Dewhurst stressed his interest in public education and opposition to school vouchers. [edit] 2003 RedistrictingIn 2003, Dewhurst assisted the Republican leadership, including then U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick, and Governor Rick Perry, in passing a sweeping congressional redistricting bill that increased the number of Republican U.S. House seats in Texas from fifteen to twenty-one in the 2004 elections. The Republican seats dropped to nineteen in the 2006 elections under a modified court redistricting plan. Minority Democrats retain thirteen U.S. House seats from Texas. In his capacity as the presiding officer of the Texas Senate, Dewhurst, in the third consecutive special session called by the governor, allowed the suspension of the custom that two thirds of the body must vote to consider a bill. Dewhurst's leadership on redistricting brought him into legal conflict with his former land commissioner opponent, Raymond. Raymond is the only elected official to be a plaintiff in the 2006 U.S. Supreme Court review of the constitutionality of the redistricting plan. Dewhurst and Raymond have also sparred over education policy. [edit] 2006 electionDewhurst was easily renominated for lieutenant governor in the Republican primary held on March 7, 2006. He defeated Tom Kelly, the same candidate whom he bested for the nomination in 2002. In the November 7, 2006, general election, Dewhurst overwhelmed Democrat Maria Luisa Alvarado, a veterans issues research analyst and the winner of her April 11 runoff primary. He received 2,512,197 votes (58.2 percent) to Alvarado's 1,616,945 (37.4 percent). Libertarian Judy A. Baker polled another 188,956 votes (4.4 percent). Dewhurst is widely expected to seek the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 2010.[2] [edit] LegislationHe is known by his "Texas Children First" initiative[citation needed] which is part of cracking down on child sexual predators in Texas and throughout the United States. The initiative includes extending statute of limitations on child sex crimes and leading the passage of Jessica's Law to help keep Texas children safe. David Dewhurst is also attempting to pass legislation that would allow for the death penalty to be imposed on second time violent child predators. This bill has received some controversy as it has been recognized that the death penalty for anything other than murder is unconstitutional.[citation needed] No one has been executed in the US for a crime other than murder since 1964.[1] Dewhurst attempted to get a voter identification law brought to debate at a time when at least one Democrat wasn't present in the Senate in order to gain the 2/3 majority necessary to bring debate on the bill, which was widely opposed by Democrats. Texas Senate Democrats went to great lengths to attend the sessions, with Senator Mario Gallegos even installing a hospital bed in the office of the sergeant-at-arms in the capitol building to be nearby in case of a motion to bring debate. The bill was never passed.[2] Dewhurst is considered the wealthiest man in Texas politics, but he had declined to reveal his financial assets. Information which he provided to the state Ethics Commission in 2008 merely stated that his wealth "is valued at $25,000 or more." An Associated Press report claims that Dewhurst trust fund is "estimated to be worth up to $200 million." His assets include cattle ranches, private bank investments, luxury condominiums, shares in a Houston energy company, and hedge funds.[3] [edit] References
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