Everything about David Dewhurst totally explained
David Dewhurst (born August 18, 1945) is the
Republican Lieutenant Governor of
Texas.
Personal life
Dewhurst is a veteran, a
businessman, a
rancher, and a community leader in Houston, where he's served on civic and charitable boards. He graduated from
Lamar High School in Houston 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, the
Central Intelligence Agency, and the U.S.
State Department. In 1981, Dewhurst founded Falcon Seaboard, a Texas-based diversified energy and investments company. He breeds registered
Black Angus cattle, is an active team roper, and rides cutting horses in
American Quarter Horse Association and National Cutting Horse Association competitions.
Political career
Land Commissioner
Dewhurst was elected as Commissioner of the General Land Office of Texas in 1998. A self-described "
George Bush Republican," he defeated Democratic State Representative
Richard Raymond of
Benavides. 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.
Lieutenant Governor
2002 Election
Dewhurst was elected Lieutenant Governor in November 2002, when he defeated former Democratic Comptroller
John Sharp of
Victoria. He succeeded
Bill Ratliff. (Ratliff didn't 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.
2003 Redistricting
In 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 15 to 21 in the 2004 elections. Minority Democrats were left with 11 seats. 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 2/3 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.
2006 election
Dewhurst 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. Dewhurst then overwhelmed Democrat Maria Luisa Alvarado, a veterans issues research analyst and the winner of her April 11 runoff primary, in the November 7 general election. 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.
Legislation
He is known by his "Texas Children First" initiative 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. No one has been executed in the US for a crime other than murder since 1964.
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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.
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