Eliot Shapleigh
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| Eliot Shapleigh | |
 Texas Senator Eliot Shapleigh of District 29 |
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29th Senate Member
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| In office December 21, 1997 – present |
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| Preceded by | Peggy Rosson |
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| Succeeded by | incumbent |
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| Born | November 11, 1952 El Paso, Texas |
| Political party | Democrat |
| Profession | Attorney, politician |
| Religion | Episcopalian |
Eliot Shapleigh (born November 11, 1952) is a politician from the state of Texas, currently representing the state's 29th Senatorial District which comprises the majority of El Paso County, Texas.
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[edit] Background
Eliot Shapleigh was born and raised in El Paso. He has lived and traveled extensively in Mexico, and is a fluent Spanish speaker today. Senator Shapleigh graduated from Rice University in 1974 and served in the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone, West Africa until 1977. He then attended The University of Texas School of Law, graduating in 1981. In 1983, Senator Shapleigh founded his own law firm with two partners and today is the managing partner of the Shapleigh Law Firm, PC.
Senator Shapleigh currently resides in El Paso, Texas with his wife Lee Shapleigh, and two children, Zoe and Ben.
[edit] Legislative Record
Last May, Senator Shapleigh completed his fifth Session as a legislator. During his tenure as a state Senator, he has authored or sponsored more than 400 bills, with particular focus on education, economic development, infrastructure, technology, veteran and health care issues. Additionally, he has been integral in helping prepare the State for the Department of Defense's periodic reassessment of infrastructure needs, or base realignment and closure (BRAC). In 2003, Senator Shapleigh spearheaded the state's preparation for the 2005 BRAC round by authoring the omnibus Texas Military Preparedness Act, SB 652.
As a result of his commitment to Texas' defense dependent communities and military heritage, Senator Shapleigh was appointed Chair of the Subcommittee on Base Realignment and Closure in 2004 and continues to lead that committee. Additionally, Shapleigh is a member of the International Relations and Trade Committee, the Transportation and Homeland Security Committee, the Veteran Affairs and Military Installations Committee, and the Texas Sunset Commission. He also serves as Chair of the Economic Development Committee of the ten state Border Legislative Conference.
Senator Shapleigh is dedicated to increasing equity in state funding, ensuring fairness in state taxation, expanding educational opportunities for minority and low-income students and developing community solutions for health, safety and environmental issues. As an advocate for El Paso and other border communities, he is also interested in raising per capita income and boosting economic prosperity along the Texas Border.
[edit] The Texas Eleven
Senator Shapleigh was involved and one of the Texas State Senators Democrats who fled the state of Texas for New Mexico for 46 days in 2003 in a quorum-busting effort aimed at preventing the passage of controversial redistricting legislation, spearheaded by then Congressional House Majority leader Tom Delay, that would have benefited Texas Republicans.
Eventually the Texas Eleven would be vindicated by the United States Supreme Court through their rulings that the re-districting could be considered gerrymandering, and did bare unconstitutional elements.
[edit] Controversy
Due to the nature of competitive election campaigns, Senator Shapleigh's critics and opponents have only been able to attack Senator Shapleigh in really only one area, his relationship with the University of Texas, El Paso. By elevating and mis-categorizing much of the relative low-profile events that have occured in the past with respect to the University of Texas, El Paso, the inability for his opponents to attack Senator Shapleigh has been labeled as a "feud." No official acknowledgment has been made by the University of Texas, El Paso in regards to this "feud" but the city's English language newspaper has extensively focused on these events.
Critics of the Senator commonly raise concerns in regards to what has been construed as an on-going feud with University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) president Diana Natalicio. Having experience with the current political atmosphere in Austin, Senator Shapleigh critiqued UTEP’s budget requests by suggesting it “will be DOA – dead on arrival” [1] by the Texas Legislature. Eventually the rejection of numerous University of Texas system schools budgets by the Texas Legislature and a promise of a six percent cut of available state funds to the universities would lead to the deregulation of tuition in where respective colleges and health science centers chose their own tuition rates to offset those cuts[2] and have nothing to do with the Senator's legislative record, as his critics and opponents claim.
One of the most widely criticized of his statements was one in which he compared the style of Dr. Natalicio to that of a “queen bee” [3]. Many of the Senator's opponents have claimed that his public views of UTEP’s administration are commonly considered irreverent, as evidenced by a recent public statement that UTEP’s current leadership “is not likely to lead to real reform” [4]. Naturally, Shapleigh’s relationship with UTEP is one of the most publicized aspects of the Senator's public life, leading veteran and equally controversial El Paso Times columnist John Laird to compare Shapleigh’s public feud with Natalicio as El Paso’s own “Celebrity Boxing.”
Many in the El Paso and West Texas community believe that this "feud" stems from Senator Shapleigh's commitment to the university and is an action that will prevent further mediocrity in tending to university matters. Such mediocrity was prevalent prior to Dr. Natalicio's appointment as well as Senator Shapleigh's election.
A large percentage of the El Paso community are extremely satisfied with Senator Shapleigh's work in Austin. What has gained the trust of his constiuents has been his goal to be accessable and be able to fluently communicate with all those that compromise the El Paso community. Many in the El Paso area trust he will continue to make known to the Texas Congress the oft-disregarded views of El Paso.
Even Texas' Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst is somewhat bewildered by the manipulation of facts in regards to Senator Shapleigh's actions in Austin, since the Lieutenant Governor himself has had to go on record in defense of Eliot Shapleigh's hard work for the El Paso community.
[edit] Honors
Throughout Senator Shapleigh's service in the Senate, he has received numerous honors for his work on educational, health, and border issues, on developing innovative technology programs, and for his integrity and passion.
National honors include being named a Visionary Technology Innovator by the Center for Digital Government in 2003 for his commitment to expanding access to government services through technology. In particular, the Center for Digital Government cited Senator Shapleigh's work in developing and expanding the TexasOnline state portal and for developing a laptop immersion program. Also, at the national level, Senator Shapleigh was named Legislator of the Year by the American School Health Association for his commitment to the health of school children.
At the state level, he has been named the Texas Legislator of the Year by the Mexican American Bar Association, the Hispanic Journal, Texas Pharmacy Association, Texas Sierra Club, and the Texas American Association of Retired Persons (AARP).
His work on behalf of Texas school children has been honored by various Texas advocacy groups. Upon completion of the 78th Legislative session, Shapleigh was named the Texas Classroom Advocate of the Year by the Classroom Teachers Association. Additionally, the Child Crisis Centers of Texas presented Senator Shapleigh with the Texas Advocate for Children Award, and the Texas Equity Center named Senator Shapleigh a "Champion For School Children". Finally, in 2006, the Association of Texas Professional Educators awarded Senator Shapleigh with one of their first "Freedom to Teach" awards.
Additionally, the American Cancer Society presented Senator Shapleigh with the Texas Advocacy Award and the Texas Public Interest Research Group, TexPIRG, named Senator Shapleigh a Public Interest Champion in 2005, and the Texas Guardianship Association gave him 2005's Visionary Award for his work in reforming adult protective services in Texas. Finally, Senator Shapleigh was named the "Conscience of the Senate" by Texas Monthly magazine due to the commitment and integrity he displayed during the most recent legislative session.
In March, 2006, Senator Shapleigh received two additional statewide awards. He was awarded the Education Leadership Award through the Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce (TAMACC) and the Legislator of Excellence Award from the Texas Independent Living Council for his part in protecting and advancing the rights of Texans with Disabilities by authoring the Adult Protective Services Reform Act of 2005.
Locally, Senator Shapleigh has been honored by numerous organizations for his commitment to his community. Senator Shapleigh was awarded the Conquistador Award by the El Paso City Council, and named El Pasoan of the Year by El Paso Inc. for his work in bringing a four year medical school to the community. The Black El Paso Democrats named him Humanitarian of the Year in 2004, and he was inducted into the El Paso Democratic Party's Hall of Fame. The El Paso Chapter of the National Council of Jewish Women honored Senator Shapleigh with the Hannah Solomon Award and the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce inducted him into their Technology Hall of Fame. Finally, the Senator has twice been named Public Servant of the Year for El Paso and the Border - by Volar and by "What's Up Magazine". Most recently, the City of Socorro awarded the Senator with the City of Socorro ~District 3 Community Service Award in February 2006.
[edit] Trivia
- Senator Shapleigh is a fifth-generation El Pasoan whose roots in his community trace back to 1847.
- Lee Shapleigh, Senator Shapleigh's wife, is the assistant county attorney for El Paso County.
- Senator Shapleigh has been married for over twenty years.
- Senator Shapleigh is known as the hardest working Texas Senator due to the large volume of legislation he authors or co-sponsors which is noticed as being the most of any Texas Senator.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
Prose contains specific citations in source text which may be viewed in edit mode.
- ^ (El Paso Times, 9/10/00)
- ^ http://www.utsystem.edu/news/2003/TuitionProposals11-04-03.html
- ^ (El Paso Times, 9/10/00)
- ^ (El Paso Times, 3/28/05)
[edit] References
| Preceded by Peggy Rosson |
Texas Senator 1997–Present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
