Ted Poe
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| Ted Poe | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2005 |
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| Preceded by | Jim Turner |
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| Born | September 10, 1948 Temple, Texas |
| Political party | Republican |
| Alma mater | Abilene Christian University, University of Houston |
| Religion | Church of Christ |
Lloyd "Ted" Poe (born September 10, 1948) is a Republican politician and jurist currently representing Texas's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. (map). The district includes most of northern Houston, as well as most of the Beaumont/Port Arthur/Orange metropolitan area.
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[edit] Early years
Poe was born in Temple, Texas. He now lives in Humble, a suburb of Houston. Poe graduated in 1970, with a degree in Political science from Abilene Christian University, where he served as class president, and, in 1973, received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Houston Law Center, where he had participated in the school's honor society. From 1970 to 1976, he served in the United States Air Force Reserve’s C-130 Unit at Houston’s Ellington Air Force Base.
[edit] As prosecutor and judge
After serving as a chief felony prosecutor in Harris County (Houston) for eight years, Poe was appointed a felony court judge in Harris County in 1981, becoming one of the youngest judges in the State of Texas. Poe was one of the first Republican judges elected in Harris County since Reconstruction. In this position, he gained national prominence for his unusual criminal sentences that included ordering thieves to carry signs in front of stores from which they stole; required men who abused their wives to publicly apologize on the steps of Houston’s City Hall; commanded sex offenders to place warning signs on their home after serving jail time; and directed murderers to securely place a photo of their victims on the wall of their prison cells, creating a daily reminder of their crime. In a story that is part of jailhouse lore in Texas, he reportedly told a defendant at sentencing of his intention to throw some pennies in the air and, however many hit the ground, would be the number of years the defendant was going to serve. After flinging an entire jar of pennies, he informed the man that the sentence would be twenty years. Ted Poe became well known to most offenders in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, even those from beyond Houston.
During his judgeship, "creative sentencing" became a trademark of his court. However, in at least one case, Poe amended the sentence afterwards without notifying the victim's family. [1]
[edit] Election to the United States Congress
In November 2004, Poe ran for the U.S. House against Democrat Nick Lampson in the 2nd District, which had been numbered as the 9th District prior to a controversial mid-decade redistricting. The new 2nd was considerably more Republican than the old 9th, in part due to the loss of Galveston and the area around the Johnson Space Center. They were replaced with several heavily Republican areas around Houston. Poe won 55% of the vote to Lampson's 43%. While Lampson trounced Poe in Beaumont and Port Arthur, Poe swamped Lampson in the Harris County portion of the district.
Within a month of taking office, Poe was chosen by President George W. Bush to be one of two members of the House, along with one member of the Senate, sent to observe firsthand the elections in Iraq.
In January 2005, Poe founded and cosponsored the Congressional Victims’ Rights Caucus to represent and advocate before the United States Congress and the Administration on behalf of victims. The Congressional Victims’ Rights Caucus facilitates discussions, organizes meetings, and disseminates information on the causes of victimization to help achieve greater understanding and to formulate sensible solutions.
[edit] 2006 election
Poe made border security a centerpiece of his re-election strategy, calling for "more [National] Guardsmen on the border front"[1]. On November 7, Ted Poe handily won a second term against Democrat Gary Binderim, a water utility manager and community activist [2][3], and Libertarian Justo Perez [4][5].
[edit] Current Committeeships
He is a member of the following committees:
- House Committee on Foreign Affairs
- Subcommittee on Europe
- Subcommittee on Terrorism Nonproliferation and Trade
- House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
- Subcommittee on Aviation
- Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation
- Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
[edit] Controversies
As a state judge, in November 2002, Poe ruled that he would permit the PBS documentary show Frontline to videotape jury deliberations of a capital murder case.[2] There was considerable concern that this would affect the result of the trial, possibly by skewing the composition of the jury, and the decision was appealed by Harris County prosecuters.[3][4] The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state's highest criminal appellate court, ruled against Poe's decision and prohibited the videotaping.[5]
On May 7, 2007, while speaking on the floor of the house, Poe used a quote from Civil War Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest when describing the military strategy that Poe felt the United States should have followed in Iraq. Forrest's maxim was to: “Git thar furstest with the mostest.” The controversy lies in the personal history of General Forrest, as after his military duty was over, he became the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. Some critics have stated that despite quoting Forrest for a discussion on military strategy and not on race relations, it was still highly inappropriate for Poe to quote such a divisive figure.[6][7][8][9]
[edit] References
- ^ Houston - News - After Oprah
- ^ " Inviting TV Into Jury Room in a Capital Case", Adam Liptak, November 26, 2002, The New York Times
- ^ "The 13th Juror" (editorial), November 27, 2002, The New York Times
- ^ "Texas Court to Rule on Videotaping of Jury", Adam Liptak, January 16, 2003, The New York Times
- ^ "Bid to Tape Deliberations By Texas Jury Is Rejected", Adam Liptak, February 13, 2003, The New York Times
- ^ "A modest proposal: Make war hawks see to refugees" (Editorial), Cragg Hines, May 12, 2007, Houston Chronicle
- ^ "Civil War quote in speech on Iraq inflames bloggers", Jennifer A. Dlouhy, May 10, 2007, San Francisco Chronicle
- ^ "Sheer Poe-try", Emily Heil, May 8, 2007, Roll Call
- ^ "Grand wizard's words spell woe for Poe", Beth Gallaspy, May 10, 2007, Beaumont Enterprise
[edit] External links
| Find more about Ted Poe on Wikipedia's sister projects: | |
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- U.S. Congressman Ted Poe official House site
- Ted Poe at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Federal Election Commission — Ted Poe campaign finance reports and data
- On the Issues — Ted Poe issue positions and quotes
- OpenSecrets.org — Ted Poe campaign contributions
- Project Vote Smart — Representative Ted Poe (TX) profile
- SourceWatch Congresspedia — Ted Poe profile
- Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: Ted Poe voting record
- Ted Poe for U.S. Congress official campaign site
- Interview on "The Joe Cook Program" in Philadelphia June 23, 2006
- Video of Speech praising Nathan Bedford Forrest on the House Floor May 7, 2007
- The Original Shame Sentence? Rattling the bones in Ted Poe's closet - Houston Press
| Preceded by Jim Turner |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 2nd congressional district 2005 – present |
Incumbent |
