William P. Hobby, Jr.

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William Pettus “Bill” Hobby, Jr., (born January 19, 1932) is a Texas Democratic politician who served a record eighteen years as his state's lieutenant governor. He held that office from 1973 to 1991.

Born in Houston, he was the only son of William P. Hobby, Sr., and Oveta Culp Hobby. He was born into a poltical family. His grandfather, Edwin Hobby, served as state senator from 1874 to 1879. His father was the Governor of Texas from 1917 to 1921, and his mother was the first person appointed to the new position of U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a Republican and native Texan. She served in that position from 1953 to 1955. ^[1]

Hobby was educated at Rice University. After graduation, he served in the Navy for four years in naval intelligence.

For many years, the Hobby family owned the now-defunct Houston Post, at which Hobby worked. He worked his way through the editorial department. When his father became ill in 1965, Hobby assumed editorial and managerial control of the newspaper. He remained president of the Post for 20 years -- until the family sold the newspaper in 1983. It was absorbed by the Houston Chronicle (which is still publishing) in 1995. The Hobbys also started the first Houston radio station. ^[2]

His lengthy career in government began in 1959, when he served as parliamentarian of the Texas Senate under Lieutenant Governor Ben Ramsey. He was appointed to the Presidential Task Force on Suburban Problems and to the National Citizens Advisory Committee on Vocational Rehabilitation by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Governor Preston Smith appointed him to the Texas Air Control Board and to the chair of the Senate Interim Committee on Welfare Reform in 1969. Hobby resigned from the Texas Air Control Board in 1971 to run for Lieutenant Governor. ^[3]

In addition to presiding over the state senate, Hobby served in numerous other political leadership capacities. These included appointments as chair of the Governor's Energy Advisory Council (GEAC) (1973-1977), the Texas Energy Advisory Council (TEAC) (1977-1979), the special advisory committee which recommended the Texas Sunset Act (1970s), and the Joint Advisory Committee on Educational Services to the Deaf (1976-1979); co-chair of the Texas Energy and Natural Resource Advisory Council (TENRAC) (1979-1983); vice-chair of the Criminal Justice Policy Council; ex officio member of the Texas Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations; and member of the Select Committee on Public Education (1983-1984). He was also chair of the National Conference of Lieutenant Governors (1974).

"Over his years as Lieutenant Governor, Hobby gained a reputation as an astute fiscal manager and parliamentary leader in the Texas Senate," according to a biographical sketch in the state archives. "Some of the highlights of Hobby's years as Lieutenant Governor included reforms in the appropriations process such as zero-based budgeting, which required agencies to justify their budgets regardless of previous budget levels, and a requirement that the fiscal impact of bills be determined and reported to the Legislature in advance of passage. Also passed during his tenure were the indigent health care plan, the Texas water plan, and the school finance bill of 1984 that redistributed state funds among the state's school districts, required teacher testing, and created the controversial 'no-pass-no-play' rule."^[4]

He was honored by the state senate in a May 5, 1989 session.

Hobby served as Chancellor of the University of Houston System ("UHS") from 1995 to 1997. He told Texas Monthly's Paul Burka that he had never expected the call. But his expertise was sorely needed. "Its main campus had gone through three presidents in six years, its senior management was in disarray, its enrollment was declining, and its faculty was in revolt over the size of the severance packages awarded to departing administrators. U of H desperately needed an immediate infusion of prestige and credibility," Burka wrote. "Hobby fit the job description." ^[5]

Also, Hobby remained active in business. He served on the boards of directors for various firms, including Southwest Airlines, a position he held for 17 years. He was Trustee of the LBJ Foundation. He held the Sid Richardson Chair in Public Affairs at the LBJ School of Public Affairs and was also Radoslav Tsanoff Professor at Rice University. He continued to be active in civic affairs as a commissioner for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.^[6]

[edit] Personal life

Married to the former Diana Poteat Stallings, he is the father of Laura Poteat Hobby Beckworth, Paul William Hobby, Andrew Purefoy Hobby, and Katherine Pettus Hobby Gibson. Diana Hobby was co-editor of Studies in English Literature as well as was book editor of The Houston Post. As a couple, they were strong supporters of the arts and literature, libraries in particular. Democrat Paul Hobby attempted to extend the family's public service into a fourth generation; however, he narrowly lost the race for Texas Comptroller in 1998 to the Republican nominee, Carole Keeton Strayhorn.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] See also

• Hobby-Eberly Telescope

[edit] References

Presiding Officers of the Texas Legislature, 1846-2002. [Austin, Tex.]: Texas Legislative Council, 2002.

Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997.