| Rick Perry | |
|---|---|
| Rick Perry in October 2011. | |
| 47th Governor of Texas | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office December 21, 2000 |
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| Lieutenant | Bill Ratliff (2000–03) David Dewhurst (since 2003) |
| Preceded by | George W. Bush |
| 39th Lieutenant Governor of Texas | |
| In office January 19, 1999 – December 21, 2000 |
|
| Governor | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Bob Bullock |
| Succeeded by | Bill Ratliff |
| 9th Commissioner of Agriculture of Texas | |
| In office January 15, 1991 – January 19, 1999 |
|
| Governor | Ann Richards George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Jim Hightower |
| Succeeded by | Susan Combs |
| Member of the House of Representatives of Texas from District 64 |
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| In office 1985–1991 |
|
| Preceded by | Joe Hanna |
| Succeeded by | John Cook |
| Personal details | |
| Born | James Richard Perry March 4, 1950 Paint Creek, Texas |
| Political party | Republican Party (since 1989) Democratic Party (until 1989) |
| Spouse(s) | Anita Thigpen |
| Children | Griffin Sydney |
| Residence | West Austin, Texas (Temporary residence since 2007, during repairs to the Texas Governor's Mansion)[1] |
| Alma mater | Texas A&M University (B.S.) |
| Profession | Military Officer Farmer Politician |
| Religion | Christianity (evangelical) [2] |
| Signature | |
| Website | www.governor.state.tx.us |
| Military service | |
| Service/branch | United States Air Force |
| Years of service | 1972–1977 |
| Rank | Captain |
| This article is part of a series about Rick Perry |
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2012 Presidential Campaign |
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James Richard "Rick" Perry (born March 4, 1950) is the 47th and current Governor of Texas.
A Republican, Perry was elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998 and assumed the governorship in December 2000 when then-governor George W. Bush resigned to become President of the United States. Perry was elected to full gubernatorial terms in 2002, 2006 and 2010. With a tenure in office to date of 11 years, 59 days, Perry is the longest continuously serving current U.S. governor, and the second longest serving current U.S. governor after Terry Branstad of Iowa. Perry served as Chairman of the Republican Governors Association in 2008 (succeeding Sonny Perdue of Georgia) and again in 2011.[3] Perry is the longest serving governor in Texas state history. As a result, he is the only governor in modern Texas history to have appointed at least one person to every eligible state office, board, or commission position (as well as to several elected offices to which the governor can appoint someone to fill an unexpired term, such as six of the nine current members of the Texas Supreme Court).
Perry won the Texas 2010 Republican gubernatorial primary election, defeating U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and former Wharton County Republican Party Chairwoman and businesswoman Debra Medina.[4] In the 2010 Texas gubernatorial election, Perry won a third term by defeating former Houston mayor Bill White and Kathie Glass.[5]
On August 13, 2011, Perry announced in South Carolina that he was running for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in the 2012 presidential election.
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A fifth-generation Texan, Perry was born in Paint Creek, about 60 miles (97 km) north of Abilene in West Texas, to ranchers Joseph Ray Perry and the former Amelia June Holt. Perry's ancestry is almost entirely English, going back to the original thirteen colonies. His family has been in Texas since before the Texan Revolution.[6][7][8]
His father, a Democrat, was a long-time Haskell County commissioner and school board member. Perry has said that his interest in politics probably began in November 1961, when his father took him to the funeral of U.S. Representative Sam Rayburn (D-TX),[9] who during his long public career served as speaker of the Texas House for a short time at the age of 29 and then later for 17 years as the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Perry was in the Boy Scouts (BSA) and earned the rank of Eagle Scout; his son, Griffin, would later become an Eagle Scout as well.[10][11] The BSA has honored Perry with the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award.[12]
Perry graduated from Paint Creek High School in 1968. He then attended Texas A&M University, where he was a member of the Corps of Cadets, a member of the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity, was elected senior class social secretary, and was also elected as one of A&M's five yell leaders (a popular Texas A&M tradition analogous to male cheerleaders).[13] Perry graduated in 1972 with a Bachelor of Science in animal science.[14][15]
Perry said that the Corps of Cadets gave him the discipline to complete his animal sciences degree and earn a commission in the Air Force. In a 1989 interview he said that "I was probably a bit of a free spirit, not particularly structured real well for life outside of a military regime, I would have not lasted at Texas Tech or the University of Texas. I would have hit the fraternity scene and lasted about one semester."[14] Perry was a prankster in college: he once placed live chickens in the closet of an upperclassman during Christmas break and used M-80 firecrackers to prank students using the toilet.[14]
In the early 1970s, Perry interned during several summers with the Southwestern Company, as a door-to-door book salesman. "I count my time working for Dortch Oldham [President of the Southwestern Company] as one of the most important formative experiences of my life," Perry said in 2010. "There is nothing that tests your commitment to a goal like getting a few doors closed in your face." He said that "Mr. Oldham taught legions of young people to communicate quickly, clearly and with passion, a lesson that has served me well in my life since then."[16]
Upon graduation in 1972, Perry was commissioned in the Air Force, completed pilot training, and flew C-130 tactical airlift in the United States, the Middle East, and Europe until 1977. He left the Air Force with the rank of captain, returned to Texas, and went into business farming cotton with his father.[17]
In 1984, Perry was elected to the Texas House of Representatives as a Democrat from district 64, which included his home county of Haskell. He served on the House Appropriations and Calendars committees during his three two-year terms in office. He befriended fellow freshman state representative Lena Guerrero of Austin, a staunch liberal Democrat who endorsed Perry's reelection bid in 2006 on personal, rather than philosophical, grounds.
Perry was part of the "Pit Bulls", a group of Appropriations members who sat on the lower dais in the committee room (or "pit") who pushed for austere state budgets during the 1980s.[18] At one point, The Dallas Morning News named him one of the ten most effective members of the legislature.[19]
In 1987, Perry voted for a $5.7 billion tax increase proposed by Republican governor Bill Clements.[20] Perry supported Al Gore in the 1988 Democratic presidential primaries and worked in an unspecified capacity for Gore's campaign in Texas.[21] In 1989, Perry announced that he was switching parties, becoming a Republican.[22]
In 1990, as a newly minted Republican, Perry challenged Jim Hightower, the incumbent Democratic Agriculture Commissioner. Hightower had worked on behalf of Jesse Jackson for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988, while Perry had supported U.S. Senator Al Gore of Tennessee.
During 1990, Hightower's office was embroiled in a FBI investigation into corruption and bribery. Three aides were convicted in 1993 of using public funds for political fundraising, although Hightower himself was not found to be involved in the wrongdoings.[23] Perry narrowly defeated Hightower in November 1990.
As Agriculture Commissioner, Perry was responsible for promoting the sale of Texas farm produce to other states and foreign nations, and for supervising the calibration of weights and measures, such as gasoline pumps and grocery store scales.[24]
In April 1993, Perry, while serving as Texas agriculture commissioner, expressed support for the effort to reform the nation's health care, describing it as "most commendable".[25] The health care plan, first revealed in September, was ultimately unsuccessful due to Republican congressional opposition.[26][27][28][29][30] In 2005, after being questioned on the issue by a potential opponent in the Republican governor primary, Perry said that he expressed his support only in order to get Clinton to pay more attention to rural health care.[31]
In 1994, Perry was reelected Agriculture Commissioner by a large margin, getting 2,546,287 votes (62 percent) to Democrat Marvin Gregory's 1,479,692 (36 percent). Libertarian Clyde L. Garland received the remaining 85,836 votes (2 percent).[32] Gregory, a chicken farmer from Sulphur Springs, Texas, was on the Texas Agricultural Finance Authority with Perry in the early nineties, as a Republican. He became a Democrat before running against Perry in 1994.[33]
In 1998, Perry chose not to seek a third term as Agriculture Commissioner, running instead for Lieutenant Governor to succeed the retiring Democrat Bob Bullock. During this election, Rick Perry had a notable falling out with his previous top political strategist Karl Rove, which began the much-reported rivalry between the Bush and Perry camps.[34] Perry polled 1,858,837 votes (50.04 percent) to the 1,790,106 (48.19 percent) cast for Democrat John Sharp of Victoria, who had relinquished the Comptroller's position after two terms to seek the lieutenant governorship. Libertarian Anthony Garcia polled another 65,150 votes (1.75 percent).[32] Perry thus became the state's first Republican lieutenant governor since Reconstruction, taking office on January 19, 1999, until he assumed the governorship on December 21, 2000 following the resignation of then-Governor George W. Bush.
Perry assumed the office of Governor in late 2000, following the resignation of President-elect George W. Bush.[10] He won the office in his own right in the 2002 gubernatorial election, where he received 57.80% of votes to businessman Tony Sanchez's 39.96%.[32] He was re-elected in the 2006 gubernatorial election against three major opponents, polling 39% of votes against runner-up Chris Bell with 29.8%. In the 2010 gubernatorial election, Perry became the first Texas governor to be elected to three four-year terms, polling 54.97% of votes to Bill White's 42.48%.
In his three gubernatorial campaigns, Perry received hard-money campaign contributions of $102 million, half of which came from 204 donors.[35]
In the 2001 legislative session, Perry set a record for his use of the veto, rejecting 82 acts, more than any other governor in any single legislative session in the history of the state since Reconstruction.[36] [37][38]
In his presidential campaign, Perry has highlighted the economic success Texas achieved under his governorship, although the true success of his policies has been questioned.[39][40][41][42][43][44] A proclaimed proponent of fiscal conservatism, Perry has often campaigned on job growth and tax issues, such as his opposition to creating a state income tax. Perry refused in 2002 to promise not to raise taxes as governor, and in the following years did propose or approve various tax and debt[45] increases.[46][47][48][49] In 2009, Perry signed Grover Norquist's pledge to "oppose and veto any and all efforts to increase taxes".
Texas began borrowing money in 2003 to pay for roads and will owe $17.3 billion by the end of 2012, increasing total state debt, from $13.4 billion in 2001 to $37.8 billion in 2011.[50] The state's public finance authority sold $2 billion in bonds for unemployment benefits, and it's authorized to sell $1.5 billion more if necessary. Texas federal borrowing topped $1.6 billion in October 2010, before the bond sales.[51] Texans voted November 8, 2011 for a Water Works Bill with an additional $6 billion of debt and against new tax breaks for landowners.[52] A Republican on the Natural Resources Committee laments “we couldn’t get the votes” which would break Perry's pledge not to raise taxes.[53]
In 2003, Perry signed legislation that created the Texas Enterprise Fund, which has since given $435 million in grants to businesses. The New York Times reported that many of the companies receiving grants, or their chief executives, have made contributions to Perry's campaigns or to the Republican Governors Association.[54]
As Governor, Perry has been an outspoken opponent of federal health-care reform proposals and of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, describing the latter as "socialism on American soil".[55] Perry's focus in Texas has been on tort reform, signing a bill in 2003 which restricted non-economic damages in medical malpractice judgments.[56] Perry has touted this approach in his Presidential campaign, although independent analysts have concluded that it has failed to increase the supply of physicians or limit health-care costs in Texas.[55][57]
During Perry's governorship, Texas rose from second to first among states with the highest proportion of uninsured residents at 26%, and has the lowest level of access to prenatal care.[55] Perry and the Republican-led state legislature have cut Medicaid spending and made it more difficult to enroll in the program, which currently covers one-third of Texas children.[55] The cost of caring for uninsured Texans has been borne by those with insurance, leading to substantial rises in insurance premiums and leading Texas to rank next-to-last among states in terms of affordability of health insurance.[58] The Los Angeles Times wrote that under Perry, "working Texans increasingly have been priced out of private healthcare while the state's safety net has withered."[58]
Perry's office has argued that Texas represents a model private-sector approach to health-care. His spokeswoman stated that "Texas does provide an adequate safety net to those truly in need... and many individuals simply choose not to purchase healthcare coverage."[58]
Perry is pro-life and has signed multiple bills creating new rules or restrictions for abortion procedures and funding for such.[59][60] These bills include a May 2010 law requiring that a sonogram be performed prior to every abortion, and that the practitioner discuss the sonogram images with the patient except in limited cases where the patient may waive the explanation.[61][62][63] In December 2011, Perry said he had undergone a "transformation" and now opposed all abortions, including in cases of rape and incest. The next day he clarified that he would allow an exception for abortions that would save a mother's life.[64][65]
In February 2007, Perry issued an executive order mandating that Texas girls receive the HPV vaccine, which protects against some strains of the human papilloma virus, a contributing factor to some forms of cervical cancer.[66] Following the move, news outlets reported various apparent financial connections between Perry and the vaccine's manufacturer, Merck.[66][67] Merck's political action committee has contributed $28,500 since 2001 to Perry's campaigns.[68] The order was criticized by some parents and social conservatives, and a lawsuit was filed later that month.[69] In May 2007, the Texas Legislature passed a bill undoing the order; Perry did not veto the bill, saying the veto would have been overruled, but blamed lawmakers who supported the bill for the deaths of future cancer victims.[70]
Perry grew up in the Methodist church, until 2010 when he began attending Lake Hills Church in Austin.[2] In 2006, Perry stated that he believes in the inerrancy of the Bible and that those who do not accept Jesus as their savior will go to hell. He later clarified, "I don't know that there's any human being that has the ability to interpret what God and his final decision-making is going to be."[71] In his 2008 book On My Honor, Perry expressed his views on the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause. "Let's be clear: I don't believe government, which taxes people regardless of their faith, should espouse a specific faith. I also don't think we should allow a small minority of atheists to sanitize our civil dialogue on religious references."[72] In June 2011, Perry proclaimed August 6 as a Day of Prayer and Fasting, inviting other governors to join him in a prayer meeting hosted by the American Family Association in Houston.[73][74] The event was criticized as going beyond prayer and fasting to include launching Perry's presidential campaign.[75]
Perry has called himself "a firm believer in intelligent design as a matter of faith and intellect", and has expressed support for its teaching alongside evolution in Texas schools, but has also said that "educators and local school officials, not the governor, should determine science curriculum."[76]
Perry has repeatedly attacked the Robin Hood plan to provide court-mandated equitable school financing for all school districts in the state. In 2005, following rejection of Perry's proposal to replace the Robin Hood plan, Perry vetoed all funding for public schools for the 2007–2008 biennium, saying he would not "approve an education budget that shortchanges teacher salary increases, textbooks, education technology, and education reforms. And I cannot let $2 billion sit in some bank account when it can go directly to the classroom."[77] Following a second rejection of Perry's bill, Perry asked John Sharp to head a task force charged with preparing a bipartisan education plan, which was subsequently adopted.[78][79]
In 2001, Perry expressed his pride in the enactment of the statute extending in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants who meet Texas' residency requirements. It also required the undocumented students to pledge to apply for permanent residency or citizenship if this became a possibility for them.[80]
Perry's campaigns for lieutenant governor and governor focused on a tough stance on crime. He has supported block grants for crime programs.[81]
Jeff L. Blackburn, chief counsel of the Innocence Project of Texas, said of Perry that "He has done more good than any other governor we've ever had ... unless, of course, it involves the death penalty. On the death penalty, Rick Perry has a profound mental block".[82]
In 2007, Perry signed a law ending automatic arrest for marijuana possession.[83]
Perry supports the death penalty.[84] In June 2002, he vetoed a ban on the execution of mentally retarded inmates.[81] As of August 10, 2011, Texas has carried out 234 executions since Rick Perry became governor.[85] Cases in which Perry has been criticized for his lack of intervention include those of Cameron Todd Willingham, Frances Newton, and Mexican nationals José Medellín and Humberto Leal Garcia.[86][87][88][89]
Perry commuted the death sentence of Kenneth Foster, who was convicted of murder despite evidence that he was only present at the scene of the crime.[90] Perry also pardoned Tyrone Brown, who was sentenced to life in a Texas maximum security prison for smoking marijuana while on probation.[91] Perry's actions in both these cases were following the recommendation of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles.[90][91]
In 2001, Perry proposed the Trans-Texas Corridor, a $145+ billion-dollar project that would build multi-lane highways, rail lines and data lines from Oklahoma to Mexico, and from east to west in southern Texas. Instead of paying for the project with taxes, Perry proposed that it be partially financed, partially built and wholly operated by private contractors, who would subsequently receive all toll proceeds.[92] All of Perry's gubernatorial opponents opposed the corridor project, as did the 2006 state party platforms of both the Democratic and Republican parties.[93][94] After much contentious debate between supporters and opponents, an official decision of "no action" was issued by the Federal Highway Administration on July 20, 2010, formally ending the project.
Perry has an A+ rating from the National Rifle Association.[95] He possesses a Concealed Handgun License (CHL)[96] and has signed a number of bills that increased CHL access.[97]
Until 2011, Perry persistently denied aspirations to higher office; he was originally included on the 2012 Presidential Straw Poll ballot at the Values Voter Summit in September 2009, but his name was removed at his own request.[98] In April 2008 while appearing as a guest on CNBC's Kudlow & Company, he specifically stated that he would not agree to serve as Vice President in a McCain administration, stating that he already had "the best job in the world" as governor of Texas. Further, during a Republican gubernatorial debate in January 2010, when asked if he would commit to serving out his term if re-elected, he replied that "the place hasn't been made yet" where he would rather serve than the governor of Texas. In December 2010, when asked if he was a "definite maybe" to run for President in 2012, he replied, "a definite no, brother".[99]
On May 27, 2011, he said he is "going to think about" running for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination after the close of the Texas legislative session.[100] Perry said in a response to a question from a reporter, "but I think about a lot of things," he added with a grin.[101]
On August 11, a Perry spokesman said that he will be running for President in 2012, with plans to announce his formal entry into the race the next day, August 12.[102][103] Perry himself confirmed it on a visit to KVUE, the ABC affiliate in Austin. As the Associated Press bulletin announcing his entry into the race came across the wire, Perry signed and dated a printed copy of the bulletin.[104]
On August 13, Perry officially announced that he will be running for president.[105]
In October 2011, the Washington Post reported that Perry's family leases a hunting camp once called "Niggerhead". According to some local residents interviewed by the Post, the Perrys used the camp for years before painting over a large rock with that name on it, which stands at an entrance to the area, and during this time Perry hosted friends and supporters at the camp.[106] Perry's campaign disputed the claims, stating that the Perrys painted over the rock almost immediately after acquiring a lease on the property in 1983.[107][108]
On December 6, Perry released a Presidential campaign video on YouTube called "Strong" discussing his religious beliefs, as well as criticism of Obama's governance.[109] The video states "there's something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military, and your kids can't openly celebrate Christmas." The video has been largely criticised in the on-line community and has received over half a million dislikes on YouTube.[110]
See: Political positions of Rick Perry
Rick Perry has written two books:
Perry has also written a lecture about the role of the federal government and the military in disaster management titled Federalizing Disaster Response.[114]
In 1982, Perry married Anita Thigpen, his childhood sweetheart whom he had known since elementary school. They have two grown children, Griffin and Sydney. Anita Perry attended West Texas State University and earned a degree in nursing. She has spearheaded a number of health-related initiatives such as the Anita Thigpen Perry Endowment at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, which focuses on nutrition, cardiovascular disease, health education, and early childhood development.[115] Anita has also helped develop and host the Texas Conference for Women.[116]
| Texas Gubernatorial Election 2002 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Republican | Rick Perry (Incumbent) | 2,617,106 | 58.1 | ||
| Democratic | Tony Sanchez | 1,809,915 | 40.3 | ||
| Texas Gubernatorial Election 2006[117] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Republican | Rick Perry (Incumbent) | 1,716,792 | 39.02 | -19.08 | |
| Democratic | Chris Bell | 1,310,337 | 29.78 | -10.52 | |
| Independent | Carole Keeton Strayhorn | 796,851 | 18.11 | ||
| Independent | Richard “Kinky” Friedman | 547,674 | 12.44 | ||
| Libertarian | James Werner | 26,749 | 0.60 | ||
| Texas Gubernatorial Election 2010[5] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Republican | Rick Perry (Incumbent) | 2,733,784 | 54.97 | +15.95 | |
| Democratic | Bill White | 2,102,606 | 42.28 | +12.50 | |
| Libertarian | Kathie Glass | 109,057 | 2.19 | ||
| Green | Deb Shafto | 19,475 | .39 | ||
| Independent | Andy Barron (Write-In) | 7,973 | .16 | ||
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| Texas House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Joe Hanna |
Member of the House of Representatives of Texas from the District 64 1985–1991 |
Succeeded by John Cook |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Jim Hightower |
Commissioner of Agriculture of Texas 1991–1999 |
Succeeded by Susan Combs |
| Preceded by Bob Bullock |
Lieutenant Governor of Texas January 19, 1999 – December 21, 2000 |
Succeeded by Bill Ratliff |
| Preceded by George W. Bush |
Governor of Texas December 21, 2000 – present |
Incumbent |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by George W. Bush |
Republican nominee for Governor of Texas 2002, 2006, 2010 |
Most recent |
| United States order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by Joe Biden as Vice President |
Order of Precedence of the United States Within Texas |
Succeeded by Mayor of city in which event is held |
| Succeeded by Otherwise John Boehner as Speaker of the House of Representatives |
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| Preceded by Rick Scott as Governor of Florida |
Order of Precedence of the United States Outside Texas |
Succeeded by Terry Branstad as Governor of Iowa |
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