Dan Patrick (politician)

Dan Patrick
42nd Lieutenant Governor of Texas
Assumed office
January 20, 2015
Governor Greg Abbott
Preceded by David Dewhurst
Member of the Texas Senate
from the 7th district
In office
January 9, 2007 – January 13, 2015
Preceded by Jon Lindsay
Succeeded by Paul Bettencourt
Personal details
Born Daniel Scott Goeb
(1950-04-04) April 4, 1950
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Janetlea Patricia Rankin (1975–present)
Children Ryan
Shane
Alma mater University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Religion Baptist
Website Government website
Dan Patrick on Facebook
Dan Patrick on Twitter

Dan Goeb Patrick (born Dannie Scott Goeb;[1] April 4, 1950)[2][3] is an American radio talk show host and politician from Houston, Texas. He is the 42nd and current Lieutenant Governor of Texas. He was a Republican member of the Texas Senate for the 7th District, which included a small portion of the city of Houston and several Houston-area suburbs located mostly in northwest Harris County.

Patrick defeated three-term incumbent David Dewhurst in the May 27, 2014, primary runoff to win the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor.[4] He then handily won the position in the fall general election.

Background

Patrick was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on April 4, 1950. He was reared in a blue-collar neighborhood in East Baltimore.[3] He is the only child of the former Vilma Jean Marshall and Charles Anthony Goeb (1926–2002), who worked at the Baltimore Sun for thirty-one years as a newspaper vendor,[5] before he retired in 1984. In later life, he legally changed his surname from Goeb to Patrick.[6]

Patrick graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; he is the first member of his family to graduate from college.[2][3][7]

Early career

After college, in 1977, Patrick became a television broadcaster in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He later held a similar position in Washington, D.C., before he became a sportscaster with KHOU-TV in Houston.[3]

During the 1980s, he was a co-owner of five sports bars in Houston; his mother was the company bookkeeper. Questions later arose during the 2014 lieutenant governor's race about the immigration status of one of Patrick's employees, Miguel "Mike" Andrade. Patrick and Andrade offered different recollections about Andrade's employment. The matter was raised by one of Patrick's opponents, Jerry Patterson, who questioned Patrick's declared commitment to halt illegal immigration.[8]

In 1986, after the sports bars failed, he filed for personal bankruptcy. In October 1992, the case was closed, discharging several hundred thousand dollars in remaining debts.[9]

In 2006, Patrick signed a deal to purchase the radio station KMGS AM 1160 in Highland Park, Texas. The station is now known as KVCE.[10]

In November 2008, Patrick began work to produce The Heart of Texas, a movie based on a real-life story of two families in Simonton, a small Houston-area city. The movie was released the next year on DVD.[11][12]

Patrick currently hosts a conservative radio talk show. The program, Dan Patrick & Friends, is broadcast in Houston on KSEV 700 AM and in Dallas on KVCE 1160 AM.[13][14]

Personal life

Patrick's first marriage ended in divorce. His second wife is Janetlea "Jan" Patricia Rankin, a former teacher. The couple was married in 1975 and lives in the Houston suburb of Cypress. They have two children, Ryan and Shane.[3][15] Ryan Patrick is the state District Judge of Harris County, Texas, and swore in his father in 2015 for his term as Lieutenant Governor of Texas.[16]

Texas Senate

First term

Patrick was first elected to Texas State Senate's seventh district in 2006, winning the primary election with 68.8% of the vote and the general election with 69.2% of the vote.[2] His term began on January 9, 2007 with the convening of the Eightieth Texas Legislature.

During his first month as a legislator, Patrick introduced Senate Bill 186,[17] which, if passed, would have made abortion in Texas illegal should the Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade. The bill was co-sponsored by fellow Texas state senators Craig Estes and Glenn Hegar.[18]

Patrick obtained passage of three Senate bills during his first session, the fewest number among the five freshmen senators.[19] The other four freshmen Senators—Glenn Hegar (32 Senate bills passed), Kirk Watson (15 Senate bills passed), Robert Nichols (14 Senate bills passed), and Carlos Uresti (12 bills passed) – had previous government experience in other capacities.[20]

Patrick proposed a boycott of Bill Maher's television show Politically Incorrect over controversial statements made by the comedian following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.[21] Patrick is also frequently at odds with the Houston Chronicle and announced a boycott of that newspaper in April 2004.[22]

Second term

In the 2010 general election, Patrick was reelected with 86.4% of the vote.[2] He also endorsed Rick Perry for re-election in the 2010 election.[23] Soon after winning re-election, Patrick announced, and subsequently created, a Tea Party Caucus in the Texas state legislature, which at its creation had 48 legislative members.[24]

W. Gardner Selby, editor of the Austin American-Statesman's "PolitiFact Texas", listed Patrick as third among the top 10 Republican political influencers in Texas.[25] Patrick is also listed in Texas Monthly as one of the state's most powerful players.[26]

In May 2012, acrimony between Patrick and fellow Republican State Senator John Carona was widely reported throughout Texas.[27][28][29][30] In an email exchange, Patrick accused Carona of spreading false rumors about Patrick's marriage. Carona denied that, and additionally denied having commented on Patrick's sexuality.[27][28][30] Carona further said to Patrick: "I've never been shy about sharing my dislike and distrust of you. Put bluntly, I believe you are a snake oil salesman, a narcissist that would say anything to draw attention to himself."[27][30] News reports suggest that the feud was motivated by positioning to succeed David Dewhurst as lieutenant governor should Dewhurst have won a seat as U.S. Senator in 2012.[27][28]

Committee assignments

Lieutenant Governor of Texas

2014 campaign

On June 26, 2013, Patrick announced he would challenge incumbent Republican David Dewhurst in the Republican primary for lieutenant governor in 2014.[31] This challenge comes despite Patrick's enthusiastic endorsement of Dewhurst in his failed 2012 bid for the U.S. Senate.[32][33]

In his race for lieutenant governor, Patrick was endorsed in July 2013 by Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas who ran unsuccessfully for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination. In 2012, Huckabee had also endorsed David Dewhurst for the U.S. Senate nomination for the seat vacated by Kay Bailey Hutchison.[34] Victory went, however, to the Republican Ted Cruz.

At a candidate forum in College Station in January 2014, Patrick said that he and two other challengers to Dewhurst, Jerry E. Patterson and Todd Staples, could have sought reelection in their current positions as Land Commissioner and Texas Commissioner of Agriculture, respectively, but were instead "putting our positions on the line because we need new leadership. ... An energetic, passionate conservative to lead the Senate."[35]

At the candidate forum, Patrick described education as a key issue in his campaign because of the 25 percent statewide high school drop-out rate. The is even 40 to 50 percent in the inner cities: "We do not have a future in the state of Texas if we have half of the next adult population – majority being Hispanic – don't have a high school degree," Patrick said.[35]

Patrick said that he would as lieutenant governor work to secure the border with Mexico and to abolish sanctuary cities and in-state tuition for illegal immigrants. He also called for lowering property taxes.[35]

Patrick led the four-candidate field in the primary with 550,769 votes (41.5 percent). Dewhurst followed with 376,196 (28.3 percent); Staples, with 235,981 (17.8 percent), and Patterson, 165,787 (12.5 percent).[36] In the runoff election on May 27, Patrick won with 487,829 votes (65.1 percent), defeating Dewhurst, who had 262,086 votes (34.9 percent).[37]

On November 4, 2014 Patrick handily won the general election against his state Senate colleague, Democrat Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio, to become the Lieutenant Governor-Elect of Texas. He was swept into office in a Republican landslide that saw the GOP once again retain all statewide elected offices for the fifth consecutive election.

Tenure

Patrick was sworn in on January 20, 2015.[16][38] Soon after assuming office, the Texas Senate voted to drop the threshold needed to consider a bill from two-thirds to three-fifths, something that Patrick supported.[39][40]

Political positions

Abortion

Patrick opposes abortion and supported Texas's "Mandatory Ultrasound Bill", a bill signed into law in May 2011 by Governor Perry, which requires women seeking abortion to have a sonogram of the fetus taken at least twenty-four hours before the abortion is performed.

Dan Patrick opposes abortion in cases of incest and rape. In January 2014, when he was asked about exceptions to outlawing abortion, Patrick said, “The only exception would be if the life of the mother was truly in danger…but that is rare.” [41]

Education

Patrick supports increasing the number of charter schools in the state.[42]

In February 2011, Patrick, who at the time was vice chairman of the Texas senate's Committee on Education, spoke in favor of cutting an unspecified number of non-teaching positions from the state's public school districts, citing positions such as "math department supervisors" or "curriculum experts".[43][44] At the time, Patrick cited a statistic later determined to be misleading by PolitiFact.com that Texas's 1,200+ public school districts, considered as a group, are the fifth-largest employer in the world.[45]

Patrick is on record as determined to establish creationism within the public school curriculum in Texas, despite court rulings that such a policy would violate the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.[46]

Fiscal conservatism

Patrick identifies the experience of his personal bankruptcy as having shaped his conservatism in fiscal policy.[9] Patrick joined with restaurateur Edd Hendee and Paul Bettencourt, the former Harris County tax assessor-collector and Patrick's successor in the state Senate, both on-air hosts on Patrick's station, to form Citizens Lowering Our Unfair Taxes (CLOUT), a political organization that was originally formed to push for lower property taxes in Texas.

Immigration

Patrick opposes illegal immigration, has expressed support for Arizona’s SB 1070 immigration enforcement law, and supports passing a similar law in Texas that would allow local law enforcement to ask lawfully-stopped individuals about their immigration status and would make it a state misdemeanor to be present in Texas as an illegal immigrant.[42]

As Lieutenant Governor, Patrick made moves to keep National Guard troops sent to the Texas-Mexico border during the illegal immigration surge of 2014 indefinitely, rather than in March 2015, as originally planned.[47] Patrick's 2015 budget in the Texas Senate called for spending $815 million on border security, which he said was more than the previous seven years combined.[47]

Same-Sex Marriage

On February 26, 2014, following a federal court ruling the Texas ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, Patrick asserted his position that marriage is a union between one man and one woman. He then further stated his intentions to fight such decisions should he be elected to the Lt. Governor's office.[48][49]

Domestic partner benefits

In November 2012, Patrick asked Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott's office to issue an opinion on the constitutionality of government entities providing domestic partner insurance benefits. (An amendment to the Texas Constitution in 2005 limits marriage to heterosexual relationships and prohibits similar, alternative legal arrangements.) Patrick did not disclose his own views on same-sex marriage or civil unions for same-sex couples. He told the Houston Chronicle that his request was prompted by Dallas County's November 2012 decision and an Austin-area public school district's October 2012 decision to join other Texas cities and counties in extending benefits to their unmarried employees' heterosexual or homosexual partners.[50]

Statutory rape laws

Patrick was interviewed extensively on ABC's 20/20 segment "The Age of Consent: When Young Love Is a Sex Crime," defending his position favoring very tough Texas statutory rape laws. "While it seems unfair, he was 19, she was 15," says Patrick, "That's the price you pay. Even if you end up getting married."[51]

Works

Electoral history

Most recent election

2014

Texas lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2014[52]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dan Patrick 2,718,406 58.13
Democratic Leticia Van de Putte 1,810,720 38.72
Libertarian Robert Butler 119,581 2.55
Green Chandra Courtney 27,651 0.59
Majority 907,686 19.41%
Total votes 4,676,358 100
Voter turnout 33.34%
Republican hold
Republican primary runoff results, May 27, 2014: Lieutenant Governor of Texas[53]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dan Patrick 488,150 65.04
Republican David Dewhurst – Incumbent 262,303 34.95
Total votes 750,453 100

2006

Texas general election, 2006: Senate District 7[54]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Dan Patrick 118,067 69.19
Democratic F. Michael Kubosh 52,586 30.81
Majority 65,481 38.37
Turnout 170,653
Republican hold
Republican primary, 2006: Senate District 7[55]
Candidate Votes % ±%
Mark Ellis 2,545 6.07
Peggy Hamric 6,900 16.45
Joe Nixon 3,629 8.65
✓ Dan Patrick 28,860 68.82
Turnout 41,934

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Truth – Name Change » Dan Patrick for Lieutenant Governor". Dan Patrick for Lieutenant Governor. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "State Sen. Dan Patrick". The Texas Tribune. Elected Officials Directory. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Swartz, Mimi (January 2007). "Here Comes Trouble". Texas Monthly. Retrieved November 3, 2012. (registration required)
  4. ↑ Dan Patrick wins GOP nomination for Texas lieutenant governor -Terrence Stutz and Robert Garrett, Dallas Morning News
  5. ↑ San Antonio Express News, April 17, 2014
  6. ↑ "GOEB 12/20/2002". Houston Chronicle. December 20, 2002. Retrieved November 3, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Senator Dan Patrick: District 7". Members of the Texas State Senate. Texas Senate. Retrieved November 3, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Patrick: No knowledge of worker's status", Laredo Morning Times, February 20, 2014, p. 8A
  9. 1 2 "Lieutenant governor candidate Dan Patrick knows struggles of going broke". Dallas News. September 19, 2013. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  10. ↑ Mack, Kristen (June 23, 2006). "Alvarado looks in Dallas for Latino legal support". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved November 3, 2012.
  11. ↑ Hoffman, Ken (November 19, 2008). "State Sen. Dan Patrick, Hollywood is calling". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  12. ↑ "Press release announcing DVD's release". BigNews.biz. January 31, 2009. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  13. ↑ "Dan Patrick host bio". 1160 KVCE AM Radio Dallas. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  14. ↑ "Dan Patrick host information page". KSEV Radio – 700 AM. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  15. ↑ "The Texas State Senate: District 7". Texas State Senate. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  16. 1 2 Lindell, Chuck (January 20, 2015) – "Dan Patrick Snaps Selfies, Vows ‘Next Level’ Conservatism". Austin American -Statesman. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
  17. ↑ "80(R) SB 186 – Introduced version – Bill Text". Capitol.state.tx.us. 2007-09-01. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  18. ↑ "80(R) History for SB 186". Texas Legislature Online. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  19. ↑ "Texas Legislature Online – Report". Legis.state.tx.us. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  20. ↑ "The Texas State Senate: Current Members of the Texas Senate". Seante.state.tx.us. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  21. ↑ "Beyond City Limits: Dan Patrick, Fairness Isn't Enough for Dan", Austin Chronicle, April 12, 2007.
  22. ↑ Abrahams, Tom. "Radio talk show host launches boycott against local newspaper", ABC-TV 13 Houston, April 9, 2004.
  23. ↑
  24. ↑ Grissom, Brandi (December 16, 2010) – "Sen. Dan Patrick Announces Tea Party Caucus". The texas Tribune. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
  25. ↑ (Texas Influencers, August 2010)
  26. ↑ (Power Company, February 2011)
  27. 1 2 3 4 Ward, Mike (May 7, 2012). "Emails provide rare glimpse inside Senate politics". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  28. 1 2 3 Fikac, Peggy (May 7, 2012). "Senators' nasty emails refer to personal lives". San Antonio Express News. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  29. ↑ Fikac, Peggy (May 7, 2012). "Senators Patrick, Carona make it personal in email spat". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  30. 1 2 3 Heid, Jason (May 7, 2012). "Gossip Wars: Sens. John Carona and Dan Patrick". D Magazine. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  31. ↑ Hamilton, Reeve (2013-07-07). "Coming Out Swinging, Dan Patrick Announces for Lt. Gov.". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  32. ↑ "JoAnn Fleming Slams Patrick Over Dewhurst Endorsement". RedState. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  33. ↑ Messamore, Andrew (2012-07-26). "Dan Patrick endorses Dewhurst – Texas Politics". Blog.chron.com. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  34. ↑ "Patrick touts Huckabee endorsement, July 23, 2013". blog.chron.com. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
  35. 1 2 3 "Beth Brown, "GOP lieutenant governor candidates reach out to Bryan-College Station voters," January 9, 2013". Bryan-College Station Eagle. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  36. ↑ "Republican primary election returns, March 4, 2014". enr.sos.state.tx.us. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  37. ↑ Fernandez, Manny (May 27, 2014). "Lieutenant Governor Loses Texas Runoff as Tea Party Holds Sway". The New York Times. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
  38. ↑ Fernandez, Manny (January 20, 2015) – "Texas’ New Governor Echoes the Plans of Perry". The New York Times. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
  39. ↑ Smith, Morgan (January 21, 2015) – "With Change in Procedure, Senate Democrats Lose Clout". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
  40. ↑ Koppel, Nathan (January 21, 2015) – "Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick Moves Quickly to Advance Conservative Agenda". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
  41. ↑ "Herman: Abortion exceptionalism in the GOP lite guv primary". Mystatesman.com. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  42. 1 2 "Press Release from the Office of State Senator Dan Patrick: Senator Dan Patrick Files Conservative Agenda". Texas State Senate. November 8, 2010. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  43. ↑ Smith, Morgan (February 25, 2011). "Do Texas Schools Spend Too Much on Administration?". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  44. ↑ "Committee Information for 81st Session's Senate Committee on Education". Texas State Senate. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  45. ↑ "Mostly False: Dan Patrick Says Texas school districts are the fifth largest employers in the world.". PolitiFact.com. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  46. ↑ "Creationism and Texas: Once more into the breach of education.". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  47. 1 2 The Associated Press (February 10, 2015) – "Lt. Gov. Patrick: National Guard Not Leaving Texas Border". CBS-DFW. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
  48. ↑ "Twitter / DanPatrick: I want to re-emphasize my long". Twitter.com. 2014-02-26. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  49. ↑ "Twitter / DanPatrick: As Lieutenant Governor I'll". Twitter.com. 2014-02-26. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  50. ↑ Hassan, Anita (November 2, 2012). "Sen. Patrick questions legality of domestic partnership benefits". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  51. ↑ Stossel, John; Gena Binkley; Andrew G. Sullivan (2008-03-07). "The Age of Consent: When Young Love Is a Sex Crime". ABC News (ABCNews Internet Ventures). Retrieved 2008-07-19.
  52. ↑ "Office of the Secretary of State 2014 General Election Election Night Returns". Texas Secretary of State. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  53. ↑ Archived May 29, 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  54. ↑ "2006 General Election". Office of the Secretary of State (Texas). Retrieved 2006-12-23.
  55. ↑ "2006 Republican Party Primary Election". Office of the Secretary of State (Texas). Retrieved 2006-12-23.

External links

Texas Senate
Preceded by
Jon Lindsay		 Member of the Texas Senate
from the 7th district
2007–2015 		Succeeded by
Paul Bettencourt
Political offices
Preceded by
David Dewhurst		 Lieutenant Governor of Texas
2015–present 		Incumbent
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