Michael Galloway (politician)

Michael L. "Mike" Galloway
Texas State Senator (1995-1999) 74th & 75th Legislature
Born	(1965-03-03) March 3, 1965
Residence	Magnolia, Texas
Nationality	American
Predecessor	Carl A. Parker
Successor	David Bernsen
Political party	Republican
Website	http://www.electgalloway.com/

Michael L. "Mike" Galloway (born March 3, 1965)^[1] is previously a Republican member of the Texas Senate representing District 4. Galloway defeated Democratic incumbent Carl Parker and became the first Republican to hold the seat since Reconstruction.

Biography

Galloway is a fifth generation Texan who was born in 1965 and grew up on a small farm near Tomball. By age 16, he was working as a roustabout and a roughneck in the oil fields of Southeast Texas. While still in high school, he began work as an independent oil and gas contractor, and in 1989, at the age of 24, he founded Galloway Energy, an oil and gas production company based in Montgomery County, Texas.

In 1992, at the age of 27, Galloway decided to run against the 30-year incumbent Democrat, Senator Carl Parker. Although unsuccessful in his first race, his grass-roots efforts gained him the momentum that would lead him to victory against Parker in 1994. At the age of 29, he became the youngest member of Texas Senate and the first Republican to represent District 4 since 1876.

As State Senator, Galloway served as Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Intergovernmental Relations and as a member of the Senate Committees on Health & Human Services, Education, and State Affairs, as well as the Special Committee on Auto Emissions and the Special Interim Committee on Annexation.

Representing Senate District 4, Galloway fought the EPA and TNRCC to remove Southeast Texas from the onerous auto emissions testing program. He also took on the "Status Quo" to successfully reform Lamar University.

During his term in office, Galloway helped pass the most comprehensive tort reform in the nation, the most meaningful education reform in half a century, and reform of the welfare system. In 1997, Galloway passed SB 1748, requiring voter identification at polling places. Galloway was also instrumental in defeating an effort to expand the business tax and was a key player in returning a billion dollars in surplus to Texas taxpayers.

Galloway also fought the city of Houston on the issue of forced annexation, passing the only bill in history through the Texas Senate that would prevent forced annexation. Although the bill was blocked in the house, Galloway was able to persuade Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock to appoint a Special Interim Committee on Annexation. Galloway brought the first meeting to the Fourth District so the members of that committee could hear the concerns of citizens firsthand. As a result, the committee passed the greatest reforms curbing forced annexation since 1963. For Galloway’s effort, The Annexation Reform Committee honored him as their "Legislator of the Year" in 1997.

Galloway was one of only a handful of Senators to have a 100% attendance record and was consistently ranked by the Secretary of the Senate as the lowest spender in the Texas Senate. He was listed on the Young Conservatives of Texas "Honor Roll" and was named "Leader of Excellence" and "Most Conservative" by the Free Market Committee for both legislative sessions in which he served.

Galloway currently resides in Magnolia, Texas with his wife, Angela, and his two children.

Election of 2014

Galloway ran for the District 4 seat, a seat he previously held in the 1990s, in the Texas Senate, vacated in the fall of 2013 by the resignation of Republican Tommy Williams of The Woodlands, who accepted a position with Texas A&M University in College Station.^[2]

Galloway faced an intraparty battle for the Senate vacancy from the District 15 Representative Steve Toth of The Woodlands, the District 16 Representative Brandon Creighton of Conroe, and Richard "Gordy" Bunch, who serves on The Woodlands township council.^[3]

In the May 10, 2014, special election Creighton came in first place with 45% of the vote.^[4] Creighton received 45.2%, Toth 23.7%, Bunch 21.8%, and Galloway 9.3%.^[4] Creighton and Toth faced other in a runoff election on August 5, 2014.^[4]

Creighton won the August 5, 2014 special election runoff.^[5] Rice University political science professor Mark Jones said both Creighton and Toth "are significantly more conservative than Williams."^[6]

Election results

1998

1994

References