Alan Schoolcraft

Alan Lee Schoolcraft (born 1952) is an attorney and Realtor in Universal City, Texas, who is a Republican former member of the Texas House of Representatives, having represented District 121 in Bexar County from 1981 to 1993. He left the House to wage an unsuccessful campaign for the Texas State Senate in the 1992 Republican primary election.

Early years

Schoolcraft is a grandson of William Garfield Schoolcraft and the former Chloe Elsie Hawkins. He is one of two sons and a daughter born to Thomas Edward Schoolcraft, Sr. (born 1921), and the former Clovis Elizabeth Richardson (1928–1995).^[1] In 1973, Schoolcroft graduated from the University of Texas at Austin. In 1978, he obtained the Juris Doctor degree from St. Mary's University Law School in San Antonio.^[2] From 1974 to 1981, Schoolcraft was married to the former Judith Ann Sisk (born 1951). After their divorce, he married in 1983 the former Tandy Renee Talburt (born 1956), the mother of his two children, Jordan Talburt Schoolcraft (born 1986), and Shelby Rebecca Schoolcraft (born 1989). Alan and Tandy Schoolcraft divorced in 2005.^[3]

Schoolcraft operates his family's long-term real estate agency in Universal City.^[4] After his legislative service, Schoolcraft formed the company Prodoc, meaning "Professional Documents." He placed plain-paper facsimile machines, which then cost more than $7,000 each, in six title company offices in the San Antonio area, with the requirement that those companies send their document requests to his firm. Overwhelmed by demand for the service, Schoolcraft developed a new software system, which he has since marketed.^[2]

House career

Running on the Reagan-Bush ticket in 1980, Schoolcraft led the Democratic incumbent, Representative Albert D. Brown, Jr., and was seated in then District 57-C in the state House on January 13, 1981. Also elected to the Texas House that year in another district was the Republican Kae T. Patrick.^[5][6] On January 15, 1981, the House unseated Schoolcraft, and Albert Brown temporarily reclaimed the seat. In a rare occurrence, the Texas House ordered a special election re-run of the Schoolcraft-Brown race. Schoolcraft handily won the rematch on February 10^[7] and was sworn into office once more on February 16, 1981. After redistricting in 1981, Schoolcraft was elected in 1982 to District 121, the seat that he held for the remainder of his House career.^[8]

In pursuit of the Texas Senate

In 1992, Schoolcraft, after six terms in the House, ented the Senate primary in District 26, since District 25. With 14,490 votes (34.7 percent), Schoolcraft led in the primary but was forced into a runoff election with the more liberal Republican Jeff Wentworth, also of San Antonio, who received 14,076 (33.7 percent). In third place was John Fisher with 7,222 (17.3 percent). Republican state Representative George Pierce finished fourth with 4,407 votes (10.6 percent). The fifth-placed candidate, Jim Canady, received 1,547 votes (3.7 percent).^[9] Wentworth won the second round of balloting on April 14, 11,574 (52.7 percent) to 10,388 (47.3 percent) ^[10] and then overwhelmed Democrat Carlos Higgins in the November 3 general election, 146,159 (66.6 percent) to 73,303 (33.4 percent).^[11] Wentworth held the position until 2013, as District 25, though he was seriously challenged in the 2002 Republican primary by then State Representative John H. Shields of San Antonio. ^[12]He was unseated the 2012 Republican runoff by Donna Campbell.

In 2010, it appeared that Wentworth would resign from the Senate to accept the position of chancellor of his alma mater, Texas A&M University of College Station. If so, Schoolcraft had mapped serious plan to run again for the District 25 Senate seat. However, Wentworth turned down the TAMU offer,^[4] and John Sharp, a former Texas comptroller and the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in 1998 and 2002, became the chancellor. Schoolcraft had organized a staff, hired consultants, and even made campaign commercials. He hired Tom Quirk, his strategist from the 1980 race against Albert Brown, and retained the Austin-based consultants, Baselice & Associates. He had also retained June Deason as his campaign manager and Janelle McArthur as fundraiser.^[4] With Wentworth remaining senator, Schoolcraft hence found no special election at hand, much as Michael L. Williams, a former Republican member of the Texas Railroad Commission, had planned to run in a special election in 2010 to replace U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. However, like Wentworth, Hutchison did not resign from the Senate while she ran unsuccessfully against Rick Perry for the Republican gubernatorial nomination.

On August 22, 2011, Wentworth announced that he would run again for the Senate in 2012. After redistricting, District 25 includes the Oak Hill and San Leanna community in Travis County plus all or parts of Hays, Comal, Guadalupe, Kendall, and Bexar counties.^[13] After his defeat by Donna Campbell, Wentworth became a justice of the peace.

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