Pete Laney

James E. "Pete" Laney (1943- ) is a Democratic U.S. political figure from West Texas. He was a member of the Texas House of Representatives for thirty-four years from Hale Center (near Plainview). Laney served as Speaker for ten years from 1993 to 2003, a record which tied his predecessor, fellow Democrat Gibson D. "Gib" Lewis of Fort Worth, who served as speaker from 1983 to 1993.

During his tenure, Laney was widely regarded to have demonstrated principle, integrity, and character in his leadership of the House. He was cited by Republican Governor George W. Bush, during the 2000 Presidential campaign, as a model of legislative bipartisan cooperation. As Speaker, Laney "foster [ed] a bipartisan atmosphere for legislators to work together with mutual respect and place public needs ahead of personal interests and partisan politics." [Tex. Legis. Council Research Div., "Presiding Officers of the Texas Legislature: 1846-2002" 7 (Tex. Legis. Council 2002).]

Lewis triggered a speaker's race in 1991 when he announced, amidst allegations of accepting an illegal gift from a law firm, that he would not seek re-election as speaker in 1993. Laney announced in November 1992 that he had secured the pledges of more than 80 of his colleagues to elect him speaker. [Staff, "Laney Says He's Got Speaker Votes," Houston Chronicle A1 (Nov. 10, 1992)] . In his first term as Speaker, Laney "ran the fairest, cleanest, most open, most democratic House in memory." He was named by "Texas Monthly" magazine as one of the "Top Ten" legislators of the Seventy-third Texas Legislature. [Paul Burka and Patricia Kilday Hart, "The Best and Worst Legislators 1993," Tex. Monthly July 1993, http://www.texasmonthly.com/mag/bestworst.php (accessed 21 February 2006).] Laney's tenure as Speaker ended after the 2002 elections, when the GOP gained a majority in the Texas House for the first time since Reconstruction and Thomas R. "Tom" Craddick, Sr. (also born 1943), of Midland, was elected the first Republican Speaker since 1871. When Craddick undertook an unprecedented mid-decade congressional redistricting, Laney joined fellow Democrats who traveled to Ardmore, Okla. to block consideration of the Republican's bill by denying the House a quorum. In December 2005, Laney announced he would not seek re-election to the House in which he served continuously since 1973. Laney (while no longer Speaker) was re-elected in 2004 by defeating his Republican opponent with almost 59 percent of the vote in a district won by George W. Bush with 76 percent of the vote. In 2006, Democrats retained Laney's seat in a hard fought general election won by former Crosby County Judge Joe Heflin, who was outspent by Laney's 2004 opponent. It is the only Panhandle-area legislative seat held by a Democrat.

Born 20 March 1943 in Plainview to Wilber G. Laney (1918-2005) and the former Frances L. Wilson (1921-2000), Laney married the former Nelda Kay McQuien (also born 1943). Laney's children are KaLyn Laney, James Kay (Jamey) Laney Phillips, and J. Pete Laney. [Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997]

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