- Jerry E. Patterson
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This article is about the Texas Land Commissioner. For the former California Congressman, see Jerry M. Patterson. For the gambling author, see Jerry L. Patterson.
Jerry Emmett Patterson 27th Commissioner of the General Land Office Incumbent Assumed office
January 2, 2003Preceded by David Dewhurst Member of the Texas State Senate from District 11 In office
1993–1999Succeeded by Mike Jackson Personal details Born November 15, 1946
Houston, TexasChildren Samantha Patterson Cole Patterson Travis Patterson Emily Patterson
Residence Austin, Texas Alma mater Texas A&M University Military service Service/branch United States Marine Corps Years of service 1971-1993 Rank Lieutenant Colonel Battles/wars Vietnam War Jerry Emmett Patterson (born November 15, 1946), is the Commissioner of the General Land Office of Texas and a former Texas State Senator. He is the second Republican since Reconstruction to serve as Land Commissioner, a post he has held since 2003. He served in the Texas State Senate (District 11) from 1993 to 1999.
As the Republican nominee for a third term in the November 2, 2010, general election, Patterson easily defeated the Democrat Hector Uribe, a former member of both houses of the Texas State Legislature.
Patterson has stated that he intends to run for Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 2014. [1]
Contents
Political career
In 1984 Patterson ran for the a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives for Texas' 25th congressional district. He faced freshman Democratic Rep. Mike Andrews and lost by a 64% to 36% margin. The district comprised mainly blue collar areas around eastern Harris County in cities like Pasadena and Deer Park.
Patterson won a shocking election to the Texas State Senate in 1992 when he upset longtime incumbent Sen. Chet Brooks with a plurality of the vote. At the time Sen. Brooks was the longest-serving member of the Texas senate. Patterson and his supporters did not know he had won until early the next morning after election day when the final precinct was tallied.
In the state senate, Patterson's became well known as a staunch conservative and had major successes including the passage of the concealed handgun law of 1995, a constitutional amendment allowing home equity lending in 1998, the state coastal management plan, and the creation of the Texas State Veterans Home Program. He has long claimed to be an advocate of individual freedom and constitutional rights. Patterson also works for veterans causes, having himself been a U.S. Marine for more than twenty years.
In March 1998, Patterson lost the Republican primary for land commissioner to David Dewhurst, also from Houston, who left the position after a single term to become lieutenant governor. Dewhurst led with 265,363 votes (51.2 percent). Patterson trailed with 216,250 votes (41.7 percent), and a third candidate, Don Loucks, held the remaining 36,706 votes (7.1 percent).[1] Despite being vastly outspent by the wealthy Dewhurst (who had previously considered running for a U.S. Senate seat in New Mexico) Patterson received most of the endorsements from newspapers and grassroots organizations. Dewhurst's 51% was just slightly over the 50%+1 total to avoid a run-off election.
In the 2002 Republican primary for Texas land commissioner, Patterson defeated Kenn George of Dallas, a member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 108 and an assistant secretary of commerce in the administration of U.S. President Ronald W. Reagan.[2] During the campaign George received negative publicity for campaign literature that made it appear he was a Purple Heart recipient though he was not. Patterson was then elected land commissioner in November 2002 to succeed fellow Republican Dewhurst. Patterson polled 2,331,700 votes (53.16 percent) to Democrat David Bernsen's 1,819,365 (41.48 percent). Two other candidates shared the remaining 5.36 percent.
In 2004, Patterson headed the Texas state campaign for the re-election of George W. Bush.
Patterson was unopposed for renomination in the 2006 Republican primary. In the general election, he defeated the Democrat VaLinda Hathcox. The final results were as follows: 2,314,965 (55 percent) for Patterson, 1,720,985 (41 percent) for Hathcox, and 166,965 (4 percent) for Michael A. French, nominee of the Libertarian Party.
In 2010 Patterson, again unopposed in the Republican primary, defeated former Democratic state senator and actor Hector Uribe by 61.6% to Uribe's 35.3% or 3,001,736 to 1,717,518 out of 4,867,525 votes cast. The two made news for being the only statewide general election opponents to debate each other during the 2010 campaign. Uribe and Patterson are cordial and Uribe attended Patterson's swearing-in ceremony at the Texas Capitol in January 2011. They had also previously been extras in the film The Alamo.
Background
Patterson was born to Jerry Patterson and the former Georgia Lee Scheaffer in Houston.[3] Patterson graduated from Texas A&M University in College Station in 1969 with a degree in history. In 1972, he volunteered for duty in Vietnam. He was later designated a naval flight officer in Pensacola, Florida, and he served in Marine fighter squadrons until his retirement from the Marine Corps Reserve as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1993.
Patterson resides in Austin and has four children: twins Samantha and Cole, born in 2004, and, from a previous marriage, Emily Patterson and Travis Patterson. Emily Patterson is a graduate of the South Texas College of Law and works for the OSCE as a Human Rights Officer in Kosovo. Travis Patterson graduated from Texas A&M University in College Station, where he was commissioned a Marine second lieutenant. He has served on active duty as a Marine attack helicopter pilot.
Patterson honored
On June 5, 2007, Patterson was named "Texan of the Year" by Celebrate Texas, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising public awareness of Texas history. "Each year, we select one person who performs outstanding work in furthering the goals of our organization, namely, the promotion of Texas history education and the strengthening of Texas Independence Day as a day of celebration for all Texans," said Harvey L. Ford, III, board president of Celebrate Texas.[cite this quote]Ford said that Patterson has shown "dramatic leadership" by promoting such projects as the "Save Texas History map conservation initiative" and weekly radio features which accent state history.
Western States Land Commissioners Association
In August 2007, Patterson was named president of the Western States Land Commissioners Association, an organization that consists of 23 states that together manage 447,000,000 acres (1,810,000 km2) of land, mineral right properties, and land beneath navigable waterways.
The association was formed in 1949. The group seeks to help states maximize earnings from trust lands and share information regarding natural resource management in the American West.
Campaign for Lieutenant Governor of Texas
In July 2011 Patterson announced that he would run for lieutenant governor of Texas in 2014. [2] The incumbent LtGov, David Dewhurst, had early announced that he is running for the U.S. Senate in 2012. Other potential opponents Patterson may face in the 2014 Republican primary are Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples and Comptroller Susan Combs.
Electoral history
2010 Texas General Land Commissioner General Election Party Candidate Votes Percentage Republican Jerry Patterson (Incumbent) 3,001,736 61.7% Democratic Hector Uribe 1,717,518 35.3% Libertarian James Holdar 148,271 3% 2006 Texas General Land Commissioner General Election Party Candidate Votes Percentage Republican Jerry Patterson (Incumbent) 2,317,554 55.1% Democratic VaLinda Hathcox 1,721,964 41% Libertarian Michael French 164,098 3.9% 2002 Texas General Land Commissioner General Election Party Candidate Votes Percentage Republican Jerry Patterson 2,331,700 53.2% Democratic David Bernsen 1,819,365 41.5% Libertarian Barbara Hernandez 180,870 4.1% Green Michael McInerney 54,130 1.2% 2002 Texas General Land Commissioner Republican Primary Election Party Candidate Votes Percentage Republican Jerry Patterson 328,523 56.5% Republican Kenn George 252,802 43.5% 1998 Texas General Land Commissioner Republican Primary Election Party Candidate Votes Percentage Republican David Dewhurst 265,363 51.2% Republican Jerry Patterson 216,250 41.7% Republican Don Loucks 36,706 7% 1994 Texas State Senate District 11 General Election Party Candidate Votes Percentage Republican Jerry Patterson (Incumbent) 73,959 55.61% Democratic Mike Martin 59,047 44.39% 1992 Texas State Senate District 11 General Election Party Candidate Votes Percentage Republican Jerry Patterson 98,671 49.21% Democratic Chet Brooks (Incumbent) 92,702 46.24% Libertarian Marshall Anderson 9,121 4.55% 1984 Texas U.S. Congressional District 25 General Election Party Candidate Votes Percentage Democratic Mike Andrews (Incumbent) 113,946 64% Republican Jerry Patterson 63,974 36% See also
References
- ^ "Texas Republican primary election returns, March 10, 1998". elections.sos.state.tx.us. http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist.exe. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
- ^ "Kenn George for Texas Land Commissioner". kenngeorge.com. http://www.kenngeorge.com/bio.html. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
- ^ Texas Department of State Health Services, Vital Records (1946-11-15). "Birth Certificate for Jerry Emmett Patterson" (Third party index of birth records for Harris County). Rootsweb.com. http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/tx/harris/vitals/births/1946/harb1446.txt. Retrieved 2007-01-03.[dead link]
External links
- 1992 - 2006 Election History (Texas Secretary of State Website)
- Patterson campaign website
- Texas General Land Office
- [3]
Texas Senate Preceded by
Chet BrooksTexas State Senator
from District 11 (Pasadena)(1)
1993–1999Succeeded by
Mike JacksonPolitical offices Preceded by
David DewhurstCommissioner of the General Land Office
2003–presentIncumbent Notes and references 1. For the 73rd Legislature, Patterson’s home city was Houston. Categories:- 1946 births
- Living people
- Commissioners of the General Land Office of Texas
- Texas State Senators
- Texas Republicans
- Texas A&M University alumni
- American military personnel of the Vietnam War
- United States Marine Corps officers
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