John Culberson
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This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2009) |
| John Culberson | |
|---|---|
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 7th district |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2001 |
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| Preceded by | Bill Archer |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Abney Culberson August 24, 1956 Houston, Texas |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Belinda Culberson |
| Residence | Houston, Texas |
| Alma mater | Southern Methodist University, South Texas College of Law |
| Occupation | Attorney, Politician |
| Religion | Methodist |
John Abney Culberson (born August 24, 1956) is the U.S. Representative for Texas's 7th congressional district, serving since 2001. He is a member of the Republican Party and the Tea Party caucus. The district takes in large portions of western Houston and surrounding Harris County.
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Early life, education and career [edit]
Culberson was born in Houston, Texas, the son of Eleanor (née Abney) and James Vincent Culberson.[1] His great-grandmother was Swedish.[1] Culberson attended West University Elementary School, Lanier Middle School, and Lamar High School.[2][3] He graduated from Southern Methodist University (SMU) in 1981 with a degree in history. He earned his Juris Doctor degree from South Texas College of Law in 1989. He is a distant relative of former Governor of Texas Charles Allen Culberson.[citation needed]
Texas House of Representatives [edit]
During his time in law school, Culberson was elected to the Texas House of Representatives, serving his first term in 1987. He was a member of the Republican Whip team, becoming Minority Whip in 1999 during his last term. Culberson began working for the law firm of Lorance and Thompson as a civil defense attorney after he graduated from South Texas. Culberson led the effort to regain state control of the Texas prison system. He also worked for expansion of urban freeway systems and for increased development of medical technology.[citation needed]
U.S. House of Representatives [edit]
Committee assignments [edit]
Caucuses [edit]
Like Archer, Culberson is an ardent fiscal and social conservative. His website includes his slogan "Letting Texans run Texas," which Culberson sees as a way to personify historical Jeffersonian values. Culberson is a member of the Appropriations Committee.[citation needed]
On Hardball with Chris Matthews, Culberson defended Texas Governor Rick Perry's secession comments saying "don't make too much of what Gov. Perry said, again, he was just revved up and I think in the heat of the moment said something that he certainly didn't mean in his heart. [Texans are] patriotic Americans. No one wants Texas to secede" .[citation needed]
On June 12, 2009, Culberson signed on as a co-sponsor of H.R. 1503, the bill introduced as a reaction to Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories.[4]
Culberson is active online with Twitter[5] and Qik.[6] He has used these online information dispersion services from House Committee meetings and from the Oval Office. On August 1, 2008, to protest the House going into summer recess without discussing a pending energy bill, Culberson and other House Republicans stayed to make speeches about the energy bill in question. The Democratic leadership in the House, which controls services in the chamber, responded by cutting the microphones and cameras. Culberson used the Twitter and Qik services to provide a live account of the proceedings. Culberson later compared this episode to the Iranian government's brutal crackdown against Twitter-coordinated protesters in June 2009.[7]
Political campaigns [edit]
Culberson won the Republican nomination for the 7th District in 2000 after 15-term incumbent Bill Archer announced his retirement. He finished first in the Republican primary — traditionally the real contest in what has historically been a heavily Republican district — and defeated Peter Wareing in the runoff. He won easily in November, taking about 75% of the vote.
2008 [edit]
In 2008, Culberson faced his stiffest challenge to date in businessman Michael Skelly in the November 2008 election. Skelly, a former executive of Horizon Wind Energy, also served in the Peace Corps and earned an MBA from Harvard University. Skelly served on Mayor Bill White's Green Building Advisory Committee.[8] Culberson led with 56 percent of the vote with about two-thirds of precincts counted. Skelly had 43 percent of the vote. This was the closest a Democrat had come to winning the district since it was created in 1967. Historically, Republicans at all levels garner well over 60 percent of the vote in this district.[citation needed]
As of June 30, 2008, Culberson had raised $983,204 with $550,228 cash on hand. As of the same date, Skelly had raised $1,465,519 with $1,050,314 cash on hand—more than any of Culberson's four previous challengers. In the previous four election cycles, Culberson had raised $1,092,972 (2000), $508,138 (2002), $628,783 (2004), and $718,882 (2006). In 2006, Jim Henley raised $122,145.[9]
2010 [edit]
Culberson ran unopposed.
2012 [edit]
Culberson is being challenged by Democratic nominee James Cargas, an energy lawyer for the City of Houston, Green part nominee Lance Findley, and Libertarian nominee Drew Parks.
Controversy [edit]
In August 2011 AlterNet reported that Culberson, along with Ted Poe and Michael McCaul were attempting to remove the right of deceased soldiers families to choose which prayers, if any, were to be read at a soldiers funeral.[10][11] The three politicians were said to be attempting to impose Christian ceremonies on the military funerals of everybody who has served in the military, regardless of whether or not the deceased was Christian and with or without the consent of the family of the deceased. The three politicians stated their demands were a response to Veterans Affairs (VA) banning Christian prayers at military funerals, however, VA state this claim is "blatantly false" as VA respects a families "rights to pray however they choose at our national cemeteries".[10][11]
References [edit]
- ^ a b http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~battle/reps/culberson.htm
- ^ "Biography," U.S. Congressman John Culberson, 7th District of Texas
- ^ "Distinguished HISD Alumni," Houston Independent School District
- ^ "Bill Summary & Status - 111th Congress (2009 - 2010) - H.R.1503 - Cosponsors - THOMAS (Library of Congress)". Thomas.loc.gov. Retrieved 2010-09-13.
- ^ Stranahan, Lee (February 19, 2009). "GOP Twitter Pioneer Culberson: An Interview In 140 Characters Or Less" (article). Huffington Post. Retrieved April 17, 2009.
- ^ Reilley, Ryan (February 25, 2009). "Average Day: John Culberson (R-TX)". Washington City Paper. Retrieved April 17, 2009.
- ^ "Has Pete Hoekstra Been Beaten Up by Nancy Pelosi’s Militia? " The Washington Independent". Washingtonindependent.com. Retrieved 2010-09-13.
- ^ Skelly for Congress
- ^ Race: Texas District 07 Open Secrets, total raised and spent by year
- ^ a b Griffith, Justin (August 5, 2011). "TX Congressmen to force Christian prayer over my dead body.". rockbeyondbelief.com. Retrieved September 6, 2011.
- ^ a b DiBrance, Alex (August 23, 2011). "Texas Legislators and Christian Groups Fight to Insert God Into Vets' Funerals -- Against Families' Wishes". AlterNet. Retrieved September 6, 2011.
External links [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: John Culberson |
- U.S. Congressman John Culberson official U.S. House site
- John Culberson for U.S. Congress official campaign site
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Profile at Ballotpedia
- Congressional profile at GovTrack
- Congressional profile at OpenCongress
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Financial information (federal office) at OpenSecrets.org
- Staff salaries, trips and personal finance (federal office) at LegiStorm.com
- Financial information (state office) at the National Institute for Money in State Politics
- Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
- Voting record at The Washington Post
- Appearances on C-SPAN programs
- Collected news and commentary at The Washington Post
- Profile at SourceWatch
- John Culberson at Qik
| Texas House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Milton E. Fox |
Member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 125 (Houston) 1987–1993 |
Succeeded by Sylvia Romo |
| Preceded by Randy Pennington |
Member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 130 (Houston) 1993–2001 |
Succeeded by William “Bill” Callegari |
| United States House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by Bill Archer |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 7th congressional district 2001–present |
Incumbent |
| United States order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by Ander Crenshaw R-Florida |
United States Representatives by seniority 128th |
Succeeded by Susan Davis D-California |
