Warren Chisum

Warren Darrel Chisum
Texas State Representative from District 88 (Gray and 18 other Panhandle or West Texas counties)
Incumbent
Assumed office 1989
Personal details
Born	July 4, 1938 (1938-07-04) Pampa, Gray County, Texas
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Omega C. Chisum
Occupation	Ranching Oil and Natural Gas
Religion	Baptist

Warren Darrel Chisum (born July 4, 1938) is a conservative Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from the Panhandle city of Pampa, a community of some 20,000 people and the seat of Gray County. He has served in the state House since 1989. A key lieutenant of former Speaker Thomas Russell "Tom" Craddick, Sr., of Midland, Chisum chaired the budget-writing House Appropriations Committee from 2007 to 2009.

In addition to his own Gray County, Chisum represents a huge geographic area of eighteen other Panhandle or West Texas counties in House District 88: Armstrong, Bailey, Briscoe, Castro, Childress, Collingsworth, Donley, Hall, Hansford, Hemphill, Hutchinson, Lamb, Lipscomb, Ochiltree, Parmer, Roberts, Swisher, and Wheeler. From 1989 to 1993, Chisum represented District 84, which then included his Gray County.

Political career

Pampa native Chisum is an oil and natural gas producer and rancher. He began his career on oil drilling rigs and in truck yards.

Chisum served the first eight years of his House tenure as a Democrat, but he switched to GOP allegiance in 1996, when his district became measurably more Republican in orientation after redistricting. Chisum said that his relationship with the Democratic Party—and fellow Panhandle resident, then Speaker Laney—remains as cordial as it has ever been: "They were my friends then, and they are my friends now. I think probably the old-line conservative Democrat was just as conservative as some of the new conservative Republicans."

Chisum is a member of the Texas Conservative Coalition, a consortium of right-leaning House members. He headed the organization for a number of years.

He is particularly known for his opposition to same-sex marriages and adoptions. He has also opposed hate crimes legislation: "Any time you start producing a list of people who, for whatever reason, have greater protection than other people, I think you weaken the law," Chisum said. Though he declared crimes of "bias and prejudice... wrong... the record shows clearly that I've always opposed this laundry list."

Chisum described his chairmanship as "a bully pulpit. You really set the priorities for the state. We deal with a budget in excess of $200 billion" (the Texas budget is set for a biennium, or two-year cycle).

During the January 2007 speaker's race between Craddick and Jim Pitts, Chisum led the effort to re-elect the Speaker. He again aided Craddick during the May 2007 controversy over Craddick's refusal to recognize Members seeking his removal.

In February 2007 Chisum delivered to the state House a memo by Georgia state Rep. Ben Bridges attacking what it called "the evolution monopoly in the schools". The memo claims that in teaching evolution, schools are indoctrinating students in the beliefs of the ancient Jewish Pharisees sect.

Chisum has chided many of his conservative and Republican colleagues for failure "to stand up and be counted and take the abuse that you're going to take" for having unpopular views on liberal issues. Chisum is also critical of government in general. He boasts of having killed numerous liberal legislative agenda items: "Most of them don't come back up again.... The only thing the law ever does is, it either takes away your money or your freedom, so there's 100 times that we didn't take away your money or your freedom."

A former chairman of the House Environmental Regulation Committee, Chisum has opposed many environmental regulations as unwise government intrusion into private economic activities. He once tried to bring a nuclear waste dump into Andrews County but then voted against his own bill after opponents loaded it with objectionable amendments.

On January 30, 2007, Chisum introduced a bill in the Texas House which would clarify parental permission for their children to participate in sex education programs in public schools. The Chisum proposal would require parents to check "Yes" for their children to participate in the programs. Some school districts begin teaching students as young as five or six about sex, Chisum said.

In 2008, Chisum announced that he will introduced a bill to prolong the waiting time in Texas to finalize a divorce. His bill would extend the time needed from one to two years. Chisum feels the extended time will result in more reconciliations. Divorce attorney Rikky Rivers called Chisum's idea "ludicrous".

Chisum said that existing state law requires school officials to give parents the option of removing their children from any sex education programs, but officials in some districts have not informed parents of their rights, the content of the programs, and at what age those programs begin. Chisum said that the checkoff-box bill he supports would make school districts more responsible to the wishes of the parents.

In his last election in 2006, Chisum won every county in the district to defeat the Libertarian candidate Timothy Justice, 24,044 to 4,244. There was no Democratic nominee.

Chisum resides in Pampa with his wife, Omega C. Chisum (also born 1938).

External links

• http://www.lubbockonline.com - 88k (January 27, 2007)
• http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/dist88/chisum.htm
• http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2005-06-03/xtra_string2.html
• http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid:81086
• http://www.amarillo.com/stories/013007/new_6682256.shtml

Preceded by David Swinford	Texas State Representative from District 88 Warren Darrel Chisum 1993–	Succeeded by Incumbent
Preceded by Foster Whaley	Texas State Representative from District 84 Warren Darrel Chisum 1989–1993	Succeeded by Robert L. Duncan