Kay Granger
Kay Granger | |
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Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference | |
In office January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2009 | |
Leader | John Boehner |
Preceded by | Jack Kingston |
Succeeded by | Cathy McMorris Rodgers |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 12th district | |
Assumed office January 3, 1997 | |
Preceded by | Pete Geren |
41st Mayor of Fort Worth | |
In office May 21, 1991 – December 19, 1995 | |
Preceded by | Bob Bolen |
Succeeded by | Jewell Woods (Acting) |
Personal details | |
Born | Greenville, Texas, U.S. | January 18, 1943
Political party | Republican |
Children | 3 |
Education | Texas Wesleyan University (BA) |
Norvell Kay Granger (née Mullendore; born January 18, 1943)[1] is an American Republican politician from the U.S. state of Texas, representing its 12th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. A former teacher and businesswoman, she is the first Republican woman to represent Texas in the U.S. House. After serving on the zoning commission of Fort Worth, Texas, in 1991 she was elected as the city's first woman mayor, serving two terms to 1995. In 2016, Granger made headlines by joining a long list of Republicans who opposed the GOP nominee for President, Donald Trump.[2]
This article is out of date.
Biography and career
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/George_W._Bush%2C_Sam_Johnson%2C_and_Kay_Granger.jpg/220px-George_W._Bush%2C_Sam_Johnson%2C_and_Kay_Granger.jpg)
Granger was born in Greenville, Texas, and grew up in Fort Worth. She attended local public schools and Eastern Hills High School.[3] She graduated from Texas Wesleyan University.
Granger taught high school English and journalism for several years and became familiar with many issues in the community. In 1978 she decided to establish her own insurance agency, which she operated for years. Deciding to become active in local politics, Granger was elected to the Fort Worth Zoning Commission. she was elected to the city council in 1989. She was elected Mayor in 1991 in a non-partisan election as the first woman mayor of the city.
After Congressman Pete Geren announced he would retire in 1996, both the Democratic and Republican parties worked to recruit Granger to run for his seat. Republicans were bullish on their chances of winning Texas' 12th congressional district. It had once been represented by Democratic Speaker of the House Jim Wright, but legislative redistricting after the 1990 census had added areas with more Republican residents.
Granger decided to run as a Republican, much to the dismay of local GOP activists, who criticized her as being too liberal. She won handily, taking 56 percent of the vote over the Democrat Hugh Parmer, also a former Fort Worth mayor. She was reelected in 1998 and faced serious opposition only in 2000. In 2008, Granger defeated Democratic challenger Tracey Smith with 67 percent of the vote.
In 2006 Granger published a book, What's Right About America, Celebrating Our Nation's Values, reflecting on lessons from prominent figures of United States history.
That year, she was reelected to her sixth term in Congress. She was elected as Conference Vice Chair, the fourth-ranking position among House Republicans, in November 2006. She is Chairwoman of the House Appropriations Subcommitee on State-Foreign Operations. She also sits on the United States House Committee on Appropriations's Subcommittee on Defense (the first woman to do so), and the Labor, Health, Human Services, and Education Subcommittee. She has also served as a House Deputy Whip.
On September 25, 2007, she publicly endorsed former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney in the primary race for the Republican Party presidential nomination.[4] She also took up the position of national co-chair of the campaign organization Women for Mitt, filling a vacancy left by the death of Jennifer Dunn.[5] In a statement to the press following her endorsement, she said that she had heard Romney speak and that "I agreed with everything he said, in the order he said it."
She is a member of the Board of Directors of the International Republican Institute.[6] and Southwestern University. She is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Congressional committee assignments
Caucus memberships
- Anti-Terrorism Caucus (Co-Chair)
- United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus[8]
- Iraqi Women's Caucus (Co-Chair)
- Sportsmen's Caucus
- Congressional Arts Caucus[9]
- U.S.-Japan Caucus
- House Baltic Caucus[10]
- Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus[11]
Ideology and voting record
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/MVI_2887_Kay_Granger_for_Congress.jpg/200px-MVI_2887_Kay_Granger_for_Congress.jpg)
Her website has an article from "Conservative Quarterly" that describes her as "a dependable vote for the leadership on most issues." She is a member of the conservative Republican Study Committee.[12]
In 2003, Granger was given a 10 percent rating by NARAL and an 84 percent rating by the Christian Coalition of America.[citation needed]
Granger has voted several times in favor of an amendment to the United States Constitution to make it a crime to physically desecrate the American flag. She supports the Federal Marriage Amendment to define marriage as only permitted between a man and a woman.[citation needed]
She was renominated in the March 2, 2010, Republican primary, having polled 70 percent of the ballots over intraparty rivals Mike Brasovan and Matthew E. Kelly.[13]
In 2012, after chairman of the Taiwanese defense committee Lin Yu-fang rejected calls for more F-16 fighters and said that only the F-35 could ensure Taiwan's security,[14] Granger offered a NDAA amendment, which passed the House, to offer only the much older F-16 fighter to Taiwan.[15][16]
In June 2013, Granger was among the members of Congress who voted to pass an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014. The amendment would continue to restrict the Pentagon from entering into new contracts with Russia’s state arms broker, Rosoboronexport.[17]
During her tenure, Granger has supported more than $50 million in earmarks to infrastructure projects in Fort Worth that benefited the Trinity River Vision Authority, an organization headed by her son.[18]
Personal life
Granger has three children and five grandchildren.[19]
Honors
- In August 2007, Kay Granger Elementary School, named in her honor, opened in far north Fort Worth in the Northwest Independent School District.
- Kay Granger Park was named for her. It is a city park located next to Mullendore Elementary, named for her mother, which was opened several years earlier in North Richland Hills.
- She was elected to the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame and the Fort Worth Business Hall of Fame.
- She received the National Federation of Independent Business’ Champion of Small Business Award; the Manufacturing Legislative Excellence Award from the National Association of Manufacturers; as well as the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Greater Fort Worth Home Builders Association.
- In 1993, her high school recognized Granger as a distinguished alumnus.[3]
See also
References
- ^ Texas Department of State Health Services, Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997, roll number: 1943_0008
- ^ Vladimorov, Nikita (October 9, 2016). "Texas GOP's only female lawmaker calls on Trump to step down". The Hill. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
- ^ a b Kay Granger, USA Centers for Global Commercial & Investment Relations]. Retrieved October 25, 2007. Archived July 17, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Mitt Romney's Free and Strong America PAC". Mittromney.com. November 9, 2009. Archived from the original on February 15, 2008. Retrieved August 29, 2010.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ Granger endorses Romney and will co-chair Women for Mitt | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas-Fort Worth Politics | The Dallas Morning News Archived October 3, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ International Republican Institute web site, accessed July 16, 2010. Archived April 28, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Chairman Frelinghuysen Announces GOP Subcommittee Memberships for the 115th Congress | Committee on Appropriations, U.S. House of Representatives". appropriations.house.gov. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
- ^ "Our Members". U.S. House of Representatives International Conservation Caucus. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
- ^ "Membership". Congressional Arts Caucus. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
- ^ "Members". House Baltic Caucus. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
- ^ "Members". Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
- ^ "Member List". Republican Study Committee. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
- ^ "Republican primary election returns, March 2, 2010". sos.state.tx.us. Retrieved March 4, 2010.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Taiwan needs advanced F-16 C/D jets: defense official." ROC Central News Agency, May 2, 2012.
- ^ "U.S. Congress to debate sale of F-16 fighters to Taiwan." CNA, May 17, 2012.
- ^ Mullins, Richard. "House Moves To Ease Restrictions On U.S. Satellite Exports." Aerospace Daily & Defense Report, May 21, 2012.
- ^ Bowser-Soder, Brenda (June 14, 2013). "House Agrees to Amendment to Restrict U.S. Contracts with Syrian Regime Weapons Supplier". Human Rights First. Archived from the original on July 20, 2013. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ "Share: More > Public projects, private interests". Washington Post. February 7, 2012. Retrieved July 8, 2012.
- ^ "About Kay".
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Congresswoman Kay Granger official U.S. House site
- Kay Granger for Congress
- Kay Granger at Curlie
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
- Profile at Vote Smart
- Profile at the Texas Tribune
- 1943 births
- 21st-century American politicians
- 21st-century women politicians
- American Methodists
- Female members of the United States House of Representatives
- International Republican Institute
- Living people
- Mayors of Fort Worth, Texas
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas
- People from Greenville, Texas
- Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives
- Texas Republicans
- Women mayors of places in Texas
- Women state legislators in Texas