Lance Gooden
Lance Gooden | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Texas State Representative for District 4 (Kaufman and part of Henderson counties) | |
| In office 2011 – January 13, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Betty Brown |
| Succeeded by | Stuart Spitzer |
| Texas State Representative for District 4 (Kaufman and part of Henderson counties) | |
| Assumed office January 2017 (pending) | |
| Preceded by | Stuart Spitzer |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 1, 1982 Terrell, Kaufman County Texas, USA |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Engaged to Alexa Calligas |
| Alma mater | University of Texas at Austin |
| Occupation | Businessman |
Lance Gooden (born December 1, 1982) is a former and incoming Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives for District 4 (Kaufman and a portion of Henderson counties). In the 2010 primary election, Gooden with 50.5 percent of the vote upset the six-term incumbent Republican Representative Betty Brown.[1] Gooden had formerly been Brown's legislative assistant.
A native of Terrell in Kaufman County, a city east of Dallas, Texas, Gooden graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, from which he received both a Bachelor of Arts in government and a Bachelor of Business Administration. Upon taking office early in 2011, Gooden worked on the state budget in an attempt to eliminate wasteful spending. He served on these House committees: Appropriations, County Affairs, and House Administration, the latter of which handles employment by the House. In 2010, Gooden had no Democratic opponent in his heavily Republican district.[2][3]
Gooden won renomination to a second term in the Republican primary held on May 29, 2012. He polled 6,385 votes (53.5 percent) to 5,545 (46.5 percent) for his opponent, Stuart Spitzer, a surgeon from Kaufman, who was born and reared in Athens in Henderson County.[4][5] Gooden was then unopposed for his second term in the general election held on November 6, 2012.
However, on March 4, 2014, Dr. Spitzer, in a second bid for the office, unseated Gooden in the Republican primary. Spitzer polled 8,421 votes (51 percent) to Gooden's 8,079 (49 percent).[6] Speaker Joe Straus of San Antonio, made a campaign stop for Gooden's behalf in Forney in Kaufman County, a month before the primary election. Accompanying Straus to Forney was State Senator Bob Deuell,[7]who lost his own seat in the subsequent May 27 runoff election to the Tea Party movement choice, Bob Hall.
In 2016, however, Gooden staged a successful comeback and defeated Spitzer in the March 1 Republican primary, 14,500 votes (51.8 percent) to 13,502 (48.2 percent). He returns to the state House in January 2017.[8]
On October 1, 2016, Gooden will wed Alexa Calligas, formerly of Shreveport, Louisiana, whom he met in Austin. She is the daughter of journalist George Calligas and his wife, Tina. [9]
References
- ^ ""Gooden upsets Brown"". Athens Review. March 3, 2010. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Dallas News
- ^ Kaufmann Herald
- ^ "Republican primary election returns, May 29, 2012". enr.sos.state.tx.us. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
- ^ "About Stuart Spitzer". stuartspitzer.com. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
- ^ "Republican primary election returns, March 4, 2014". enr.sos.state.tx.us. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
- ^ "Denise Bell, "Texas Speaker of the House Straus Visits Forney to Endorse Rep. Gooden," February 4, 2014". The Forney Post. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Republican primary returns". Texas Secretary of State. March 1, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
- ^ "Off to Rio". The Shreveport Times. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help)
