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Facts About Me:
Excerpted and Adapted from The Dallas Morning News, October 20, 2002.
- I was born February 2, 1952, in Houston, Texas. I was the second of three children.
- My father was a B–17 pilot who was shot down on his thirteenth mission. He spent four months in a German prisoner of war camp, went to college on the G.I. Bill, and later became an Air Force dentist. He retired as a colonel.
- Because my father was in the Air Force, my family traveled a good deal when I was growing up. At various points we were stationed in El Paso, Texas; Biloxi, Mississippi; Washington, DC; San Antonio, Texas; and Tachikawa, Japan.
- When our family was stationed in Japan, I had the opportunity to climb Mount Fuji.
- I wrestled while attending high school in Japan – Greco–Roman, not sumo style – and threw the discus and shot put for the track and field team.
- I played the trombone for ten years while growing up.
- In college, I played intramural football, basketball and racquetball. As a senior, I was chosen "outstanding intramural athlete."
- I planned to be a doctor when I enrolled in Trinity University in San Antonio. I passed physics and organic chemistry but realized that I didn't have a real passion for the subjects. I switched my major from biology to journalism and worked for the school paper.
- After college, I decided not to become an entry–level reporter and instead studied for a real estate license while working as a waiter at Steak & Ale.
- I sold houses for about a year, but I soon discovered that I was not a very good salesman. The economy was slow, interest rates were high, and money was tight. I decided to go to law school and entered St. Mary's University in San Antonio the following year.
- In 1977, I joined the San Antonio law firm of Groce, Locke, & Hebdon. I specialized in defending doctors and lawyers in malpractice suits. I enjoyed the job because it allowed me to be involved in both medicine and the law.
- I met my future wife, Sandy, on a blind date at the age of twenty–five. We got married two years later.
- I have been married to Sandy for twenty–six years; we have two daughters, Danley and Haley.
- I first considered running for elected office in 1984 at the age of thirty–two when a group of local Republicans at a Super Bowl party asked me to run for an open state district judge seat in Bexar County. I must have looked the part – though I was young, I already had white hair.
- After serving as a district judge for six years, I was elected to the Texas Supreme Court in 1990 and reelected in 1996.
- I earned a Masters of Law from the University of Virginia in 1995.
- In 1997, I resigned from the Texas Supreme Court and ran for Attorney General. I was the first Republican to win that office since Reconstruction.
- I had the opportunity to argue two cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. My appearances marked the first time in twenty years that a Texas Attorney General had personally gone before the Court.
- I support the death penalty, but I sought a new punishment hearing for a condemned Hispanic inmate because prosecutors were allowed to use racially tinged testimony against him.
- During my tenure in the Attorney General's office, we dramatically improved child support collection, obtained more than $4 million in civil penalties from unscrupulous nursing home operators, reclaimed $5 million from several major insurance companies that underpaid auto repair claims, and levied penalties against sweepstakes promoters who had defrauded consumers.
- In 2001, the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas presented me with the James Madison Award for efforts to promote open government.
- I was elected to the United States Senate on November 5, 2002, winning over 55 percent of all votes cast.
- I own several firearms and hunt as often as I can.
- When in Texas, I attend the University Avenue Church of Christ in Austin.
- I have volunteered for the World Affairs Council of San Antonio, the Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Council, and the Lutheran General Hospital board.
- My most embarrassing moment occurred when I muffed the opening pitch at a Round Rock Express baseball game.
- My favorite book is Bonfire of the Vanities.
- My favorite movie is Jerry Maguire.
- My "favorite food" is anything that contains blueberries.
- My favorite music is country and western.
- My favorite sport is basketball.
- My favorite color is blue.
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