Bill Ratliff
Encyclopedia
William Roark Ratliff, known as Bill Ratliff (born August 16, 1936), is a Texas
politician
who served as a member of the Texas State Senate from 1988 to 2004. Between 2000 and 2003 he served as Lieutenant Governor of Texas
, after former lieutenant governor Rick Perry
succeeded to the governorship to replace George W. Bush
who resigned to become President of the United States
.
in Sonora
in Sutton County in West Texas
and then at the University of Texas at Austin
, where he studied civil engineering
. Ratliff, along with brothers Shannon and Jack, was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta
fraternity. He then worked as a civil engineer for thirty years.
He was first elected in 1988 as a Republican
to the Texas State Senate from the district including his city of residence, Mount Pleasant
in Titus County
in northeast Texas. In 1992, he was appointed chairman of the Senate Education Committee by Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock
. From 1997 to 1998, he served as President Pro Tempore
of the Texas Senate. During his time in the Senate, he supported the "Robin Hood" education program, involving transfer of funds from wealthier to poorer school districts for a more equitable education funding scheme. The plan was roundly repudiated by voters in a special election referendum held in May 1993.
Ratliff and his wife, the former Sally Sandlin (born ca. 1936), have three children and eight grandchildren. A son, Robert Thomas Ratliff (born ca. 1967) of Mt. Pleasant, is a member of the Texas State Board of Education, having narrowly denied renomination in the March 2, 2010, primary to former board chairman Don McLeroy
, a dentist from Bryan
.
He announced in 2003 that he would not run for reelection to the State Senate in 2004. Instead he soon resigned the Senate seat and was succeeded in a special election by Republican Kevin Eltife
of Tyler
. In 2005, Ratliff was awarded the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for "the example he has set of courage and principle in American public life".
after the election of George W. Bush
as President of the United States
and the resultant succession of lieutenant governor Rick Perry
to become governor
. In accordance with a 1984 amendment to the Texas Constitution
of 1876, the Texas Senate chooses one of its own members to fill a vacancy in the position of lieutenant governor.
In the election for lieutenant governor, Ratliff defeated rival David Sibley
of Waco
, a more conservative Republican, 16-15. Most of Ratliff's votes came from Democratic
state senators. In 2010, Sibley, as a retired senator, was defeated in a special election in District 22 created by the resignation of Republican Senator Kip Averitt
of Waco. Sibley lost to the even more conservative Brian Birdwell
of Granbury
.
In 2001, Ratliff first announced that he would be a candidate for election to a full four-year term to the office of Lieutenant Governor in the 2002 state elections, and he received the endorsement of several prominent Republican legislators. However, he later withdrew from the race, and the position went to David Dewhurst
, the Texas land commissioner.
In early 2003, Ratliff was the only dissenting member of his party who joined with Democratic state senators in opposing a redistricting proposal of Texas's then thirty-two seats in the United States House of Representatives
that he felt would lead to the under-representation of rural voters. In cooperation with ten Democrats, he signed a letter refusing to bring the matter to the Senate floor, which, by virtue of Texas Senate traditions that require a two-thirds vote of those present and voting to allow a bill to be debated, prevented the proposal from being passed.
Eventually a plan suitable to Republicans was enacted in the third of three special legislative sessions called in 2003 by Governor Perry. Under that plan, by 2011, Republicans held twenty-three U.S. House seats from Texas compared to nine for Democrats.
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
who served as a member of the Texas State Senate from 1988 to 2004. Between 2000 and 2003 he served as Lieutenant Governor of Texas
Lieutenant Governor of Texas
The Lieutenant Governor of Texas is the second-highest executive office in the government of Texas, a state in the U.S. It is the second most powerful post in Texas government because its occupant controls the work of the Texas Senate and controls the budgeting process as a leader of the...
, after former lieutenant governor Rick Perry
Rick Perry
James Richard "Rick" Perry is the 47th and current Governor of Texas. A Republican, Perry was elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998 and assumed the governorship in December 2000 when then-governor George W. Bush resigned to become President of the United States. Perry was elected to full...
succeeded to the governorship to replace George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
who resigned to become President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
.
Biography
Bill Ratliff was educated at Sonora High SchoolSonora High School
Sonora High School is a public high school located at 401 S. Palm Street in La Habra, north Orange County, California. One of seven high schools in the Fullerton Joint Union High School District, Sonora served over 2,100 students in the 2009-2010 school year...
in Sonora
Sonora, Texas
Sonora is the county seat of Sutton County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,924 at the 2000 census.Former State Senator and Lieutenant Governor Bill Ratliff of Mount Pleasant was reared in Sonora and graduated from high school there.-Geography and climate:Sonora is located at ...
in Sutton County in West Texas
West Texas
West Texas is a vernacular term applied to a region in the southwestern quadrant of the United States that primarily encompasses the arid and semi-arid lands in the western portion of the state of Texas....
and then at the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
, where he studied civil engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
. Ratliff, along with brothers Shannon and Jack, was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta
Phi Gamma Delta
The international fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta is a collegiate social fraternity with 120 chapters and 18 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1848, and its headquarters are located in Lexington, Kentucky, USA...
fraternity. He then worked as a civil engineer for thirty years.
He was first elected in 1988 as a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
to the Texas State Senate from the district including his city of residence, Mount Pleasant
Mount Pleasant, Texas
Mount Pleasant is the county seat and largest city of Titus County in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2000 census, Mount Pleasant's population was 13,935. It is the county seat of Titus County, and is situated in Northeast Texas. This town, by city ordinance, is dry to sell alcoholic beverages....
in Titus County
Titus County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 28,118 people, 9,552 households, and 7,154 families residing in the county. The population density was 68 people per square mile . There were 10,675 housing units at an average density of 26 per square mile...
in northeast Texas. In 1992, he was appointed chairman of the Senate Education Committee by Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock
Bob Bullock
Robert Douglas Bullock, known as Bob Bullock , was a Democratic politician from Texas, whose career spanned four decades. His service culminated in his term as Lieutenant Governor of Texas from January 15, 1991–January 19, 1999 during the terms of Governors Ann Richards and George W...
. From 1997 to 1998, he served as President Pro Tempore
President pro tempore
A President pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer...
of the Texas Senate. During his time in the Senate, he supported the "Robin Hood" education program, involving transfer of funds from wealthier to poorer school districts for a more equitable education funding scheme. The plan was roundly repudiated by voters in a special election referendum held in May 1993.
Ratliff and his wife, the former Sally Sandlin (born ca. 1936), have three children and eight grandchildren. A son, Robert Thomas Ratliff (born ca. 1967) of Mt. Pleasant, is a member of the Texas State Board of Education, having narrowly denied renomination in the March 2, 2010, primary to former board chairman Don McLeroy
Don McLeroy
John Donald "Don" McLeroy is a dentist in Bryan, Texas and a departing Republican member of the Texas State Board of Education, which establishes policy for the Texas public school system. Dr. McLeroy, who represents SBOE District 9 , has been on the board since 1998...
, a dentist from Bryan
Bryan, Texas
Bryan is a city in Brazos County, Texas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 76,201. It is the county seat of Brazos County and is located in the heart of the Brazos Valley . It shares its border with the city of College Station, which lies to its south...
.
He announced in 2003 that he would not run for reelection to the State Senate in 2004. Instead he soon resigned the Senate seat and was succeeded in a special election by Republican Kevin Eltife
Kevin Eltife
Kevin Paul Eltife is a businessman from Tyler, Texas, who is a Republican member of the Texas Senate. He was sworn in on March 5, 2004, as a result of a special election, to represent District 1...
of Tyler
Tyler, Texas
Tyler is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, in the United States. It takes its name from President John Tyler . The city had a population of 109,000 in 2010, according to the United States Census Bureau...
. In 2005, Ratliff was awarded the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for "the example he has set of courage and principle in American public life".
Lieutenant governor
In 2000, for the first time in Texas history, the Texas State Senate was called upon to choose a new lieutenant governorLieutenant Governor of Texas
The Lieutenant Governor of Texas is the second-highest executive office in the government of Texas, a state in the U.S. It is the second most powerful post in Texas government because its occupant controls the work of the Texas Senate and controls the budgeting process as a leader of the...
after the election of George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
as President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
and the resultant succession of lieutenant governor Rick Perry
Rick Perry
James Richard "Rick" Perry is the 47th and current Governor of Texas. A Republican, Perry was elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998 and assumed the governorship in December 2000 when then-governor George W. Bush resigned to become President of the United States. Perry was elected to full...
to become governor
Governor of Texas
The governor of Texas is the head of the executive branch of Texas's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Texas Legislature, and to convene the legislature...
. In accordance with a 1984 amendment to the Texas Constitution
Texas Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Texas is the document that describes the structure and function of the government of the U.S. State of Texas.Texas has had seven constitutions: the constitution of Coahuila y Tejas, the 1836 Constitution of the Republic of Texas, the state constitutions of 1845,...
of 1876, the Texas Senate chooses one of its own members to fill a vacancy in the position of lieutenant governor.
In the election for lieutenant governor, Ratliff defeated rival David Sibley
David Sibley (politician)
David McAdams Sibley, Sr. , is a lobbyist and attorney in Austin and Waco, Texas, who served from 1991 to 2002 as a Republican member of the Texas State Senate...
of Waco
Waco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
, a more conservative Republican, 16-15. Most of Ratliff's votes came from Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
state senators. In 2010, Sibley, as a retired senator, was defeated in a special election in District 22 created by the resignation of Republican Senator Kip Averitt
Kip Averitt
Barry Kip Averitt is a former Republican member of the Texas Senate representing the 22nd District, which includes Ellis and McLennan counites...
of Waco. Sibley lost to the even more conservative Brian Birdwell
Brian Birdwell
Brian D. Birdwell is a Republican from Granbury, Texas, who represents District 22 in the Texas Senate. A retired lieutenant colonel in the United States Army, Birdwell is a decorated survivor of the terrorist attack on the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on September 11, 2001.-Election to Texas...
of Granbury
Granbury, Texas
Granbury is a city in Hood County, Texas, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 5,718. It is the county seat of Hood County and the principal city of the Micropolitan Statistical Area....
.
In 2001, Ratliff first announced that he would be a candidate for election to a full four-year term to the office of Lieutenant Governor in the 2002 state elections, and he received the endorsement of several prominent Republican legislators. However, he later withdrew from the race, and the position went to David Dewhurst
David Dewhurst
David Dewhurst is the 41st and current Lieutenant Governor of Texas, serving under Governor Rick Perry since January 21, 2003. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as Texas Land Commissioner from 1999 to 2003. Dewhurst announced on July 18, 2011, that he was running for the...
, the Texas land commissioner.
Political views
Ratliff is regarded as a moderate; he stated in an interview, "I am a Republican because I agree with the Republicans at least 51 percent of the time." He has taken bipartisan stands on a number of issues. While in the Texas Senate, he supported controversial reforms that transferred funds from richer to poorer school districts for more equitable funding. He also argued in favor of "patients' rights" in medical malpractice cases during a debate on tort reform, and in 2003 criticized other members of the State Senate for failing to raise taxes in order to prevent large budget cuts.In early 2003, Ratliff was the only dissenting member of his party who joined with Democratic state senators in opposing a redistricting proposal of Texas's then thirty-two seats in the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
that he felt would lead to the under-representation of rural voters. In cooperation with ten Democrats, he signed a letter refusing to bring the matter to the Senate floor, which, by virtue of Texas Senate traditions that require a two-thirds vote of those present and voting to allow a bill to be debated, prevented the proposal from being passed.
Eventually a plan suitable to Republicans was enacted in the third of three special legislative sessions called in 2003 by Governor Perry. Under that plan, by 2011, Republicans held twenty-three U.S. House seats from Texas compared to nine for Democrats.