David Sibley (politician)
Encyclopedia
David McAdams Sibley, Sr. (born 1948), 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. Previously, he was from 1987 to 1988 the mayor
of Waco, then an unelected and still a nonpartisan
position, as are all elected municipal offices in Texas.
On June 22, 2010, Sibley unsuccessfully sought to return to the state Senate in District 22
, but he lost a special election runoff to fellow Republican Brian Birdwell
of Granbury
in Hood County. The seat became vacant when Republican Kip Averitt
, a former aide to Sibley, resigned because of health issues.
Sibley's opponents disclosed in 2010 that as a lobbyist he had contributed to two liberal Democratic lawmakers, State Senator Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio
and State Representative
Jim Dunnam of Waco. Dunnam in the spring of 2003 led Democratic lawmakers on a sojourn to Ardmore
, Oklahoma
, in an ultimately failed bid to deny a legislative quorum
as the lawmakers redistricted
the thirty-two seats that Texas has in the United States House of Representatives
. Otherwise, it was noted that 97 percent of Sibley's contributions had gone to his fellow Republicans.
Sibley carried the backing in the 2010 election of former U.S. President George W. Bush
, who had earlier befriended Birdwell, a burn victim of the terrorist attack on The Pentagon
on September 11, 2001. Bush's ranch in Crawford
, Texas, is located within the senatorial district. Birdwell, who carries the support of the Tea Party movement
, is unopposed for the seat in the November 2, 2010, general election.
(1921–2006), a native of Walker County
who was a historian
at Houston Baptist University
in Houston
. The couple later returned and retired to Huntsville
, the county seat
of Walker County. David Sibley is the oldest of their three sons; his brothers are Dr. Stuart Dale Sibley and Dr. Mark McAdams Sibley.
Sibley is a graduate of Baptist
-affiliated Baylor University
in Waco, where he was the captain of the basketball
team and was named "Honorable mention" by the All-Southwestern Conference." Originally an oral surgeon, he was sidelined by a ruptured disc and switched professions. He attended Baylor University Law School in Waco, was admitted to the bar, and then worked as a criminal prosecutor for the district attorney
of McLennan County
.
Prior to his state Senate service, he was the mayor
of Waco from 1987 to 1988, then an appointed position. He was the District III city council member from 1984 until he became mayor for a year. As a senator, he was recognized three times by Texas Monthly
magazine
as among the "Top 10" legislators.
Byron Cook
of Corsicana
, the seat of Navarro County located within Senate District 22, endorsed Sibley's unsuccessful effort to return to the Senate in 2010. Cook described Sibley as having been "a workhorse" who spearheaded many of Governor Bush's "conservative reforms including tax cuts, economic development initiatives, tougher criminal penalties, and patient rights insurance reform."
Sibley was initially elected to the state Senate in a special election in 1991 from District 9
, when incumbent Chet Edwards
was elected to the United States House of Representatives
, where he still serves in a Waco-based district, but on November 2, 2010, Edwards faces Republican opposition from Bill Flores
of College Station
. In 1994, the McLennan County portion of District 9 was moved into District 22 because of extensive redistricting
.
As a senator, Sibley chaired the Business and Commerce Committee for four sessions. He geared to passage an electric deregulation bill. Late in 2000, he lost the Senate vote for lieutenant governor
by a single ballot, 16-15. The vacancy was created when Rick Perry
resigned to become governor upon the election of George W. Bush as president. Instead the position went to another Republican, Bill Ratliff
of Mt. Pleasant in East Texas
, who finished the remaining two years but did not seek a full term in 2002. Another Republican, Senator J. E. "Buster" Brown
of Lake Jackson
, had also sought the position before the final vote. At that time David Dewhurst
, the outgoing Texas land commissioner, was elected lieutenant governor, having defeated the Democrat John Sharp
, a former state comptroller.
Sibley, Ratliff and Teel Bivins
of Amarillo
had formed something of a Texas senate triumvirate
during the 1990s to make the institution function smoothly. A Dallas
blogger described Sibley's 2010 special election defeat as "unthinkable. He was one of the most talented, smart, and respected legislators.
In the March 2, 2010 Republican primary, Averitt won renomination to the Senate despite his announced intention to withdraw from the contest after the deadline had passed. Party chairmen across the district then affirmed Birdwell as the official nominee in the November 2 general election. Birdwell's Democratic opponent thereafter withdrew from the contest.
, Texas; and two sons, David McAdams Sibley Jr., an attorney in Round Rock
, Texas, and Jonathan Sibley of Waco, and as of 2010 three grandchildren. Pamela Sibley is the daughter of Jack Patterson, a former athletic director at Baylor University. Jonathan Sibley (born 1980) ran unsuccessfully for the District 56 seat in the Texas House of Representatives
in the 2008 Republican primary against the incumbent Charles "Doc" Anderson
.
The younger Sibley first said that he would support Republican Speaker
Tom Craddick
of Midland
in the 2009 race for presiding officer but later declared his opposition to Craddick's remaining Speaker. Anderson was a staunch Craddick ally. Craddick was replaced by Joe Straus
of San Antonio though Craddick remains the senior member of the state House, with service dating to 1969.
Attorney at law
An attorney at law in the United States is a practitioner in a court of law who is legally qualified to prosecute and defend actions in such court on the retainer of clients. Alternative terms include counselor and lawyer...
in Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
and 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....
, Texas
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...
, who served from 1991 to 2002 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...
member of the Texas State Senate. Previously, he was from 1987 to 1988 the mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Waco, then an unelected and still a nonpartisan
Nonpartisan
In political science, nonpartisan denotes an election, event, organization or person in which there is no formally declared association with a political party affiliation....
position, as are all elected municipal offices in Texas.
On June 22, 2010, Sibley unsuccessfully sought to return to the state Senate in District 22
Texas Senate, District 22
District 22 of the Texas Senate is a senatorial district that currently serves Bosque, Coryell, Ellis, Falls, Hill, Hood, Johnson, McLennan, Navarro and Somervell counties in the U.S. state of Texas...
, but he lost a special election runoff to fellow Republican 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 Hood County. The seat became vacant when Republican 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...
, a former aide to Sibley, resigned because of health issues.
Sibley's opponents disclosed in 2010 that as a lobbyist he had contributed to two liberal Democratic lawmakers, State Senator Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
and State Representative
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
Jim Dunnam of Waco. Dunnam in the spring of 2003 led Democratic lawmakers on a sojourn to Ardmore
Ardmore, Oklahoma
Ardmore is a business, cultural and tourism city in and the county seat of Carter County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 24,283, while a 2007 estimate has the Ardmore micropolitan statistical area totaling 56,694 residents...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, in an ultimately failed bid to deny a legislative quorum
Quorum
A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly necessary to conduct the business of that group...
as the lawmakers redistricted
Redistricting
Redistricting is the process of drawing United States electoral district boundaries, often in response to population changes determined by the results of the decennial census. In 36 states, the state legislature has primary responsibility for creating a redistricting plan, in many cases subject to...
the thirty-two seats that Texas has 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...
. Otherwise, it was noted that 97 percent of Sibley's contributions had gone to his fellow Republicans.
Sibley carried the backing in the 2010 election of former U.S. President 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 had earlier befriended Birdwell, a burn victim of the terrorist attack on The Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
on September 11, 2001. Bush's ranch in Crawford
Crawford, Texas
Crawford is a town located in western McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is best known as the home of former President of the United States George W. Bush. He currently resides at the Prairie Chapel Ranch, which is located just outside Crawford, Texas....
, Texas, is located within the senatorial district. Birdwell, who carries the support of the Tea Party movement
Tea Party movement
The Tea Party movement is an American populist political movement that is generally recognized as conservative and libertarian, and has sponsored protests and supported political candidates since 2009...
, is unopposed for the seat in the November 2, 2010, general election.
Background
Sibley was born to J. Dale Sibley and the former Marilyn McAdamsMarilyn McAdams Sibley
Marilyn McAdams Sibley was an historian and author who was the president of the Texas State Historical Association from 1981-1982....
(1921–2006), a native of Walker County
Walker County, Texas
Walker County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2010, its population was 67,861. Its county seat is Huntsville.Initially, Walker County was named for Robert J. Walker, a legislator from Mississippi who introduced into the United States Congress the resolution to annex Texas...
who was a historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
at Houston Baptist University
Houston Baptist University
Houston Baptist University is a private Baptist institution founded in 1960. It is located in Greater Sharpstown in Houston, Texas near the Southwest Freeway.- History :...
in Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
. The couple later returned and retired to Huntsville
Huntsville, Texas
Huntsville is a city in and the county seat of Walker County, Texas, United States. The population was 35,508 at the 2010 census. It is the center of the Huntsville micropolitan area....
, the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Walker County. David Sibley is the oldest of their three sons; his brothers are Dr. Stuart Dale Sibley and Dr. Mark McAdams Sibley.
Sibley is a graduate of Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
-affiliated Baylor University
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...
in Waco, where he was the captain of the basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
team and was named "Honorable mention" by the All-Southwestern Conference." Originally an oral surgeon, he was sidelined by a ruptured disc and switched professions. He attended Baylor University Law School in Waco, was admitted to the bar, and then worked as a criminal prosecutor for the district attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
of McLennan County
McLennan County, Texas
McLennan County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in Central Texas. In 2000, its population was 213,517; in 2008 the U.S. Census Bureau estimated its population to be 230,213. Its seat is Waco. The county is named for Neil McLennan, an early settler....
.
Prior to his state Senate service, he was the mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Waco from 1987 to 1988, then an appointed position. He was the District III city council member from 1984 until he became mayor for a year. As a senator, he was recognized three times by Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Austin, Texas. Texas Monthly is published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. and was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, Texas Monthly chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the environment, industry, and education...
magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
as among the "Top 10" legislators.
Senatorial service
State RepresentativeTexas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
Byron Cook
Byron Cook (Texas politician)
Byron Curtis Cook is a rancher and businessman from Corsicana, Texas, who is a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 8, which encompasses Anderson, Freestone, Limestone, and Navarro counties.-Early life:...
of Corsicana
Corsicana, Texas
Corsicana is a city in Navarro County, Texas, United States. It is located on Interstate 45 some fifty-five miles south of downtown Dallas. The population was 24,485 at the 2000 census...
, the seat of Navarro County located within Senate District 22, endorsed Sibley's unsuccessful effort to return to the Senate in 2010. Cook described Sibley as having been "a workhorse" who spearheaded many of Governor Bush's "conservative reforms including tax cuts, economic development initiatives, tougher criminal penalties, and patient rights insurance reform."
Sibley was initially elected to the state Senate in a special election in 1991 from District 9
Texas Senate, District 9
District 9 of the Texas Senate is a senatorial district that currently serves portions of Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The current Senator from District 9 is Chris Harris.-2004:-2002:-2000:...
, when incumbent Chet Edwards
Chet Edwards
Thomas Chester "Chet" Edwards is a former member of the United States House of Representatives from Texas. He represented a district based in Waco, Texas from 1991 to 2011, and served in the Texas Senate from 1983 until 1990. He is a member of the Democratic Party...
was elected to 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...
, where he still serves in a Waco-based district, but on November 2, 2010, Edwards faces Republican opposition from Bill Flores
Bill Flores
William H. "Bill" Flores is the U.S. Representative for . The district, located in the middle of the state, includes Waco, College Station and Bryan. He is a member of the Republican Party and the former CEO of Phoenix Exploration Company, an oil and natural gas exploration company.-Early life and...
of College Station
College Station, Texas
College Station is a city in Brazos County, Texas, situated in East Central Texas in the heart of the Brazos Valley. The city is located within the most populated region of Texas, near three of the 10 largest cities in the United States - Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio...
. In 1994, the McLennan County portion of District 9 was moved into District 22 because of extensive redistricting
Redistricting
Redistricting is the process of drawing United States electoral district boundaries, often in response to population changes determined by the results of the decennial census. In 36 states, the state legislature has primary responsibility for creating a redistricting plan, in many cases subject to...
.
As a senator, Sibley chaired the Business and Commerce Committee for four sessions. He geared to passage an electric deregulation bill. Late in 2000, he lost the Senate vote for lieutenant governor
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...
by a single ballot, 16-15. The vacancy was created when 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...
resigned to become governor upon the election of George W. Bush as president. Instead the position went to another Republican, Bill Ratliff
Bill Ratliff
William Roark Ratliff, known as Bill Ratliff , 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...
of Mt. Pleasant in East Texas
East Texas
East Texas is a distinct geographic and ecological area in the U.S. state of Texas.According to the Handbook of Texas, the East Texas area "may be separated from the rest of Texas roughly by a line extending from the Red River in north central Lamar County southwestward to east central Limestone...
, who finished the remaining two years but did not seek a full term in 2002. Another Republican, Senator J. E. "Buster" Brown
J. E. "Buster" Brown
James Edward Brown, known as J. E. "Buster" Brown , is an attorney and lobbyist in Austin, Texas, who served from 1981 to 2002 as a Republican member of the Texas State Senate from District 17, based in Brazoria, Fort Bend, and part of Harris counties, south and west of Houston...
of Lake Jackson
Lake Jackson, Texas
Lake Jackson is a city in Brazoria County, Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. As of a 2006 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, the city population was 27,614....
, had also sought the position before the final vote. At that time 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 outgoing Texas land commissioner, was elected lieutenant governor, having defeated the Democrat John Sharp
John Sharp (Texas politician)
John Sharp is the former Democratic Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, having held the office from 1991 to 1999. He is currently a principal in the Austin office of the Dallas-based Ryan & Company, a tax consulting firm. In 2005, he was appointed to serve as Chair of the Texas Tax Reform...
, a former state comptroller.
Sibley, Ratliff and Teel Bivins
Teel Bivins
Miles Teel Bivins served as United States ambassador to Sweden between 2004 and 2006. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 21, 2004, and sworn in at Washington D.C., on May 26. He presented his credentials to King Carl XVI Gustaf in Stockholm on June 9...
of Amarillo
Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo is the 14th-largest city, by population, in the state of Texas, the largest in the Texas Panhandle, and the seat of Potter County. A portion of the city extends into Randall County. The population was 190,695 at the 2010 census...
had formed something of a Texas senate triumvirate
Triumvirate
A triumvirate is a political regime dominated by three powerful individuals, each a triumvir . The arrangement can be formal or informal, and though the three are usually equal on paper, in reality this is rarely the case...
during the 1990s to make the institution function smoothly. A Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
blogger described Sibley's 2010 special election defeat as "unthinkable. He was one of the most talented, smart, and respected legislators.
In the March 2, 2010 Republican primary, Averitt won renomination to the Senate despite his announced intention to withdraw from the contest after the deadline had passed. Party chairmen across the district then affirmed Birdwell as the official nominee in the November 2 general election. Birdwell's Democratic opponent thereafter withdrew from the contest.
Personal life
Sibley and his wife, the former Pamela Patterson (born ca. 1949) married in 1970. The Waco residents are active in their church and have a daughter, Rachel Sibley Reid of KellerKeller, Texas
Keller is a city located in Tarrant County, Texas, in the United States. In 2011, it was ranked 93rd in Money Magazine's list of best cities to live in the United States. It is a northern suburb of the city of Fort Worth and is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex...
, Texas; and two sons, David McAdams Sibley Jr., an attorney in Round Rock
Round Rock, Texas
Round Rock is a city in Travis and Williamson counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the metropolitan area. The 2010 census places the population at 99,887....
, Texas, and Jonathan Sibley of Waco, and as of 2010 three grandchildren. Pamela Sibley is the daughter of Jack Patterson, a former athletic director at Baylor University. Jonathan Sibley (born 1980) ran unsuccessfully for the District 56 seat in the Texas House of Representatives
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
in the 2008 Republican primary against the incumbent Charles "Doc" Anderson
Charles Anderson (Texas politician)
Charles “Doc” Anderson is a veterinarian and a Texas state politician from Waco. He is a member of the Texas House of Representatives, where he represents...
.
The younger Sibley first said that he would support Republican Speaker
Speaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
Tom Craddick
Tom Craddick
Thomas Russell Craddick, known as Tom Craddick , was the first Republican to have served as Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives since Reconstruction. Craddick wielded the Speaker's gavel from 2003-2009...
of Midland
Midland, Texas
Midland is a city in and the county seat of Midland County, Texas, United States, on the Southern Plains of the state's western area. A small portion of the city extends into Martin County. As of 2010, the population of Midland was 111,147. It is the principal city of the Midland, Texas...
in the 2009 race for presiding officer but later declared his opposition to Craddick's remaining Speaker. Anderson was a staunch Craddick ally. Craddick was replaced by Joe Straus
Joe Straus
Joseph R. Straus, III, known as Joe Straus , is the current Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives. He represents District 121, which comprises northeastern Bexar County, including part of San Antonio, Texas, and several surrounding communities...
of San Antonio though Craddick remains the senior member of the state House, with service dating to 1969.