Rick Green (Texas politician)
Encyclopedia
Richard Arlin Green, known as Rick Green (born March 23, 1971), is an attorney and politician
from Dripping Springs
in Hays County
, Texas
, who is a former Republican
member of the Texas House of Representatives
. Green was defeated in the April 13, 2010, Republican runoff election for the Place 3 seat on the Texas Supreme Court
by Judge Debra Lehrmann
of Colleyville
near Fort Worth
, Texas.
Green graduated from high school in 1989 in Wylie
in Collin County
, Texas, and entered Angelo State University
in San Angelo
, Texas. Having carried a double-course load, Green received a Bachelor of Business Administration
in 1991 and then entered the University of Texas Law School where at the age of twenty he was the youngest student in law school. He subsequently focused his law practice on contract law and assisting entrepreneur
s in the establishment of their own businesses. Green and his wife, Kara R. Green (born October 30, 1974), have four children, Trey, Reagan, Kamryn, and Rhett.
, Caldwell
, and Hays
counties in Central Texas
. He sponsored legislation in 1999 to exempt gun and ammunition manufacturers, traders, and sellers from frivolous lawsuits in Texas. In the 2001 session, he sponsored "Celebrate Freedom Week", with emphasis on the teaching of the Declaration of Independence
.
Green was defeated for a third two-year term in 2002 by Democrat Patrick Rose
, who received 48.81 percent of the vote to Green's 47.93 percent. Green Party nominee John D. Schmidt received 3.24 percent.
Green is associated with WallBuilders, a right-wing political organization that seeks to present America's "forgotten" history as a Christian nation. WallBuilders was founded by former Texas Republican vice-chairman David Barton of Aledo
, Texas. Green has shared the lecture stage with, among others, Zig Ziglar
and Alan Keyes
.
Green produced the 1994 video The Legacy of President Ronald Reagan
: The Truth About the Eighties, developed in the aftermath of the 1992 U.S. presidential election. In 2000, Green founded the Torch of Freedom Foundation, which trains and equips young people to become more involved in the political process.
held on March 2, 2010. Green polled 212,797 votes (18.9 percent); Lehrmann received 204,547 ballots (18.20 percent). The four remaining candidates split a combined 63 percent of the vote. In third place was Jim Moseley, with 203,720 (18.13 percent). In the runoff, however, Green lost by more than twelve thousand votes. Lehrmann polled 172,813 votes (51.8 percent) to Green's 160,572 (48.2 percent). In his own Hays County, Green prevailed 66-34 percent in a low turnout. Lehrmann led in her own Tarrant County
, 61-39 percent.
Lehrmann defeated Democrat
Jim Sharp, a First Court of Appeals judge from Houston
, in the November 2, 2010, general election. The position opened when Justice Harriet O'Neill
did not seek reelection. Lehrmann received 2,902,003 votes (59.9 percent) to Sharp's 1,805,837 (37.3 percent).
In his race for the state Supreme Court, Green carried the support of former Justice Scott Brister
of Austin as well as former Judge Paul Pressler of Houston. On April 5, Green won the backing of Gary M. Polland
's Texas Conservative Review, the former Harris County
Republican chairman. He also procured endorsements from actor Chuck Norris
, Mathew Staver
of Liberty Counsel and Liberty University
School of Law, and Kelly Shackelford of the Liberty Legal Institute, as well as numerous conservative state legislators, including Warren Chisum
and Dan Flynn.
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
from Dripping Springs
Dripping Springs, Texas
Dripping Springs is a city in Hays County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,548 at the 2000 census; it was 1,828 in the 2008 census estimate....
in Hays County
Hays County, Texas
Hays County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2010, its official population had reached 157,107. It is named for John Coffee Hays, a Texas Ranger and Mexican-American War officer. The seat of the county is San Marcos....
, 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 is a former 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 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...
. Green was defeated in the April 13, 2010, Republican runoff election for the Place 3 seat on the Texas Supreme Court
Texas Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Texas is the court of last resort for non-criminal matters in the state of Texas. A different court, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, is the court of last resort for criminal matters.The Court is composed of a Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices...
by Judge Debra Lehrmann
Debra Lehrmann
Debra Ann H. Lehrmann is one of the eight associate justices of the Texas Supreme Court, a civil and juvenile tribunal, and a former 360th Judicial District Court judge from Fort Worth, Texas....
of Colleyville
Colleyville, Texas
Colleyville is a city in northeast Tarrant County, Texas, United States. Located roughly from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, the population was 22,807 at the 2010 census. Emerging from a number of small, rural settlements along the Cotton Belt Route, Colleyville was established in the...
near Fort Worth
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
, Texas.
Green graduated from high school in 1989 in Wylie
Wylie, Texas
Not to be confused with the unincorporated area of Wylie, Texas just outside Abilene, Texas.Wylie is a city in Collin, Dallas, and Rockwall Counties in the U.S. state of Texas, and a suburb of Dallas. At the 2000 Census, the population was 15,132; 2004 estimates pegged it at 25,850...
in Collin County
Collin County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 491,675 people, 181,970 households, and 132,292 families residing in the county. The population density was 580 people per square mile . There were 194,892 housing units at an average density of 230 per square mile...
, Texas, and entered Angelo State University
Angelo State University
Angelo State University is a public, coeducational, doctoral level degree-granting university located in San Angelo, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1928 as San Angelo College. It gained University status and awarded its first baccalaureate degrees in 1967 and graduate degrees in 1969, the...
in San Angelo
San Angelo, Texas
San Angelo is a city in the state of Texas. Located in West Central Texas it is the county seat of Tom Green County. As of 2010 according to the United States Census Bureau, the city had a total population of 93,200...
, Texas. Having carried a double-course load, Green received a Bachelor of Business Administration
Bachelor of Business Administration
The Bachelor of Business Administration is a bachelor's degree in Commerce and business administration. In most universities, the degree is conferred upon a student after four years of full-time study in one or more areas of business concentrations; see below...
in 1991 and then entered the University of Texas Law School where at the age of twenty he was the youngest student in law school. He subsequently focused his law practice on contract law and assisting entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
s in the establishment of their own businesses. Green and his wife, Kara R. Green (born October 30, 1974), have four children, Trey, Reagan, Kamryn, and Rhett.
Legislator and Religious Right Advocate
Green won his first term in the legislature by thirty-six votes over the incumbent Democrat Alec Rhodes. He served from 1999-2003 in District 45, which comprises BlancoBlanco County, Texas
Blanco County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2010, the population is 10,497. Its county seat is Johnson City. Blanco is named for the Blanco River which traverses the county. The State of Texas formed Blanco County in 1858 from portions of Burnet,...
, Caldwell
Caldwell County, Texas
Caldwell County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area. In 2000, the population was 32,194. Its county seat is Lockhart...
, and Hays
Hays County, Texas
Hays County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2010, its official population had reached 157,107. It is named for John Coffee Hays, a Texas Ranger and Mexican-American War officer. The seat of the county is San Marcos....
counties in Central Texas
Central Texas
Central Texas , is a region in the U.S. state of Texas. It is roughly bordered by San Marcos to Fredericksburg to Waco, and to Brenham, and includes the Austin–Round Rock, Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, Bryan-College Station, and Waco metropolitan areas...
. He sponsored legislation in 1999 to exempt gun and ammunition manufacturers, traders, and sellers from frivolous lawsuits in Texas. In the 2001 session, he sponsored "Celebrate Freedom Week", with emphasis on the teaching of the Declaration of Independence
Declaration of independence
A declaration of independence is an assertion of the independence of an aspiring state or states. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another nation or failed nation, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state...
.
Green was defeated for a third two-year term in 2002 by Democrat Patrick Rose
Patrick Rose
Patrick Michael Rose was a Texas Democratic politician, who served as a member of the Texas House of Representatives from House District 45 which comprises Blanco, Caldwell and Hays counties in Central Texas from 2002–2010...
, who received 48.81 percent of the vote to Green's 47.93 percent. Green Party nominee John D. Schmidt received 3.24 percent.
Green is associated with WallBuilders, a right-wing political organization that seeks to present America's "forgotten" history as a Christian nation. WallBuilders was founded by former Texas Republican vice-chairman David Barton of Aledo
Aledo, Texas
Aledo is a city in Parker County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,726 at the 2000 census.The city is served by the Aledo Independent School District.-Geography:...
, Texas. Green has shared the lecture stage with, among others, Zig Ziglar
Zig Ziglar
Hilary Hinton "Zig" Ziglar is an American author, salesman, and motivational speaker.-Biography:Zig Ziglar was born in Coffee County, Alabama, to parents John Silas Ziglar and Viola Ziglar...
and Alan Keyes
Alan Keyes
Alan Lee Keyes is an American conservative political activist, author, former diplomat, and perennial candidate for public office. A doctoral graduate of Harvard University, Keyes began his diplomatic career in the U.S...
.
Green produced the 1994 video The Legacy of President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
: The Truth About the Eighties, developed in the aftermath of the 1992 U.S. presidential election. In 2000, Green founded the Torch of Freedom Foundation, which trains and equips young people to become more involved in the political process.
Supreme Court race
Green led Judge Lehrman (born 1956) by approximately eight thousand votes in the six-candidate primary electionPrimary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
held on March 2, 2010. Green polled 212,797 votes (18.9 percent); Lehrmann received 204,547 ballots (18.20 percent). The four remaining candidates split a combined 63 percent of the vote. In third place was Jim Moseley, with 203,720 (18.13 percent). In the runoff, however, Green lost by more than twelve thousand votes. Lehrmann polled 172,813 votes (51.8 percent) to Green's 160,572 (48.2 percent). In his own Hays County, Green prevailed 66-34 percent in a low turnout. Lehrmann led in her own Tarrant County
Tarrant County, Texas
Tarrant County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, it had a population of 1,809,034. Its county seat is Fort Worth. Tarrant County is the sixteenth most populous county in the United States and the third most populous in Texas. The county is named in honor...
, 61-39 percent.
Lehrmann defeated Democrat
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...
Jim Sharp, a First Court of Appeals judge from 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 ...
, in the November 2, 2010, general election. The position opened when Justice Harriet O'Neill
Harriet O'Neill
Harriet Smith O'Neill is a retired associate justice of the Supreme Court of Texas. A Republican, O'Neill represented Place 3 of the nine positions on the court. O'Neill's term was to expire on December 31, 2010, and she declined to seek re-election to a third full six-year term...
did not seek reelection. Lehrmann received 2,902,003 votes (59.9 percent) to Sharp's 1,805,837 (37.3 percent).
In his race for the state Supreme Court, Green carried the support of former Justice Scott Brister
Scott Brister
Scott Andrew Brister is a former Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas, who served from November 2003 until September 2009. He was appointed by Governor Rick Perry to serve the remainder of the term of Justice Craig T. Enoch. He was then elected to a regular six-year term in November 2004...
of Austin as well as former Judge Paul Pressler of Houston. On April 5, Green won the backing of Gary M. Polland
Gary M. Polland
Gary Michael Polland is a Houston, Texas, attorney who is the former elected chairman of the Harris County Republican Party and the publisher of the Texas Conservate Review, which he issues periodically on the Internet. From 2001-2006, the politically conservative Polland cohosted with the...
's Texas Conservative Review, the former Harris County
Harris County, Texas
As of the 2010 Census, the population of the county was 4,092,459, White Americans made up 56.6% of Harris County's population; non-Hispanic whites represented 33.0% of the population. Black Americans made up 18.9% of the population. Native Americans made up 0.7% of Harris County's population...
Republican chairman. He also procured endorsements from actor Chuck Norris
Chuck Norris
Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris is an American martial artist and actor. After serving in the United States Air Force, he began his rise to fame as a martial artist and has since founded his own school, Chun Kuk Do...
, Mathew Staver
Mathew Staver
Mathew D. Staver, J.D., is an American lawyer, academic, professor, and former Seventh Day Adventist pastor. He has been a founding member and Chairman of Liberty Counsel since 1989, and dean of Liberty University School of Law since 2006.-Biography:...
of Liberty Counsel and Liberty University
Liberty University
Liberty University is a private Christian university located in Lynchburg, Virginia. Liberty's annual enrollment is around 72,000 students, 12,000 of whom are residential students and 60,000+ studying through Liberty University Online...
School of Law, and Kelly Shackelford of the Liberty Legal Institute, as well as numerous conservative state legislators, including Warren Chisum
Warren Chisum
Warren Darrel Chisum is a conservative Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from the Panhandle city of Pampa, a community of some 20,000 people and the seat of Gray County. He has served in the state House since 1989...
and Dan Flynn.
External links
- Rick Green for Supreme Court official campaign site
- Rick Green personal site
- Torch of Freedom Foundation
- WallBuilders
- http://dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/04/lehrmann-for-ju-1.html