Terry Keel
Encyclopedia
Terrence McCauley "Terry" Keel (born January 13, 1958), is a founding partner of the Keel & Nassour law
firm in Austin
, and he served as the Parliamentarian
of the Texas House of Representatives
from May 25, 2007 until January 13, 2009. He was appointed by Speaker
Tom Craddick
of Midland
. Keel himself was a Republican
member from House District 47 (Austin) from January 14, 1997, until January 9, 2007. Prior to his House service, he was the sheriff
of Travis County
, having served from November 17, 1992, to January 1, 1997. Keel currently serves as the Executive Director of the Texas Facilities Commission, a position to which he was appointed effective December 31, 2009.
in Austin, where he received his High School diploma on May 26, 1976. In 1980, he procured a Bachelor of Arts
in English
from the University of Texas at Austin and an Associate of Arts in Foreign Language
from Austin Community College
.
He obtained his Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Houston
on May 14, 1983. He was admitted to the Texas Bar on June 24, 1983, and licensed to practice law by the Texas Supreme Court
and the United States Supreme Court. He was further licensed in the federal district courts for the Western and Southern districts of Texas and the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals based in New Orleans
.
Keel also holds a Master Peace Officer License and is certified as an instructor of peace officers by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education
.
He is married to the former Jeanne Marie Compeau (born November 14, 1959), formerly of Flemington
, New Jersey
. The couple has twin sons, Travis Bryan Keel and Sean Thornton Keel (born ca. 1987).
State Representative Susan Combs
, now the state comptroller
did not seek reelection. Keel instead was nominated in the Republican runoff primary over his principal challenger, Kirk Ingels, 7,484 (62.4%) to 4,509 (37.6%). He was victorious in the general election
, having polled 51,953 votes (69%) to the Democrat
John Lindell's 22,106 ballots (29.3%).
After having been unopposed for a second term in 1998, Keel won an easy victory in 2000. He polled 74,958 votes (83.12%) to the Libertarian Party
's Michael Badnaik, who received 15,221 votes (16.87%). No Democrat ran in District 47 that year.
In 2002, Keel won his fourth term in the House over the Democrat Bill Martin and the Green Party
's Sarah DuBose. Keel obtained 30,001 votes (63.12%) to Martin's 15,524 (32.7%) and DuBose's 1,963 (4.1%).
He was unopposed for his fifth and final House term in 2004.
In his last two terms in the House, Keel was chairman of the influential House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee.
In 1999, Keel was named an honorary member of the Austin Police
Association in recognition for his work as a legislator and his prior service as sheriff and an assistant district attorney.
Like his predecessor Combs, Keel was considered something of a moderate Republican by Texas standards. "Over the years, he's clearly emerged as a member who's trusted on both sides of the aisle," said Rep. Ellitott Naishtat, an Austin Democrat and senior member of the Travis County Delegation."Conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly
's Eagle Forum
, for instance, rated him a meager 54% favorable rating in 2005. The Young Conservatives of Texas, however, in that same year scored Keel at 70%. Earlier, in his career he had been more conservative in his voting record. The Christian Coalition, founded by the Reverend Pat Robertson
of Virginia
, scored him 92% in 1999.
of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
, Place 8. In Texas as well as Oklahoma
, the state's highest criminal and civil appeals courts are entirely separate bodies. He went into a runoff with the incumbent Charles Holcomb
, who prevailed with 89,376 votes (53.62%) to Keel's 77,291(46.37%). As customary in modern Texas, this was an extremely low-turnout party runoff.
Keel tried to have the signature petitions of both Judge Holcomb and Dallas
District Judge Robert Francis invalidated because of errors. Had he succeeded, Keel would have been the only Republican candidate for the Place 8 judgeship and a prohibitive favorite in the general election. Instead the Texas Supreme Court allowed Holcomb and Francis, the third-place finisher in the primary, more time to correct the errors in their petitions.
Keel's former House seat went Democratic in 2006, with the victory of Valinda Bolton over Republican Bill Welch, 50.24 to 45.53%, respectively.
Craddick said that he chose Keel because of the former lawmaker's decade of legislative experience, his legal expertise, and his knowledge of House rules. The parliamentarian is charged with guiding the Speaker through the daily activities during House floor sessions. He also advises him on House rules and key provisions in the existing Texas Constitution of 1876.
s. He ordered the construction of corrections facilities using inmate labor, and he expanded agriculture
, labor, and education
programs. He established a professional victim services program. He also launched joint law-enforcement operations between the Travis County Sheriff's Department and Austin Municipal Police.
Keel was the first and thus far only Republican to have been elected sheriff of traditionally Democratic Travis County. He was succeeded by the Democrat Margo L. Frasier, the first woman and the first lesbian
to have yet served as sheriff in the history
of Travis County.
jury trials in his role as a Travis County assistant district attorney from July 23, 1984 to November 1992 and was considered one of the office's most tenacious prosecutors. He was chief prosecutor over these areas: Major Crimes, Narcotics, Organized Crime, District Court, Child Abuse, and Juvenile Prosecution. From 1987 to 1991, he was assigned to the Austin Police Department Repeat Offender Program. This program, which targets career criminals for apprehension and prosecution, was one of the first such efforts in the United States
. He was the lead prosecutor in numerous cases of capital murder, homicide
, sexual assault
, and attempted capital murder.
Keel received three certificates of appreciation from the Austin police chief (1986, 1991, and 1992) and further citations from the Austin Police Association for the prosecution of career criminals for homicide and capital murder.
From 1983 to 1984, Keel was an assistant to the district attorney of Brazos County
(Bryan-College Station
). From 1999-2000, he was a special prosecutor for the district attorney of Hays County
near Austin.
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
firm 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 he served as the Parliamentarian
Parliamentarian (consultant)
A parliamentarian is an expert on parliamentary procedure who advises organizations and deliberative assemblies. This sense of the term "parliamentarian" is distinct from the usage of the same term to mean a member of Parliament....
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...
from May 25, 2007 until January 13, 2009. He was appointed by 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...
. Keel himself was 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 from House District 47 (Austin) from January 14, 1997, until January 9, 2007. Prior to his House service, he was the sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
of Travis County
Travis County, Texas
As of 2009, the U.S. census estimates there were 1,026,158 people, 320,766 households, and 183,798 families residing in the county. The population density was 821 people per square mile . There were 335,881 housing units at an average density of 340 per square mile...
, having served from November 17, 1992, to January 1, 1997. Keel currently serves as the Executive Director of the Texas Facilities Commission, a position to which he was appointed effective December 31, 2009.
Early years and education
Keel is a fifth-generation "Austinite," having been reared in a family of six sons and one daughter. He is the son of Thomas M. Keel, the former long-time Texas Legislative Budget Board Director and former lecturer in public affairs for the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. He was the senior class president at LBJ High SchoolLBJ High School
Lyndon Baines Johnson Early College High School in northeast Austin, Texas is a high school built in 1974 that later came to house one of Austin's two magnet high schools, the Science Academy...
in Austin, where he received his High School diploma on May 26, 1976. In 1980, he procured a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
from the University of Texas at Austin and an Associate of Arts in Foreign Language
Foreign language
A foreign language is a language indigenous to another country. It is also a language not spoken in the native country of the person referred to, i.e. an English speaker living in Japan can say that Japanese is a foreign language to him or her...
from Austin Community College
Austin Community College
The Austin Community College District is a regional community college district with eight campuses and 12 centers located in and around the city of Austin, Texas, United States....
.
He obtained his Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
on May 14, 1983. He was admitted to the Texas Bar on June 24, 1983, and licensed to practice law by 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...
and the United States Supreme Court. He was further licensed in the federal district courts for the Western and Southern districts of Texas and the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals based in New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
.
Keel also holds a Master Peace Officer License and is certified as an instructor of peace officers by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
.
He is married to the former Jeanne Marie Compeau (born November 14, 1959), formerly of Flemington
Flemington, New Jersey
Flemington is a borough in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 4,581. It is the county seat of Hunterdon County....
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. The couple has twin sons, Travis Bryan Keel and Sean Thornton Keel (born ca. 1987).
Five legislative elections
In 1996 incumbentIncumbent
The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
State Representative Susan Combs
Susan Combs
Susan Combs is a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Texas, currently serving as the state's Comptroller of Public Accounts....
, now the state comptroller
Comptroller
A comptroller is a management level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization.In British government, the Comptroller General or Comptroller and Auditor General is in most countries the external auditor of the budget execution of the...
did not seek reelection. Keel instead was nominated in the Republican runoff primary over his principal challenger, Kirk Ingels, 7,484 (62.4%) to 4,509 (37.6%). He was victorious in the general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
, having polled 51,953 votes (69%) to the 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...
John Lindell's 22,106 ballots (29.3%).
After having been unopposed for a second term in 1998, Keel won an easy victory in 2000. He polled 74,958 votes (83.12%) to the Libertarian Party
Libertarian Party (United States)
The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
's Michael Badnaik, who received 15,221 votes (16.87%). No Democrat ran in District 47 that year.
In 2002, Keel won his fourth term in the House over the Democrat Bill Martin and the Green Party
Green Party (United States)
The Green Party of the United States is a nationally recognized political party which officially formed in 1991. It is a voluntary association of state green parties. Prior to national formation, many state affiliates had already formed and were recognized by other state parties...
's Sarah DuBose. Keel obtained 30,001 votes (63.12%) to Martin's 15,524 (32.7%) and DuBose's 1,963 (4.1%).
He was unopposed for his fifth and final House term in 2004.
In his last two terms in the House, Keel was chairman of the influential House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee.
In 1999, Keel was named an honorary member of the Austin Police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
Association in recognition for his work as a legislator and his prior service as sheriff and an assistant district attorney.
Like his predecessor Combs, Keel was considered something of a moderate Republican by Texas standards. "Over the years, he's clearly emerged as a member who's trusted on both sides of the aisle," said Rep. Ellitott Naishtat, an Austin Democrat and senior member of the Travis County Delegation."Conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly
Phyllis Schlafly
Phyllis McAlpin Stewart Schlafly is a Constitutional lawyer and an American politically conservative activist and author who founded the Eagle Forum. She is known for her opposition to modern feminism ideas and for her campaign against the proposed Equal Rights Amendment...
's Eagle Forum
Eagle Forum
Eagle Forum is a conservative interest group in the United States founded by Phyllis Schlafly in 1972 and is the parent organization that also includes the Eagle Forum Education and Legal Defense Fund and the Eagle Forum PAC. The Eagle Forum has been primarily focused on social issues; it describes...
, for instance, rated him a meager 54% favorable rating in 2005. The Young Conservatives of Texas, however, in that same year scored Keel at 70%. Earlier, in his career he had been more conservative in his voting record. The Christian Coalition, founded by the Reverend Pat Robertson
Pat Robertson
Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson is a media mogul, television evangelist, ex-Baptist minister and businessman who is politically aligned with the Christian Right in the United States....
of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, scored him 92% in 1999.
Defeat for judge, 2006
In the spring of 2006, Keel ran unsuccessfully in the statewide Republican primary for JudgeJudge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is the court of last resort for all criminal matters in the State of Texas, United States. The Court, which is based in the Supreme Court Building in Downtown Austin, is composed of a Presiding Judge and eight judges....
, Place 8. In Texas as well as 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...
, the state's highest criminal and civil appeals courts are entirely separate bodies. He went into a runoff with the incumbent Charles Holcomb
Charles Holcomb
Judge Charles Holcomb, born 1933, attended Lee College in Baytown and Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas for his undergraduate education. He served in the Air Force Reserves 1951-1953, and was graduated from South Texas College of Law in 1958....
, who prevailed with 89,376 votes (53.62%) to Keel's 77,291(46.37%). As customary in modern Texas, this was an extremely low-turnout party runoff.
Keel tried to have the signature petitions of both Judge Holcomb and 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...
District Judge Robert Francis invalidated because of errors. Had he succeeded, Keel would have been the only Republican candidate for the Place 8 judgeship and a prohibitive favorite in the general election. Instead the Texas Supreme Court allowed Holcomb and Francis, the third-place finisher in the primary, more time to correct the errors in their petitions.
Keel's former House seat went Democratic in 2006, with the victory of Valinda Bolton over Republican Bill Welch, 50.24 to 45.53%, respectively.
Keel as House parliamentarian
Craddick chose Keel as an Interim Parliamentarian on May 25, 2007, when Denise Davis and her deputy, Chris Griesel, resigned because Craddick deflected questions from insurgent House members who sought to remove him as Speaker. Craddick refused to allow House members to make a motion to "vacate the chair" on the theory that he has the power to quash such a request. He also declined to allow an appeal of his decision.Craddick said that he chose Keel because of the former lawmaker's decade of legislative experience, his legal expertise, and his knowledge of House rules. The parliamentarian is charged with guiding the Speaker through the daily activities during House floor sessions. He also advises him on House rules and key provisions in the existing Texas Constitution of 1876.
Sheriff Keel
In his four-year term as Travis County sheriff, Keel supervised a staff of some 1,200 corrections and law enforcement personnel. He managed inmate populations exceeding 2,500 during a time of severe jail overcrowding. He authorized a program to house jail prisoners in tentTent
A tent is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles or attached to a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using guy ropes tied to stakes or tent pegs...
s. He ordered the construction of corrections facilities using inmate labor, and he expanded agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, labor, and education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
programs. He established a professional victim services program. He also launched joint law-enforcement operations between the Travis County Sheriff's Department and Austin Municipal Police.
Keel was the first and thus far only Republican to have been elected sheriff of traditionally Democratic Travis County. He was succeeded by the Democrat Margo L. Frasier, the first woman and the first lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
to have yet served as sheriff in the history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
of Travis County.
Assistant district attorney
Prior to his tenure as sheriff, Keel was lead prosecutor in more than fifty contested felonyFelony
A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...
jury trials in his role as a Travis County assistant district attorney from July 23, 1984 to November 1992 and was considered one of the office's most tenacious prosecutors. He was chief prosecutor over these areas: Major Crimes, Narcotics, Organized Crime, District Court, Child Abuse, and Juvenile Prosecution. From 1987 to 1991, he was assigned to the Austin Police Department Repeat Offender Program. This program, which targets career criminals for apprehension and prosecution, was one of the first such efforts in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He was the lead prosecutor in numerous cases of capital murder, homicide
Homicide
Homicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
, sexual assault
Sexual assault
Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
, and attempted capital murder.
Keel received three certificates of appreciation from the Austin police chief (1986, 1991, and 1992) and further citations from the Austin Police Association for the prosecution of career criminals for homicide and capital murder.
From 1983 to 1984, Keel was an assistant to the district attorney of Brazos County
Brazos County, Texas
Brazos County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas in the Central Texas region. In 2010, its population was 194,851. The county seat is Bryan and it is part of the Bryan-College Station metropolitan area. Brazos is named for the Brazos River, along with Brazoria...
(Bryan-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...
). From 1999-2000, he was a special prosecutor for the district attorney of 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....
near Austin.