Royce West
From Ballotpedia
| Royce West | |
 | |
| Texas Senate District 23 | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 1992 | |
| Current term ends 2009 | |
| Political party | Democrat |
| Profession | Attorney |
| Website | Official website |
Contents |
Royce West is a Democratic member of the Texas Senate and represents District 23, or Dallas County.
After winning the senate seat in November 1992, West first began his senate work in the 73rd legislative session in January of 1993. West has since served the 23rd District in the 74th, 75th, 76th, 77th, 78th, 79th, 80th, and 81st legislative session.
Committee assignments
- Intergovernmental Relations Committee, Texas Senate
- Education Committee, Texas Senate
- Finance Committee, Texas Senate
- Higher Education Committee, Texas Senate
- Health & Human Services Committee, Texas Senate
Personal life
Royce West was born on Sept. 26, 1952, in Annapolis, Maryland.
After graduating with a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Texas at Arlington [1] in 1976, West went on to earn a master's degree three years later from the same university. He received his law degree from the [University of Houston[2]in 1979. West became a senior partner at West and Associates in 1994, when it was first established.
West has seven children with his wife Carol.
Recognition
Most recently Texas Monthly [3] named West one of the 25 most powerful politicians in the State of Texas. In the past, the magazine has also recognized him as one of the "Ten Best Legislators in Texas." In 2005 West was also named one of the key players of the Legislature in the Associated Press' "Movers and Shakers" list.
In April of 2006, West was sworn in by Senate colleagues to serve as President Pro Tempore of the Texas Senate, a position lasting until January of 2007.
Controversies
In March 2007, Unfair Park[4], the Dallas Oberver[5] blog, reported West receiving nearly $2.5 million from Dallas Independent School District during a five year period. The payment amounted from legal advising the senator provided the school district.
In January 2009, Unfair Park[6] also reported West receiving $3.8 million from DISD between October 2002 and October 2008, all of it for legal counsel.
West also was criticized following a report[7] by the news Web site Texas Watchdog that his law firm earned nearly $1 million in 2008 from public-sector clients that could benefit from his position in the legislature.
West omitted some of those clients[8] on the ethics forms filed annually with the state of Texas. The law requires legislators to disclose any fee they’ve received from either a lobbyist or an entity who employs a registered lobbyist in Austin. West amended his 2008 and 2009 forms following the report by Texas Watchdog.
West sponsored a plan in March 2009 that would make public contracts easier to enlarge without going before school boards[9]. And the plan could have applied to West's legal work for the Dallas Independent School District, if his firm used a document called a change order to amend its contract, the news Web site Texas Watchdog reported. Another official told the Web site that it is rare for lawyers to use change orders to add on to their contracts. The measure failed to make it out of Senate committee[10].
External links
- Official website of Royce West
- Royce West on Project Vote Smart
- Campaign Contributions: 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002, 1998
- Royce West Personal Website
References
| ||||||||||||||
 |
This Texas-related article is a stub. You can help Ballotpedia by expanding it. |
