Charles F. Howard
| Charlie Howard | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 26th district | |
|
In office 1995-present | |
| Preceded by | Jim Tallas |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 30, 1942 |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Jo Howard |
| Profession | Real Estate Development |
Charles F. Howard, known more commonly as Charlie Howard, is an American politician and has been a member of the Texas House of Representatives since 1995. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Howard is a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), serving as Texas state leader.[1]
Early life and career
After moving to Sugar Land, Texas, a fast-growing suburb of Houston at the time, Charlie Howard became involved in the Sugar Land community, at one time serving as President of the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce, which is highly influential in Fort Bend County and also of which he is a life member. He is also a founding director of the Fort Bend Economic Development Council and has served as President of The C. Howard Company, which specializes in real estate development. Prior experience included serving as Executive Vice President and Operating Officer of Sugarland Properties, which developed the First Colony master-planned community that now comprises most of the southern and southeastern areas of both Sugar Land and State House District 26. Additionally, Howard has been involved in numerous charitable, political, business, religious and educational organizations.
Political career
In 1994, Charlie Howard ran in the Republican primary for District 26 in the Texas House of Representatives, which is demographically dominated by Sugar Land, against incumbent Republican Jim Tallas, who succeeded Tom DeLay in 1984 after DeLay made a successful run for Congress. Howard made an issue of Tallas' resistance to term limits, which was exhibited when the latter (as chair of a subcommittee) struck down a measure calling for term limits in the Texas Legislature. Using this issue as the centerpiece of his campaign, Howard defeated Tallas with 71 percent of the vote in the primary, which was considered the real contest in the heavily Republican district, which has not elected a Democrat since 1978. In fact, Howard has faced a Democratic challenger only once, in 2000, winning with 70% of the vote, and has, with the exception of 1996 (when he faced only a token third party candidate), won without opposition in other previous general election cycles.
Since being elected, Howard has developed a largely conservative voting record in the Texas Legislature, and has received awards from various conservative groups, including the Christian Coalition, the Eagle Forum, Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Family Association, and Concerned Women of America. Additionally, he has also been recognized by various publications, including the Houston Chronicle for his efforts in securing funds for the expansion of U.S. Highway 59, which runs through Sugar Land, and by the Republican Party of Texas for Howard's strong recognition of the party's values.
Because of his accomplishments in Austin, Texas Monthly named Charlie Howard among the "Worst Legislators" three times, ranking seventh worst in 1997 and fourth worst in 1999. In 2007, considered one of the worst legislative sessions in Texas history, Howard was named to the worst list for the third time in his seven sessions. .
In 2006, Howard fended off a primary challenge, the first time such a scenario occurred in his political career, but faced no opposition in the general election. In 2008, Howard easily won reelection over his two Republican primary opponents, educator Paula Stansell and student Norm Ley with 63% of the vote.
In 2011, fearing a loss in the Republican primary to Sugar Land City Councilwoman Jacquie Chaumette, Howard, using the redistricting process, was able to eliminate Chaumette from the district through gerrymandering. The redistricting committee, breaking from the consistency within the district boundaries, withdrew the potential opponent's neighborhood from the district. However, as of April 21, the lines are yet to be made official. Howard ran on the pledge of serving only two terms, but has since been elected to eight.
References
External links
| Preceded by Jim Tallas |
Member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 26 (Sugarland) 1995 – present |
Incumbent |
