George Lavender

George Lavender
Texas State House, District 1
Incumbent
In office
January 11, 2011 - Present
Term ends
January 13, 2015
Years in position	2
Party	Republican
Compensation
Base salary	$7,200/year
Per diem	$150/day
Elections and appointments
Last election	November 6, 2012
First elected	November 6, 2012
Next election	November 6, 2012
Term limits	N/A
Education
Bachelor's	University of Arkansas-Fayetteville
Personal
Birthday	September 7, 1955
Websites
Office website
Campaign website

George Lavender is a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives, representing the 1st District since 2011.

Biography

Professional experience

Lavender is a 30-year small businessman. He is a partner with Ellco Distributing and works in commercial real estate. George is a graduate of the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville where he earned a BSBA in Management.

Education

• BSBA Management, University of Arkansas-Fayetteville
• Arkansas High School

Committee assignments

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Lavender served on the following committees:

Texas Committee Assignments, 2013
• Homeland Security & Public Safety
• Transportation

2011-2012

Lavender served on the following Texas House of Representatives committees:

Texas Committee Assignments, 2011
• Land & Resource Management
• Transportation

Issue positions

Campaign themes

2010

Lavender's 2010 campaign site listed his positions across a number of issues: "George Lavender has a consistent record of supporting candidates and causes that advocate for responsible fiscal policies which limit the growth of state government, promote free enterprise and stimulate businesses to create jobs in this tough economic environment. George is proudly pro-life, pro-second amendment and a strong supporter of private property rights, the 10th amendment and the belief that our Constitution should be interpreted as written by our Founders."

Lavender specifically mentioned the following issues as important to his candidacy:

• Voter ID

Excerpt: "Voter ID legislation is a commonsense reform that is necessary to ensure the integrity and fairness of our elections. Unlike my opponent who has repeatedly opposed Voter ID legislation, I will work with other conservative leaders to pass such measures if elected State Representative."

• Border Security/Immigration

Excerpt: "Texas is on the front line of the illegal immigration issue. Washington has failed us and now more than ever people are looking to state governments to address the problem. I will work with federal, state and local governments to secure our borders and enforce immigration policies that respect those who follow the legal processes of joining our national citizenry rather than reward those who do not."

• Eminent Domain

Excerpt: "Protecting private property rights is fundamental to preserving our way of life in East Texas. Eminent domain authority should be defined and exercised by the government in a limited manner and affected landowners should be fairly compensated for their land. I will oppose any efforts to expand governmental eminent domain authority."

• Small Business Issues/Taxation & Regulation

Excerpt: "As a small businessman for over 30 years, I know firsthand the struggles of making payroll, paying taxes and trying to keep up with the never ending demands of government regulations. I will work to reduce and simplify state regulation processes and requirements for small businesses and support state economic policies that promote free enterprise and job growth."

• 2nd Amendment

Excerpt:"The 2nd Amendment to our U.S. Constitution affords us the undeniable right to keep and bear arms. Unfortunately, this right continues to come under attack. I will oppose any efforts to limit our 2nd Amendment rights if elected State Representative."

Elections

2012

See also: Texas House of Representatives elections, 2012

Lavender won re-election in the 2012 election for Texas House of Representatives, District 1. Lavender ran unopposed in the May 29 primary election and defeated Tim Eason (L) in the general election which took place on November 6, 2012.

Texas House of Representatives, District 1, General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	George Lavender Incumbent	82.6%	42,080
	Libertarian	Tim Eason	17.4%	8,839
Total Votes				50,919

2010

See also: Texas House of Representatives elections, 2010

Lavender won election to the 1st District seat in 2010, defeating incumbent Stephen Frost and Independent candidate Trent Gale.

Lavender defeated Jack Ballard in the March 2nd Republican primary. He received 4,133 votes, where Ballard received 3,822 votes.

The general election took place on November 6, 2012.

Texas House of Representatives, District 1 2010 General election results
Candidates		Votes	Percent
George Lavender (R)		18,575	51.51%
Stephen Frost (D)		14,717	40.81%
Trent Gale (I)		2,766	7.67%

2008

On November 4, 2008, Lavender was defeated in the race for the Texas House of Representatives 1st District seat by Stephen Frost.

Frost received 29,598 votes in the election while Lavender received 24,853 votes, and Libertarian candidate Tim Eason received 781 votes. Frost raised $200,917 for his campaign; Lavender raised $41,622.

Texas House of Representatives, District 1
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Stephen Frost (D)		29,598	53.58%
George Lavender (R)		24,853	44.99%
Tim Eason (L)		781	1.41%

Campaign donors

2012

Campaign donor information is not yet available for this year.

2010

Lavender raised a total of $544,531 in 2010. Below are Lavender's top 5 campaign contributors in the 2010 election.

Contributor	2010 total
Texans for Lawsuit Reform	$199,786
Associated Republicans of Texas	$162,900
Conservative Republicans of Texas	$47,855
Trevor Rees-Jones	$20,000
Stuart Crow	$3,500

2008

In the 2008 election, Lavender raised a total of $41,622.

His five largest contributors in 2008 were:

Donor	Amount
Bob Perry	$12,500
Doylene Perry	$7,500
Steve Findley	$2,000
Dan Duncan	$2,000
Gerald Hair Realty	$1,750

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a google news search for the term George + Lavender + Texas + House

All stories may not be relevant to this legislator due to the nature of the search engine.

George Lavender News Feed

• Texas House Votes to Reduce State Exams in Lower Grades - EverythingLubbock.com
• East Texas lawmakers' bills clear Senate committee - Longview News-Journal
• Bill to Increase Vehicle Registration Fee Dies in House - Texas Tribune
• The great Texan takeaway - The Australian
• War vets fire opinions on open carry bill, gun restrictions - The Baylor Lariat
• North Central Community Calendar ? May 16-22 - San Antonio Express
• PHOTOS: George HW Bush Has the Best Socks - TIME
• Legislature sets sights on gun bills - LubbockOnline.com
• Perry, conservative groups kill vehicle fee increase for roads - Dallas Morning News (blog)
• Study: Texting while driving unsafe by any means - Monitor

Scorecards

Empower Texans Fiscal Responsibility Index

Empower Texans produces the Fiscal Responsibility Index as "a measurement of how lawmakers perform on size and role of government issues." The index uses "exemplar votes on core budget and free enterprise issues that demonstrate legislators' governing philosophy." Legislators are graded along a standard grading scale, receiving grades A through F based on their performance during the legislative session.

2011

George Lavender received a grade of B on the 2011 Fiscal Responsibility Index.

Mark Jones Partisan Index

2011

Mark P. Jones is the Chair of the Department of Political Science at Rice University. He builds a ranking of Texas state representatives each year based on their votes from the previous session. Jones then ranks legislators based on how liberal and conservative they are according to legislative history.

Personal

• Married 32 years to Jan Timberlake Lavender
• Three children, Allison Scherer (28), Rachel Presley (26), and Jacob (21)
• Member & Former Deacon, First Baptist Church - Moore's Lane, Texarkana, Texas

Community Service & Involvement

• 20-year Volunteer Youth Coach: PGYA, Boys & Girls Club, Dixie League, USSA
• Former Board Member, Boys & Girls Club
• Long-time supporter, First Choice Pregnancy Center
• Long-time supporter, Watersprings Ranch
• Past Delegate, Republican State Convention
• "A" Rated - Texas State Rifle Association (TSTA) & National Rifle Association (NRA)

External links

Suggest a link

• Texas House member page
• Official Campaign website
• Official Facebook Page
• Candidate Twitter Page
• Campaign Flicker Page
• George Lavender YouTube Channel
• Texas House GOP YouTube Channel
• Official Campaign Contributions
• Contributions, Follow the Money
• Biography from Project Vote Smart
• Texas Tribune Profile
• Imagine Election Profile

References

Political offices
Preceded by Stephen Frost (R)	Texas House of Representatives District 1 2011-Present	Succeeded by -