Kirk Watson
| Kirk Watson | ||
 | ||
| Texas State Senate, District 14 | ||
| Incumbent | ||
| In office | ||
| 2007 - Present | ||
| Term ends | ||
| January 13, 2015 | ||
| Years in position | 6 | |
| Party | Democratic | |
| Compensation | ||
| Base salary | $7,200/year | |
| Per diem | $150/day | |
| Elections and appointments | ||
| Last election | November 6, 2012 | |
| First elected | 2006 | |
| Next election | November 4, 2014 | |
| Term limits | N/A | |
| Personal | ||
| Profession | Attorney | |
| Websites | ||
| Office website | ||
 | ||
Contents |
Watson graduated with a B.A. from Baylor University and also graduated with a J.D. from Baylor Law School in 1981.
In addition to being a senator, Watson is also a partner at Hughes & Luce, Limited Liability Partnership and has held that title since 1997. Prior to his election to the state senate, Watson was also the mayor of Austin and was in that office from 1997 to 2005.[1]
District 14
Kirk Watson represents District 14, which includes the parts of the county of Travis, Texas.[2]
Committee assignments
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Watson served on the following committees:
| Texas Committee Assignments, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Business & Commerce | ||||
| • Economic Development | ||||
| • Higher Education, Vice-chair | ||||
| • Nominations | ||||
| • Transportation | ||||
2011-2012
Watson served on the following Texas Senate committees:
| Texas Committee Assignments, 2011 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Transportation & Homeland Security, Vice-chair | ||||
| • Business & Commerce | ||||
| • Economic Development | ||||
| • Higher Education | ||||
| • Nominations | ||||
2009-2010
| Texas Committee Assignments, 2009 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Transportation & Homeland Security | ||||
| • Business & Commerce | ||||
| • Economic Development | ||||
| • Jurisprudence | ||||
| • Nominations | ||||
Elections
2012
- See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2012
Watson ran in the 2012 election for Texas State Senate, District 14. Watson ran unopposed in the May 29 primary election and defeated Ryan M. Dixon (L) in the general election which took place on November 6, 2012.[3]
| Texas State Senate, District 14, General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Kirk Watson Incumbent |
80.3% | 212,527 | |
| Libertarian | Ryan Dixon | 19.7% | 52,187 | |
| Total Votes | 264,714 | |||
2010
- See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2010
Watson won re-election to the 14th District Seat in 2010. He ran unopposed in the primary.
Watson defeated Republican candidate Mary Lou Serafine and Libertarian candidate Kent Phillips in the general election on November 6, 2012.[4]
| Texas State Senate, District 14 2010 General election results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Kirk Watson (D)
|
115,949 | 60.72% | ||
| Mary Lou Serafine (R) | 68,100 | 35.66% | ||
| Kent Phillips (L) | 6,884 | 3.6% | ||
2006
On Nov. 7, 2006, Watson won election to the 14th District Seat in the Texas State Senate, defeating opponent Robert Howard (L).[5]
Watson raised $1,562,229 for his campaign while Howard raised $11,317.[6]
| Texas State Senate, District 14 (2006) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Kirk Watson (D)
|
127,223 | 80.31% | ||
| Robert Howard (L) | 31,180 | 19.68% | ||
Campaign donors
2012
Campaign donor information is not yet available for this year.
2010
Watson raised a total of $1,299,315 in 2010. Below are Watson's top 5 campaign contributors in the 2010 election:[7]
| Contributor | 2010 total |
|---|---|
| Brown McCaroll LLP | $40,296 |
| Williams Kherkher | $40,000 |
| Border Health | $25,000 |
| Mattsson, Chris | $25,000 |
| Penn, F Walter | $22,500 |
2006
In 2006, a year in which Watson was up for election, he collected $1,562,229 in donations. [8]
His four largest contributors in 2006 were:
| Donor | Amount |
|---|---|
| Williams Bailey Law Firm | $60,000 |
| Good Government PAC | $50,000 |
| Provost & Umphrey | $27,250 |
| Bettye Nowlin | $25,000 |
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."[9] Legislators are graded along a standard grading scale, receiving grades A through F based on their performance during the legislative session.
2011
Kirk Watson received a grade of F on the 2011 Fiscal Responsibility Index.
Personal
Watson was born on March 18, 1958 in Saginaw, Tx. He and his wife, Liz, have two children: Preston and Cooper.
External links
- Official website of Kirk Watson
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions: 2012, 2008, 2006, 2002
- Kirk Watson Texas Website
- Kirk Watson Facebook
References
- ↑ Kirk Watson from Project Vote Smart
- ↑ Texas Senate Districts by Number
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State - 2012 Election and Candidate Information
- ↑ Official Texas State Senate Election Results
- ↑ Election Results, Texas State Senate, District 14
- ↑ Election Results, Texas State Senate, District 14
- ↑ Follow the Money - 2010 Campaign contributions
- ↑ 2006 contributions to Kirk Watson
- ↑ Empower Texans, "Fiscal Responsibility Index"
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Gonzalo Barrientos |
Texas Senate District 14 2007-present |
Succeeded by NA |
| |||||||||||||||||
- State legislative article missing donor information
- Current member, Texas State Senate
- State senators first elected in 2006
- Texas
- 2010 candidate
- State Senate candidate, 2010
- Democratic Party
- 2010 incumbent
- 2010 winner
- 2012 incumbent
- State Senate candidate, 2012
- 2012 primary (winner)
- 2012 general election (winner)
- 2012 unopposed
- 2012 unopposed primary and general election
