Mark Strama
| Mark Strama | ||
 | ||
| Texas State House, District 50 | ||
| Incumbent | ||
| In office | ||
| 2005 - Present | ||
| Term ends | ||
| January 13, 2015 | ||
| Years in position | 8 | |
| Party | Democratic | |
| Compensation | ||
| Base salary | $7,200/year | |
| Per diem | $150/day | |
| Elections and appointments | ||
| Last election | November 6, 2012 | |
| First elected | 2004 | |
| Next election | November 4, 2014 | |
| Term limits | N/A | |
| Education | ||
| Bachelor's | Brown University | |
| Websites | ||
| Office website | ||
| Campaign website | ||
 | ||
Contents |
Biography
Prior to running for office in 2004, Mark was a technology entrepreneur who founded the first company to register voters online. Strama is a Sylvan Learning Center franchise owner. He has worked as a Consultant/Director of Business Development for Accenture eDemocracy Services (2003-2004), Senior Vice President of Public Elections for Election.com (2000-2003), and Founder/Chief Executive Officer of NewVoter.com, Incorporated,( 1999-2000).
Strama is a founding member of the Pflugerville Independent School District MEN in Education Program, member/Bronze-Level Sponsor of the Greater Pflugerville Chamber of Commerce, sits on the Board of Directors of KidsVoting United States of America, and member of the Pflugerville Council of Neighborhood Association.[1]
Committee assignments
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Strama served on the following committees:
| Texas Committee Assignments, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| • International Trade & Intergovernmental Affairs | ||||
| • Ways & Means | ||||
2011-2012
Mike Strama served on the following Texas House of Representatives committees:
| Texas Committee Assignments, 2011 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Human Services | ||||
| • Public Health, Chair | ||||
2009-2010
| Texas Committee Assignments, 2009 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Energy Resources | ||||
| • Technology, Economic Development & Workforce, Chair | ||||
Sponsored legislation
- HB 104 - Relating to the reapportionment of state legislative, congressional, and judicial districts and the creation, function, and duties of the Texas Redistricting Commission.
- HB 105 - Relating to limits on political contributions and expenditures in connection with certain legislative and executive offices; providing civil and criminal penalties.
- HB 516 - Relating to the establishment and funding of a green job skills training program.
- HB 1314 - Relating to the availability of certain financial information on Internet websites of school districts and open-enrollment charter schools.[2]
Issues
Strama's answers to the Texas State Legislative Election 2008 Political Courage Test are available. The test provides voters with how a candidate would vote on the issues if elected.
When asked his legislative priorities he replied:
"I believe we need to overhaul our state testing system in public schools so that education does not revolve around testing; however, testing is effective at assessing student needs and adopting instruction to meet those needs. I believe Texas needs to continue to incentivize and stimulate the renewable energy industry, and lead - not fight - the evolution from oil and gas to clean, affordable energy technologies. Finally, I will continue to advocate campaign finance reform and redistricting reform so that politicians can be held accountable by voters."[3]
Legislative sessions
82nd (2011-2012)
Redistricting
Representative Strama announced on January 13th 2011 that he would not participate in the 2011 redistricting cycle due to skepticism over the partisan nature of the legislature-controlled process. Community Impact Newspaper reported that "Strama said he's not going to draw any maps, he's not going to lobby his neighbors for specific borders, he's not going to participate in any redistricting committee hearings, and he said he may not even vote on the final redistricting bill in the coming months."[4] Strama explained: "When the Legislature controls redistricting, the likeliest outcome is that there will be fewer districts that are evenly balanced with a genuine chance of being competitive in the general election. There are far more districts where the outcome of the general election is preordained by the district boundaries. It's just wrong."[4]
Elections
2012
Strama ran in the 2012 election for Texas House of Representatives, District 50. Strama ran unopposed in the May 29 primary election. He was unchallenged in the general election which took place on November 6, 2012.[5][6]
2010
Strama won re-election in District 50. He was unopposed in the March 2 Democratic primary and defeated Republican Pat McGuinness and Libertarian Emily Cowan in the November 2 general election.[7]
| Texas House of Representatives, District 50 2010 General election results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
 Mark Strama (D)
|
23,720 | 54.84% | ||
| Pat McGuinness (R) | 18,041 | 41.71% | ||
| Emily Cowan (L) | 1,486 | 3.43% | ||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Strama won re-election to the Texas House of Representatives from Texas's 50th District, defeating Jerry Mikus, Jr. (R) and Jerry Chandler (L). Strama received 45,456 votes in the election while Mikus received 23,681 votes, and Chandler received 3,055 votes.[8] Strama raised $200,714 for his campaign; Mikus raised $20,544.[9]
| Texas House of Representatives, District 50 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Mark Strama (D)
|
45,456 | 62.96% | ||
| Jerry Mikus, Jr. (R) | 23,681 | 32.80% | ||
| Jerry Chandler (L) | 3,055 | 4.23% | ||
2006
On November 4, 2006 Strama won re-election to the Texas House of Representatives from Texas's 50th District, defeating Jeff Fleece (R) and Jerry Chandler (L).[10]
Strama raised $365,541 for his campaign while Fleece raised $203,610 and Chandler raised $0.[11]
| Texas House of Representatives, District 50 (2006) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Mark Strama (D)
|
23,098 | |||
| Jeff Fleece (R) | 13,681 | |||
| Jerry Chandler (L) | 1,892 | |||
2004
On November 4, 2004 Strama won re-election to the Texas House of Representatives from Texas's 50th District, defeating incumbent Jack Stick (R) and Greg Knowles (L).[12]
Strama raised $829,967 for his campaign while Stick raised $800,899 and Knowles raised $0.[13]
| Texas House of Representatives, District 50 (2004) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Mark Strama (D)
|
31,401 | |||
| Jack Stick (R) | 30,832 | |||
| Greg Knowles (L) | 2,390 | |||
Campaign donors
2012
Campaign donor information is not yet available for this year.
2010
Strama raised a total of $329,887 in 2010. Below are Strama's top 5 campaign contributors in the 2010 election:[14]
| Contributor | 2010 total |
|---|---|
| Texans for Lawsuit Reform | $42,500 |
| Butt, Charles C | $40,000 |
| USAA | $6,031 |
| Chickasaw Nation | $6,000 |
| AT&T | $5,379 |
2008
In the 2008 election, Strama raised a total of $200,714.[15]
His five largest contributors in 2008 were:
| Donor | Amount |
|---|---|
| Texans for Lawsuit Reform | $11,000 |
| Dell, Michael | $5,000 |
| Butt, Charles C | $5,000 |
| Dell INC | $5,000 |
| Texas Trial Lawyers Association | $4,500 |
2006
In the 2006 election, Strama raised a total of $365,541. [16]
His five largest contributors in 2006 were:
| Donor | Amount |
|---|---|
| Texans for Lawsuit Reform | $21,000 |
| Texas Association of Realtors | $11,802 |
| Texans for Insurance Reform | $8,000 |
| AT&T | $6,000 |
| Lebermann Jr, Lowell H | $5,480 |
2004
In the 2004 election, Strama raised a total of $829,967. [17]
His five largest contributors in 2004 were:
| Donor | Amount |
|---|---|
| Trabulsi, Judy | $142,790 |
| Strama, Mark | $133,498 |
| Strama, Dr Tom | $50,000 |
| Rodney Ellis Campaign | $30,000 |
| Texans for Insurance Reform | $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."[18] Legislators are graded along a standard grading scale, receiving grades A through F based on their performance during the legislative session.
2011
Mark Strama received a grade of F on the 2011 Fiscal Responsibility Index.
External links
- Mark Strama's campaign website
- Texas House of Representatives - Rep. Strama
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Official Campaign Contributions
- Follow The Money, Campaign Contributions: 20102008, 2006, 2004
- Texas State Directory profile
- Freedom Speaks profile
- Texas Political Almanac HD 50 page
- Texas Tribune profile & bio
- Vote-TX.org profile
- State Surge profile
- Mark Strama on Facebook
- Mark Strama on MySpace
References
- ↑ Project Vote Smart - Rep. Strama
- ↑ Texas Legislature - Bills Authored/Joint Authored by Rep. Strama
- ↑ Project Vote Smart - Rep. Strama Issue Positions
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Community Impact News, "Rep. Mark Strama opts out of 'redistricting game'", January 13, 2010
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State - 2012 Election and Candidate Information
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State Election History
- ↑ Official Texas Election Results
- ↑ Texas House official election results for 2008
- ↑ District 50 Texas House candidate funds, 2008
- ↑ Texas House official election results for 2006
- ↑ District 50 Texas House candidate funds, 2006
- ↑ Texas House official election results for 2004
- ↑ District 50 Texas House candidate funds, 2004
- ↑ Follow the Money - 2010 Campaign contributions
- ↑ Follow the Money - 2008 Campaign contributions
- ↑ Follow the Money - 2006 Campaign contributions
- ↑ Follow the Money - 2004 Campaign contributions
- ↑ Empower Texans, "Fiscal Responsibility Index"
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