Susan Combs

Susan Combs
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
Incumbent
In office
2007 - Present
Term ends
2014
Years in position	6
Party	Republican
Elections and appointments
Last election	November 2, 2010
First elected	November 7, 2006
Term limits	N/A
Prior offices
Texas Agriculture Commissioner
1998 - 2006
Texas House of Representatives
1992-1996
Education
Bachelor's	Vassar College
J.D.	University of Texas Law School
Websites
Office website

Susan Combs is the current Republican Texas Comptroller. She was first elected to the statewide office in 2006 and won re-election in 2010.

Biography

Combs was initially elected as comptroller on November 7, 2006, succeeding Carole Strayhorn, a Republican who ran unsuccessfully for governor as an Independent in the same election. Prior to her tenure as Comptroller, Combs served two terms as Commissioner of the Texas Department of Agriculture from 1999–2007, having succeeded commissioner Rick Perry, who was instead elected as lieutenant governor. Combs has also worked as an Assistant District Attorney for the City of Dallas, Texas and as a state director for Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison.

Education

• Vassar College, B.A.
• University of Texas Law School, J.D.

Political Career

Comptroller of Public Accounts, State of Texas (2007-present)

Transparency advocacy

"Where the money goes"

Combs spearheaded the creation of an online portal for state expenditures, “Where the Money Goes.” The basis for the site began with Combs’ first week in office in January 2007, when she posted detailed expenditure information for the Comptroller’s office online. Before transparency legislation was signed into Texas law on June 15, 2007, Combs had already built the Web site detailing expenditures of 24 agencies responsible for 80 percent of the state’s spending.

The site was later re-launched under the name “Where the Money Goes” in October 2007. The site now offers users a free, searchable database of all state agency expenditures. The four major search functions on the portal include state agency search, vendor search, spending category search and purchasing code search, a feature that allows users to “drill down” to item levels for the biggest agencies.

Open Book Texas

On Dec. 3, 2008, Combs introduced Book Texas, a three-part set of initiatives aimed at improving government spending, transparency and accounting accuracy. The Comptroller’s Texas Smart Buy initiative gives state agencies and local governments access to an online shopping cart to purchase goods and services through state-negotiated contracts, effectively leveraging the state of Texas’ bulk buying power to receive lower prices. Combs is also directing a comprehensive study of ways to integrate data across Texas state government to make processes and systems more cohesive, standardized and efficient.

Texas Transparency Check-up

Combs had declared herself in support of transparency for the state budget and state expenses. Most important in terms of transparency, Combs unveiled a new Web site, Texas Transparency Check-Up, which expands the Comptroller’s previous online accountability efforts and encourages transparency at all levels of Texas government finance. The Web site offers transparency guidance to local governments and provides Texans an opportunity to see how well their local governments stack up in offering online access to financial information.

Campaign contributions

Ballotpedia collects information on campaign donors for each year in which a candidate or incumbent is running for election. The following table offers a breakdown of Susan Combs's donors each year. Click [show] for more information.

Susan Combs's Campaign Contributions
	2010 Texas Comptroller		2006 Texas Comptroller		2002 Texas Agriculture Commissioner		1998 Texas Agriculture Commissioner
Total Raised	$2,744,001		$4,621,504		$1,782,234		$1,439,695
Total Raised by General Election Opponent	$1,037		$85,884		$253,887		$187,438
Top 5 contributors	Bob Perry	$150,000	Bob Perry	$150,000	Bob Perry	$80,000	TX Farm Bureau AG Fund	$25,000
	Grass Roots Institute of Texas	$75,000	Doylene Perry	$100,000	Lonnie Pilgrim	$76,000	Mr. & Mrs. Richard Salwen	$22,525
	Ryan & Co.	$75,000	Lonnie Pilgrim	$60,786	H-E-B Grocery	$30,000	Lonnie Pilgrim	$20,000
	Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson	$50,000	Peter Holt	$55,000	William McMinn	$25,000	Vinson & Elkins TX PAC	$17,500
	AT&T and Independent Bankers Association of Texas	$35,000 each	Steve Sterquell	$46,399	Mary Ralph Lowe	$25,000	Bob & Doylene Perry	$17,500
Individuals	$1,474,257		$2,947,612		$1,416,536		$1,143,843
Institutions	$1,237,041		$1,491,275		$345,908		$250,592
In-state donations	$2,546,433		$4,197,932		$1,739,459		$1,410,939
Out-of-state donations	$170,297		$278,457		$42,775		$28,731

Elections

2010

Comptroller of Public Accounts 2010 General election results
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Susan Combs (R)		3,307,935	83.16%
Mary J. Ruwart (L)		417,523	10.49%
Edward Lindsay (G)		252,233	6.34%

Personal

Combs grew up in a ranching family from West Texas. She lives in Austin with her husband, Joe W. Duran. She is the mother of three sons.

See also

• Texas Comptroller
• Comptroller

External links

Suggest a link

• Official campaign website
• Combs campaign Facebook
• Americans for Tax Reform Center for Fiscal Accountability, Texas Comptroller Susan Combs to Discuss Transparency Initiatives on Wednesday (audiocast available), Dec. 1, 2008
• Susan Comb's bio
• Houston Conservative, Statement on Comptroller Susan Combs’ Transparency Initiatives, Dec. 3, 2008
• Americans for Tax Reform, Transparency in Government Spending
• Gov Tech, Texas Grades State Agencies and Local Governments on Financial Transparency, Dec. 5, 2008