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Allan Ritter
Allan Ritter is a former Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives, representing District 21 from 1999 to 2015. After his election in 2010, he officially switched his party affiliation from Democratic to Republican.
On October 4, 2013, Ritter announced that he wound not run for re-election to the Texas House of Representatives in 2014.[1]
Biography
Ritter's professional experience includes sitting on the board of Allied Building Stores and serving as president of the Ritter Lumber Company. He previously worked as vice chairman of Allied Building Stores from 1996-1998 and in sales and management for the Ritter Lumber Company from 1972-1988.
Ritter is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, Coastal Conservation Association, Crimestoppers, First Baptist Church of Nederland, National Rifle Association, Nederland Economic and Development Council, Southwestern Cattle Association, Texas Construction Industry Council, Texas and Southwest Cattlemen's Association, and Young Men's Business League.[2]
2010 Party Switch
Shortly after winning re-election to District 21 in the November 2, 2010 general election, Ritter announced that he would be switching her party affiliation from Democratic to Republican. The announcement came in the wake of landslide GOP victories in the Texas House of Representatives that left Republicans one seat short of a supermajority.[3]
On December 11, 2010 Ritter announced: "In order to best reflect the views of the majority of the people of District 21, I have decided to change my party affiliation. I believe this will allow me to more accurately and effectively represent my constituents while addressing the challenges facing our state."[3]
Ritter's switch all but clinched the Republican supermajority for the 2011 session, barring an unforeseen Democratic win in the December 14th, 2010 special election for deceased Republican Representative Edmund Kuempel. According to the Legislative Research Library, no party had held 100 or more seats in the House since 1983.[4]
Committee assignments
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Ritter served on the following committees:
| Texas committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Natural Resources, Chair |
| • Ways & Means |
2011-2012
Ritter served on the following Texas House of Representatives committees:
| Texas committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Calendars |
| • Calendars, Chair |
| • Ways & Means |
Issues
Sponsored legislation
- HB 2664 - Relating to creating a defense to prosecution for the offense of unlawful carrying of a handgun by a license holder on the premises of certain businesses.
- HB 4231 - Relating to the conveyancing or transfer in this state of water imported into this state from a source located outside this state.
- HB 4232 - Relating to the exemption from ad valorem taxation for certain property used to control pollution.
- HB 4592 - Relating to the exemption from ad valorem taxation of real property leased to and used by certain schools.[5]
Elections
2012
Ritter ran in the 2012 election for Texas House of Representatives, District 21. Ritter defeated Daniel Miller in the May 29 Republican primary election and was unchallenged in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[6]
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
 Allan Ritter Incumbent |
72.7% | 9,299 |
| Daniel Miller | 27.3% | 3,488 |
| Total Votes | 12,787 | |
2010
Ritter won re-election to the 21st District seat in 2010. He had no opposition in the March 2nd primary. Ritter defeated Independent Eric Baumgart in the general election on November 6, 2012.
| Texas House of Representatives, District 21 2010 General election results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Allan Ritter (D)
|
19,432 | 100% | ||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Ritter won re-election to the Texas House of Representatives from Texas' 21st District. Ritter ran unopposed in the general election, and he received 32,208 votes.[6] Ritter raised $149,868 for his campaign.[7]
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Texas scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2014
In 2014, the Texas State Legislature did not hold a regular session.
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the Texas State Legislature was in its 83rd legislative session from January 8 through May 27. Thirty minutes after the regular session ended, Governor Rick Perry called legislators back for a special session starting that evening.[8] Two additional called sessions were held from July 1 through July 30 and July 30 through August 5.[9]
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2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
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In 2012, the Texas State Legislature did not hold a regular session. |
2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
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In 2011, the Texas State Legislature was in its 82nd legislative session from January 11 through May 30. A special session was called for May 31 through June 29.[9]
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Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Allan + Ritter + Texas + House
- All stories may not be relevant to this legislator due to the nature of the search engine.
See also
- Texas State Legislature
- Texas House of Representatives
- Texas House of Representatives Committees
- Texas Joint Committees
- Texas state legislative districts
External links
- Allan Ritter campaign website
- Profile from Open States
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign Contributions: 2012, 2010, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002, 2000, 1998
- Freedom Speaks profile (Archived)
- Texas State Directory profile
- Texas Political Almanac HD 21 page
- Texas Tribune profile & bio
- Vote-TX.org profile
- State Surge profile
- Texas 20/20 PAC profile (Archived)
Footnotes
- ↑ The Texas Tribune, "Allan Ritter Retiring From Texas House," October 4, 2013
- ↑ Project Vote Smart - Rep. Ritter
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Texas Tribune, "Allan Ritter Confirms He's Switching Parties," December 11, 2010
- ↑ Dallas Morning News, "Defection leads GOP toward supermajority in Texas House," December 14, 2010 (dead link)
- ↑ Texas Legislature, "Bills Authored/Joint Authored by Rep. Ritter," accessed May 24, 2014
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Texas Secretary of State, "1992 - Current Election History," accessed February 17, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "2008 Candidate funds," accessed May 24, 2014
- ↑ kten.com, "Texas Lawmakers To Tackle Redistricting In Special Session," May 29, 2013
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Legislative reference Library of Texas, "Texas Legislative Sessions and Years," accessed June 13, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by ' |
Texas House District 21 1999–2015 |
Succeeded by Dade Phelan (R) |
