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Chris Bell (politician)
Encyclopedia
Robert Christopher "Chris" Bell (born November 23, 1959) is a Democratic Party
politician
. He last served as a one-term congressman in the United States House of Representatives
from Texas's 25th congressional district
in Houston from 2003 to 2005 before being defeated in the Democratic primary by Justice of the Peace Al Green
. He was the Democratic candidate in the 2006 election for the office of Governor of Texas
, but lost to Republican
incumbent Gov. Rick Perry
by 406,450 votes (Perry 39% versus Bell 30%).
, the seat of Taylor County
in West Texas
. He was reared in Dallas and moved to Austin
when he was accepted to the University of Texas at Austin
. As a student, Bell was a member of Phi Delta Theta
, and served as president of the Intrafraternity Council, and also spearheaded a successful effort to reinstate student government. In 1982, he graduated with a journalism degree and began work as a television and radio journalist, first in Ardmore, Oklahoma
and later in Amarillo
. He then moved to Houston, working as a Harris County
court radio reporter while taking night classes at South Texas College of Law
.
Despite his success in journalism (he was named “best radio reporter in the state” in 1990 by the Texas Associated Press), he left journalism and began what would become a successful litigation practice after receiving a law degree and being licensed as an attorney in Texas in 1992. Bell's public service career began in 1997, after being elected to the Houston City Council
. After his campaign for State Senate in 2008, Bell has since returned to the private practice of law.
He currently lives in Houston with his wife, Alison Ayres Bell, and their two sons, Atlee, 14, and Connally, 12. Alison previously worked for Mosbacher Energy and as the scheduler for Republican Robert Mosbacher, Jr.
’s 1994 campaign for lieutenant-governor
.
. Bell and Mayor Brown reconciled after the election — Bell endorsed Brown during the resulting runoff election and Brown was a vocal supporter for Bell's 2002 congressional bid.
In 2002, Bell successfully ran for the United States House of Representatives
for Texas District 25
. He represented most of southwestern Houston, including most of the city's share of Fort Bend County. He was made assistant whip by House Democratic whip
Steny Hoyer
of Maryland
. Bell also served on four standing committees, and was responsible for founding the Port Security Caucus, a group dedicated to improving seaport security.
In October 2003, Bell became a target in Republican Tom DeLay
’s 2003 congressional redistricting effort
. One proposal, seriously considered, would have thrown Bell into the heavily Republican 7th District of John Culberson
. The final plan was somewhat less ambitious, but still put Bell in jeopardy. His 25th District was renumbered as the 9th District, and absorbed a larger number of blacks and Latinos than he had previously represented. The old 25th was approximately 65 percent white; the new 9th was only 17 percent white. On March 9, 2004, Bell was heavily defeated in the Democratic primary for District 9 by Al Green
, the former president of the Houston NAACP, taking only 31 percent of the vote.
On June 15, 2004, in conjunction with Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Bell filed an ethics complaint against Tom DeLay, alleging an abuse of power and illegal solicitation of money, among other things. This ended a seven-year "truce" on such official accusations between the parties. Four months later, the House Ethics Committee unanimously admonished DeLay on two of Bell's charges. The third charge was left for criminal investigation in Texas. In 2005, DeLay was indicted by a Texas grand jury on criminal charges that he had violated campaign finance laws.
for the office of Governor of Texas. He ran against Republican incumbent Rick Perry
and independents Carole Strayhorn and Kinky Friedman
. http://www.political.com/analysis-arc/0634.html). In 2007, Chris Bell and the Clean Government Advocates for Chris Bell sued Governor Perry and the Republican Governor's Association claiming they illegally hid $1 million in donations from Houston homebuilder Bob Perry in the final days of the 2006 gubernatorial election. http://www.statesman.com/news/content/gen/ap/TX_Perry_Campaign_Money.html
, District 17
. http://www.chrisbell.com/node/2 The election was made necessary by the resignation of Republican Senator Kyle Janek
. The results of the November 4, 2008 election showed that while Bell emerged with a plurality, he did not garner enough votes to avoid a special election runoff with Republican
Joan Huffman
.
Despite heavy support from Democratic volunteers and officials, he ultimately lost the runoff to Huffman on December 16 with only 43.7 percent of the vote to Huffman's 56.3 percent. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6166716.html
troops along the U.S.-Mexico border, "as long as we are very careful not to turn the border into a militated zone." He also supports the McCain-Kennedy bill that would provide a so-called "pathway" to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants already in the country, provided they had jobs, learned English, paid fines and met certain other requirements. "I don't want to see anybody cutting in line, but I do think that people should be able to earn their citizenship if they're productive and law-abiding citizens.” http://blogs.chron.com/texaspolitics/archives/2006/06/chris_bell_and.html
system. He wants to focus on acquiring and retaining quality teachers, stopping textbook censorship, and taking the focus away from standardized tests like Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills
(TAKS). He wants to create a bipartisan committee on public education and give school districts more local control. http://www.chrisbell.com/issues/education Finally, he wants to make Texas higher education affordable. He wants to end the tuition deregulation which caused a 23% average increase in tuition at Texas state schools. He also wants to give public universities state funding and help students by making textbooks tax free. http://www.chrisbell.com/issues/higher_ed
awarded him with their first ever John Walzel Political Equality Award in 2002. He cosponsored the Permanent Partners Immigration Act with Houston Congress member Sheila Jackson-Lee. The bill seeks to offer residency to immigrant same-sex partners of U.S. citizens, much as citizens of other countries who marry Americans are allowed to stay in the country.http://www.houstonvoice.com/print.cfm?content_id=421 Bell also supports civil unions for gay and lesbian couples, and is against a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.http://www.burntorangereport.com/mt/archives/2005/08/chris_bell_lauc.html
research. After losing his mother to Parkinson's, and nearly losing his wife to cancer
, he believes that using science to cure disease is a moral imperative. Bell is on the board of StemPAC, a leading stem cell advocacy group, and often speaks at national stem cell conferences. While a member of the 108th United States Congress
, he consistently voted pro stem cell research. Bell is also a strong proponent of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), a program that has been the target of budget cuts by Governor Rick Perry
.
http://www.chrisbell.com/issues/healthcare
, a proposed toll road, on the grounds that it would consume 1.5 million acres (6000 km²) of farmland and 150 square miles (388.5 km²) of privately owned property.
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. He last served as a one-term congressman in the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from Texas's 25th congressional district
Texas's 25th congressional district
-2006 election:On June 28, 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that the Texas legislature's 2003 redistricting plan violated the Voting Rights Act in the case of District 23...
in Houston from 2003 to 2005 before being defeated in the Democratic primary by Justice of the Peace Al Green
Al Green (politician)
Alexander N. "Al" Green is the U.S. Representative from Texas' 9th congressional district . The district includes most of southwestern Houston, including most of that city's share of Fort Bend County. It also includes most of Missouri City.-Early life and career:Green was born in New Orleans,...
. He was the Democratic candidate in the 2006 election for the office of Governor of Texas
Texas gubernatorial election, 2006
The 2006 Texas gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2006 to select the next governor of the state of Texas, who is serving a four year term that began on January 16, 2007. The Republican and Democratic Parties chose their candidates by primaries and convention. Primaries were held on...
, but lost to Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
incumbent Gov. Rick Perry
Rick Perry
James Richard "Rick" Perry is the 47th and current Governor of Texas. A Republican, Perry was elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998 and assumed the governorship in December 2000 when then-governor George W. Bush resigned to become President of the United States. Perry was elected to full...
by 406,450 votes (Perry 39% versus Bell 30%).
Personal history
Chris Bell was born in AbileneAbilene, Texas
Abilene is a city in Taylor and Jones counties in west central Texas. The population was 117,063 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Abilene Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2006 estimated population of 158,063. It is the county seat of Taylor County...
, the seat of Taylor County
Taylor County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 126,555 people, 47,274 households, and 32,524 families residing in the county. The population density was 138 people per square mile . There were 52,056 housing units at an average density of 57 per square mile...
in West Texas
West Texas
West Texas is a vernacular term applied to a region in the southwestern quadrant of the United States that primarily encompasses the arid and semi-arid lands in the western portion of the state of Texas....
. He was reared in Dallas and moved to Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
when he was accepted to the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
. As a student, Bell was a member of Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta , also known as Phi Delt, is an international fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, Beta Theta Pi, and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad. The fraternity has about 169 active chapters and colonies in over 43 U.S...
, and served as president of the Intrafraternity Council, and also spearheaded a successful effort to reinstate student government. In 1982, he graduated with a journalism degree and began work as a television and radio journalist, first in Ardmore, Oklahoma
Ardmore, Oklahoma
Ardmore is a business, cultural and tourism city in and the county seat of Carter County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 24,283, while a 2007 estimate has the Ardmore micropolitan statistical area totaling 56,694 residents...
and later in Amarillo
Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo is the 14th-largest city, by population, in the state of Texas, the largest in the Texas Panhandle, and the seat of Potter County. A portion of the city extends into Randall County. The population was 190,695 at the 2010 census...
. He then moved to Houston, working as a Harris County
Harris County, Texas
As of the 2010 Census, the population of the county was 4,092,459, White Americans made up 56.6% of Harris County's population; non-Hispanic whites represented 33.0% of the population. Black Americans made up 18.9% of the population. Native Americans made up 0.7% of Harris County's population...
court radio reporter while taking night classes at South Texas College of Law
South Texas College of Law
South Texas College of Law is a private American Bar Association accredited law school and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools...
.
Despite his success in journalism (he was named “best radio reporter in the state” in 1990 by the Texas Associated Press), he left journalism and began what would become a successful litigation practice after receiving a law degree and being licensed as an attorney in Texas in 1992. Bell's public service career began in 1997, after being elected to the Houston City Council
Houston City Council
The Houston City Council is a city council for the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas.Currently, there are fourteen members, nine elected from council districts and five at-large. The members of the Council are elected every two years, in odd-numbered years...
. After his campaign for State Senate in 2008, Bell has since returned to the private practice of law.
He currently lives in Houston with his wife, Alison Ayres Bell, and their two sons, Atlee, 14, and Connally, 12. Alison previously worked for Mosbacher Energy and as the scheduler for Republican Robert Mosbacher, Jr.
Robert Mosbacher, Jr.
Robert Adam Mosbacher, Jr. is a Houston businessman and is the former head of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation , a US government agency aimed at promoting development by working with the private sector. Nominated by President George W. Bush, Mr...
’s 1994 campaign for lieutenant-governor
Lieutenant governor (United States)
In the United States, 43 of the 50 states have a separate, full-time office of lieutenant governor. In most cases, the lieutenant governor is the highest officer of state after the governor, standing in for that officer when he or she is absent from the state or temporarily incapacitated...
.
Houston City Council (1997–2002)
Bell served as at large Position 4 councilman for the Houston City Council for five years. During this time, he served as chairman of both the Council Committee on Customer Service and Initiatives and the Ethics Committee. Throughout his service, he focused on ethics reform, passing laws that limited the use of soft money in city elections. He also championed what he called “customer-driven government,” featuring innovative ideas to make government more accessible to the public. He also helped pass the largest tax cut in the city's history and worked to pass sweeping ethics reform that significantly cleaned up what was a corrupt local government.Mayoral campaign (2001)
In 2001, Bell ran against incumbent mayor Lee Brown. Brown and Bell's first disagreement was previously in 2000, when Bell joined with conservatives to pass a 2-cent property tax rollback, causing Brown to replace Bell as chairman. Bell finished third behind Brown and Republican candidate Orlando SanchezOrlando Sánchez
Orlando Sánchez Márquez is a former catcher in Major League Baseball. He played all or part of four seasons in the majors, from through , for the St. Louis Cardinals , Kansas City Royals and Baltimore Orioles...
. Bell and Mayor Brown reconciled after the election — Bell endorsed Brown during the resulting runoff election and Brown was a vocal supporter for Bell's 2002 congressional bid.
US Congress (2002–2005)
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
for Texas District 25
Texas's 25th congressional district
-2006 election:On June 28, 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that the Texas legislature's 2003 redistricting plan violated the Voting Rights Act in the case of District 23...
. He represented most of southwestern Houston, including most of the city's share of Fort Bend County. He was made assistant whip by House Democratic whip
Whip
A whip is a tool traditionally used by humans to exert control over animals or other people, through pain compliance or fear of pain, although in some activities whips can be used without use of pain, such as an additional pressure aid in dressage...
Steny Hoyer
Steny Hoyer
Steny Hamilton Hoyer is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1981. The district includes a large swath of rural and suburban territory southeast of Washington, D.C.. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
of Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. Bell also served on four standing committees, and was responsible for founding the Port Security Caucus, a group dedicated to improving seaport security.
In October 2003, Bell became a target in Republican Tom DeLay
Tom DeLay
Thomas Dale "Tom" DeLay is a former member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1984 until 2006. He was Republican Party House Majority Leader from 2003 to 2005, when he resigned because of criminal money laundering charges in...
’s 2003 congressional redistricting effort
2003 Texas redistricting
The 2003 Texas redistricting refers to a controversial mid-decade congressional redistricting plan appealed to the United States Supreme Court in League of United Latin American Citizens v. Perry...
. One proposal, seriously considered, would have thrown Bell into the heavily Republican 7th District of John Culberson
John Culberson
John Abney Culberson is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2001. He is a member of the Republican Party and the Tea Party caucus...
. The final plan was somewhat less ambitious, but still put Bell in jeopardy. His 25th District was renumbered as the 9th District, and absorbed a larger number of blacks and Latinos than he had previously represented. The old 25th was approximately 65 percent white; the new 9th was only 17 percent white. On March 9, 2004, Bell was heavily defeated in the Democratic primary for District 9 by Al Green
Al Green (politician)
Alexander N. "Al" Green is the U.S. Representative from Texas' 9th congressional district . The district includes most of southwestern Houston, including most of that city's share of Fort Bend County. It also includes most of Missouri City.-Early life and career:Green was born in New Orleans,...
, the former president of the Houston NAACP, taking only 31 percent of the vote.
On June 15, 2004, in conjunction with Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Bell filed an ethics complaint against Tom DeLay, alleging an abuse of power and illegal solicitation of money, among other things. This ended a seven-year "truce" on such official accusations between the parties. Four months later, the House Ethics Committee unanimously admonished DeLay on two of Bell's charges. The third charge was left for criminal investigation in Texas. In 2005, DeLay was indicted by a Texas grand jury on criminal charges that he had violated campaign finance laws.
Gubernatorial campaign (2006)
Bell was the Democratic candidate in the 2006 electionTexas gubernatorial election, 2006
The 2006 Texas gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2006 to select the next governor of the state of Texas, who is serving a four year term that began on January 16, 2007. The Republican and Democratic Parties chose their candidates by primaries and convention. Primaries were held on...
for the office of Governor of Texas. He ran against Republican incumbent Rick Perry
Rick Perry
James Richard "Rick" Perry is the 47th and current Governor of Texas. A Republican, Perry was elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998 and assumed the governorship in December 2000 when then-governor George W. Bush resigned to become President of the United States. Perry was elected to full...
and independents Carole Strayhorn and Kinky Friedman
Kinky Friedman
Richard S. "Kinky" Friedman is an American Texas Country singer, songwriter, novelist, humorist, politician and former columnist for Texas Monthly who styles himself in the mold of popular American satirists Will Rogers and Mark Twain. He was one of two independent candidates in the 2006 election...
. http://www.political.com/analysis-arc/0634.html). In 2007, Chris Bell and the Clean Government Advocates for Chris Bell sued Governor Perry and the Republican Governor's Association claiming they illegally hid $1 million in donations from Houston homebuilder Bob Perry in the final days of the 2006 gubernatorial election. http://www.statesman.com/news/content/gen/ap/TX_Perry_Campaign_Money.html
State Senate District 17 campaign (2008)
On July 18, 2008, Bell announced on his campaign website that he would run in the special election for Texas SenateTexas Senate
The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing 31 single-member districts across the state with populations of approximately 672,000 per constituency. There are no term limits, and each term is four years long. The Senate meets at the...
, District 17
Texas Senate, District 17
District 17 of the Texas Senate is a senatorial district that currently serves portions of Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris and Jefferson counties in the U.S. state of Texas. Senator Kyle Janek announced his resignation on May 29, 2008. Governor Rick Perry called for a special...
. http://www.chrisbell.com/node/2 The election was made necessary by the resignation of Republican Senator Kyle Janek
Kyle Janek
Kyle Janek, M.D. ,is a former Republican member of the Texas Senate, having represented District 17 from 2003 until June 2, 2008. The district includes portions of Harris, Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston, and Jefferson counties...
. The results of the November 4, 2008 election showed that while Bell emerged with a plurality, he did not garner enough votes to avoid a special election runoff with Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Joan Huffman
Joan Huffman
Joan J. Huffman is a former felony court judge in Houston, Texas, and an incoming Republican member of the 31-member Texas State Senate from District 17, which includes a portion of populous Harris County. Huffman will also be the sixth currently serving female member of the chamber...
.
Despite heavy support from Democratic volunteers and officials, he ultimately lost the runoff to Huffman on December 16 with only 43.7 percent of the vote to Huffman's 56.3 percent. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6166716.html
Immigration
Bell supports the use of United States National GuardUnited States National Guard
The National Guard of the United States is a reserve military force composed of state National Guard militia members or units under federally recognized active or inactive armed force service for the United States. Militia members are citizen soldiers, meaning they work part time for the National...
troops along the U.S.-Mexico border, "as long as we are very careful not to turn the border into a militated zone." He also supports the McCain-Kennedy bill that would provide a so-called "pathway" to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants already in the country, provided they had jobs, learned English, paid fines and met certain other requirements. "I don't want to see anybody cutting in line, but I do think that people should be able to earn their citizenship if they're productive and law-abiding citizens.” http://blogs.chron.com/texaspolitics/archives/2006/06/chris_bell_and.html
Education
Bell supports increased spending for the Texas public educationPublic education
State schools, also known in the United States and Canada as public schools,In much of the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the terms 'public education', 'public school' and 'independent school' are used for private schools, that is, schools...
system. He wants to focus on acquiring and retaining quality teachers, stopping textbook censorship, and taking the focus away from standardized tests like Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills
Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills
The Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills is a standardized test used in Texas primary and secondary schools to assess students' attainment of reading, writing, math, science, and social studies skills required under Texas education standards. It is developed and scored by Pearson Educational...
(TAKS). He wants to create a bipartisan committee on public education and give school districts more local control. http://www.chrisbell.com/issues/education Finally, he wants to make Texas higher education affordable. He wants to end the tuition deregulation which caused a 23% average increase in tuition at Texas state schools. He also wants to give public universities state funding and help students by making textbooks tax free. http://www.chrisbell.com/issues/higher_ed
Gay rights
Bell is a lifelong proponent of gay rights. In 2002, the Houston Chapter of the Human Rights CampaignHuman Rights Campaign
The Human Rights Campaign is the United States' largest LGBT advocacy group and lobbying organization; according to the HRC, it has more than one million members and supporters...
awarded him with their first ever John Walzel Political Equality Award in 2002. He cosponsored the Permanent Partners Immigration Act with Houston Congress member Sheila Jackson-Lee. The bill seeks to offer residency to immigrant same-sex partners of U.S. citizens, much as citizens of other countries who marry Americans are allowed to stay in the country.http://www.houstonvoice.com/print.cfm?content_id=421 Bell also supports civil unions for gay and lesbian couples, and is against a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.http://www.burntorangereport.com/mt/archives/2005/08/chris_bell_lauc.html
Healthcare
Bell is a passionate supporter of stem cellStem cell
This article is about the cell type. For the medical therapy, see Stem Cell TreatmentsStem cells are biological cells found in all multicellular organisms, that can divide and differentiate into diverse specialized cell types and can self-renew to produce more stem cells...
research. After losing his mother to Parkinson's, and nearly losing his wife to cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
, he believes that using science to cure disease is a moral imperative. Bell is on the board of StemPAC, a leading stem cell advocacy group, and often speaks at national stem cell conferences. While a member of the 108th United States Congress
108th United States Congress
The One Hundred Eighth United States Congress was the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives from January 3, 2003 to January 3, 2005, during the third and fourth years of George W. Bush's...
, he consistently voted pro stem cell research. Bell is also a strong proponent of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), a program that has been the target of budget cuts by Governor Rick Perry
Rick Perry
James Richard "Rick" Perry is the 47th and current Governor of Texas. A Republican, Perry was elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998 and assumed the governorship in December 2000 when then-governor George W. Bush resigned to become President of the United States. Perry was elected to full...
.
http://www.chrisbell.com/issues/healthcare
Trans-Texas Corridor
Bell has opposed the Trans-Texas CorridorTrans-Texas Corridor
The Trans-Texas Corridor was a transportation network that was discontinued in the planning and early construction stages in the U.S. State of Texas. The network, as originally envisioned, would have been composed of a network of supercorridors up to wide to carry parallel links of tollways,...
, a proposed toll road, on the grounds that it would consume 1.5 million acres (6000 km²) of farmland and 150 square miles (388.5 km²) of privately owned property.