John Kuempel
Encyclopedia
John Langston Kuempel is a salesman for Commercial Metals Company in Seguin
, Texas
, and a Republican
member of the Texas House of Representatives
from District 44.
Kuempel, a former football
player, is a graduate of Seguin High School
and the University of Texas. He and his wife, Michelle, a former city librarian, have twin sons, Will and Sam Kuempel (born ca. 2004). Kuempel coaches his sons' Little League
baseball
team. The family is active in the Faith Lutheran Church in Seguin. He is a member of Rotary International
, the Texas Farm Bureau, the National Rifle Association
, and the capital campaign committee of the Guadalupe Valley Medical Center.
, won reelection to the House without opposition in the heavily GOP
district. Edmund Kuempel had held the seat with little difficulty since the retirement in 1983 of Republican Representative Bennie Bock. However, two days later (November 4) Edmund Kuempel passed away, thus requiring a December 14, 2010, special election to full the position.
Kuempel was the only candidate in the field openly committed to the retention of Joe Straus
of San Antonio
as Texas House Speaker
. Edmund Kuempel had also been a Straus backer in 2009, when Straus deposed the more conservative former Speaker Tom Craddick
of Midland
. Kuempel even secured the backing of Houston Astros
baseball
great Nolan Ryan
, who is relocating into District 44.
Kuempel and eight other opponents faced off in a jungle primary
; Kuempel won the special election with 66 percent of the vote thus avoiding a runoff. The second place candidate, with 10 percent of the ballots, was another Republican, Gary Inmon, a school board member from Schertz
. Others in the field were two candidates defeated earlier by the Democrat Henry Cuellar
of District 28
in the United States House of Representatives
, Ron Avery (born 1947), a retired architect from Seguin who ran in 2006, and Jim Fish (born 1957), a small business owner from Cibolo
, who ran for Congress in 2008. Avery and Fish filed as Republicans for the special legislative election, but Avery had previously been a Constitution Party
candidate for Congress. Still another candidate, Robin Walker, had lost in the March 2, 2010, Republican primary to the elder Kuempel.
At the time of Kuempel's House election, two Democratic
representatives, Aaron Pena
of Edinburg
and Allan Ritter of Nederland
, switched affiliation to the Republican Party. Their defections increased the Republican total to one hundred members, thus giving the GOP a supermajority in the Texas House.
Kuempel's victory brings the number of Republicans in the Texas House to a record 101 members in January 2011, Democrats
holding the remaining 49 of the 150 total seats in the body.
Texas State Republican Chairman Steve Munisteri
of Houston
described Kuempel's victory as "a strong testament to the legacy and patriotism of the entire Kuempel family." Munisteri also cited political consultant Keats Norfleet of the Eppstein Group for its "overseeing a quick and efficient campaign organization."
Seguin, Texas
Seguin is a city in Guadalupe County, Texas, in the United States. It is part of the San Antonio-New Braunfels Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 22,011; the July 1, 2009 Census estimate, however, showed the population had increased to 26,842...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, and a 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...
member of the Texas House of Representatives
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
from District 44.
Kuempel, a former football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player, is a graduate of Seguin High School
Seguin Independent School District
Seguin Independent School District is a public school district based in Seguin, Texas .In addition to Seguin, the district also serves the communities of McQueeney and Kingsbury....
and the University of Texas. He and his wife, Michelle, a former city librarian, have twin sons, Will and Sam Kuempel (born ca. 2004). Kuempel coaches his sons' Little League
Little League
Little League Baseball and Softball is a non-profit organization in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, United States which organizes local youth baseball and softball leagues throughout the U.S...
baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
team. The family is active in the Faith Lutheran Church in Seguin. He is a member of Rotary International
Rotary International
Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...
, the Texas Farm Bureau, the National Rifle Association
National Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America is an American non-profit 501 civil rights organization which advocates for the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection...
, and the capital campaign committee of the Guadalupe Valley Medical Center.
Political life
Kuempel's father, Edmund KuempelEdmund Kuempel
Edmund Perry Kuempel was a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 44, based at Seguin, the seat of Guadalupe County in central Texas.-Background:...
, won reelection to the House without opposition in the heavily GOP
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...
district. Edmund Kuempel had held the seat with little difficulty since the retirement in 1983 of Republican Representative Bennie Bock. However, two days later (November 4) Edmund Kuempel passed away, thus requiring a December 14, 2010, special election to full the position.
Kuempel was the only candidate in the field openly committed to the retention of Joe Straus
Joe Straus
Joseph R. Straus, III, known as Joe Straus , is the current Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives. He represents District 121, which comprises northeastern Bexar County, including part of San Antonio, Texas, and several surrounding communities...
of San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
as Texas House Speaker
Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives
The Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the Texas House of Representatives. The Speaker's main duties are to conduct meetings of the House, appoint committees, and enforce the Rules of the House...
. Edmund Kuempel had also been a Straus backer in 2009, when Straus deposed the more conservative former Speaker Tom Craddick
Tom Craddick
Thomas Russell Craddick, known as Tom Craddick , was the first Republican to have served as Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives since Reconstruction. Craddick wielded the Speaker's gavel from 2003-2009...
of Midland
Midland, Texas
Midland is a city in and the county seat of Midland County, Texas, United States, on the Southern Plains of the state's western area. A small portion of the city extends into Martin County. As of 2010, the population of Midland was 111,147. It is the principal city of the Midland, Texas...
. Kuempel even secured the backing of Houston Astros
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...
baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
great Nolan Ryan
Nolan Ryan
Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr. , nicknamed "The Ryan Express", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is currently principal owner, president and CEO of the Texas Rangers....
, who is relocating into District 44.
Kuempel and eight other opponents faced off in a jungle primary
Jungle primary
A nonpartisan blanket primary is a primary election in which all candidates for elected office run in the same primary regardless of political party. Under this system, the top two candidates who receive the most votes advance to the next round, as in a runoff election...
; Kuempel won the special election with 66 percent of the vote thus avoiding a runoff. The second place candidate, with 10 percent of the ballots, was another Republican, Gary Inmon, a school board member from Schertz
Schertz, Texas
Schertz is a city in Bexar, Comal, and Guadalupe counties in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area. The population was 31,465 at the 2010 census.On July 16, 2007 CNNMoney.com rated Schertz one of the best places to live in the United States...
. Others in the field were two candidates defeated earlier by the Democrat Henry Cuellar
Henry Cuellar
Henry Roberto Cuellar is the U.S Representative for , serving since 2005. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district extends from the Rio Grande to the suburbs of San Antonio, including Guadalupe County and nearby Wilson County.Outside of politics, he has served as a professor at the...
of District 28
Texas's 28th congressional district
-2006 election:On June 28, 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that the Texas legislature's redistricting plan violated the Voting Rights Act in the case of District 23. As a result, on August 4, 2006, a 3 judge panel announced replacement district boundaries for 2006 election for the 23rd...
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...
, Ron Avery (born 1947), a retired architect from Seguin who ran in 2006, and Jim Fish (born 1957), a small business owner from Cibolo
Cibolo, Texas
Cibolo is a city in Guadalupe County in the U.S. state of Texas.-Schools:The City of Cibolo is served by the Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District .Maxine and Lutrell Watts ElementaryO.G. Wiederstein Elementary...
, who ran for Congress in 2008. Avery and Fish filed as Republicans for the special legislative election, but Avery had previously been a Constitution Party
Constitution Party (United States)
The Constitution Party is a paleoconservative political party in the United States. It was founded as the U.S. Taxpayers' Party by Howard Philips in 1991. Phillips was the party's candidate in the 1992, 1996 and 2000 presidential elections...
candidate for Congress. Still another candidate, Robin Walker, had lost in the March 2, 2010, Republican primary to the elder Kuempel.
At the time of Kuempel's House election, two Democratic
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...
representatives, Aaron Pena
Aaron Peña
Aaron Peña, Jr. , is a member of the Texas House of Representatives from a district in Hidalgo County in far South Texas. In November 2002, he was first elected to the Texas House of Representatives as a Democrat. He is serving his fifth term in office. Representative Peña is an attorney in private...
of Edinburg
Edinburg, Texas
Edinburg is a city in and the county seat of Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. The population was 77,100 at the 2010 census. The University of Texas–Pan American, the only fully accredited four-year university in the Rio Grande Valley, is located in Edinburg.Edinburg is part of the...
and Allan Ritter of Nederland
Nederland, Texas
Nederland is a city in Jefferson County, Texas, United States. The population was 17,547 at the 2010 census.The city is adjacent to the Southeast Texas Regional Airport in Port Arthur, which serves the nearby cities of Beaumont and Port Arthur. It is part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur...
, switched affiliation to the Republican Party. Their defections increased the Republican total to one hundred members, thus giving the GOP a supermajority in the Texas House.
Kuempel's victory brings the number of Republicans in the Texas House to a record 101 members in January 2011, Democrats
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...
holding the remaining 49 of the 150 total seats in the body.
Campaign issues
Kuempel cited conservative issues in his campaign, including:- Lower taxes and limited government
- Balancing the state budget by cutting wasteful spending
- Requiring valid Texas photo identification to vote
- Blocking implementation of the health-care plan signed in March 2010 by U.S. President Barack ObamaBarack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
- Stronger border security measures; namely, citizenship background checks on jail inmates, banning "sanctuary citySanctuary citySanctuary city is a term given to a city in the United States that follows certain practices that protect illegal immigrants. These practices can be by law or they can be by habit...
" policies, tougher penalties for employers who knowingly hire illegal aliensAlien (law)In law, an alien is a person in a country who is not a citizen of that country.-Categorization:Types of "alien" persons are:*An alien who is legally permitted to remain in a country which is foreign to him or her. On specified terms, this kind of alien may be called a legal alien of that country...
, and opposition to amnestyAmnestyAmnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
for those in the United States illegally - Restricting abortionAbortionAbortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
rights at the state level - Defense of Second AmendmentSecond Amendment to the United States ConstitutionThe Second Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights that protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms. It was adopted on December 15, 1791, along with the rest of the Bill of Rights.In 2008 and 2010, the Supreme Court issued two Second...
rights - Requiring eminent domainEminent domainEminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
reform to protect private property owners from government confiscation of their holdings - Protecting states' rightsStates' rightsStates' rights in U.S. politics refers to political powers reserved for the U.S. state governments rather than the federal government. It is often considered a loaded term because of its use in opposition to federally mandated racial desegregation...
from intrusion by the U.S. government. - Quality public education
- Protection of local water sources
Texas State Republican Chairman Steve Munisteri
Steve Munisteri
Stephen Peter Munisteri is a retired attorney from Houston, Texas, who was elected chairman of the Republican Party of Texas at the state convention held in Dallas on June 13, 2010. He unseated the incumbent Cathie L. Adams, the wife of a Dallas chiropractor, who had held the position for only...
of Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
described Kuempel's victory as "a strong testament to the legacy and patriotism of the entire Kuempel family." Munisteri also cited political consultant Keats Norfleet of the Eppstein Group for its "overseeing a quick and efficient campaign organization."