Diane Patrick (Texas politician)

Diane Porter Patrick (born January 9, 1946)^[1] is a Republican former four-term member of the Texas House of Representatives for District 94, based in Arlington in Tarrant County, Texas.^[2] First elected in 2006, Patrick was unseated in the Republican primary election held on March 4, 2014, by her intra-party rival, Tony Tinderholt, also of Arlington, who polled 7,489 votes (55.4 percent) to her 6,018 (44.6 percent).^[3]

Background

Patrick attended Longview High School in Longview in East Texas.^[4] In 1966, she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in professional education from the Southern Baptist-affiliated Baylor University in Waco, Texas. She also holds Master of Arts (1969) and Doctor of Philosophy (1999) degrees from the University of North Texas in Denton. Patrick taught in the Richardson and Birdville independent school districts from 1967 to 1971 and 1986 to 1989, respectively. She is a former professor at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth and at the University of Texas at Arlington.^[1]

Patrick and her husband, Ned Howard Patrick (born c. 1944), a dentist, have two children, Craig Madison Patrick (born c. 1970) and Claire Patrick Casteel and her husband, Brandon Garrett Casteel (both born c. 1974).^[1][4] She is a member of the Junior League, Rotary International, the Arlington Republican Club, and Reagan Legacy Republican Women.

Political life

From 1981 to 1992, Patrick was a trustee and later board president of the Arlington Independent School District. In 1992, she was elected to a single four-year term to the Texas State Board of Education.^[1] In the 1992 Republican primary, Patrick defeated Forrest Edward Watson (born c. 1935) for the party nomination to the District 11 seat. She polled 36,736 ballots (59.3 percent) to his 25,258 votes (40.7 percent).^[5] Patrick then defeated the Libertarian Jerilyn Kay "Jeri" Barthel (born c. 1956) of Arlington, 341,029 votes (83.5 percent) to 67,502 (16.5 percent).^[6] She did not seek reelection to the state board in 1996 and was succeeded by fellow Republican Richard Neill.^[7]

In the 2006 Republican primary for the District 94 seat in the Texas House of Representatives, Patrick challenged the incumbent Representative Kent Grusendorf. She made Grusendorf's support for school vouchers and her opposition to them the key to her upset victory.^[8] Patrick prevailed, 45,973 (58.1 percent) to Grusendorf's 4,308 (41.9 percent).^[9] Patrick then handily won the general election in the majority Republican district with 21,800 votes (63.5 percent) against the Democrat David Pillow of Arlington, who polled 11,147 votes (32.5 percent). A Libertarian, Leslie Herman, held the remaining 1,363 votes (4 percent).^[10] In 2007, the Dallas Morning News dubbed her the best of the freshman class of legislators.^[1]

In 2008, then Speaker Tom Craddick of Midland appointed Patrick and futures trader Salem Abraham, the president of the Canadian Independent School District in Canadian in Hemphill County, to the Public School Accountability Task Force, a group established to oversee a new educational accountability system for public education. Abraham also served on the legislative committee for the Texas Association of School Boards.^[11]

In the 2012 House primary, Patrick easily prevailed over Trina Desiree Lanza (born c. 1969) of Colleyville, 7,310 votes (74.7 percent) to 2,472 (25.3 percent).^[12] She then won the general election over yet another Libertarian. In 2013, in her last regular legislative session, Patrick served on these House committees: (1) Appropriations, (2) Higher Education (vice chair), and (3) Rules and Resolutions. She also sat on the Joint Committee of Oversight of Higher Ed Governance, Excellence & Transparency.^[1]

Patrick supported the ban on abortion after twenty weeks of gestation in 2013; the bill passed the House, 96-49, but it was later blocked in federal court. She also backed companion legislation to increase medical and licensing requirements of abortion providers.^[13] These issues brought forth an unsuccessful filibuster in the Texas State Senate by Wendy R. Davis of Fort Worth,^[14] who in 2014 was the Democratic nominee for governor. The Texas Right to Life Committee rated Patrick 67 percent favorable in 2013, 60 percent in 2011.^[15]

Patrick co-sponsored the bill to prohibit texting while driving. She backed the successful bill to extend the franchise tax exemption to certain businesses. She voted to require testing for narcotics of those receiving unemployment compensation. She voted for the "equal pay for women" measure, which passed the House, 78-61.^[13] She backed the redistricting bills for the state House, the Texas Senate, and the United States House of Representatives. Patrick voted to establish term limits for certain state officials.^[13]

Patrick voted to establish a taxpayer-funded breakfast program for public schools, which passed the House, 73-58. She supported legislation to provide marshals for school security as a separate law-enforcement entity. Patrick supported the measure to forbid the state from engaging in the enforcement of federal regulations of firearms. She voted to allow college and university officials to carry concealed weapons in the name of campus security. She supported legislation to reduce the time required to obtain a concealed-carry permit.

In 2009, the Libertarian Party rated her 61 percent favorable on issues of economic freedom and personal liberties.^[15] In 2013, Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle Forum, managed in Texas by Cathie Adams, a former state chairman of the Texas Republican Party, rated Patrick 65 percent favorable, an improvement over only 32 percent in 2011. Young Conservatives of Texas rated her 40 percent. The Texas League of Conservation Voters rated her 64 percent. The Sierra Club rated her at 36 percent. Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, founded by Michael Quinn Sullivan, rated her 37 percent favorable in 2013, 13 percent in 2011, low scores for a Republican member of the legislature. The Texas Association of Business rated her 92 percent favorable throughout her House tenure. The National Rifle Association rated her 67 percent in a 2012 survey.

Patrick's time in the Texas house ended after losing the 2014 Republican primary to Tony Tinderholt. Cathie Adams was among those who endorsed Tinderholt over Patrick. In 2016, Patrick was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Tarrant County College Board of Trustees.^[16] She was elected to a full term the following spring.

References