|
Brian D. Birdwell (born November 3, 1961)〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Brian Birdwell personal profile )〕 is a Republican from Granbury, Texas, who represents District 22 in the Texas Senate. A retired lieutenant colonel in the United States Army, Birdwell is a decorated survivor of the terrorist attack on the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on September 11, 2001.〔 thumbnail ==Senatorial tenure== To win his Senate position, one of thirty-one in the state, Birdwell defeated former Republican state Senator David Sibley in a special election held on June 22, 2010. He replaced Kip Averitt of McGregor, who had succeeded Sibley in 2002. Averitt cited health problems when he resigned from office a week after having been renominated in the March 2 party primary. In the first round of balloting on May 8, Sibley led Birdwell but fell short of the majority required to win outright.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Gulf War vet Brian Birdwell wins runoff for Central Texas state Senate seat )〕 Sibley, who had supported some Democrats in the past and tried to force Birdwell off the ballot,〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Republican Brian Birdwell Certified for May 8 ballot )〕 carried endorsements from former U.S. President and District 22 resident George W. Bush, Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples of Palestine, and veteran U.S. Representative Joe Barton. Birdwell secured the support of activists from Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle Forum and the Tea Party movement, Texas Republican National Committeeman Bill Crocker, as well as several sheriffs and county commissioners across the largely conservative district. He was also endorsed by Scott O'Grady of Dallas County, a pilot shot down in Bosnia in 1996.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Endorsements of Brian Birdwell )〕 Birdwell prevailed, 14,218 votes (57.9 percent) to Sibley's 10,339 ballots (42.1 percent).〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Special election returns, Senate District 22, June 22, 2010 )〕 District 22 includes Bosque, Coryell, Ellis, Falls, Hill, Hood, Johnson, McLennan, Navarro, and Somervell counties.〔 Texas Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, the ''ex officio'' president of the Texas Senate, named Birdwell to five committees: Higher Education (Vice-Chair), Veterans Affairs & Military Installations (Vice-Chair), Economic Development and Government Organization.〔 In 2015 during the 84th Texas Legislature, Birdwell authored SB 1735, a measure which would have reduced veterans' state educational benefits.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Senate Bill 1735 )〕 He rejected Texas Governor Greg Abbott's calls for Texas to fund those benefits for Texas veterans and their children. While proposing to cut benefits for Texas veterans and their children, Senator Birdwell compared himself to soldiers in the Normandy invasion in France on D-Day.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Senate Committee on Higher Education )〕 The Texas House of Representatives rejected all but one of Birdwell's recommendations to cut student education benefits to Texas veteran's and their families. Birdwell argued that rising costs from legislation pushed decades earlier by state Senator Grady Hazlewood of Amarillo, which permits veterans to attend state institutions without tuition expenses, threatens the solvency of overall state educational funding. In response to claims that he had betrayed Texas veterans and their families, Birdwell blocked criticism from Texas veterans from being posted to his Facebook page.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Texas Veterans Opposed to Senator Brian Birdwell )〕 A lifelong Republican, Birdwell backs conservative causes across the board, including opposition to abortion and euthanasia, and the health care policies of U.S. President Barack Obama.〔 Birdwell was a featured speaker at the June 2006 Republican State Convention in San Antonio, while residing in Springfield, Virginia. He keynoted the 2007 Texas State Presidential Straw Poll in Fort Worth. He was a delegate to the Republican State Convention in June 2008 in Houston. He is an immediate past vice president of the Hood County Republican Club.〔 In his campaign, Birdwell said that "Texas faces great challenges in the next session on issues ranging from the budget, standing up to an overreaching and out-of-control federal government, and preserving the conservative values which have made Texas the envy of the nation. Citizens can count on me to be a conservative champion on these issues."〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Brian Birdwell」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|