Robert Stovall
| Robert Anthony Stovall, Sr. | |
| In office September 2013 – December 4, 2017 | |
| Succeeded by | Mark Dorazio (interim) |
|---|---|
| Born | April 1, 1963 Mexico City, Mexico |
| Spouse(s) | Melanie Flores (married 1983) Children: |
| Residence | San Antonio, Texas |
| Alma mater | San Antonio College University of North Texas |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Robert Anthony Stovall, Sr. (born April 1, 1963),[1] is a San Antonio businessman who is the past chairman of the Republican Party in populous Bexar County, Texas. He was among eighteen candidates in the primary held on March 6, 2018, for the 21st congressional district seat in Texas being vacated by fellow Republican Lamar Smith, who was first elected in 1986. Stovall finished with less than 5 percent of the ballots cast.
A Roman Catholic born in Mexico City, Stovall is the third son of five children of Lawrence Samuels Stovall and the former Rita Alvarez De Teresa. Reared in San Antonio, he graduated in 1981 from Antonian College Preparatory High School. He thereafter attended San Antonio College and transferred to the University of North Texas in Denton to study chemistry. In 1983, he wed his high school sweetheart, Melanie Flores. The couple has a daughter, Jacqueline Eberle of St. Louis, Missouri, and two sons, United States Army Captain Robert Stovall, II, who has served in Afghanistan, and Zachary Stovall of San Antonio. The Stovalls in 2018 had seven grandchildren.[2]
At the time of his marriage, Stovall was employed by Crown Research & Chemical Corporation. In 1988, he became finance director for Ancira Enterprises. The next year he launched the Crown Ribbon Company, which imports textiles and home décor products from Mexico. He is currently the chief financial officer of Janal Wholesale Floral Company, a family business, the owner of La Flor International, and has interest in several other business ventures.[2] In 2012, Stovall was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for Bexar County Tax Assessor Collector, but he was defeated by the Democrat Albert Uresti when Barack H. Obama won Bexar County by 23,000 votes over Mitt Romney in the presidential race. After a short stint as vice chairman of the GOP in Bexar County, Stovall was elected party chairman three times, September 2013, March 2014, and March 2016. He resigned the post on December 4, 2017, to run for the congressional seat.[2]
Stovall is an avid backer of U.S. President Donald Trump; the San Antonio Express-News calls Stovall "effusive, worshipful, and fully committed to hitching his wagon to Trump's brash rhetoric, nationalist agenda, and stated determination to 'drain the swamp' in Washington, D.C."[3] Indeed, in his 30-second video commercial, Stovall is shown standing knee-deep in the middle of a swamp wearing fishing waders and a white "Make Amerioca Great Again" cap and asserting his backing for Trump.[3]
Stovall's friend, Brad Parscale, served as Trump's 2016 digital director and is now working to elect Stovall to Congress.[3] Stovall had recommended Parscale's father, Dwight Parscale, as his interim successor, but the precinct leaders instead tapped businessman Mark Dorazio. Dwight Parscale finished a weak third (21 percent) in the chairman's race on March 6. A May 22 runoff is depending between two women, conservative Cynthia Brehm (45 percent) and Jo Ann Ponce Gonzalez (23 percent), a former agent of the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.[4]
References
- ↑ Robert Stovall. Mylife.com. Retrieved on January 26, 2018.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Robert Stovall for Congress. Robertstovall.com. Retrieved on January 26, 2018.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Gilbert Garcia, "Candidate out to Make District 21 great again", San Antonio Express-News, January 26, 2018, p. A2.
- ↑ Rishika Dugyala (March 6, 2018). Here's how six of Texas' most interesting local primaries turned out: Bexar County Republican Party Chair. The Texas Tribune. Retrieved on March `12, 2018.
