Jerry Patterson
Jerry Emmett Patterson (born November 15, 1946) is a Texas businessman who is the former Commissioner of the General Land in the capital city of Austin. He is seeking a comeback to that position in the Republican primary election to be held on March 6, 2018. He seeks to unseat his one-term predecessor, George P. Bush, son of Moderate Republican former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. Patterson and two other Bush intra-party opponents, Davey Edwards and Rick Range, have based much of their campaign efforts on preserving the historical integrity of The Alamo in San Antonio, which is undergoing renovation that many conservatives fear will be an exercise in political correctness. Bush calls the renovation plans "REIMAGINE THE ALAMO."
| Jerry Emmett Patterson | |
27th Commissioner of the Texas General Land Office
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| In office January 21, 2003 â January 2, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | David Dewhurst |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | George P. Bush |
Texas State Senator for District 11
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| In office 1993â1999 | |
| Succeeded by | Mike Jackson |
| Born | November 15, 1946 Houston, Texas |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | (1) Divorced (2) Jennifer Patterson |
| Residence | Austin, Texas |
| Alma mater | Texas A&M University |
| Occupation | Businessman United States Marine Corps (1971-1993) |
Patterson was land commissioner for three terms from 2003 to 2015. In 2010 in his last election as land commissioner, Patterson defeated the Democrat Hector Uribe, a former member of both houses of the Texas legislature. Patterson succeeded David Dewhurst, another Moderate Republican, as land commissioner. Dewhurst had defeated Patterson for land commissioner in the 1998 Republican primary, and Patterson won the seat in 2002, when Dewhurst was instead elected lieutenant governor. In 2014, Dewhurst was unseated as lieutenant governor by fellow Republican Dan Patrick, a conservative. Patterson did not seek a fourth term as land commissioner in 2014 but instead ran unsuccessfully in the lieutenant governor primary that year.
From 1993 to 1999, Patterson represented Texas Senate District 11, based in the area about his native Houston.
In 1984, when Ronald W. Reagan was re-elected as President, Patterson ran for a seat in the United States House of Representatives for Texas' largely blue collar 25th congressional district but was defeated by the freshman Democratic Representative Michael A. Andrews, 64 to 36 percent.