Fort Bend County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 585,375, making it the 10th-most populous county in Texas. In 2015 Fort Bend County had become the wealthiest county in Texas, with a median household income of $95,389 and a median family income of $105,944, having surpassed Collin and Rockwall Counties since the 2000 census. The county seat is Richmond, and its largest city is Sugar Land.
A 527-organization or 527 group is a type of U.S. tax-exempt organization organized under Section 527 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. A 527 group is created primarily to influence the selection, nomination, election, appointment or defeat of candidates to federal, state or local public office.
Nicholas Valentino Lampson is an American politician from the state of Texas and a former Congressman representing the 22nd Congressional District and the 9th Congressional District of Texas.
Robert Christopher Bell is an American politician, attorney, and former journalist. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and South Texas College of Law. Bell served five years on the Houston City Council from 1997 to 2001, followed by one term in the United States House of Representatives from Texas' 25th Congressional District in Houston from 2003 to 2005. He was then the Democratic nominee in the 2006 election for the office of Governor of Texas, losing to Republican incumbent Gov. Rick Perry by 406,450 votes in a fractured general election campaign that also drew in two significant independent challengers. Bell, a member of the Democratic Party, is currently an attorney specializing in many forms of litigation, including commercial disputes, copyright infringement, and securities disputes. Prior to practicing law, Bell had been a prominent radio journalist in Texas. On January 25, 2015, he announced his candidacy for the non-partisan position of mayor of Houston, telling supporters: "I know my competitors will do their best to try and define me. They might even talk about some of the political races that I have run and lost. And that's fair game — because if it's necessary, I'll talk about the races they've run and lost." He finished fifth.
William Howard White is an American businessman and politician who was the 60th Mayor of Houston from 2004 to 2010. He was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Texas in the 2010 election, in which he lost to incumbent Republican Rick Perry. Before serving as Mayor, White was a lawyer and businessman, and served as U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1995. White is on the membership roster of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
Americans for a Republican Majority was a political action committee formed by former Republican House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and directed by Karl Gallant. On July 7, 2006 ARMPAC reached an agreement with the Federal Election Commission to pay a fine of $115,000 for various violations and to shut down operations. It filed its termination papers on April 24, 2007.
David Gordon Wallace is an American businessman, politician, and author from the state of Texas.
U.S. Family Network, Inc. (USFN) was founded in 1996 by Ed Buckham, who also served as the organization's consultant. USFN was a tax-exempt 501(c)(4) corporation founded in Virginia, with its principal offices located in the District of Columbia in the same building as Buckham's consulting firm Alexander Strategy Group and Tom DeLay's political action committee Americans for a Republican Majority (ARMPAC). USFN received $500,000 from the NRCC and $1 million from lobbyist Jack Abramoff's Russian clients.
The 2006 Texas 22nd congressional district election for the 110th Congress was held on November 7, 2006, and attracted considerable attention because this district was represented by former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a prominent member of the Republican Party, who resigned after being indicted and subsequently winning the Republican primary. Because of Texas state law, Republicans, in order to hold on to the seat, would have had to win a write-in campaign, something that has only been done four other times in the history of U.S. Congressional elections.
The Republican Majority Issues Committee (RMIC), a tax-exempt 527 committee, organized as a corporation under the laws of Virginia with its principal office located in Virginia, was created by and through the fundraising efforts of Ed Buckham, the founder of Alexander Strategy Group. Karl Gallant ran RMIC and served as its registered agent.
Kenneth Lee Lay was the founder, CEO and Chairman of Enron and was heavily involved in the Enron scandal, a major accounting scandal that unraveled in 2000 in the largest bankruptcy ever to that date. Lay was indicted by a grand jury and was found guilty of 10 counts of securities fraud in the trial of Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling. Lay died in July 2006 while vacationing in his house near Aspen, Colorado, three months before his scheduled sentencing. A preliminary autopsy reported Lay died of a myocardial infarction caused by coronary artery disease; his death resulted in a vacated judgment.
Dean A. Hrbacek, CPA is an American attorney and Republican politician who served as the mayor of Sugar Land, Texas from 1996 to 2002. Before serving in that capacity, he served as a city council member. In 2008, he ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination in Texas's 22nd congressional district.
Shelley Sekula-Gibbs is an American physician and a former member of the United States House of Representatives representing Texas's 22nd congressional district from November 13, 2006, until January 3, 2007. A Republican, she has also served as a city councilwoman in Houston, Texas for three terms, from 2002 to 2006. She won the special election to fill the 22nd Congressional seat on November 7, 2006, for the remaining weeks of the 109th United States Congress. On the same day, she also lost in the general election for that seat in the 110th United States Congress. Thereby she was in the interesting position of being a lame duck the moment she was elected. In the 2008 campaign for the Republican nomination in the 22nd Congressional District, she finished first in the initial primary, but lost in a runoff to Pete Olson.
Larry Joe Doherty or LJD is a Texas legal ethics attorney and former television star of the syndicated courtroom show Texas Justice. He was the Democratic candidate for the 10th Congressional District of Texas in 2008, unsuccessfully challenging incumbent Republican Michael McCaul. Born in Hillsboro, Texas, Doherty is married to Joanne Doherty.
The 2008 election for Texas's 22nd congressional district was held on November 4, 2008, as part of the United States House of Representatives elections for the 111th United States Congress. Pete Olson defeated the incumbent Nick Lampson.
Peter Graham Olson is the U.S. Representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district, serving since 2009. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district includes much of southern Houston, as well as most of the city's southwestern suburbs such as Katy, Pearland, and Sugar Land.
Joan J. Huffman is a Republican member of the Texas Senate who represents District 17, which includes a portion of populous Harris County. At the time her service began, Huffman was the sixth then serving female member of the chamber.
Rick Perry, having served as the Lieutenant Governor of Texas for one year, succeeded to the office of Governor of Texas on December 21, 2000 when the incumbent governor, George W. Bush. resigned to prepare for his presidential inauguration. Perry became the first Texas A&M graduate to serve as governor. Perry was a member of the Republican Governors Association, the National Governors Association, the Western Governors Association, and the Southern Governors Association. Perry served as Chairman of the Republican Governors Association in 2008 and 2011.
