Cyndi Taylor Krier
Encyclopedia
Cynthia Taylor Krier, known as Cyndi Taylor Krier (born July 12, 1950), is an attorney, lobbyist, and former Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 politician in San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...

, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

. She served in the Texas State Senate from District 26
Texas Senate, District 26
District 26 of the Texas Senate is a senatorial district that currently serves a portion of Bexar county in the U.S. state of Texas. The current Senator from District 26 is Leticia R. Van de Putte.-2004:-2002:-2000:...

 from 1985 to 1993 and as the administrative judge of Bexar County
Bexar County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,392,931 people, 488,942 households, and 345,681 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,117 people per square mile . There were 521,359 housing units at an average density of 418 per square mile...

 from 1993 to 2001. Her husband, attorney Joseph Roland "Joe" Krier (born 1946), is a former long-term president of the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce
Chamber of commerce
A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...

.

Background

Krier was born in Beeville
Beeville, Texas
Beeville is a city in Bee County, Texas, United States. The population was 13,129 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Bee County...

 in Bee County
Bee County, Texas
Bee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. Bee County was founded December 8, 1857. As of 2010, the population was 31,861. Its county seat is Beeville. Bee County is named for Barnard E...

 in south Texas to Robert Stevens Taylor (1914-1978) and the former Mary McGuffin (1916-2002). Her parents divorced when she was eight years of age, and she relocated with her mother to Dinero
Dinero, Texas
Dinero is an unincorporated community in eastern Live Oak County, Texas, United States. It lies along local roads south of Interstate 37, southeast of the city of George West, the county seat of Live Oak County. Its elevation is 112 feet...

, an unincorporated community in Live Oak County near George West
George West, Texas
George West is a city in Live Oak County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,524 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Live Oak County. George West was named the "storytelling capital of Texas" in 2005 by the Texas Senate; and it hosts the George West Storyfest, a festival that...

, Texas. There, her maternal grandfather and then her grandmother served as postmaster. That post office has since been closed because of the lack of population in Dinero. Krier's mother was for thirty years a postal employee in Beeville. In 2008, on the recommendation of U.S. Representative Lamar Smith
Lamar Smith
Lamar Smith may refer to:* Lamar S. Smith , U.S. Representative from Texas* Lamar Smith , U.S. civil rights activist; murdered in Mississippi* Lamar Smith , NFL running back, 1994–2004...

 and the Texas congressional delegation, the post office 10250 John Saunders Road in San Antonio was named for Krier.

Krier was an honor student and a basketball player. She attended San Antonio College
San Antonio College
San Antonio College is a community college that is a part of the Alamo Community College District. It is located on San Pedro Avenue, across from San Pedro Park, near downtown San Antonio. SAC is the oldest public two-year college in Texas...

 and then Trinity University
Trinity University (Texas)
Trinity University is a private, independent, primarily undergraduate, university in San Antonio, Texas. Its campus is located in the Monte Vista Historic District and adjacent to Brackenridge Park....

, both in San Antonio, before she transferred to the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...

 to major in journalism. In Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...

, she began working in the campaigns of various Republican candidates. After graduation from UT in 1971, she was subsequently employed by the Republican Party of Texas
Republican Party of Texas
The Republican Party of Texas is one of the two major political parties in the U.S. State of Texas. It is affiliated with the United States Republican Party. The State Chairman is Steve Munisteri, a retired attorney and businessman from Houston, and the Vice-Chair is Melinda Fredricks of Conroe....

 and edited a statewide newsletter. Thereafter, in 1975, she obtained her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Texas School of Law
University of Texas School of Law
The University of Texas School of Law, also known as UT Law, is an ABA-certified American law school located on the University of Texas at Austin campus. The law school has been in operation since the founding of the University in 1883. It was one of only two schools at the University when it was...

 in Austin.

In 1974, she was an intern in the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...

. Upon her return to Texas, she worked on the staff of Republican U.S. Senator John G. Tower. In 1976, she worked in the campaign for President Gerald R. Ford, Jr., who was soundly defeated in the Texas primary by former Governor
Governor of California
The Governor of California is the chief executive of the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced...

  Ronald W. Reagan of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 but still won the Republican nomination, only to lose to Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...

 of Georgia in the general election. In April 1979, Krier joined the law firm of Lang, Lado, Green, Coghlan & Fischer and specialized in civil cases. She actively recruited women into Republican political causes. She was vice chairman of the Bexar County GOP
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 from 1979 to 1981, during which time Reagan won the party's presidential nomination and then unseated Carter. Krier served on a bipartisan commission to propose legislative reforms on on a task force for women and minorities established by Governor
Governor of Texas
The governor of Texas is the head of the executive branch of Texas's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Texas Legislature, and to convene the legislature...

 Bill Clements
Bill Clements
William Perry "Bill" Clements, Jr. was the 42nd and 44th Governor of Texas, serving from 1979 to 1983 and 1987 to 1991. Clements was the first Republican to have served as governor of the U.S. state of Texas since Reconstruction...

 , the first Republican governor of Texas since 1873.

State senator

In 1984, running under the Reagan-Bush national ticket, Krier challenged the Democratic state Senator Robert L. "Bob" Vale (1931-1992). She actively sought the support of women from both major parties., having employed the slogan: "A Senator We Can Be Proud Of." In unseating Vale, Krier became the first woman and the first Republican to represent San Antonio in the state Senate. Similarly in 1972, Betty Andujar
Betty Andujar
Elizabeth Richards Andujar, known as Betty Andujar , was the first Republican woman, a homemaker by stated occupation, to have served in the Texas State Senate...

 had become the first woman and the first Republican to represent Fort Worth
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...

 in the Senate, but Andujar was defeated for reelection two years before Krier arrived in the chamber.

Krier was also the only woman senator for the first two years of her service, until joined in 1987 by the stillo-serving Judith Zaffirini
Judith Zaffirini
Judith Zaffirini is a Democratic member of the Texas State Senate representing the 21st District, which includes her home city of Laredo. On January 9, 2007, Zaffirini became the second in seniority in the 31-member Texas Senate, where she has served since 1987...

 of Laredo
Laredo, Texas
Laredo is the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, located on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 236,091 making it the 3rd largest on the United States-Mexican border,...

. In the 1985 legislative session, Krier worked to reform state laws dealing with child abuse and family violence. In the Senate, she sponsored eighty bills which became law, with emphasis on family violence and alternative dispute resolutions. She served on the Senate Finance, Education, and Jurisprudence committees as well as the Texas Legislative Council. Senator Krier supported the expansion of business opportunities through tourist development and job-training programs.

In 1988, under the Bush-Quayle
Dan Quayle
James Danforth "Dan" Quayle served as the 44th Vice President of the United States, serving with President George H. W. Bush . He served as a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from the state of Indiana....

 ticket, Krier was reelected to the Senate and continued her concentration on family violence.

As county judge

In 1992, Krier did not seek a third term in the Senate but ran for the administrative position of Bexas County judge. It was noted that more conservative state senators were entering the chamber at that time, and Krier, as a moderate Republican, believed that her influence in the body would diminish. While seeking the county judgeship, Krier received contributions from the conservative Christian and anti-abortion interest group, Texans for Governmental Integrity, founded by James Leininger, sometimes called the "Daddy Warbucks of Social Conservatism" in Texas. Krier defended Leininger from his detractors and said at the time that the conservative figure was not seeking to "define and control agendas ... [and was] not...behind the scenes trying to manipulate things."

As with the state Senate, Krier was the both the first woman and the first Republican county judge in the history of Bexar County. She was elected as a Republican even though the successful national Democrats Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

 and Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....

 carried Bexar County in both 1992 and 1996. As judge, Krier pushed for the building of a new county jail and again concentrated her emphasis on remedies to the problem of family violence.

Later years

In December 2000, Krier served on the transition team when Lieutenant Governor Rick Perry
Rick Perry
James Richard "Rick" Perry is the 47th and current Governor of Texas. A Republican, Perry was elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998 and assumed the governorship in December 2000 when then-governor George W. Bush resigned to become President of the United States. Perry was elected to full...

 succeeded to the governorship upon the election of George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 to the U.S. presidency. Krier also served on the exploratory committee of Lieutenant Governor Bill Ratliff
Bill Ratliff
William Roark Ratliff, known as Bill Ratliff , is a Texas politician who served as a member of the Texas State Senate from 1988 to 2004. Between 2000 and 2003 he served as Lieutenant Governor of Texas, after former lieutenant governor Rick Perry succeeded to the governorship to replace George W...

 of Mt. Pleasant, who succeeded Perry in the second position but did not seek a full term in the 2002 election, when the office was won by Republican David Dewhurst
David Dewhurst
David Dewhurst is the 41st and current Lieutenant Governor of Texas, serving under Governor Rick Perry since January 21, 2003. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as Texas Land Commissioner from 1999 to 2003. Dewhurst announced on July 18, 2011, that he was running for the...

.

Months later, Perry named Krier to a six-year term on the regents of the University of Texas System
University of Texas System
The University of Texas System encompasses 15 educational institutions in Texas, of which nine are academic universities and six are health institutions. The system is headquartered in Austin and has a total enrollment of over 190,000 students...

. She was for a time the vice chairman of the board and the chairman of the Academic Affairs Committee. she also served on the committes of (1) Audit, Compliance, and Management Review, (2) Finance and Planning, and (3) Health Affairs Committee. She was also the regents' representative to the board which handles the leasing of university lands for oil and natural gas exploration and development.

On August 28, 2001, Krier became the vice president for Texas governmental relations for the insurance company USAA
USAA
United Services Automobile Association is a Fortune 500 financial services company offering banking, investing, and insurance to people and families that serve, or served, in the United States military. In 2011, there were 8.4 million members. The company reported a net worth of $19.3 billion in...

. Still active in civic matters, Krier is affiliated with the American Bar Association
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...

, Chamber of Commerce, the American Cancer Society
American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society is the "nationwide community-based voluntary health organization" dedicated, in their own words, "to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and...

, and the United Way
United Way
The United Way of America, based in Alexandria, Virginia, is a non-profit organization that works with nearly 1,300 local United Way offices throughout the country in a coalition of charitable organizations to pool efforts in fundraising and support...

. She is Episcopalian
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...

.

Krier's husband, Joe Krier, and his younger brother, Stephen Thomas Krier of Lubbock
Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University...

, Texas, who is also an attorney, were born to Roland C. Krier (1916-1990) and the former Marie Antoinette Litzow (1922-2009). The senior Kriers were natives of Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

, who later lived in Lubbock. Marie Krier relocated to San Antonio after her husband's death.

In addition to the post office, Krier is honored with the naming of the Cyndi Taylor Krier Juvenile Correctional Treatment Center at 3621 Farm Road in San Antonio.
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