Kirk Watson
Encyclopedia
Kirk Watson is a Texas
attorney and Democratic
politician from Austin
. He served as Austin mayor from 1997 to 2001. He ran unsuccessfully for Texas Attorney General
in the 2002 election, defeated by the Republican
Greg Abbott
. In 2006, Watson was elected to the Texas State Senate from District 14
.
Watson is the husband of Liz (Elizabeth Anne McDaniel) and father of Preston McDaniel and Cooper Kyle Watson.
and grew up in the Fort Worth, Texas
area, attending public school in Saginaw, Texas
. Watson attended Baylor University
in Waco
where he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts
degree in 1980 and a J.D.
in 1981. While attending Baylor Law School
Watson was editor-in-chief of the Baylor Law Review and graduated first in his law school class. He subsequently clerked for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
.
Early in his legal career, Watson was elected President of the Texas Young Lawyers Association and served on the executive committee of the State Bar of Texas
. In 1994, he was named the Outstanding Young Lawyer of Texas. In 1997, Watson co-founded the Austin law firm of Watson Bishop London & Galow, creating a broad law practice that represented families, doctors, small businesses, and some of the state's major universities.
to serve as Chair of the Texas Air Control Board, the state agency that was charged with protecting air quality in Texas. During his tenure, he worked to merge the agency with the Texas Air Control Board and the Texas Water Commission to form the Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission, and oversaw implementation of the 1991 amendments to the federal Clean Air Act
.
Watson was active in the Texas Democratic Party
throughout the 1990s, and he served as Chairman of the Travis County Democratic Party.
In March 1999, he was named Best Mayor in Texas for Business by Texas Monthly
Biz Magazine. Forbes
and Fortune Magazine also named Austin as the best city or place in the U.S. to do business during this period. And for his service, Watson received recognitions from the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Austin Alliance, the Texas Nature Conservancy, Austin Family magazine, the International Downtown Association, and the Austin Chronicle
.
As a result of his work as mayor, Watson became a recognized speaker on economic development. His work was also referenced in the book The Rise of the Creative Class by Richard Florida
.
In 2000, Watson was reelected with 84% of the vote – the highest percentage a mayoral candidate has ever received in Austin. In November 2001, he stepped down to run unsuccessfully for Texas Attorney General. In 2005, he served as chairman of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce.
. He received more than 80 percent of the vote. Watson was unopposed in the March 2008 Democratic Primary.
He serves as vice-chairman of the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security committee, as well as on the Senate Business and Commerce, Economic Development, Jurisprudence, and Nominations committees. In 2008, he was appointed as one of two senators to the state Business Tax Advisory Committee.
Watson has become a prominent voice on transportation, clean energy, and higher education issues, and he has campaigned to widen transparency in the state’s finances and increase health coverage for Texans, particularly children. In 2009, he led the fight against a budget rider that would have effectively banned embryonic stem cell research at Texas universities. The rider ultimately was not adopted.
Watson currently serves on many committees including the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization
(CAMPO), of which he is Transportation Policy Board Chairman. CAMPO is federally designated as the primary transportation planning organization in Central Texas.
The July 2007 Texas Monthly
magazine recognized Watson as "Rookie of the Year" for the 2007 session of the Texas Legislature
. In 2009, the magazine named him one of the state's 10 Best Legislators. He also was given the Price Daniel Award for Distinguished Public Service by the Baylor
Alumni Association, and the Excellence in Leadership Award by Concordia University
.
Watson considered running in the 2010 race for governor
, but in August 2009 decided to instead run for re-election to the Texas Senate.
While many of the improvements had been in transportation plans for years, they had never been constructed. A lack of transportation funding, affecting projects across Texas, had led previous boards to support plans that would toll the additional capacity as well as nearly completed projects, sparking intense opposition throughout the region.
Upon being elected chairman by the rest of the board in January 2007, Watson led the effort to keep the controversial projects in the region’s transportation plan. He then spearheaded a public effort to create a process that would allow policy makers and the public to analyze the need for transportation projects, mechanisms to pay for them, and potential public benefits from them.
On October 8, 2007, the CAMPO board overwhelmingly approved a plan to add new express lanes to several existing highways (U.S. Highway 290, U.S. Highway 183, and State Highway 71).
Most of the improvements were approved on a 15-4 vote, and none were opposed by more than five board members. The board was heckled with shouts of "Political suicide!" and catcalls.
's victory in the 2008 Wisconsin Democratic Primary Election
on February 19, 2008, Watson appeared via live feed on MSNBC
's election night coverage as a supporter of Senator Obama, whom Watson had endorsed. During the interview, Matthews asked Watson to name one of Senator Obama's legislative accomplishments. After Watson was unable to list one of Obama's accomplishments, Matthews responded, "You’ve supported him for president, you’re on national television, name his legislative accomplishments, Barack Obama’s, sir." After Watson was excused, Matthews commented, "He [Watson] is here to defend Barack Obama and he had nothing to say; that’s a problem."
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...
attorney and Democratic
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...
politician from 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...
. He served as Austin mayor from 1997 to 2001. He ran unsuccessfully for Texas Attorney General
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
in the 2002 election, defeated by the 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...
Greg Abbott
Greg Abbott
Gregory Wayne "Greg" Abbott is the Texas Attorney General, and is the second Republican since Reconstruction to serve in that role. Abbott was sworn in on December 2, 2002, following John Cornyn's election to the U.S. Senate...
. In 2006, Watson was elected to the Texas State Senate from District 14
Texas Senate, District 14
District 14 of the Texas Senate is a senatorial district that currently serves a portion of Travis county in the U.S. state of Texas. The current Senator from District 14 is Kirk Watson.-2006:-2002:-2000:-1996:-1994:...
.
Watson is the husband of Liz (Elizabeth Anne McDaniel) and father of Preston McDaniel and Cooper Kyle Watson.
Early life and career
Kirk Preston Watson was born March 18, 1958 in Oklahoma CityOklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City is the capital and the largest city in the state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma...
and grew up in the Fort Worth, Texas
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...
area, attending public school in Saginaw, Texas
Saginaw, Texas
Saginaw is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, United States, and a suburb of Fort Worth. The population was 19,806 at the 2010 United States Census. It was named in 1882 by Jarvis J. Green, who had lived and worked on Saginaw Street in Pontiac, Michigan...
. Watson attended Baylor University
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...
in Waco
Waco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
where he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in 1980 and a J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
in 1981. While attending Baylor Law School
Baylor Law School
Founded in 1857, Baylor Law School is the oldest law school in Texas and has been accredited by the American Bar Association since 1931 and a member of the Association of American Law Schools since 1938. Baylor Law School is affiliated with Baylor University and located in Waco, Texas...
Watson was editor-in-chief of the Baylor Law Review and graduated first in his law school class. He subsequently clerked for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Eastern District of Louisiana* Middle District of Louisiana...
.
Early in his legal career, Watson was elected President of the Texas Young Lawyers Association and served on the executive committee of the State Bar of Texas
State Bar of Texas
The State Bar of Texas is an agency of the judiciary under the administrative control of the Texas Supreme Court. The Texas Bar is responsible for assisting the Texas Supreme Court in overseeing all attorneys licensed to practice law in Texas...
. In 1994, he was named the Outstanding Young Lawyer of Texas. In 1997, Watson co-founded the Austin law firm of Watson Bishop London & Galow, creating a broad law practice that represented families, doctors, small businesses, and some of the state's major universities.
Political life
In 1991 Watson was appointed by Texas Governor Ann RichardsAnn Richards
Dorothy Ann Willis Richards was an American politician from Texas. She first came to national attention as the state treasurer of Texas, when she delivered the keynote address at the 1988 Democratic National Convention. Richards served as the 45th Governor of Texas from 1991 to 1995 and was...
to serve as Chair of the Texas Air Control Board, the state agency that was charged with protecting air quality in Texas. During his tenure, he worked to merge the agency with the Texas Air Control Board and the Texas Water Commission to form the Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission, and oversaw implementation of the 1991 amendments to the federal Clean Air Act
Clean Air Act
A Clean Air Act is one of a number of pieces of legislation relating to the reduction of airborne contaminants, smog and air pollution in general. The use by governments to enforce clean air standards has contributed to an improvement in human health and longer life spans...
.
Watson was active in the Texas Democratic Party
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...
throughout the 1990s, and he served as Chairman of the Travis County Democratic Party.
Austin Mayor
In 1997 Watson was elected mayor of Austin, running on a pledge to build consensus in a city that was then dominated by political battles between environmentalists and developers. He campaigned to raise more than $78 million for land preservation and $300 million for transportation improvements. And he led efforts to revitalize downtown Austin, secure the city’s long-term water supply, proactively improve air quality in Central Texas, and build a bypass to Interstate 35 through Austin.In March 1999, he was named Best Mayor in Texas for Business by Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Austin, Texas. Texas Monthly is published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. and was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, Texas Monthly chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the environment, industry, and education...
Biz Magazine. Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
and Fortune Magazine also named Austin as the best city or place in the U.S. to do business during this period. And for his service, Watson received recognitions from the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Austin Alliance, the Texas Nature Conservancy, Austin Family magazine, the International Downtown Association, and the Austin Chronicle
Austin Chronicle
The Austin Chronicle is an alternative weekly, tabloid-style newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demographic...
.
As a result of his work as mayor, Watson became a recognized speaker on economic development. His work was also referenced in the book The Rise of the Creative Class by Richard Florida
Richard Florida
Richard Florida is an American urban studies theorist.Richard Florida's focus is on social and economic theory. He is currently a professor and head of the Martin Prosperity Institute at the Rotman School of Management, at the University of Toronto. He also heads a private consulting firm, the...
.
In 2000, Watson was reelected with 84% of the vote – the highest percentage a mayoral candidate has ever received in Austin. In November 2001, he stepped down to run unsuccessfully for Texas Attorney General. In 2005, he served as chairman of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce.
Texas Senate
Watson was elected to the Texas Senate in November 2006, succeeding Senator Gonzalo BarrientosGonzalo Barrientos
Gonzalo Barrientos, Jr. is a former Democratic member of the Texas Senate representing the 14th District from 1985 to 2007. He was also a member of the Texas House of Representatives from Austin from 1975 to 1985.-2002:-2000:...
. He received more than 80 percent of the vote. Watson was unopposed in the March 2008 Democratic Primary.
He serves as vice-chairman of the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security committee, as well as on the Senate Business and Commerce, Economic Development, Jurisprudence, and Nominations committees. In 2008, he was appointed as one of two senators to the state Business Tax Advisory Committee.
Watson has become a prominent voice on transportation, clean energy, and higher education issues, and he has campaigned to widen transparency in the state’s finances and increase health coverage for Texans, particularly children. In 2009, he led the fight against a budget rider that would have effectively banned embryonic stem cell research at Texas universities. The rider ultimately was not adopted.
Watson currently serves on many committees including the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization
Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization
The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization is the federally required Metropolitan Planning Organization responsible for the continuous and comprehensive transportation planning process in the Austin, Texas area, including Williamson, Travis, Hays, Bastrop, and Caldwell counties...
(CAMPO), of which he is Transportation Policy Board Chairman. CAMPO is federally designated as the primary transportation planning organization in Central Texas.
The July 2007 Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Austin, Texas. Texas Monthly is published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. and was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, Texas Monthly chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the environment, industry, and education...
magazine recognized Watson as "Rookie of the Year" for the 2007 session of the Texas Legislature
Texas Legislature
The Legislature of the state of Texas is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Texas. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The Legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin...
. In 2009, the magazine named him one of the state's 10 Best Legislators. He also was given the Price Daniel Award for Distinguished Public Service by the Baylor
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...
Alumni Association, and the Excellence in Leadership Award by Concordia University
Concordia University
Concordia University is a comprehensive Canadian public university located in Montreal, Quebec, one of the two universities in the city where English is the primary language of instruction...
.
Watson considered running in the 2010 race for governor
Texas gubernatorial election, 2010
The 2010 Texas gubernatorial election was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2010, to elect the Governor of Texas, who will serve a four-year term beginning on January 18, 2011, and ending on January 20, 2015. Incumbent Republican Governor Rick Perry ran successfully for re-election to a third term. He...
, but in August 2009 decided to instead run for re-election to the Texas Senate.
Texas Highways
Much of Watson’s first year in office was spent mediating a long, very bitter dispute on the CAMPO board over highway improvements in the Austin area.While many of the improvements had been in transportation plans for years, they had never been constructed. A lack of transportation funding, affecting projects across Texas, had led previous boards to support plans that would toll the additional capacity as well as nearly completed projects, sparking intense opposition throughout the region.
Upon being elected chairman by the rest of the board in January 2007, Watson led the effort to keep the controversial projects in the region’s transportation plan. He then spearheaded a public effort to create a process that would allow policy makers and the public to analyze the need for transportation projects, mechanisms to pay for them, and potential public benefits from them.
On October 8, 2007, the CAMPO board overwhelmingly approved a plan to add new express lanes to several existing highways (U.S. Highway 290, U.S. Highway 183, and State Highway 71).
Most of the improvements were approved on a 15-4 vote, and none were opposed by more than five board members. The board was heckled with shouts of "Political suicide!" and catcalls.
2008 Chris Matthews interview
Following Senator Barack ObamaBarack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's victory in the 2008 Wisconsin Democratic Primary Election
Wisconsin Democratic primary, 2008
The 2008 Wisconsin Democratic primary took place on February 19, 2008. 74 pledged delegates were at stake. The Hawaii Democratic caucuses, 2008 took place the same day....
on February 19, 2008, Watson appeared via live feed on MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
's election night coverage as a supporter of Senator Obama, whom Watson had endorsed. During the interview, Matthews asked Watson to name one of Senator Obama's legislative accomplishments. After Watson was unable to list one of Obama's accomplishments, Matthews responded, "You’ve supported him for president, you’re on national television, name his legislative accomplishments, Barack Obama’s, sir." After Watson was excused, Matthews commented, "He [Watson] is here to defend Barack Obama and he had nothing to say; that’s a problem."
2006
2002
External links
- Texas Senator Kirk Watson official website
- The Senate of Texas - Senator Kirk Watson official government website
- Project Vote Smart - Kirk Watson profile
- Follow the Money - Kirk Watson