Leo Berman: Difference between revisions

Leo Berman
Leo Berman
Member of the Texas House of Representatives; from the 6th district
	In office; January 12, 1999 – January 8, 2013
Preceded by	Ted Andrew Kamel
Succeeded by	Matt Schaefer
Personal details
Born	October 21, 1935; New York City USA
Died	May 23, 2015 (aged 79); Tyler, Texas
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Lou Ann Kuck Berman
Children	Five children
Residence(s)	(1) Arlington; Tarrant County; Texas, USA; (2) Tyler; Smith County, Texas
Alma mater	Southern Methodist University
Occupation	Retired military officer; businessman

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Leo Berman (October 21, 1935 – May 23, 2015) was an American businessman, military officer, and politician from Tyler, Texas, who was a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives for District 6 in Smith County from 1999 to 2013. He was first elected in the general election held in November 1998. In January 2011, Berman announced a challenge to Speaker Joe Straus of San Antonio for the presiding officer's position but subsequently withdrew from the race. Though Representative Warren Chisum of Pampa filed his candidacy for Speaker, Straus was handily re-elected to a second term in the leadership in January 2011.

Berman obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Southern Methodist University.^[1] he died in Tyler Texas on May 23 2015.

References

^ Gravois, John (May 24, 2015). "Former State Rep. Leo Berman Dies at 79". The Texas Tribune.

External links

Representative Leo Berman official Texas House of Representatives site
Profile at Vote Smart

Texas House of Representatives
Preceded by Ted Andrew Kamel	Texas State Representative for District 6 (Smith County) Leo C. Berman 1999–2013	Succeeded by Matt Schaefer

[1] Gravois, John (May 24, 2015). "Former State Rep. Leo Berman Dies at 79". The Texas Tribune.

[1]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{short description|American politician}}
 {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2012}}
-{{Infobox State Representative
+{{Infobox officeholder
 | name        = Leo Berman
 | image       =
 | imagesize   =
 | caption     =
-| nationality = American
+| state_house = Texas
-| office      = [[Texas House of Representatives|Texas State Representative for District 6]]
+| district    = [[Texas House of Representatives, District 6|6th]]
 | party       = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
-| term_start  = 1999
+| term_start  = January 12, 1999
-| term_end    = 2013
+| term_end    = January 8, 2013
 | preceded    = [[Ted Kamel|Ted Andrew Kamel]]
 | succeeded   = [[Matt Schaefer]]
 | birth_date  = {{birth date|1935|10|21|mf=y}}
 | death_date  = {{death date and age|2015|05|23|1935|10|21|mf=y}}
-| death_place =[[Tyler, Texas]], USA
+| death_place = [[Tyler, Texas]]
 | resting_place =
-| birth_place   = [[New York City]], New York USA
+| birth_place   = New York City USA
 | occupation    = Retired military officer<br />
+businessman
-Businessman
 | residence = (1) [[Arlington, Texas|Arlington]]<br />[[Tarrant County, Texas|Tarrant County]]<br /> Texas, USA<br />
 (2) [[Tyler, Texas|Tyler]]<br />[[Smith County, Texas|Smith County]], Texas
@@ Line 24: / Line 26: @@
 | children = Five children
 | alma_mater = [[Southern Methodist University]]
-| religion = [[Jewish]]-turned-[[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopalian]]
 }}
-'''Leo Berman''' (October 21, 1935 &ndash; May 23, 2015) was an [[United States|American]] [[business]]man, military officer, and politician from [[Tyler, Texas|Tyler]], [[Texas]] who was a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] member of the [[Texas House of Representatives]] for District 6 in [[Smith County, Texas|Smith County]]. He was first elected in the [[general election]] held in November 1998. In January 2011, Berman announced a challenge to [[Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives|Speaker]] [[Joe Straus]] of [[San Antonio]] for the presiding officer's position but subsequently withdrew from the race. Though Representative [[Warren Chisum]] of [[Pampa, Texas|Pampa]] filed his candidacy for Speaker, Straus was handily reelected to a second term in the leadership in January 2011.
+'''Leo Berman''' (October 21, 1935 &ndash; May 23, 2015) was an American businessman, military officer, and politician from [[Tyler, Texas|Tyler]], Texas, who was a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] member of the [[Texas House of Representatives]] for District 6 in [[Smith County, Texas|Smith County]] from 1999 to 2013. He was first elected in the general election held in November 1998. In January 2011, Berman announced a challenge to [[Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives|Speaker]] [[Joe Straus]] of [[San Antonio]] for the presiding officer's position but subsequently withdrew from the race. Though Representative [[Warren Chisum]] of [[Pampa, Texas|Pampa]] filed his candidacy for Speaker, Straus was handily re-elected to a second term in the leadership in January 2011.
-Berman introduced legislation to require future presidential candidates to prove constitutional eligibility for office before they can be listed on the Texas ballot, but the measure failed to pass the legislature.
-==Background==
-Berman was born in [[New York City]], the son of [[Jew]]ish immigrants from [[Latvia]] and [[Poland]]. He later converted to [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopalianism]].<ref>http://www.texastribune.org/2015/05/24/former-state-rep-leo-berman-dies-79/</ref><ref>[https://books.google.ca/books?id=mR8ZWmAZdKMC&pg=PT186&dq=%22Berman+somewhat+unusually+converted+to+Christianity%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=UOViVav1CYiYyQTC9IGoDg&ved=0CBUQ6AEwAA]</ref>
-A [[lieutenant colonel]] in the [[United States Army]], with twenty-two years of service, Berman was awarded three [[Bronze Star]]s and nine [[Air Medal]]s. In 2009, he was promoted to [[colonel]] in the [[Texas State Guard]]. He was a lieutenant colonel in the Civil Air Patrol and a member of the executive committee of the Texas Veterans Coalition. He was a retired public affairs executive for Sun Exploration and Production Company. While formerly residing in [[Arlington, Texas|Arlington]] in [[Tarrant County, Texas|Tarrant County]], he was a member of the city council and mayor pro-tempore from 1979 to 1985. Former [[Governor of Texas|Governor]] [[Bill Clements]] named Berman to chair the Texas Commission on Intergovernmental Relations and to serve on the [[Texas National Guard]] Armory Board.<ref name=house>{{cite web|url=http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/dist6/bio/berman.htm |title=House Membership: Representative Leo Berman |publisher=house.state.tx.us |accessdate=July 9, 2010 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100125232340/http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/dist6/bio/berman.htm |archivedate=January 25, 2010 }}</ref>
-In 1969, Berman received a [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree in [[political science]] from [[Southern Methodist University]] in [[Dallas]]. His affiliations include the Texas Association of Business, [[Chamber of Commerce]], the Association of Retarded Citizens of Tyler/Smith County, [[Boy Scouts of America]], Bethesda Health Clinic in Tyler, and East Texas Meals on Wheels. He is a lay member of Christ Episcopal Church in Tyler. He is also a member of the Tyler [[Civil Air Patrol]]. He and his wife, Dr. Lou Ann Berman (born c. 1955), have five children, seven grandchildren, and three great-grandsons.<ref name=house/>
-Berman died on May 23, 2015, in Tyler, Texas from lymphoma.<ref>https://www.texastribune.org/2015/05/24/former-state-rep-leo-berman-dies-79/</ref><ref>[http://www.cbs19.tv/story/29143051/former-texas-house=representative-leo-berman-passes-away Former Texas House Representative Leo Berman passes away]</ref>
-==Candidate for Speaker==
-On March 11, 1998, Berman unseated incumbent Republican Representative Ted Andrew Kamel (born 1960), also of Tyler, in the [[primary election]], 6,877 votes (54.4 percent) to 5,760 (45.6 percent). He was then unopposed in the general election held on November 3, 1998.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist.exe|title=Republican primary election returns, March 11, 1998|publisher=elections.sos.state.tx.us|accessdate=July 9, 2010}}</ref>
-In June 2010, Berman filed papers as a candidate for House Speaker in the contest held in January 2011.<ref name=speaker>{{cite web|url=http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/06/leo-berman-to-file-for-house-s.html|title=Leo Berman to file for House Speaker, June 22, 2010|publisher=dallasnews.com|accessdate=July 9, 2010}}</ref> Joe Straus, first elected to the House in 2005, was named Speaker in January 2009 by a coalition of [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]] and a dozen dissident, mostly moderate, Republicans.<ref name=speaker/>
-Berman objects to Straus' leadership as the presiding officer. The House was divided in 2010 with 77 Republicans and 73 Democrats but had only 76 Republicans when Straus ousted former Speaker [[Tom Craddick]] of [[Midland, Texas|Midland]]. The number of Republicans in the Texas House increases in 2011 to 99 of the 150 members. Berman has seen his immigration restrictions and anti-abortion proposals die without a vote on the House floor. Democrats also prevented a vote on the voter identification bill. Berman reportedly wanted Straus to use "strong-arm tactics" to force the measure to the floor.<ref name=speaker>{{cite web|url=http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/06/leo-berman-to-file-for-house-s.html|title=Christy Hoppe, Berman to File for House Speaker, June 22, 2010|publisher=trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com|accessdate=July 9, 2010}}</ref>
-Berman was known for his "inflammatory language," which he has also directed at [[Governor of Texas|Governor]] [[Rick Perry]], who he has accused of doing too little to stop the problem of [[illegal immigration]].<ref name=speaker/>
-Another Berman target was former Representative [[David Swinford]], a Republican from [[Dumas, Texas|Dumas]] in [[Moore County, Texas|Moore County]] in the [[Texas Panhandle]], the outgoing chairman of the House State Affairs Committee. In 2007, Berman complained that Swinford had refused to consider any of a series of immigration restriction bills that he had offered. At the time, Berman placed the price tag to taxpayers for illegal immigration at $3.5 billion per year. He maintains that illegal immigrants create havoc in hospital emergency rooms, where those without insurance or cash frequently obtain treatment.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://digdeepertexas.com/category/leo-berman/|title=Oh, my, Berman had quite a little tantrum, it seems|publisher=digdeepertexas.com|accessdate=July 4, 2010}}</ref>
-In 2009, Berman said that he was considering a bid to challenge Perry in the 2010 gubernatorial primary. Thereafter, Berman dropped plans to oppose Perry with the understanding that the governor would support two of Berman's immigration bills and two other measures as well to protect [[states rights]]. "All the votes that I would get running for governor would come from Rick Perry's side. . . . He's far to [[right-wing|the right]] of [[Kay Bailey Hutchison]] [U.S. senator and Perry's principal primary opponent in 2010] and so am I," Berman said.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/legislature/stories/062409dnmetberman.1b4ef6a4.html|author=Robert T. Garrett|work=[[Dallas Morning News]]|title=Tyler Rep. Leo Berman expects to bow out of Texas governor's race|date= June 23, 2009|publisher=dallasnews.com|accessdate=July 10, 2010}}</ref>
-==House affiliations==
-Berman was a member of the Texas [[Conservative (politics)|Conservative]] Coalition and strongly supported by the [[Right to Life]] Committee. He served on the House Committee on Higher Education and the Committee on County Affairs. From 2007–2009, he was chairman of the House Committee on Elections, under appointment of former Speaker Craddick.<ref name=house/>
-Berman was a favorite of the [[Christian Coalition of America|Christian Coalition]], Young Conservatives of Texas, and Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, Texan Citizens for a Sound Economy, and the [[National Rifle Association]], having voted repeatedly in accordance with the positions of those [[interest group]]s.<ref name=house/>
-In late 2010, Berman appeared on [[CNN]] to defend  the legislation that he was promoting to require candidates to prove their constitutional eligibility to run for president in Texas. In this interview, conducted by [[Anderson Cooper]], Berman was unable to present any evidence that would indicate that current eligibility requirements are of insufficient strength.<ref>{{YouTube|-RWmaBX6tKA}}</ref>
-He has been ridiculed by ''[[New York Times]]'' columnist [[Gail Collins]] when he declared the President
-[[Barack H. Obama]]'s long-form birth certificate did not prove that the president was born in the United States, since
-"there is no plaque in the hospital where he was supposedly born".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/28/opinion/28collins.html?hp|title=Gail Collins on the Department of Good News | work=[[The New York Times]] | date=April 27, 2011}}</ref>
-==Glenn Beck rally==
-In April 2010, Berman attended a [[Glenn Beck]]-sponsored "Taking America Back" rally in which he decried U.S. President [[Barack Obama]]: "I believe that Barack Obama is God's punishment on us today, but in 2012, we are going to make Obama a one-term president."<ref name=tyler>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/26/leo-berman-texas-state-re_n_552239.html|title=Leo Berman, Texas State Rep., Says Obama Is God's Punishment on Us", quoted from ''Tyler Morning Telegraph'', April 26, 2010|work=Huffington Post|accessdate=July 9, 2010|first=Nicholas|last=Wing|date=April 26, 2010}}</ref> At the same rally, Perry made an appearance, and [[U.S. Representative]] [[Louie Gohmert]] of Tyler claimed that "demons had invaded [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]]" after the passage of the  [[Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act]] in March 2010.<ref name=tyler/>
+Berman obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from [[Southern Methodist University]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gravois |first=John |date=May 24, 2015 |title=Former State Rep. Leo Berman Dies at 79 |work=[[The Texas Tribune]] |url=https://www.texastribune.org/2015/05/24/former-state-rep-leo-berman-dies-79/ |url-status=}}</ref> he died in Tyler Texas on May 23 2015.
-==Defeat in 2012 primary==
-Berman was unseated in the Republican primary held on May 29, 2012, by [[Matt Schaefer]], who received 11,138 votes (57.7 percent) to Berman's 8,172 (42.3 percent). Shaefer carried the backing of Speaker Straus<ref>{{cite web|url=http://enr.sos.state.tx.us/enr/results/may29_160_state.htm|title=Republican primary election returns, May 29, 2012|publisher=enr.sos.state.tx.us|accessdate=May 30, 2012}}</ref> and was thereafter unopposed in the November 6 general election by a Democratic candidate.
-{{Portal|New York City|Texas|Politics|Conservatism|Business and Economics|United States Army|Judaism|Christianity}}
+{{Portal bar|Biography|New York City|Texas|Politics|Conservatism|Business and Economics|Judaism|Christianity}}
 ==References==
-{{reflist}}
+{{Reflist}}
-http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/28/opinion/28collins.html?hp
 ==External links==
-*[http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/dist6/berman.php Representative Leo Berman] ''official Texas House of Representatives site''
+*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110220010013/http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/dist6/berman.php Representative Leo Berman] ''official Texas House of Representatives site''
-*{{CongLinks| votesmart = 25464 | statesurge = 208443 | fec = | opensecrets = | followthemoney = 4027 | findagrave }}
+* {{CongLinks | congbio= | votesmart=25464 | fec= | congress= }}<!--
+Links formerly displayed via the CongLinks template:
+* [http://www.followthemoney.org/database/uniquecandidate.phtml?uc=4027 Financial information (state office)] at the National Institute for Money in State Politics
+* -->
 {{s-start}}
@@ Line 84: / Line 47: @@
 {{succession box
  | before=[[Ted Kamel|Ted Andrew Kamel]]
- | title=[[Texas House of Representatives|Texas State Representative from District 6 (Smith County)]]<br>Leo C. Berman
+ | title=[[Texas House of Representatives|Texas State Representative <br> for District 6 (Smith County)]]<br>Leo C. Berman
  | years=1999–2013
  | after=[[Matt Schaefer]]
 }}
 {{s-end}}
+{{Authority control}}
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Berman, Leo}}
@@ Line 95: / Line 59: @@
 [[Category:American people of Latvian-Jewish descent]]
 [[Category:American people of Polish-Jewish descent]]
-[[Category:Members of the Texas House of Representatives]]
+[[Category:Republican Party members of the Texas House of Representatives]]
 [[Category:Politicians from New York City]]
 [[Category:People from Tyler, Texas]]
 [[Category:People from Arlington, Texas]]
 [[Category:Texas city council members]]
-[[Category:Texas Republicans]]
 [[Category:Businesspeople from Texas]]
-[[Category:Converts to Protestantism from Judaism]]
+[[Category:Converts to Anglicanism from Judaism]]
 [[Category:Southern Methodist University alumni]]
-[[Category:American Episcopalians]]
 [[Category:United States Army officers]]
-[[Category:Recipients of the Bronze Star Medal]]
 [[Category:Recipients of the Air Medal]]
-[[Category:21st-century American politicians]]
+[[Category:21st-century American legislators]]
+[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
+[[Category:20th-century American Episcopalians]]
+[[Category:Military personnel from Texas]]
+[[Category:21st-century Texas politicians]]

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National	United States