Lyle Larson
| Lyle Thomas Larson | |
|---|---|
| Texas State Representative from District 122 (Bexar County) | |
| Assumed office January 2011 |
|
| Preceded by | Frank Corte, Jr. |
| Member of the Bexar County Commissioners Court, Precinct 3 | |
| In office 1997–2008 |
|
| Succeeded by | Kevin Wolff |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 25, 1959 San Antonio, Bexar County Texas, USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Single |
| Residence | San Antonio, Texas |
| Alma mater | Douglas MacArthur High School Texas A&M University |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Religion | United Methodist |
Lyle Thomas Larson (born March 25, 1959)[1] is a businessman from San Antonio, Texas, who is a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 122 in his native northern Bexar County. He was first elected to the state House in 2010 to succeed fellow Republican Frank Corte, Jr.
Background
Larson, who is single,[1] was reared on a family farm; he has four siblings. He graduated from Douglas MacArthur High School in the North East Independent School District in Bexar County. In 1981, he obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Texas A&M University in College Station. He is a former salesman for a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.[2] He has since operated his own business.[3]
Larson is United Methodist.[1] He is a quail hunter and bass fisherman. San Antonio International Ag Promotions, which he founded, hosts such trade expositions as the San Antonio International Farm and Ranch Show and the Texas Hunting and Outdoor Classic.[3]
Political life
Larson was elected on a nonpartisan ballot in 1991 to the San Antonio City Council, on which he served from District 10 for two two-year terms under Mayor Nelson Wolff. Larson was elected in 1996 to the Bexar County commissioner's court from Precinct 3, a partisan position that he filled from 1997 to 2008.
While on the commissioners court as the lone Republican member, a position since filled by Nelson Wolff's Republican son, Kevin Wolff, Larson worked to lower property tax rates seven times during his twelve years in office. In 2005, he pushed the court to freeze property taxes for senior citizens and the disabled. He opposed pay raises for commissioners and refused to accept increases when they were approved. Larson worked to reduce the impact of the 2005 round of military base closings in San Antonio, which gained a reported 11,000 jobs despite the loss of 1,000 positions on the affected bases. Larson previously served on the San Antonio - Bexar County Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Alamo Area Council of Governments, and the Greater San Antonio Crime Commission.[3]
In 2008, Larson ran unsuccessfully for Texas' 23rd congressional district seat once held by the Republican Henry Bonilla of San Antonio. In the Republican primary election, Larson defeated attorney and banker Quico Canseco, formerly of Laredo, Texas. Larson then lost in the general election to incumbent Democrat Ciro Rodriguez of San Antonio in the Hispanic-majority district. The vote was 55.8 percent for Rodriguez and 41.9 percent for Larson, with the remaining ballots held by a Libertarian candidate.[4] In 2010, Rodriguez was unseated by Canseco, who won the Republican nomination that year, but Canseco served only for one term, having been defeated in 2012 by another Democrat, Pete Gallego, a state legislator from Alpine, Texas.[5]
In 2010, Larson was elected state representative; he polled 56,702 votes (77.4 percent) to 16,576 (22.6 percent) for the Democrat Masarrat Ali.[6] His total of nearly 57,000 votes was the greatest number of ballots polled by any candidate for state representative in the entire state of Texas that year.[3] The runner-up, Republican Rob Eissler in District 15, received 52,550 votes.[5]
Larson is a member of the Texas House committees on (1) Natural Resource, (2) Culture, Recreation, and Tourism, and (3) Local and Consent Calendars. In his freshman year he was elected by the Texas Tribune as one of three "Rookies of the Year" of a class of thirty-seven new members.[3] Larson was unopposed for a second term in the House in 2012.[5]
References
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| Preceded by | Texas State Representative from District 122 (Bexar County)
Lyle Thomas Larson |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
