William P. Hobby Jr. | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 37th Lieutenant Governor of Texas | |
| In office January 16, 1973 – January 15, 1991 | |
| Governor | Dolph Briscoe Bill Clements Mark White Bill Clements |
| Preceded by | Ben Barnes |
| Succeeded by | Bob Bullock |
| 5th Chancellor of the University of Houston System | |
| In office 1995–1997 | |
| Preceded by | Alexander F. Schilt |
| Succeeded by | Arthur K. Smith |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William Pettus Hobby Jr. (1932-01-19)January 19, 1932 (age 93) Houston, Texas, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Diana Poteat Stallings (died 2014) |
| Children | 4 |
| Parents |
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| Residence(s) | Houston, Texas |
| Alma mater | Rice University (BA) |
| Website | billhobby |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1953–1957 |
| Rank | Lieutenant (JG) |
William Pettus Hobby Jr. (born January 19, 1932)[1] is an American politician who served a record eighteen years as the 37thlieutenant governor of Texas, from 1973 to 1991. He was the last lieutenant governor to serve a two-year term and the first elected to a four-year term when the Texas Constitution was amended to lengthen terms for statewide elected officeholders to four years beginning with the 1974 elections.[2]
Hobby was born inHouston, Texas, the only son ofWilliam P. Hobby Sr. andOveta Culp Hobby. Both of his grandfathers were in theTexas Legislature. His father was also a lieutenant governor of Texas and thegovernor from 1917 to 1921, and his mother was the first person appointed to the new position ofUnited States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare by U.S. PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower, aRepublican. She served in that position, now theUnited States Department of Health and Human Services, from 1953 to 1955.[3]
Hobby attended high school atSt. Albans School inWashington, D.C., he then attendedRice University in Houston. After graduating in 1953 with aBachelor of Arts,[4] he served in theUnited States Navy for four years innaval intelligence.
For many years, the Hobby family owned the now-defunctHouston Post, at which Hobby worked. He worked his way through the editorial department. When his father became ill in 1963, Hobby assumed editorial and managerial control of the newspaper. He remained president of thePost for twenty years – until the family sold the newspaper in 1983. It was absorbed in 1995 by theHouston Chronicle, which is still published.[5]
Hobby's lengthy career in government began in 1959, when he served as parliamentarian of the Texas Senate under Lieutenant GovernorBen Ramsey. He was appointed to the Presidential Task Force on Suburban Problems and to the National Citizens Advisory Committee on Vocational Rehabilitation by U.S. PresidentLyndon B. Johnson. GovernorPreston Smith appointed him to the Texas Air Control Board. Lieutenant Governor Ben Barnes appointed him chair of the Senate Interim Committee on Welfare Reform in 1969. Hobby resigned from the Texas Air Control Board in 1971 to run for lieutenant governor.[5]
Hobby was elected lieutenant governor in November 1972 with 93 percent of the statewide vote, having defeated token opposition, not from a Republican but from theHispanic former third party,Raza Unida, which ranAlma Canales ofEdinburg even though she did not meet the age requirement for the office.[6] The position had opened when the two-term incumbent,Ben Barnes, ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic gubernatorial primary and finished in third place. Hobby was an easy winner in most of his elections, including a high-profile race in 1982 in which he defeated the Republican nominee George Strake Jr., also a Houston businessman, a formerSecretary of State of Texas, and later the Republican state chairman. Hobby was re-elected in 1974 (when the term was extended to four years) defeating Republican Gaylord Marshall. Hobby polled 1,170,253 votes (74 percent) to Marshall's 379,108 (24 percent) and in their 1978 rematch with Hobby polling 1,434,613 votes (64.91 percent) to Marshall's 760,642 votes (34.42 percent), 1982 defeating Strake with Hobby polling 1,830,870 votes (58.35 percent) to Strake's 1,272,644 votes (40.56 percent), and 1986 defeating David Davidson with Hobby polling 2,032,781 votes (61.37 percent) to Davidson's 1,231,858 votes (37.19 percent). Hobby did not seek an unprecedented sixth term in 1990, and the lieutenant governorship passed to fellow Democrat then-ComptrollerBob Bullock on January 15, 1991.
In addition to presiding over the state senate, Hobby served in numerous other political leadership capacities. These included appointments as chair of the Governor's Energy Advisory Council (GEAC) (1973–1977), the Texas Energy Advisory Council (TEAC) (1977–1979), the special advisory committee which recommended the Texas Sunset Act (1970s), and the Joint Advisory Committee on Educational Services to the Deaf (1976–1979); co-chair of the Texas Energy and Natural Resource Advisory Council (TENRAC) (1979–1983); vice-chair of the Criminal Justice Policy Council; ex officio member of the Texas Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations; and member of the Select Committee on Public Education (1983–1984). He was also chair of the National Conference of Lieutenant Governors in 1974. In 1985, he joined themental health activist, Helen J. Farabee ofWichita Falls, in convincing the legislature to create the Department of Mental Health Mental Retardation, known as MHMR.[7]
"Over his years as Lieutenant Governor, Hobby gained a reputation as an astute fiscal manager and parliamentary leader in the Texas Senate," according to a biographical sketch in the state archives.
"Some of the highlights of Hobby's years as Lieutenant Governor included reforms in the appropriations process such as zero-based budgeting, which required agencies to justify their budgets regardless of previous budget levels, and a requirement that the fiscal impact of bills be determined and reported to the Legislature in advance of passage. Also passed during his tenure were the indigent health care plan, the Texas water plan, and the school finance bill of 1984 that redistributed state funds among the state's school districts, required teacher testing, and created the controversial 'no-pass-no-play' rule."[8]
Shortly afterDeng Xiaoping's 1979 visit to the United States, Hobby traveled to China and signed a deal through which China began selling crude oil to Houston-area refineries.[9]
Hobby served asChancellor of theUniversity of Houston System from 1995 to 1997. He toldTexas Monthly's Paul Burka that he had never expected the call.[3]
Also, Hobby remained active in business. He served on the boards of directors for various firms, includingSouthwest Airlines, a position he held for seventeen years. He was Trustee of the LBJ Foundation. He held the Sid Richardson Chair in Public Affairs at the LBJ School of Public Affairs and was also Radoslav Tsanoff Professor at Rice University. He continued to be active in civic affairs as a commissioner for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.[5] In 2010, he published a book,How Things Really Work: Lessons from a Life in Politics. This book was produced as an audiobook byAssistive Media for the Texas Talking Book Program to serve Texans with blindness or visual, physical, or reading disabilities.
He was married to the former Diana Poteat Stallings until her death on July 4, 2014,[10] and is the father of Laura Poteat Hobby Beckworth, Paul William Hobby, Andrew Purefoy Hobby, and Katherine Pettus Hobby Gibson. Diana Hobby was associate editor ofStudies in English Literature as well as was book editor ofThe Houston Post. As a couple, they were strong supporters of the arts and literature, libraries in particular. Democrat Paul Hobby attempted to extend the family's public service into a fourth generation; however, he narrowly lost the race for Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts in 1998 to the Republican nominee,Carole Keeton Strayhorn.[11]
On May 5, 1989, Hobby was honored by the state senate. TheWilliam P. Hobby, Jr. State Office Building in Austin is named in his honor. It houses theTexas Department of Insurance.
The Hobby School of Public Affairs at theUniversity of Houston, and theHobby Center for the Performing Arts are named in honor of Hobby and his family. Diana American Grill, the on-site restaurant at the Hobby Center, named for Hobby's wife, Diana.
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forLieutenant Governor of Texas 1972,1974,1978,1982,1986 | Succeeded by |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chancellor of the University of Houston System 1995–1997 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Lieutenant Governor of Texas 1973–1991 | Succeeded by |
