Bill White Bio

Bill White is the Democratic candidate for governor of Texas.

White’s official Website: www.billwhitefortexas.com

White’s bio from Website: Bill White fights for the people he represents, and brings people together to get things done. That’s why as Houston’s mayor, he was re-elected twice with margins of 91% and 86%. During his time as mayor, the Houston area led the nation’s cities in job growth, adding more jobs than 37 states combined.

Bill White made Houston more efficient by reforming municipal pensions, reducing traffic delays, and cutting energy consumption even as the city grew. During his time as mayor, the government has provided more services — including parks, libraries, and health clinics — while cutting the property tax rates five straight years and helping senior and disabled citizens with tax relief.

Bill White made public safety one of his highest priorities and saw Houston’s crime rates drop to the lowest levels in more than 25 years. For this leadership and dedication to fighting crime, he received the FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award

In a recent editorial, the Houston Chronicle praised White’s management skills and his hit-the-brakes approach to spending, noting, “Mayor White has deftly steered Houston through both fiscal and tropical storms. His successor will have a tough act to follow.” Before that, Governing Magazine named White one of its 2007 Public Officials of the Year explaining, “In time of both crisis and calm, White, a former business executive…is a cool pragmatist who wants results rather than excuses.” The results of his strong leadership were noticed nationally in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Bill “mobilized more than 100,000 Houstonians in the public, private business and faith-based communities to help evacuees rebuild their lives with independence and dignity,” said the John F. Kennedy Foundation in presenting him the Profiles in Courage Award, “in recognition of his political courage in leading a compassionate and effective government response to the disaster.” Bill was also honored by the Houston Military Affairs Council for his work in spearheading a regional Returning Veterans Initiative designed to give returning veterans the welcome they deserve with coordinated social services, reductions in red tape, and employment opportunities. The Department of the Army recognized this initiative as one of the finest in the country, and Houston was named one of the most military friendly cities to live and work.

Bill has been a nationally recognized energy expert for decades, pushing for practical measures to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil with higher fuel economy standards for cars, aggressive energy efficiency programs, more production of domestic natural gas, and greater reliance on domestic renewable resources. Before serving as mayor, White ran one of the region’s most successful businesses. Previously, he served as Deputy Secretary of Energy of the United States, where he helped diversify national energy supplies and saved taxpayers more than $1 billion with management reforms. As a legislative assistant in Congress in the 1970’s, he worked on landmark energy legislation.

Early in his career, Bill White helped build and manage one of the nation’s most successful law firms. He attended Harvard University on an American Legion scholarship and law school at the University of Texas.

Bill White grew up in San Antonio. Both his parents were public school teachers and his father is a disabled WWII veteran. Bill’s civic involvement began when he led voter registration drives in San Antonio after the Voting Rights Act.

For decades, Bill White and his wife Andrea have helped lead numerous charitable and civic organizations. Together they started Expectation Graduation to reduce dropout rates, engaging volunteers to bring dropouts back to school. Andrea is an author of books for young readers and helped start a nationally-recognized foundation to improve public schools. The Whites are parents of three children and attend St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Houston, where Bill taught Sunday school for many years.