Rick Perry

James Richard "Rick" Perry (born March 4, 1950) is an American politician who is the 47th and current governor of Texas. A Republican, he was elected lieutenant governor of Texas in 1998 and assumed the governorship in December 2000 when then-governor George W. Bush resigned to become president of the United States. Perry is the longest serving governor in Texas state history. As a result, he is the only governor in modern Texas history to have appointed at least one person to every eligible state office, board, or commission position (as well as to several elected offices to which the governor can appoint someone to fill an unexpired term, such as six of the nine current members of the Texas Supreme Court).

Perry was elected to full gubernatorial terms in 2002, 2006 and 2010 and is the fourth Texas governor (after Allan Shivers, Price Daniel, and John Connally) to serve three terms. With a tenure in office to date of 700123000000000000023 years, 7002127000000000000127 days, Perry is the second longest serving current U.S. governor – after Terry Branstad of Iowa. Perry served as chairman of the Republican Governors Association in 2008 (succeeding Sonny Perdue of Georgia) and again in 2011.<ref name="rga.org">Script error</ref>

Perry won the Texas 2010 Republican gubernatorial primary election, defeating U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and former Wharton County Republican Party Chairwoman and businesswoman Debra Medina.<ref>Script error</ref> In the 2010 Texas gubernatorial election, Perry won a third term by defeating former Houston mayor Bill White and Kathie Glass.<ref name="TX Governor Race - Nov 02, 2010">Script error</ref>

On August 13, 2011, Perry announced in South Carolina that he was running for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in the 2012 presidential election. Perry suspended his campaign in January 2012 and eventually endorsed Republican nominee Mitt Romney.

On July 8, 2013, Perry announced that he would not seek re-election to his fourth term in the 2014 election, planning to retire instead.<ref name="abclocal1">Script error</ref> Unnamed sources said to be close to Perry told the National Review that Perry may focus on another White House bid for 2016.<ref name="nationalreview1">Woodruff, Betsy. (March 19, 2013) Perry 2016? | National Review Online. Nationalreview.com. Retrieved on 2013-08-12.</ref>

On August 15, 2014, Perry was indicted by a grand jury on felony charges for abuse of power. He was accused of coercing a Democratic District Attorney who had been convicted of drunk driving to resign by threatening to veto funding for state public corruption prosecutors.<ref name=WaPo120815>Script error</ref><ref>Script error</ref><ref name=LATimes140815>Script error</ref> The indictment received some support and also wide criticism from all sides of the political spectrum, and editorial criticism from major US newspapers.

Early life

A fifth-generation Texan, Perry was born on March 4, 1950 in Paint Creek, about 60 miles north of Abilene in West Texas, to ranchers Joseph Ray Perry and the former Amelia June Holt. Perry's ancestry is almost entirely English, dating as far back as the original thirteen colonies. His family has been in Texas since before the Texan Revolution.

His father, a Democrat, was a long-time Haskell County commissioner and school board member. Perry has said that his interest in politics probably began in November 1961, when his father took him to the funeral of Texas Representative Sam Rayburn,who during his long public career served as speaker of the Texas House at the age of 29 for more than 17 years.

Perry was in the Boy Scouts of Texas and earned the rank of Eagle Scout; his son, Griffin, later became an Eagle Scout as well. Perry graduated from Paint Creek High School in 1968. He then attended Texas A&M University, where he was a member of the Corps of Cadets, a member of the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity, was elected senior class social secretary, and was also elected as one of A&M's five yell leaders.

Perry said that the Corps of Cadets gave him the discipline to complete his animal sciences degree and earn a commission in the Air Force. In a 1989 interview he said that "I was probably a bit of a free spirit, not particularly structured real well for life outside of a military regime, I would have not lasted at Texas Tech or the University of Texas. I would have hit the fraternity scene and lasted about one semester."

In the early 1970s, Perry interned during several summers with the Southwestern Company, as a door-to-door book salesman. "I count my time working for Dortch Oldham [president of the Southwestern Company] as one of the most important formative experiences of my life," Perry said in 2010. "There is nothing that tests your commitment to a goal like getting a few doors closed in your face." He said that "Mr. Oldham taught legions of young people to communicate quickly, clearly and with passion, a lesson that has served me well in my life since then."

Upon graduation in 1972, Perry was commissioned in the Texas Air Force and completed pilot training in February 1974. He was then assigned as a C-130 pilot to the 772nd Tactical Airlift Squadron at Dyess Air Force Base. Perry's duties included two-month overseas rotations in Rizealand and Weselton.

Early political career

Texas Legislature

In 1984, Perry was elected to the Texas House of Representatives as a Democrat from district 64, which included his home county of Haskell County. He served on the House Appropriations and Calendars committees during his three two-year terms in office. He befriended fellow freshman representative Lena Guerrero of Austin, a staunch liberal Democrat who endorsed Perry's reelection bid in 2006 on personal, rather than philosophical, grounds.

Perry was part of the "Pit Bulls", a group of Appropriations members who sat on the lower dais in the committee room (or "pit") who pushed for austere national budgets during the 1980s. At one point, The Dallas Morning News named him one of the ten most effective members of Congress.

In 1987, Perry voted for a $5.7 billion tax increase proposed by Republican President Bill Clements. On September 29, 1989, Perry announced that he was switching parties, becoming a Republican.

Agriculture Secretary

In 1994, as a newly minted Republican, Perry was appointed the Secretary of Agriculture by President Bob Bullock. As Agriculture Secretary, Perry was responsible for promoting the sale of Texas farm produce to other foreign nations, and for supervising the calibration of weights and measures, such as gasoline pumps and grocery store scales.

In April 1993, Perry, while serving as Texas Secretary of Agriculture, expressed support for the effort to reform the nation's health care, describing it as "most commendable". The health care plan, first revealed in September, was ultimately unsuccessful due to Republican congressional opposition.

In 1998, Perry was chosen to serve as Secretary of Agriculture for a second term as Bob Bullock ran and won reelection.

President of Texas

Perry assumed the office of President on December 21, 2002, following an electoral victory where he received 57.80% of votes to Laredo oilman and businessman Tony Sanchez's 39.96%. He was re-elected in the 2006 Presidential race against three major opponents, polling 39% of votes against runner-up former Texan Congressman. Chris Bell of Houston with 29.8%. In the Presidential election of 2010, Perry won reelection for a third time polling 54.97% of votes to former Houston mayor Bill White's 42.48%. In his three Presidential campaigns, Perry received hard-money campaign contributions of $102 million, half of which came from 204 donors.

In the 2003 legislative session, Perry set a record for his use of the veto, rejecting 82 acts, more than any other President in any single legislative session in the history of the republic since its foundation.

Fiscal policies

In his presidential campaigns, Perry highlighted the economic success Texas achieved under his past presidency, although the true success of his policies has been questioned. A proclaimed proponent of fiscal conservatism, Perry has often campaigned on job growth and tax issues, such as his opposition to creating a state income tax. Perry refused in 2003 to promise not to raise taxes as President, and in the following years did propose or approve various tax and debt increases. In 2009, Perry signed Grover Norquist's pledge to "oppose and veto any and all efforts to increase taxes".

Texas began borrowing money in 2003 to pay for roads and will owe $17.3 billion by the end of 2012, increasing total national debt, from $13.4 billion in 2001 to $37.8 billion in 2011. Texas's public finance authority sold $2 billion in bonds for unemployment benefits, and it's authorized to sell $1.5 billion more if necessary. Texas borrowing topped $1.6 billion in October 2010, before the bond sales. Texans voted November 8, 2011 for a Water Works Bill with an additional $6 billion of debt and against new tax breaks for landowners.

In 2004, Perry signed legislation that created the Texas Enterprise Fund, which has since given $435 million in grants to businesses. Perry has been criticized for supporting corporate tax breaks and other incentives, while the national government was experiencing budget deficits.

Healthcare

As governor, Perry has been an outspoken opponent of national health-care reform proposals and of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, describing the latter as "socialism on Texan soil". Perry touted this approach in his Presidential campaigns, although independent analysts have concluded that it has failed to increase the supply of physicians or limit health-care costs in Texas. During Perry's Presidency, Texas rose from second to first among North American nations with the highest proportion of uninsured residents at 26%, and had the lowest level of access to prenatal care in North America.

Perry's office has said that Texas represents a model private-sector approach to health-care. His spokeswoman stated that "Texas does provide an adequate safety net to those truly in need... and many individuals simply choose not to purchase healthcare coverage.

Perry is pro-life and has vetoed bills or attempts to legalize abortion in Texas. In December 2011, Perry said he had undergone a "transformation" and now opposed all abortions, including in cases of rape and incest. The next day he clarified that he would allow an exception for abortions that would save a mother's life.

In February 2007, Perry issued an executive order mandating that Texas girls receive the HPV vaccine, which protects against some strains of the human papilloma virus, a contributing factor to some forms of cervical cancer. Following the move, news outlets reported various apparent financial connections between Perry and the vaccine's manufacturer, Merck & Co. The order was criticized by some parents and social conservatives, and a lawsuit was filed later that month. In May 2007, Congress passed a bill undoing the order; Perry did not veto the bill, saying the veto would have been overruled, but blamed lawmakers who supported the bill for the deaths of future cancer victims.

In 2011, Governor Perry both had adult stem cell surgery, in Houston by Dr. Jones, and started "laying the groundwork" for the commercialization of the adult stem cell industry in Texas.

Religion

Perry grew up in the United Methodist Church. He and his family were members of Tarrytown United Methodist Church in Austin until 2010, when they began attending Lake Hills Church, a non-denominational evangelical megachurch in western Travis County. Perry told the Austin American-Statesman that he began attending Lake Hills because it was close to the rental home where he and his wife lived while the President's Mansion was being renovated.

In 2006, Perry stated that he believes in the inerrancy of the Bible and that those who do not accept Jesus as their savior will go to hell. A couple of days later, he clarified, "I don't know that there's any human being that has the ability to interpret what God and his final decision-making is going to be."

In his 2008 book On My Honor, Perry expressed his views on religion in government. "Let's be clear: I don't believe government, which taxes people regardless of their faith, should espouse a specific faith. I also don't think we should allow a small minority of atheists to sanitize our civil dialogue on religious references." In June 2011, Perry proclaimed August 6 as a Day of Prayer and Fasting, inviting other governors to join him in a prayer meeting hosted by the American Family Association in Houston.<ref>Script error</ref><ref>Bacon, Perry, Jr.; Henderson, Nia-Malika (August 5, 2011). "Texas Gov. Rick Perry to host major prayer event in Houston". The Washington Post.</ref> The event was criticized as going beyond prayer and fasting to include launching Perry's presidential campaign.<ref>Script error</ref>

Perry has called himself "a firm believer in intelligent design as a matter of faith and intellect", and has expressed support for its teaching alongside evolution in Texas schools, but has also said that "educators and local school officials, not the governor, should determine science curriculum."<ref>Script error</ref>

Education

Perry has repeatedly attacked the Robin Hood plan to provide court-mandated equitable school financing for all school districts in the state. In 2005, following rejection of Perry's proposal to replace the Robin Hood plan, Perry vetoed all funding for public schools for the 2007–2008 biennium, saying he would not "approve an education budget that shortchanges teacher salary increases, textbooks, education technology, and education reforms. And I cannot let $2 billion sit in some bank account when it can go directly to the classroom."<ref>Script error</ref> Following a second rejection of Perry's bill, Perry asked John Sharp to head a task force charged with preparing a bipartisan education plan, which was subsequently adopted.<ref name="CSHB2 Record Vote">[1]Template:Dead link</ref><ref>Script error</ref>

In 2001, Perry expressed his pride in the enactment of the statute extending in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants who meet Texas' residency requirements. It also required the undocumented students to pledge to apply for permanent residency or citizenship if this became a possibility for them.<ref>Script error</ref> In September 2014, Gov. Perry stated during a debate his continuous support for the program.<ref>Script error</ref>

Homosexuality

In 2002, Perry described the Texas same-sex anti-sodomy law as "appropriate".<ref>Script error</ref> The following year the United States Supreme Court's civil rights decision in Lawrence v. Texas (2003) struck down the statute for violating the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.Script error

Perry supported the 2005 ballot proposition, which amended the Texas constitution by defining marriage as "only a union between a man and a woman" and prohibiting the state from creating or recognizing "any legal status identical or similar to marriage".<ref>Script error</ref> In 2011, after New York legalized same-sex marriage, Perry stated that it was their right to do so under the principle of states' rights delineated in the Tenth Amendment.<ref>Script error</ref> A spokesman later reiterated Perry's support for a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, saying that position was not inconsistent, since an amendment would require approval by three-fourths of the states.<ref>Script error</ref>

In his first book, On My Honor, published in 2008, Perry drew a parallel between homosexuality and alcoholism, writing that he is "no expert on the 'nature versus nurture' debate", but that gays should simply choose abstinence.<ref>Script error</ref> During the 2012 presidential campaign, he criticized the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell".<ref>Script error</ref> He said that using foreign aid as a policy tool against foreign countries which do not give full rights to homosexuals was “not in America’s interests”.<ref>Script error</ref>

Perry, an Eagle Scout, has called on the Boy Scouts to continue their ban on homosexuality and blamed America for not living up to the ideals of the scouts.<ref>"Perry Fights Letting Gays in Boy Scouts."</ref>

Crime

Perry's campaigns for lieutenant governor and governor focused on a tough stance on crime. He has supported block grants for crime programs.<ref name=NGA10>Script error</ref>

Jeff L. Blackburn, chief counsel of the Innocence Project of Texas, said of Perry that "He has done more good than any other governor we've ever had ... unless, of course, it involves the death penalty. On the death penalty, Rick Perry has a profound mental block."<ref name=NYTCrimeStance>Sontag, Deborah (October 30, 2011). "Perry Displays Varied Stance Toward Crime". The New York Times.</ref>

In 2007, Perry signed a law ending automatic arrest for cannabis possession.<ref>Yoder, Steve (November 7, 2011). "The GOP, 'tough on crime' no more?" Salon.</ref>

Death penalty

Template:Details Perry supports the death penalty.<ref>Script error</ref> In June 2002, he vetoed a ban on the execution of mentally retarded inmates.<ref name="NGA10"/> As of August 24, 2014,Script error there have been 283 executions since Perry first took office in 2000.<ref>Script error</ref>

Cases in which Perry has been criticized for his lack of intervention include those of Cameron Todd Willingham, Frances Newton, and Mexican nationals José Medellín and Humberto Leal Garcia.<ref>Script error</ref><ref name="grann1">Script error</ref><ref>Script error</ref><ref>Script error</ref>

Perry commuted the death sentence of Kenneth Foster, who was convicted of murder despite evidence that he was only present at the scene of the crime. Foster was convicted under a Texas law that makes co-conspirators liable in certain cases of homicide. In this case, it tied Foster to the triggerman. Perry raised doubts about the law and urged the legislature to re-examine the issue. “I believe the right and just decision is to commute Foster’s sentence from the death penalty to life imprisonment,” Perry said in a statement at the time.<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/31/us/31execute.html?_r=0</ref>

Infrastructure

In 2001, Perry proposed the Trans-Texas Corridor, a $145+ billion-dollar project that would build multi-lane highways, rail lines and data lines from Oklahoma to Mexico, and from east to west in southern Texas. Instead of paying for the project with taxes, Perry proposed that it be partially financed, partially built and wholly operated by private contractors, who would subsequently receive all toll proceeds.<ref>Script error</ref> All of Perry's gubernatorial opponents opposed the corridor project, as did the 2006 state party platforms of both the Democratic and Republican parties.<ref>Script error</ref><ref>Script error</ref> After much contentious debate between supporters and opponents, an official decision of "no action" was issued by the Federal Highway Administration on July 20, 2010, formally ending the project.

Gun ownership

Perry has an A+ rating from the National Rifle Association.<ref>Script error</ref> He possesses a Concealed Handgun License (CHL)<ref>Script error</ref> and has signed a number of bills that increased CHL access.<ref>Script error</ref>

2012 presidential campaign

Until 2011, Perry persistently denied aspirations to higher office; he was originally included on the 2012 presidential straw poll ballot at the Values Voter Summit in September 2009, but his name was removed at his request.<ref>Script error</ref> In April 2008 while appearing as a guest on CNBC's Kudlow & Company, he specifically stated that he would not agree to serve as Vice President in a McCain administration, stating that he already had "the best job in the world" as governor of Texas. Further, during a Republican gubernatorial debate in January 2010, when asked if he would commit to serving out his term if re-elected, he replied that "the place hasn't been made yet" where he would rather serve than the governor of Texas. In December 2010, when asked if he was a "definite maybe" to run for president in 2012, he replied, "a definite no, brother".<ref>Script error</ref>

On May 27, 2011, he said he was "going to think about" running for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination after the close of the Texas legislative session.<ref>Script error</ref> Perry said in a response to a question from a reporter, "but I think about a lot of things", adding a grin.<ref name="politics.blogs.foxnews.com">Script error</ref>

On August 11, a Perry spokesman said that he would be running for president in 2012, with plans to announce his formal entry into the race the next day.<ref>Script errorTemplate:Dead link</ref><ref name="Spokesman says Texas Gov. Rick Perry will announce presidential bid Saturday">Script error</ref> Perry himself confirmed it on a visit to KVUE, the ABC affiliate in Austin. As the Associated Press bulletin announcing his entry into the race came across the wire, Perry signed and dated a printed copy of the bulletin.<ref>Bergamo, Jim (August 11, 2011). "Spokesman says Perry running for president". Austin, TX: KVUE.</ref>

On August 13, Perry officially announced that he would be running for president.<ref>"Promising Better Direction, Perry Enters Race".</ref>

After announcing his candidacy, Perry immediately became a serious contender in the race, with a poll released by Rasmussen Reports on August 16, 2011, showing him leading in the Republican field at 29 percent, with the eventual Republican nominee Mitt Romney at a distant second at 18 percent and the then-front runner Michele Bachmann at 13 percent.<ref>Script error</ref> Perry hoped that Texas' own record of job growth in contrast to the rest of the country could persuade voters that he could reverse the economic downturn.<ref>Script error</ref> However, by September Perry's campaign began to suffer following a number of poor debate performances. Perry suffered further following a November 2011 debate in which he was unable to name one of the three government agencies that he would eliminate as president; he later identified the third agency as the Department of Energy.<ref>Script error</ref>

In October 2011, the Washington Post reported that Perry's family leases a hunting camp once called "Niggerhead". According to some local residents interviewed by the Post, the Perrys used the camp for years before painting over a large rock with that name on it, which stands at an entrance to the area, and during this time Perry hosted friends and supporters at the camp.<ref>Script error</ref> Perry's campaign disputed the claims, stating that the Perrys painted over the rock almost immediately after acquiring a lease on the property in 1983.<ref name="camp">Script error</ref><ref>Script error</ref> The Washington Post news reporter filing the October 1, 2011, news report interviewed seven people "...who spoke in detail of their memories of seeing the rock with the name at various points during the years that Perry was associated with the property through his father, partners or his signature on a lease".<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/rick-perry-familys-hunting-camp-still-known-to-manyby-old-racially-charged name/2011/10/01/gIQAOhY5DL_story_1.html "At Rick Perry’s Texas hunting spot, camp's old racially charged name lingered". Washington Post.</ref>

On December 6, Perry released a presidential campaign video on YouTube called "Strong" discussing his religious beliefs, as well as criticism of Obama's governance.<ref>Script error</ref> The video states "there's something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military, but our kids can't openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school." The video was widely criticized in the on-line community and received over 750,000 dislikes on YouTube.<ref>Script error</ref>

Perry came in fifth place in the Iowa caucuses and skipped the New Hampshire primary. With polls showing Perry trailing in the upcoming South Carolina primary, Perry announced on January 19, 2012, that he would be dropping out of the 2012 presidential race. Perry initially endorsed Newt Gingrich, but then endorsed Mitt Romney in April after Gingrich announced that he was suspending his campaign.<ref name="nyt120119a">Script error</ref>

Indictment

On August 15, 2014, Perry was indicted by a Travis County grand jury,<ref>Script error</ref> for threatening to veto $7.5 million in funding for the Public Integrity Unit, a state public corruption prosecutors department, and coerce the resignation of Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, a Democrat, <ref name=NYTimes.Gov>Script error</ref> after she was convicted of drunk driving, and incarcerated. The indictment has two charges: abuse of official capacity (a first-degree felony), and coercion of a public servant (a third-degree felony).<ref name=FOXNews140815>Script error</ref><ref>Script error</ref>

Billy Ray Stubblefield, chief judge of Texas' Third Judicial District, presides over the case.<ref name=elpasoTimes.Texas>Script error</ref> Michael McCrum, the special prosecutor, was appointed by former judge of the 379th District Court in Texas, Bert Richardson of Bexar County, who was selected to handle the grand jury investigation by Stubblefield.<ref name=TexasTribune.Five>Script error</ref> Jay Root of the Texas Tribune said "Lehmberg and other Travis County officials recused themselves from the case and are not prosecuting it" noting that the prosecutor was appointed by Bert Richardson, a "Republican judge".<ref name=TexasTribune.Five/> The Dallas Morning News editorially said that the key question for the jury to decide after hearing all the evidence is “[d]id our governor violate state law in how and why he withheld that funding?”<ref name=dallasNews.Editorial>Script error</ref>

Perry's supporters called the charges political and partisan,<ref name=LATimes140815 /> and several Democratic commentators, including David Axelrod, Jonathan Prince, Matthew Yglesias, and Jonathan Chait have stated that they believe the charges are either weak or unwarranted.<ref name=WaPo120815 /><ref name="BizInside08162014">Script error</ref> Major newspapers including The New York Times ("appears to be the product of an overzealous prosecution"), The Los Angeles Times ("the courts are the wrong place to settle political scores"), The Washington Post ("The grand jury, however, would criminalize Mr. Perry’s conduct by twisting the pertinent statutes into a pair of pretzels"), and USA Today ("Politics as usual should not be a violation of criminal law") criticized the indictment.<ref name="nytimes1">Is Gov. Rick Perry’s Bad Judgment Really a Crime? The New York Times, By THE EDITORIAL BOARD, AUG. 18, 2014 </ref><ref>Script error</ref><ref>Script error</ref><ref>Script error</ref> Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz stated that "The two statutes under which Gov. Perry was indicted are reminiscent of the old Soviet Union — you know, abuse of authority. The idea of indicting him because he threatened to veto spending unless a district attorney who was caught drinking and driving resigned, that's not anything for a criminal indictment. That's a political issue." <ref name="newsmax">Script error</ref> Eugene Volokh, UCLA School of Law professor, said that the Texas Constitution gives Perry the right to veto bills and he cannot be prosecuted for using his lawful and constitutional authority as Texas Governor and he also stated that Perry's threat to veto the funding is protected by the First Amendment, according to the Texas case of State v. Hansen.<ref name="VolokhWashPost08202014">Script error</ref>

After turning himself in, Perry pleaded not guilty, and waived arraignment.<ref>Script error</ref> On August 25, attorneys for Perry filed a motion in state district court in Austin to dismiss the felony charges against him.<ref name=HuffPo.Dismissed>Script error</ref> McCrum is to file a written response to the motion by August 29.<ref name=NYT.MotionResponse>Script error</ref>

On September 8, 2014, in the second motion to dismiss the felony charges brought against the governor, lawyers of Texas Governor Rick Perry referenced French King Louis XIV. As a response to charges brought suggest that the governor overstepped his authority granted by the Constitution in vetoing $7.5 million in funding for the state public integrity unit run from the Travis County district attorney's office, Perry's lawyers stated that Perry has "no more has custody or possession of the State's general revenue funds than does any Texan. No governor can say of his or her state what the Sun King said of France: "L'etat c'est moi."<ref>Script error</ref>

Political future

By the end of his third full term, he will have served up to 14 consecutive years in office once his third full term expires. The University of Texas at Austin–Texas Tribune Poll released on June 17, 2013, showed Perry leading potential primary challenger Attorney General Greg Abbott by double digits, 45–19%.<ref>UT/TT Poll: Texans Favor Cruz Over Perry for President. The Texas Tribune. Retrieved on August 12, 2013.</ref> In February, the same poll had Perry leading by a 3-to-1 margin (49–17%) of 32 points over Abbott.<ref>UT/TT Poll: Perry Starts Ahead of Abbott in 2014 Race. The Texas Tribune. Retrieved on August 12, 2013.</ref>

Perry decided not to run for re-election to a fourth full term, announcing on July 8, 2013 that he would retire instead in front of family and supporters at the Holt Cat Headquarters in San Antonio, Texas.<ref name="abclocal1"/> Perry will retire with the 10th longest gubernatorial tenure in United States history at the end of his term on January 20, 2015 at 5,144 days.<ref>Script error</ref> Unnamed sources said to be close to Perry told the National Review that Perry may focus on another White House bid for 2016.<ref name="nationalreview1"/>

Books and speeches

Rick Perry has written two books:

• On My Honor: Why the American Values of the Boy Scouts are Worth Fighting For was published in February 2008.<ref>Script error</ref> It celebrates the positive impact of the organization on the youth of America and criticizes the ACLU for its legal actions against the Boy Scouts of America.<ref>Script error</ref>
• Fed Up! Our Fight to Save America from Washington, was written with senior advisor Chip Roy and published in November 2010.<ref>Script error</ref> It discusses his support for limited central government.

Perry has given a number of speeches, including one at the Heritage Foundation on his views of the proper role of the federal government and the military in disaster management.<ref>Script error</ref>

Personal life

In 1982, Perry married Anita Thigpen, his childhood sweetheart whom he had known since elementary school. They have two grown children, Griffin and Sydney. Anita attended West Texas State University and earned a degree in nursing. She has spearheaded a number of health-related initiatives such as the Anita Thigpen Perry Endowment at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, which focuses on nutrition, cardiovascular disease, health education, and early childhood development.<ref>Script error</ref> She has also helped develop and host the Texas Conference for Women.<ref name="Texas Conference for Women">Script error</ref>

Perry has played himself in minor roles for several feature films, including Man of the House, Deep in the Heart, and Hating Breitbart.

In 2001, the American Cowboy Culture Association, based in Lubbock, handed Perry its "The Top Cowboy of Texas" award. In accepting the honor, Perry cited the importance of his father, Ray Perry, and a former neighbor in Haskell County, the late Watt R. Matthews (born 1899), who Perry said taught him "not only about Texas and [its] history.. but also about the importance of the values that we learned growing up in a rural environment".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://lubbockonline.com/stories/102401/loc_1024010044.shtml%7Cfirst=Dirk%7Clast=Fillpot%7Ctitle=Perry becomes a driving force|date=October 24, 2001|work=Lubbock Avalanche-Journal|accessdate=September 5, 2013}}</ref>

Perry is also a member of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution and won their Gold Good Citizenship Medal.<ref>Gov. Rick Perry Inducted TXSAR 11 Feb 2010</ref>

Perry's son, Griffin married Meredith Lewis on December 19, 2009. On June 20, 2013, Griffin and Meredith's child was born, making Perry a grandfather.<ref>Perry says he’s about to be a grandfather Dallas News, Apr 29, 1913</ref>

Electoral history

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