Larry Phillips

Lawrence Augustine "Larry" Phillips
Texas State Representative for District 62 (Delta, Fannin and Grayson counties)
In office January 2003 – April 2018
Preceded by	Ronald H. Clark
Succeeded by	Reggie Smith
Judge of the Texas District Court for Grayson, Fannin, and Delta counties
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 2019 (pending)
Born	April 5, 1966
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Robin Lynn Phillips

Lawrence Augustine Phillips, known as Larry Phillips (born April 5, 1966), is an attorney from Sherman in Grayson Count in north Texas,^[1] who is a Republican former member of the Texas House of Representatives for District 62 (Fannin and Grayson counties).^[2]

Phillips received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Southern Baptist-affiliated Baylor University in Waco. He then procured his Juris Doctorate from the University of Houston Law School in Houston.^[3]

In 2003, Phillips initially won his seat in a special runoff election with nearly 66 percent of the vote; his defeated opponent was the Democrat Donnie Jarvis, also of Sherman.^[4] The vacancy occurred when U.S. President George W. Bush appointed Republican State Representative Ronald H. Clark of Sherman as a judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, based in the branch court at Beaumont in southeastern Texas. Clark had held the District 62 seat since 1997.^[5]

While in the House, Phillips served as the chairman of the House Transportation Committee and sat on these committees: (1) Ethics, (2) Redistricting, and (3) Border and Intergovernmental Affairs.^[2] Phillips secured his latest full term in 2010 with nearly 88 percent of the ballots cast over the Libertarian Kenneth Mye, as no Democrat sought the seat.^[3]

In November 2010, State Representative Bryan Hughes, an attorney from Mineola County in Wood County in east Texas, withdrew his support for a second term for moderate Republican Joe Straus of San Antonio as Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives. Hughes charged that Straus was punishing intraparty conservative opponents with unfair redistricting. Hughes based his claim on a conversation with one of Straus' staffers. Hughes said that Phillips told him that two East Texas members were being especially earmarked through redistricting, then Representative-elect Erwin Cain of Sulphur Springs and Dan Flynn of Van, Texas. Representative Chuck Hopson of Jacksonville, Texas, a De Democrat-turned-Republican and chairman of the House Ethics Committee, called upon Hughes to reveal the name of the informant.^[6] Under oath at his own request, Hughes identified the informant as Representative Phillips. Before the Ethics Committee, Phillips removed himself as a member for the duration of the hearing and denied Hughes's accusation. The phone conversation between Hughes and Phillips was not recorded. The committee hence did not reach a judgment because of the lack of corroborating witnesses.^[7][8]

Phillips resigned his long-term House seat in April 2018. He was the unopposed Republican nominee for a state district court position in Grayson, Fannin, and Delta counties to which Governor Greg Abbott appointed him in the interim pending the start of the judicial term in January 2019. A special election was held on November 6, 2018, to choose a successor to finish Phillips' unexpired House term.^[9] Conservative Republican Reginald B. "Reggie" Smith, Jr., and the Democrat Valerie Hefner, both of Sherman, competed for the regular District 62 House term. Smith prevailed, 41,899 (76.2 percent) to Hefner's 12,047 (percent), A Libertarian, David Schaab held another 1,071 votes (1.9 percent).

A former chairman of the Grayson County Republican Party, Smith defeated fellow Republican Brent Lawson, 71 to 29 percent, in the May 22 runoff election.^[10]

References[edit]