Rick Range

Richard Lynn "Rick" Range (Alamo preservation activist; one of three unsuccessful opponents to Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush in the March 6, 2018, primary election)
Born	January 12, 1952 Dallas County, Texas Resident of Garland
Political Party	Republican

Richard Lynn Range, known as Rick Range (born January 12, 1952),^[1] is a scholar of The Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, who made preservation of the noted landmark the centerpiece of his unsuccessful campaign in 2018 for Texas Land Commissioner.

Range finished last in a four-man field in which three Republicans challenged the re-nomination of Land Commissioner George P. Bush in the March 6 party primary. Like two other intra-party rivals, former Commissioner Jerry Patterson and land surveyor Davey Edwards, Range based his campaign on the preservation of traditional state history and the integrity of the Alamo. Seeking his second term in the position, Bush is the son of Moderate Republican former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who lost the 2016 presidential nomination to Donald Trump, the nephew of former U.S. President George W. Bush, and a grandson of former President George Herbert Walker Bush.

A native of Dallas County, Range graduated from Irving High School in Irving, Texas, and then attended North Texas State University in Denton, since known as the University of North Texas, and West Texas State University in Canyon, since know as Texas A&M University. He formerlyh taught at the junior high and high school levels before becoming a career firefighter with the fire department in Mesquite, east of Dallas. For more than three decades, he worked as a driver/engineer for the fire department and as Spanish translator for both the fire and police departments. He resides in Garland in Dallas County.^[2]

Range has researched for twenty years in both English and Spanish the historical roots of the Alamo and the Texas Revolution. He is a board member of the Alamo Society, an international association of Alamo scholars, researchers, and enthusiasts. He also sits on the Alamo Battlefield Association, the San Jacinto Battleground Conservancy, and he is an associate member of the Alamo Defenders Descendants Association.^[2]

When he declared his candidacy on November 1, 2017, Range said that he is unalterably opposed to Commissioner Bush's "disastrous REIMAGINE THE ALAMO Master Plan," which Ranges equates to another form of political correctness. "Remember that we have just this one shot to save the Alamo. Act as if the entire war depended on you alone. Don’t assume that others will take care of it," Range warns voters.^[2]

Range drew barely 5 percent of the primary vote, compared to 58 percent.

In 2018, former Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, on his Facebook page, announced that he, Range, Edwards, and David Watts -- all opponents of George P. Bush in the 2014 and 2018 primaries -- are supporting the Democratic nominee for land commissioner, Miguel Suazo, in the November 6 general election. An energy attorney, Suazo is a former aide to former U.S. Senators Pete Domenici and Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico. Patterson said that the decision is based on Suazo's commitment to preserving the historical integrity of The Alamo and keeping the cenotaph in place. Otherwise, Patterson said he will vote straight Republican in the mid-term election.

References[edit]