Doug Miller (Texas politician)

Douglas Ray "Doug" Miller, I
Texas State Representative for District 73 (Comal, Gillespite, and Kendall counties)
Assumed office
2009
Preceded by Nathan Macias
Personal details
Born (1954-07-14) July 14, 1954
New Braunfels
Comal County
Texas, USA
Nationality American
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Anne Mund Miller
Children

Douglas Miller, II

Amanda Miller
Residence New Braunfels, Texas
Alma mater Texas State University
Occupation Businessman
Religion Christian

Douglas Ray Miller, I, known as Doug Miller (born July 14, 1954),[1] is an insurance agent in his native New Braunfels, Texas, who has been since 2009 a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 73, which encompasses Comal, Gillespie, and Kendall counties in the eastern portion of the Texas Hill Country.

Background

Miller in 1976 obtained a degree in law enforcement from Texas State University in San Marcos,[1] north of New Braunfels on Interstate 35. He operates Miller & Miller Insurance. He and his wife, the former Anne Mund (born c. 1957), were once named "Small Business Persons of the Year" by the City of New Braunfels,[2] of which he is a former mayor and city council member.[3] The couple has two children, Douglas, II, the vice president of Miller & Miller, and Amanda, a political campaign consultant.[2][3]

Miller sits on the board of directors of First State Bank in New Braunfels, the county seat of Comal County. He has also been heavily involved in matters of water development and conservation with service on the Region L State Water Planning Group and as a past chairman of the Edwards Aquifer Authority.[2] Miller is a former president of the Comal County Fair Association, the Wurstfest festival (the New Braunfels equivalent of Oktoberfest), the Comal County United Way, and the Greater New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce. He is also a former president of the New Braunfels Junior Chamber International.[1]

Political life

In the 2008 Republican primary election, Miller unseated the conservative one-term Representative Nathan Macias, a businessman from Bulverde, by 17 votes, 14,684 (50.02 percent) to 14,667 (49.97 percent).[4] In the 2006 Republican primary Macias had unseated the former Republican representative, Carter Casteel, by forty-six votes.[5] In the 2008 general election, Miller defeated a Democrat, Daniel Boone, 58,118 (69.4 percent) to 21,732 (26 percent). Another 4.6 percent of the vote went to the Libertarian Party nominee, Shannon Beckett McCracken.[6]

In 2012, Miller won Republican re-nomination, 16,994 (75.1 percent) to Rob Smith's 5,633 votes (24.9 percent).[7] Reelected in the 2012 general election with 88.2 percent of the group against another Libertarian candidate, Miller polled more raw votes, 64,029, than any other state House candidate in Texas that year.[3]

In his third legislative session in 2013, Miller voted to forbid abortion after twenty weeks of gestation and to increase medical requirements and licensing of abortion providers.[8] Texas Right to Life rated him overall 76 percent favorable in 2013, compared to 60 percent in his second term in 2011.[9]

In 2013, Miller supported legislation to provide marshals for school security. He voted against the bill to authorize immunization of minors without parental consent, a measure which the House nevertheless approved, 71-61. He voted for the extension of the franchise tax exemption to certain businesses. He voted for the law which prohibits texting while driving. He voted to require testing for narcotics of those receiving unemployment compensation. He voted against an "equal pay for women" measure, which nevertheless passed the House, 78-61. He voted to forbid the state from enforcing federal regulations of firearms, and he co-sponsored the law which allows college and university officials to carry concealed weapons in the name of campus security. He voted against term limits for certain officials. He voted for the redistricting bills for the Texas House, the Texas State Senate, and the United States House of Representatives.[8]

In 2013, Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle Forum, managed in Texas by Cathie Adams, a former state chairman of the Texas Republican Party, rated Miller 71 percent favorable, 25 points below the rating for preceding Representative Nathan Macias. Young Conservatives of Texas ranked him 64 percent. The interest group, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, rated him 47 percent in 2013 and 50 percent in 2011. The Texas Association of Business gave Miller a cumulative score of 89 percent. He ranked 57 percent in 2013 from the Texas League of Conservation Voters; the Sierra Club rated him 38 percent favorable. The National Rifle Association rated him 92 percent.[9]

An ally of Joe Straus, the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives from San Antonio,[10] Miller led two intra-party opponents in the Republican primary held on March 1, 2016. He received 18,509 votes (43.5 percent) to 16,963 (39.8 percent) for the runner-up, Kyle Biedermann. The remaining but potentially critical 7,100 votes (16.7 percent) went to the third contender, Chris Byrd. Miller now enters the runoff election on May 24 against Biedermann.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Doug Miller's Political Summary". votesmart.org. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 "State Rep. Doug Miller District 73 (R-New Braunfels)". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 "Biography of Doug Miller". house.state.tx.us. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  4. ↑ "2008 Republican primary election returns". elections.sos.state.tx.us. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  5. ↑ "2006 Republican primary election returns". elections.sos.state.tx.us. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  6. ↑ "2008 General election returns". elections.sos.state.tx.us. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  7. ↑ "2012 Republican primary election returns". elections.sos.state.tx.us. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  8. 1 2 "Doug MIller's Voting Records". votesmart.org. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  9. 1 2 "Doug Miller's Ratings and Endorsements". votesmart.org. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  10. ↑ David Saleh Rauf, "Straus among GOP establishment in fights with tea party", San Antonio Express-News, February 27, 2016, pp. 1, A10
  11. ↑ "Republican primary returns". Texas Secretary of State. March 2, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
Preceded by
Nathan Macias		 Texas State Representative for
District 73 (Comal, Gillespie, and Kendall counties)

Douglas Ray "Doug" Miller, I
2009–

Succeeded by
Incumbent
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