Stuart Spitzer

Stuart Keith Spitzer, M.D.
Texas State Representative for District 4 (Kaufman and part of Henderson counties)
In office January 13, 2015 – January 2017 (pending)
Preceded by	Lance Gooden
Succeeded by	Lance Gooden
Personal details
Born	1967 Athens, Henderson County Texas, USA
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Shari Jo Knight Spitzer
Children	Lilly and Luke Spitzer
Residence	Kaufman, Kaufman County, Texas
Alma mater	Athens High School Trinity Valley Community College Baylor University University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Occupation	Surgeon
Religion	Christian

Stuart Keith Spitzer (born 1967) is a general surgeon from Kaufman, Texas, who is a departing Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 4, which encompasses Kaufman County and part of Spitzer's native Henderson County east of Dallas.

Background

Spitzer was born and reared in Athens in Henderson County in East Texas, where his parents still reside. Spitzer recalls as a youth having mowed baseball fields in the day and umpiring softball games at night. He helped a grandfather to plow cotton fields and hunted and fished on a family ranch in Central Texas. "From this upbringing, I learned respect for God, the outdoors, others, and a hard day's work," he said.^[1]

Spitzer graduated from Athens High School and Trinity Valley Community College in Athens. He then obtained his Bachelor of Science degree from Southern Baptist-affiliated Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and his M.D. degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas.

Political life

In 2012, Spitzer ran for the House but lost the party nomination to the then one-term incumbent Lance Gooden. Spitzer polled 5,545 votes (46.5 percent) to Gooden's 6,385 votes (53.5 percent).^[2] Gooden was then unopposed in the November 6, 2012 general election for his second term.

In his second bid for the office on March 4, 2014, Dr. Spitzer unseated Gooden in the Republican primary. Spitzer polled 8,421 votes (51 percent) to Gooden's 8,079 (49 percent).^[3] Speaker Joe Straus of San Antonio made a campaign stop for Gooden's behalf in Forney in Kaufman County, a month before the primary election. Accompanying Straus to Forney was State Senator Bob Deuell, a pediatrician from Greenville in Hunt County.^[4] A few weeks later Duell was himself unseated in the May 27 runoff election by the Tea Party movement choice, Bob Hall of Van Zandt County.

Spitzer lost a rematch with Lance Gooden in the Republican primary on March 1, 2016.^[5] Gooden polled 14,500 votes (51.8 percent) to Spitzer's 13,502 (48.2 percent).^[6]

Spitzer was a sponsor of a controversial bill removing $1.5 million from the state's HIV prevention services and adding the funds to teach abstinence only education. Spritzer's reasoning was his belief that everyone should remain abstinent from sexual activity until marriage. During floor debate in the Texas House of Representatives Spitzer claimed to have been abstinent until marriage at the age of 29. He was adamant that his Christian beliefs on sexual activity be the law of the land and that people with HIV/AIDS didn't need the funds that were re-appropriated from the program. This brought much negative publicity to the state from news outlets nationwide.

Personal life

Spitzer and his wife, the former Shari Jo Knight (born 1969), have two children, Lilly and Luke.^[1]

References

1. "About Stuart Spitzer". stuartspitzer.com. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
2. "Republican primary election returns, May 29, 2012". enr.sos.state.tx.us. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
3. "Republican primary election returns, March 4, 2014". enr.sos.state.tx.us. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
4. "Denise Bell, "Texas Speaker of the House Straus Visits Forney to Endorse Rep. Gooden," February 4, 2014". The Forney Post. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
5. "2016 Filed Primary Candidates". texasgop.org. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
6. "Republican primary returns". Texas Secretary of State. March 1, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2016.