Texas Insider

1:41 pm CST - November 19, 2009

Associated Republicans for Texas Launches Statewide Effort

Seay, DeLeon to serve as Co-Chairs; Focus on Texas State House Races

Austin – The Associated Republicans of Texas (ART), a Republican organization focused on winning Texas House races and formed almost 35 years ago at the urging of Texas’ first Republican Senator, John Tower, has announced an updated Board of Directors & intiative to targert competitive state House campaigns in the upcoming 2010 election. The new board list sheds light on ART’s singular focus, they said, and seeks to focus statewide Republican commitments to growing conservative voting strength in the Texas House.

Pat Robbins, ART Executive Director, said ART’s newst Board of Directors reads “like a who’s who of Republicans who give of their time and very often help raise and give generously to Republican candidates and conservative causes.”

The ART Board includes traditional, formidable Republican givers – statewide business & civic leaders like John Nau, Bob Rowling, Harlan Crow, Louis Beecherl, Tom Hicks, David Hartman, Roy Bailey, John Steen and Morgan O’Connor — and relatively young entrepreneurs such as Ray Washburne, George P. Bush and Dee Kelly, Jr., who are emerging as new leaders in the Facebook-age of political campaigning.

The members of the ART Board have served in leadership positions of Republican candidates up and down the ballot, and are actively working in both Governor Rick Perry and Sen. Kay Hutchison campaigns.

Several recently served together on the Statewide Finance Team helping reelect U.S. Senator John Cornyn.

All have a thorough understanding of grassroots Texas political campaigns, as well as a remarkable history of civic involvement.

With the release about the Board, Pat Robbins, ART Executive Director, announced George Seay will join Hector De Leon as Co-Chair of the ART Board of Directors.

Seay, a successful Dallas businessman who has been instrumental in introducing new people to national and state Republican efforts, helped his grandfather Bill Clements run for Governor of Texas.

De Leon is a pioneer of Texas Republican politics and has Chaired ART since 2005. Mr. De Leon is a name partner of De Leon & Washburn in Austin.

“While ART is extremely pleased with the formidable group of Texas leaders on the Board today, we are only getting started,” Seay said.

“The future for Texas Republicans is bright, and ART will play a large role in shaping that future,” DeLeon added.

“ART’s singular focus in 2010 is winning competitive Texas House races. We’ve got great candidates and we’re on the right side of the issues. We have a plan to win competitive races. I like our chances in 2010 and in the years beyond in Texas politics,” said DeLeon.

Robbins has helped lead ART since its inception, helping Republicans win an 88-62 majority in the Texas House in 2003. It was the first time the GOP led the chamber in more than 130 years.

Robbins noted that ART traces its roots back to 1974 and an election that was clearly a turning point in modern Texas politics. Four months after the election, one hundred dedicated Republicans gathered in a motel near DFW airport to begin laying the groundwork for a remarkable comeback and a string of Republican gains and victories.

ART’s goals today remain focused on building the party from the grass roots up.

Associated Republicans of Texas Board of Directors (as of 11/13/2009)