Rodney Anderson (Texas politician)

For the Wyoming Republican state representative, see Rodney Anderson.

Rodney Earl Anderson (born 1968)^[1] is a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 105 based in his native Grand Prairie in Dallas County, Texas.^[2] He initially won election to District 105 of the Texas House in 2014 and won re-election in 2016.^[3][4] He previously was elected to Texas House District 106 in 2010,^[5] but chose not to run for re-election.^[6]

Background

Anderson's maternal grandfather, Bob Harless, moved his family to Grand Prairie in the early 1950s before the city had barely begun to develop. Harless was a house painter and owned a small business in Grand Prairie for more than four decades. Anderson is a son of Bennie and Sandra Anderson. After graduation from Grand Prairie High School, Anderson waited tables to help to pay his expenses through the University of Texas at Arlington, from which he acquired in 1990 a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Real Estate. As a UTA student, he was an analyst for what became the Bank of America, in which capacity he handled more than thirty properties valued in excess of $60 million. For eleven years afterwards, he was employed by Chicago Title Company, the largest company of its kind in the United States, with branch offices across the country. He later was president of the Sierra Title Company of North Texas in Flower Mound in Denton County.^[2] He is currently the vice president of the Commerce Land and Title Company in Grand Prairie.^[1]

In 1991, Anderson married the former Heather Jerden, the daughter of a school principal.^[2] The couple has three children. He is affiliated with the Boy Scouts of America, Rotary International, the Parent-Teacher Association, and the Young Men's Christian Association.^[1]

Political life

Anderson was elected to the District 106 seat in the House in November 2010, when he narrowly unseated the Democratic incumbent, Kirk England, 10,648 (49.44 percent) to 10,444 (48.49 percent). The remaining 244 votes (2.1 percent) went to the Libertarian Party nominee, Gene Freeman.^[5] He did not seek reelection in 2012 after redistricting completely changed the district. Republican Pat Fallon of Frisco in Denton County then handily won the seat in 2012.^[6]

In the Republican primary on March 4, 2014, Anderson unseated former colleague Linda Harper-Brown of Irving for the neighboring District 105 seat in the Texas House. In a low-turnout contest, Anderson polled 3,456 votes (52.7 percent) to Harper-Brown's 3,098 (47.3 percent).^[7] Harper-Brown had won her 2012 nomination without opposition but had faced a close challenge in the general election of 2012 and an even more narrow victory in 2008.

Anderson is awaiting the May 27 runoff election results to determine his Democratic opponent in the November 4 general election. In the Democratic primary on March 4, Susan Denara Motley (born c. 1970) led a three-candidate field with 1,171 votes (47.3 percent) and faced the runner up, Terry Meza (born c. 1949), who polled 704 votes (28.4 percent), in a runoff electiong. Bernice Montgomery, the third Democratic candidate, held a critical 601 votes (24.3 percent).^[8][9] In the general election, Anderson prevailed over Motley, the winner of the Democratic runoff contest. He polled 13,600 votes (55.4 percent) to Motley's 10,478 (42.7 percent). Another 449 votes (1.8 percent) were cast for Libertarian Party nominee, W. Carl Spiller.^[3]

Anderson's experience in the title industry shapes his pro-business outlook in politics. He claims that the policies he supports enhance the growth of jobs. He also calls for reductions in taxation, unfunded education mandates, and other kinds of government spending.^[2]

Anderson supported the bill to forbid state funding of agencies which perform abortions. He voted to require a woman seeking an abortion to undergo first a sonogram. Supporters of the legislation claim that a woman could change her mind about an abortion once she witnesses the development of the unborn child.^[10] Texas Right to Life rated Anderson 61 percent favorable.^[11]

Anderson voted against the 2011 bill to prohibit texting while driving, which passed the House, 80-61. He also voted against the bill to cut spending by state agencies. He voted to establish eligibility standards for indigent health care. He voted against the biennial state education budget, which passed the House, 83-62. He voted for the redistricting bill for the United States House of Representatives. He voted against the institution of corporal punishment in public schools and opposed the prohibition against smoking in public places. He supported picture identification for voters seeking to cast a ballot,^[10] a move which finally took effect with the March 4, 2014 primaries.

In 2011, Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle Forum, managed in Texas by Cathie Adams, a former state chairman of the Texas Republican Party, rated Anderson 44 percent favorable; the Young Conservatives of Texas, 71 percent. The Texas League of Conservation Voters rated him 53 percent; the Sierra Club, 23 percent. Conservative advocacy group Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, founded by Michael Quinn Sullivan, rated Anderson 100 percent and declared him a "Taxpayer Champion" in 2011. The Texas Association of Business rated him 87 percent favorable. The National Rifle Association rated him "A".^[11]

References