Pat Haggerty

Patrick Brian "Pat" Haggerty
Texas State Representative for District 71
In office 1989–1993
Texas State Representative for District 79
In office 1993–1995
Texas State Representative for District 78
In office 1995–2009
Preceded by	Jack Vowell
Born	March 17, 1944 El Paso, Texas, USA
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Yvonne Collins Haggerty Parents: Richard H. and Kathleen Eleanor Keily Haggerty
Residence	El Paso, Texas
Alma mater	University of Texas at El Paso
Occupation	Real estate agent Lobbyist
Religion	Roman Catholic

Patrick Brian Haggerty, known as Pat Haggerty (born March 17, 1944),[1] is a lobbyist and real estate broker from El Paso, Texas, who is a Republican former ten-term member of the Texas House of Representatives. He was the District 78 representative from 1995 to 2009. Earlier, he represented District 79 from 1993 to 1995 and District 71 from 1989 to 1993. The boundary changes came from redistricting. In his last term in the state House, he was a member of the Transportation and Corrections committees and was known for his expertise on penal issues.[2]

Born on St. Patrick's Day, Patrick Haggerty is one of eleven children of Richard H. Haggerty (1920-2000), a private in the United States Marine Corps in World War II,[3] and the former Kathleen Eleanor Keily (1920-2012),[4] an Irish-American couple often called the "Republican Kennedys" of northeast El Paso. Two of Haggerty's brothers, Timothy Allen Haggerty (1946-2006) and Daniel Richard "Dan" Haggerty (1948-2013), are deceased. These brothers, who served in the Vietnam War, are interred with their parents at the Fort Bliss National Cemetery in El Paso.[5]

Haggerty attended St. John's Catholic High School in El Paso and holds both Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from the University of Texas at El Paso, known as UTEP. He is married to the former Yvonne Collins (born c. 1951).[1]

From 1979 to 1987, Haggerty served for four two-year terms on the El Paso City Council. A younger brother, Daniel Richard "Dan" Haggerty (1948-2013), served for eighteen years on the El Paso County Commission and six years previously on the El Paso Community College board of trustees. Another brother, Brian Haggerty, followed Dan Haggerty on the EPCC board. Still another brother, Jeremiah Haggerty, has been an El Paso County justice of the peace.[6]

In 1994, Haggerty was elected to succeed retiring Republican Representative Jack Vowell in District 78. Previously, Haggerty represented District 71 from 1989 to 1993 and District 79 from 1993 to 1995. As a Moderate Republican, Haggerty opposed then House Speaker Tom Craddick, a conservative oilman from Midland who entered the House in 1969. Craddick remains the senior Republican representative in the chamber though he was toppled as Speaker in 2009 by Joe Straus, a Moderate Republican from San Antonio who has announced that he will not seek reelection in 2018. In 2006, Haggerty only narrowly won re-nomination in a low-turnout primary race against his challenger, Lorraine O'Donnell, 3,107 votes (50.9 percent) to 3,002 (49.1 percent).[7] He then ran unopposed in the 2006 general election.In 2007, Craddick refused to recognize a motion from Haggerty that could have led to Craddick's removal as Speaker. Haggerty tried to gain the floor for a personal privilege speech and called for a quorum-breaking walkout before the sergeant-at-arms could escort him from the House chamber. In 2008, Republican voters defeated Haggerty In the primary election in favor of the more conservative Dee R. Margo, an El Paso businessman who carried the backing of Craddick and then Governor Rick Perry.[8] Margo led Haggerty, 5,082 (56.6 percent) to 3,894 (43.4 percent).[9] However, Margo lost the general election to the Democrat Joseph E. Moody, who still holds the District 78 seat. At the time Haggerty had been the only Republican legislator from the Texas counties bordering Mexico. Moody polled 26,176 votes (51.5 percent) to Margo's 22,918 (45.1 percent). The remaining 1,706 votes (3.4 percent) went to the Libertarian Bill Collins.[10]

On leaving the House, Haggerty began lobbying for AT&T and the Bingo Interest Group. The Texans for Public Justice advocacy group called him a "revolving-door lobbyist."[8]

1. Rep. Pat Haggerty (R). txdirectory.com. February 23, 2016.
2. Patrick "Pat" Haggerty. Texas Legislative Reference Library. February 23, 2016.
3. Richard H. Haggerty. Findagrave.com. February 23, 2016.
4. Kathleen Eleanor Keily. Findagrave.com. February 23, 2016.
5. Timothy Allen Haggerty. Findagrave.com. February 23, 2016.
6. Haggerty: Republican in Democratic city. July 7, 2013. El Paso, Inc.. David Crowder. February 23, 2016.
7. 2006 Republican Party Primary Election. March 7, 2006. Texas Secretary of State. February 24, 2016.
8. Tribpedia: Pat Haggerty. The Texas Tribune. February 24, 2016.
9. Republican Party Primary Election. March 4, 2016. Texas Secretary of State. February 24, 2016.
10. 2008 General Election. November 4, 2008. Texas Secretary of State. February 24, 2016.