Bill Ratliff

William Roark "Bill" Ratliff (born August 16, 1936 ) is an American politician . Between 2000 and 2003 he was lieutenant governor of the state of Texas .

Career

Bill Ratliff graduated from Sonora High School in Sutton County . He then studied building architecture at the University of Texas . For the next 30 years he worked as an architect in the construction industry. Politically, he joined the Republican Party . Between 1989 and 2003 he was a member of the Texas Senate , whose President Pro Tempore he was in 1997 and 1998.

After Governor George W. Bush was elected President of the United States, Vice Governor Rick Perry was promoted to the highest office in Texas. The position of lieutenant governor was vacant. According to the state constitution, the state senate had to appoint a lieutenant governor from among its ranks for the first time in the history of Texas. The choice fell on Ratliff. He held this office between 2000 and 2003. He was Deputy Governor and formal Chairman of the Senate. In 2002 he wanted to run for a regular election to lieutenant governor. He later changed his mind and withdrew his candidacy. Bill Ratliff is married with two grown children. His son Bennett , born in 1961, has been a member of the Texas House of Representatives since 2013 .

Web links

• The Political Graveyard
• Legislative Reference Library of Texas
• biography