Tom Vandergriff

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Tom Vandergriff (1959)

Tommy "Tom" Joe Vandergriff (born January 29, 1926 in Carrollton , Dallas County , Texas , † December 30, 2010 in Fort Worth , Texas) was an American Democratic Party politician who was mayor of Arlington for 26 years and represented the state of Texas in the US House of Representatives for a two-year legislature .

Life

After attending schools in Carrollton and Arlington, Vandergriff completed a degree at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles , from which he graduated in 1947 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA). He then worked as a car dealer and insurance broker.

He began his political career in 1951 when he was first elected mayor of Arlington as a candidate for the Democratic Party and held that office for 26 years until 1977. During his tenure, the city's population grew from 8,000 to 120,000, in particular due to the establishment of a General Motors automobile plant in 1954 . On April 23, 1965, the previous Arlington State College was accepted into the University of Texas system and has been called the University of Texas at Arlington since 1967 . Between 1972 and 2005, the number of students enrolled grew from 14,000 to more than 25,000. In addition, the 1972 takeover of Texas Rangers , a major league baseball team that now plays at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington .

In the November 1982 congressional elections, Vandergriff was elected a member of the US House of Representatives and represented in this from January 3, 1983 to January 3, 1985 the newly created 26th  Congressional constituency of Texas. In the congressional elections in November 1984, he suffered a defeat against his Republican challenger Dick Armey and thus resigned from the US House of Representatives after only one term.

He then resumed his work as an automobile dealer before serving as a judge at the District Court of Tarrant County between 1991 and 2007 - now a member of the Republican Party since 1990 .

Web links

  • Tom Vandergriff in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
personal data
SURNAME Vandergriff, Tom
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Vandergriff, Tommy Joe (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH January 29, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Carrollton , Dallas County , Texas
DATE OF DEATH December 30, 2010
Place of death Fort Worth , Texas