Harold Duane “Hal” Stratton, Jr. | |
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8th Chairman of the Consumer Products Safety Commission | |
In office July 25, 2002 – July 15, 2006 |
|
President | George W. Bush |
Preceded by | Thomas H. Moore (acting) |
Succeeded by | Nancy Nord (acting) |
27th Attorney General of New Mexico | |
In office January 1, 1987 – January 1, 1991 |
|
Governor | Garrey Carruthers |
Preceded by | Paul Bardacke |
Succeeded by | Tom Udall |
Member of the New Mexico House of Representatives from the 29th District | |
In office 1978–1986 |
|
Personal details | |
Born |
Muskogee, Oklahoma |
December 6, 1950
Nationality | American, Cherokee |
Political party | Republican |
Alma mater | University of Oklahoma (B.A., J.D.) |
Occupation | attorney, politician |
Harold Duane “Hal” Stratton, Jr. (born December 6, 1950) is an American lawyer currently practicing law with the Albuquerque office of the Denver based western regional law firm, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP. In addition to a career in the private practice of law, he has served in the New Mexico House of Representatives (1979–86), as the Attorney General of New Mexico (1987–1990) and as the Chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (2002–2006).
Stratton was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma on December 6, 1950 and is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation. At age 5, his family moved to Oklahoma City where he grew up and graduated from John Marshall High School. He attended the University of Oklahoma on a geology scholarship and earned a bachelor's degree with a major in geology in 1973. He also graduated from the University of Oklahoma Army R.O.T.C. program as a distinguished military graduate. He later attended law school at the University of Oklahoma where he earned a juris doctorate degree in law in 1976, and was a member of the American Indian Law Review. After law school, Stratton served on active duty in the U.S. Army before moving to Albuquerque, New Mexico to begin the private practice of law with the law firm, Coors, Singer and Broullire, in 1977.
In 1978, at the age of 27, Stratton ran for a seat in the New Mexico House of Representatives in Albuquerque’s District 29 as a Republican and defeated the House Majority Whip by a margin of 56–44%. He was reelected to the New Mexico House three times thereafter and served a total of four terms. During his tenure in the New Mexico House, Stratton served on the Judiciary, Energy and Natural Resources, Rules and Transportation Committees. He served as the Vice Chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and in 1985–86 as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee. While in the legislature, Stratton sponsored or co-sponsored numerous criminal justice measures and other legislation designed to reduce taxes and limit the size and scope of state government. While in the state legislature, Stratton served on a number of other committees including the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, the New Mexico Judicial Counsel and the Radioactive Waste Consultation Committee. Stratton was named the American Legislative Exchange Council’s Legislator of the Year in 1981.