Kirk Watson
| Kirk Watson | |
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| Member of the Texas Senate from the 14th district |
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Assumed office January 2007 |
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| Preceded by | Gonzalo Barrientos |
| Mayor of Austin | |
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In office May 1997 – November 2001 |
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| Preceded by | Bruce Todd |
| Succeeded by | Gus Garcia |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
March 18, 1958 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Anne "Liz" McDaniel Watson |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Baylor University |
Kirk Watson (born March 18, 1958) is an American attorney and Democratic politician from the capital city of Austin. He served as Austin mayor from 1997 to 2001. He ran unsuccessfully for Texas Attorney General in the 2002 election, defeated by the Republican Greg Abbott. In 2006, Watson was elected to the Texas State Senate from District 14.
From 2011 to 2015, Watson was the Senate Democratic Leader. In October 2015, he announced that he is stepping down from the leadership post but will remain in the Senate. José R. Rodríguez of El Paso, a former county attorney who has served in the chamber since 2010, is expected to succeed Watson in the minority leadership. A rules change implemented in 2015 no longer allows Democrats to block Republican-led legislation from coming to the floor of the Senate for a vote.
Kirk Preston Watson was born March 18, 1958 in Oklahoma City and grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, attending Boswell High School. Watson attended Baylor University in Waco where he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1980 and a J.D. in 1981. While attending Baylor Law School Watson was editor-in-chief of the Baylor Law Review and graduated first in his law school class. He subsequently clerked for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
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