Lone Star Report Recent Blog Posts

Dec 29

Written by: William Lutz
12/29/2009 4:32 PM 

Surrounded by family, Rep. Frank Corte Jr. (R-San Antonio) announced he will not seek re-election to the Texas House of Representatives in 2010. Corte said he is not currently endorsing any candidate for the seat. Corte's office issued a full news release which we post here.

Corte is known as one of the most consistently conservative members of the Texas Legislature. He was president of the Texas Conservative Coalition 1996-1998 and chairman of the House Republican Caucus 2007-2009. He authored several pieces of conservative legsialture, most notably the Woman's Right to Know Act, which provided for informed consent for women seeking abortions. He also authored many bills strengthening private property rights after the U.S. Supreme Court's 2005 Kelo v. New London decision. Corte served as chairman of the Defense and Veterans Affairs Committee under two different speakers, Tom Craddick and Joe Straus. (The committee was named Defense Affairs and State-Federal Relations in prior legislatures.) Corte is a colonel in the United States Marine Corps Reserves.

"I am very honored to have served the citizens of the San Antonio community for two decades, and now it is time for me to move on to the next chapter in my life," Corte said.

Corte's district is one of the most conservative in the state. It is also experiencing rapid growth. The Northwest and Western parts of Bexar County are the parts of the county that have grown since the last redistricting. Corte expressed full confidence that the district will remain Republican in this election and after redistricting and also suggested Republicans had a good shot at regaining a third seat from the county after redistricting. (Bexar County had three Republican representatives in the delegation up until 2005. In the 2001 redistricting cycle, the county lost one state house district.)