View Nicholas Lampson on OpenCongress.org

From OpenCongress Wiki

This is a profile of a U.S. Representative who, due to election loss or retirement, will not return for the 111th Congress. (See the Texas portal for all incumbents, candidates and blogs.)
	Things you can do: Add voting record information to this profile or others at the Texas portal. With a senate office or campaign? See the guidelines or contact a staff editor before editing. Other projects on Congresspedia: Wiki The Vote: Publicize the records and positions of congressional candidates.

Nick Lampson, a Democrat, represented the Twenty-Second Congressional District of Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives between 2007-2009. He was defeated by Pete Olson (R) in the 2008 general election.

Contents 1 Record and controversies 1.1 Iraq War 1.2 Environmental record 2 Biography 2.1 Early life 2.2 Legislative career 2.3 Texas redistricting 2.4 Family life 2.5 Health problems 2.6 2006 congressional election 2.7 2008 elections 2.7.1 2008 superdelegate 3 Money in politics 4 Committees and Affiliations 5 More Background Data 6 Contact 6.1 District Office 7 Articles and resources 7.1 References 7.2 External articles 7.3 External resources 7.4 Local blogs and discussion sites

Record and controversies

Congressional scorecards

Click through the score to see the records of other members of Congress and full descriptions of the individual votes. Want to see someone else's scorecard added to the list? You can do it! Organization 2007 Scorecard Score - Agree ratio 2008 Scorecard Score - Agree ratio American Civil Liberties Union not avail. not avail. American Conservative Union 20 - 4/25 not avail. AFSCME not avail. not avail. Americans for Democratic Action 60 - 12/20 60 - 12/20 Club for Growth not avail. not avail. Drum Major Institute not avail. not avail. Family Research Council not avail. not avail. Information Technology Industry Council not avail. not avail. League of Conservation Voters not avail. not avail. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People not avail. not avail. U.S. Chamber of Commerce 84 - 16/20 not avail.

Iraq War

Lampson voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 that started the Iraq War.^[1]

Environmental record

For more information on environmental legislation, see the Energy and Environment Policy Portal

Biography

Early life

A lifelong resident of the oil-producing city of Beaumont, Texas and second-generation Italian-American, Lampson earned his Bachelors Degree in Biology and Masters Degree in Education from Lamar University. In 1976, he was elected property tax assessor for Jefferson County, of which Beaumont is the county seat. He served in that post for 18 years, during which he modernized the office and improved collection rates.

Legislative career

Lampson did not seek a ninth term as tax assessor in 1994, but in 1996 won the Democratic nomination for Texas's Ninth District, which included Beaumont. [1]

Just months into his first term, a family in his district suffered a widely-publicized tragedy. A 12-year-old girl from Friendswood, Texas was abducted and found murdered two weeks later. Lampson was so moved by the family's courage and the caring response of the community in banding together to search for the child, that he established the first-ever Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus, which now numbers more than 120 members from both parties.

Texas redistricting

Lampson had been reelected three times without serious opposition, but in the 2003 Texas congressional redistricting , House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) orchestrated a controversial, mid-decade effort to get more Republican congressmen elected from Texas and Lampson was one of the targets. His district was renumbered and radically altered. In particular, Galveston, which had been the heart of the district and its previous incarnations for over a century, was removed. In its place, several heavily Republican areas in and around Houston were added to the district.

Lampson's 2004 Republican opponent was Ted Poe, a longtime felony court judge in Harris County, home to most of Houston. Lampson lost to Poe, 43-55%.

• See Congresspedia pages on the 2003 Texas congressional redistricting and the Texas redistricting scandal for more details.

Family life

He is married to Susan Floyd Lampson, a special education teacher in Beaumont. The couple has two grown daughters, Stephanie and Hillary.

Health problems

On March 25, 2007 Rep. Lampson, underwent quadrupedal bypass surgery and will remain in the Houston area for 3 to 4 weeks while he recovers. Lampson spokesman Bobby Zafarnia said, "The physicians have indicated that the surgery proceeded well and that Congressman Lampson will make a full recovery". [2]

2006 congressional election

On May 4, 2005, Lampson announced his intentions to run in Texas's 22nd Congressional District (DeLay's district). The 22nd had absorbed several parts of Lampson's former territory, including much of Galveston. DeLay resigned in April 2006 amid several indictments for violating Texas election law in 2002. His name was unable to be replaced on the ballot, and local Republican officials rallied behind Shelley Sekula-Gibbs as their preferred write-in candidate. Texas Governor Rick Perry announced on August 29, 2006, that a special election would take place for the unexpired term of Tom DeLay, coinciding with the general election on November 7, 2006.

Lampson defeated Sekula-Gibbs 52%-42% to win the seat.^[2]

2008 elections

2008 superdelegate

This information was gathered by volunteer researchers as part of the Superdelegate Transparency Project on the superdelegates for the 2008 Democratic presidential primary. For more info see the Texas superdelegate tracker or visit the STP homepage.

Before Hillary Clinton conceded the race, Nicholas Lampson, as a superdelegate, had not endorsed a candidate for President.

Dem Con Watch

Lampson's campaign accepted $5,000 from the Obama campaign.^[3]

Money in politics

This section contains links to – and feeds from – money in politics databases. For specific controversies, see this article's record and controversies section.

Top Contributors to during the 2008 Election Cycle
Donor	Amount (US Dollars)
American Assn for Justice	$ 10,000
American Federation of Teachers	$ 10,000
American Fedn of St/Cnty/Munic Employees	$ 10,000
Blue Dog PAC	$ 10,000
BRIDGE PAC	$ 10,000
International Assn of Fire Fighters	$ 10,000
International Longshoremens Assn	$ 10,000
Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers	$ 10,000
Machinists/Aerospace Workers Union	$ 10,000
Operating Engineers Union	$ 10,000
Source: The Center for Responsive Politics' www.OpenSecrets.org site. Note: Contributions are not from the organizations themselves, but are rather from the organization's PAC, employees or owners. Totals include subsidiaries and affiliates.

Links to more campaign contribution information for Nicholas Lampson from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org site.
Fundraising profile:	2008 election cycle	Career totals
Top contributors by organization/corporation:	2008 election cycle	Career totals
Top contributors by industry:	2008 election cycle	Career totals

• Revolving door profile for Nicholas Lampson from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website.
• 2006 privately funded travel profile for Nicholas Lampson from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website.
• Personal finance profile for Nicholas Lampson from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website.

Committees and Affiliations

• House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
  • Subcommittee on Aviation
  • Subcommittee on Railroads
• House Committee on Agriculture
  • Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry
  • Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry
• House Committee on Science and Technology
  • Subcommittee on Environment and Energy -Chair
  • Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics

More Background Data

Contact

DC Office:
436 Cannon HOB
Washington DC 20515
Phone: 202.225.5951
Fax: 202.225.5241
Web Email
Website

District Office

10701 Corporate Dr #118
Stafford TX 77477
Phone: 281.240.3700
Fax: 281.240.2959

Articles and resources

References

1. ↑ Roll call vote, Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002.
2. ↑ "Elections 2006," CNN.
3. ↑ "Capital Eye: Superdelegates"

External articles

• Todd Ackerman, "Lampson in Houston hospital after heart surgery", Houston Chronicle, March 26, 2007.

External resources

• Nick Lampson for District 22, official campaign site.

Local blogs and discussion sites

• Copeland.net
• Burnt Orange Report
• Fort Bend Democrats

Semantic data (Edit data)

From the Sunlight Foundation API
Current Office: None
Title:	First name:	Middle name:	Last name:
Suffix:		Nickname:
Party:	State:	District: 00 District short:	Currently in office?
Gender:
Phone:	Fax:	Website:	Webform email: Email address:
DC office:
Bioguide ID:	Votesmart ID:	FEC ID:	Govtrack ID:
CRP ID:	Eventful ID:	Old Sunlight ID:	Twitter ID:
OpenCongress Wiki URL:		YouTubeID:	Senate class:

Entered manually within the Template:Politician
None
111th Congress
Leadership Position:	Committees Chaired:	Committees, Ranking Member On:	Caucuses:
110th Congress
Leadership Position: None	Committees Chaired:	Committees, Ranking Member On:	Caucuses:
Committees:
Congressional Career
First Elected to Current Office: November 7, 2006	First Took Current Office: January 4, 2007	Next Election: none	Term Ends:
Freshman Member? False	Previous Political Work? US House of Representatives, Jefferson County Tax Assessor-Collector, Date Re-Elected to the House: November 7, 2006	Other Party Membership: January 3, 2009
District Offices:
Phone: / Fax:
Campaign Contact:
Website: Webform Email: / Email: Campaign Offices: Phone: / Fax:
Misc:
Date of Birth: February 14, 1945 November 7, 2006