List of Governors of Texas
In politics, Governor of Texas is the title given to the chief executive of the state of Texas.
 |
|---|
| History of Texas |
| Governors of the Republic of Texas | |
|---|---|
| Name | Term |
| Henry Smith | 15 November 1835 - 11 January 1836 |
| James W. Robinson (acting) | 11 January 1836 - 1 March 1836 |
| Presidents of the Republic of Texas | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Vice-President | Term | ||
| David G. Burnet[1] (interim) | Lorenzo de Zavala[1] (interim) | 16 March - 22 October 1836 | ||
| Sam Houston (1st time) | Mirabeau B. Lamar | 22 October 1836 - 10 December 1838 | ||
| Mirabeau B. Lamar | David G. Burnet | 10 December 1838 - 13 December 1841 | ||
| Sam Houston (2nd time) | Edward Burleson | 13 December 1841 - 9 December 1844 | ||
| Anson Jones | Kenneth Anderson | 9 December 1844 - 29 December 1846 | ||
Governors of State Texas
Notes
- ^ a b Elected by Convention of 1836 delegates
- ^ Resigned to occupy vacant U.S. Congress seat.
- ^ Resigned due to state's secession from Union.
- ^ Resigned to serve in Confederate Army.
- ^ Resigned.
- ^ Resigned to enter U.S. Senate.
- ^ Impeached.
- ^ Resigned to become U.S. Senator.
- ^ Died in office.
- ^ Succeeded upon Jester's death. Elected in 1950, re-elected in 1952 and 1954.
- ^ Re-elected in 1998. Resigned 12/21/2000.
- ^ Sworn in after Bush resignation. Elected in 2002, re-elected in 2006.
Gubernatorial Power
As is the trend in many Southern states, the Governor's power is quite limited. When the office was created by the Texas Constitution of 1876, the authors dispersed much of the power traditionally given to the office of the governor to independently elected officials, creating what some refer to as a "plural executive." [1] With the exception of the Secretary of State, the remaining members of the Governor's cabinet are also elected by popular vote. In addition, because the Lieutenant Governor runs on a separate ticket, the Governor and Lieutenant Governor can be (and have been) from different political parties.
Another limitation on gubernatorial power involves the commutation of prisoner sentences, an issue which arises whenever a death penalty sentence is to be carried out. The Governor can only overturn a death sentence upon the positive recommendation of the Texas Board of Pardon and Parole, the Governor can choose to ignore the Board's clemency recommendation and carry out the execution, but the opposite is not true—the Governor cannot commute or overturn a sentence if the Board does not recommend such. The only unilateral option the Governor has is to issue one 30-day stay of execution.
The governor does have one key power that the Texas Legislature does not have—the governor can call the Legislature into special session for 30 days, as many times as the governor desires (the Legislature cannot call itself into session). These special sessions can only address issues located on the governor's "call", which can be changed at any time by the governor.
See also
- History of Texas
- List of Presidents of the Republic of Texas
- Texas
- Governor
- State Government
- U.S. Politics
- Government of the United States
- Category:Governors of Texas
- List of Texas county name etymologies
External links
- Legislative Reference Library of Texas -- Governors of Texas
- Governor (of Texas) from the Handbook of Texas Online
- The Handbook of Texas Online: Texas History Quiz -- Presidents and Governors of Texas
- Explanation of the strengths of governors
| Lists of chief executives of the United States | |
|---|---|
| President | President of the United States |
| State governors | Alabama • Alaska •
Arizona • Arkansas • California •
Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida •
|
| Territorial executives | |
| Defunct | Pre-state territories • Panama Canal Zone • Philippine Islands • Cuba |
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