Representative Shelton Files for Reelection to Texas House District 97
Representative Shelton Files for Reelection to Texas House District 97
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 3, 2009
Fort Worth — Today, December 3, 2009, Representative Shelton filed for reelection to the Texas House of Representatives, where he currently represents District 97 in southwest Tarrant County.
“I am honored for the opportunity to run for reelection in hopes to again represent the people of District 97 in Austin,” says Shelton. “I am proud of the many accomplishments of the 81st Legislature, but I know that our state will be faced with many challenges in the next session, including high unemployment and a budget shortfall. It is important that we have leaders in Austin who are committed to passing fiscally responsible laws that balance the budget, keep taxes low, and create jobs in Texas.”
Representative Shelton, one of only three physicians serving in the Texas Legislature, was responsible for the passage of several key pieces of legislation during the 81st session, including serving as the House sponsor for ChildLINK – a new program administered by the Office of the Attorney General that will provide health coverage to over 200,000 uninsured children in the child support system, at no cost to the taxpayers. Shelton also joint-authored legislation advancing newborn screening procedures for curable diseases, which will ensure that sick infants receive proper, life-saving treatment. For his efforts to improve health care for Texas children, Shelton was awarded the Health Care Hero Award by the House Republican Caucus.
Also during the 81st Legislative Session, House Speaker Joe Straus appointed Representative Shelton to the Committee on Border and Intergovernmental Affairs, the Committee on House Administration, and the Committee on Public Education, through which Shelton passed legislation removing unfunded mandates for public schools, providing solutions for childhood obesity, and implementing new accountability standards to Texas schools. Shelton successfully passed legislation protecting victims of human trafficking and co-authored the successful property tax and eminent domain reforms passed by the 81st Legislature and approved by Texas voters in the November 2009 election. Shelton is an ardent supporter of securing the Texas-Mexico border in order to keep Texans safe. Bringing a common-sense, conservative approach to state government, Shelton consistently voted to lower taxes, decrease government spending, balance the state budget, and reject federal intervention in Texas law. Speaker Straus expressed his support saying, “Dr. Shelton had a tremendous first year in the Texas House. His perspective as a physician is invaluable as we seek to control healthcare costs, and preserve patient choice. His fiscal conservatism is needed in the Texas House to ensure we control spending and keep taxes low.”
Representative Shelton grew up in Arlington, Texas and is a graduate of Lamar High School. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree at Baylor University and went on to attend the Texas A&M University College of Medicine (now the Texas A&M Health Science Center), receiving his Doctor of Medicine Degree in 1983. He is double-boarded in Pediatrics and Pediatric Infectious Diseases.
Shelton has been married to his wife Mary Ann for 26 years, and they have four children: Richard, Andrew, Peter, and Betsy.
