Dean A. Hrbacek
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Dean A. Hrbacek, CPA is an American
attorney Attorney may refer to: * Lawyer ** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions * Attorney, one who has power of attorney * ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film See also * Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gove ...
and
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
who served as the mayor of
Sugar Land, Texas Sugar Land is the largest city in Fort Bend County, Texas, United States, located in the southwestern part of the metropolitan area. Located about southwest of downtown Houston, Sugar Land is a populous suburban municipality centered around th ...
from 1996 to 2002. Before serving in that capacity, he served as a city council member. In 2008, he ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination in
Texas's 22nd congressional district Texas's 22nd congressional district of the United States House of Representatives covers a largely suburban south-central portion of the metropolitan area. The district includes the majority of Fort Bend County, including most of the cities of ...
.


Personal life

Hrbacek attended the University of Houston at Clear Lake City and graduated with a bachelor's degree in
accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "languag ...
. He then attended the
University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...
where he received his
Doctor of Jurisprudence The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
degree from the
University of Houston Law Center The University of Houston Law Center is the law school of the University of Houston in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1947, the Law Center is one of 12 colleges of the University of Houston, a state university. It is accredited by the American Bar A ...
. Hrbacek is an attorney and a
Certified Public Accountant Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United Sta ...
(CPA). He has a law firm specializing in taxation, based in Sugar Land.


Mayor of Sugar Land

In 1996, while serving as a City Council member for Sugar Land's affluent District Four, which included a large part of the First Colony master-planned community including Sweetwater Country Club (the one-time home of the
LPGA The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekl ...
), Hrbacek decided to run for the mayor's office being vacated by incumbent Lee Duggan who was term limited from seeking re-election after serving a total of ten years. Sugar Land city officials are subject to four terms of two years each, which totals eight years of service, though a member may run for mayor after serving on Council. Hrbacek won the election and was re-elected for two subsequent terms. During the time that Hrbacek served as mayor and on City Council, Sugar Land was recognized and received multiple times for the quality of its management and innovative governance. The once sleepy company town grew into one of Houston's largest and most affluent suburbs as the city annexed several portions of
First Colony First Colony is a master-planned community in Fort Bend County, Texas. The community, with approximately 50,000 residents,Kaplan, David.Blending elegance and fast food" ''Houston Chronicle''. May 13, 2010. Retrieved on May 14, 2010. encompasses o ...
, a large master-planned community that now comprises the vast majority of Sugar Land's southern area. The development of the Sugar Land Town Square, seen as a strong economic engine for Sugar Land, began during the late 1990s with Hrbacek playing a major role in the development of the project. The establishment of the University of Houston System at Sugar Land, the creation of several regional parks, major economic growth, and the lowering the city property tax rate by over 30% were all highlights of his time in office.


2002 mayoral campaign

In 2002, Hrbacek faced a tough re-election campaign for a fourth term against City Council member David Wallace, a businessman who had built up a base of support and had just been elected to the same City Council district Hrbacek held before becoming mayor. Wallace won the election after receiving the backing of several Republican leaders with whom he was allied in Fort Bend County and a local newspaper.


"Mayor Osama" controversy

Hrbacek's re-election bid was damaged by former conservative Houston radio talk show host Jon Matthews. Matthews hosted a radio talk show on KSEV. He endorsed Wallace and attacked Hrbacek through weekly newspaper columns in a local paper. Matthews referred to Hrbacek as "Mayor Osama" and "Dean Osama Hrbacek", a reference to terrorist, al-Qaida leader and suspected
9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...
mastermind
Osama bin Laden Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until Killing of Osama bin Laden, his death in 2011. Ideologically a Pan-Islamism ...
. Columns attacking Hrbacek by both Mathews and the publisher of the paper, along with radio attacks, were made during the weeks before the May 2002 election campaign.Texnews.com
Following the election, Hrbacek filed a lawsuit against Matthews and the newspaper publisher, B.K. Carter, over the comments, which claimed that the comments also damaged the reputation of Hrbacek's law firm. The lawsuit, filed in Fort Bend County District Court, Case ID 02-CV-127119, was dismissed.


Post-mayoral life

Hrbacek has served as a precinct chair for the Fort Bend County Republican Party, and has become one of the more high-profile precinct chairs in the county Republican establishment. Hrbacek has also served as the President of the Fort Bend Republican Club., and also served as a delegate and caucus official at Senatorial District and State Republican Conventions since 2000. Hrbacek was approached in 2006 by community leaders to consider running for the heavily Republican 26th District in the Texas House of Representatives, which comprises Sugar Land and several immediate areas such as the portion of the First Colony planned community in Missouri City. He decided that he would run at that time only if the incumbent Republican, Charlie Howard, chose not to run. When Howard indicated he would run in 2006, Hrbacek dropped out of the race.


Influence in 2006 congressional race (for Texas's 22nd congressional district)

Hrbacek served as a Precinct Chair delegate representing Fort Bend in the nomination process for the Republican write-in candidate to challenge Democratic ex-Congressman Nick Lampson and Libertarian
Bob Smither The 2006 Texas 22nd congressional district election for the 110th Congress was held on November 7, 2006, and attracted considerable attention because this district was represented by former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a prominent member of ...
in the general election to replace former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. On April 3, 2006, DeLay decided not to seek re-election following an indictment related to campaign finances by District Attorney, Ronnie Earle, in Travis County. (As of February 2008, the case against DeLay is still pending.) Hrbacek was among the majority of Fort Bend Precinct Chairs who rejected efforts by Sugar Land Mayor David Wallace to become the Republican nominee in 2006. Republican precinct chairs from four counties, including Harris, Brazoria, and Galveston in addition to Fort Bend, later nominated dermatologist and Houston city councilwoman
Shelley Sekula-Gibbs Shelley Sekula-Gibbs (born June 22, 1953) is an American physician and politician, who serves as a director of The Woodlands, Texas Township board of directors. She served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, representin ...
as a candidate in 2006. She won a special election to fill the remainder of DeLay's term but lost in the write in campaign for the general election by 10 points to Lampson who was on the ballot.


2008 Congressional race (Texas's 22nd District)

Following Nick Lampson's 2006 victory, Hrbacek was strongly encouraged to run against Lampson, given the latter's vulnerability in a heavily Republican district due to its strongly conservative nature. In fact, it was the most conservative district in the country that fell to a Democrat, having given
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
a 2-to-1 margin of victory over Democratic candidate John Kerry in 2004. On October 4, 2007, Hrbacek formally announced his candidacy for Congress.


Media endorsements

Hrbacek has been endorsed by the '' Houston Chronicle'', which praised his record as mayor and his support for expanded rail transit. He was also endorsed by the '' Fort Bend Independent''.


Grassroots endorsements

Hrbacek's campaign has also been endorsed by a large number of grassroots leaders including over 40 precinct chairs and current and former elected officials across the district. Included among them are: State Republican Executive Committeewoman (SREC) District 17 - Terese Raia, Former SREC District 17 Committeeman - Tim Turner, Former Republican Party of Fort Bend County Chairman - Jim Stokes and Former Fort Bend County Judge - Mike Rozell. Former Sugar Land City Councilmembers from across the district have also endorsed Hrbacek. They include former Sugar Land Councilmembers Don Smithers, Brian Gaston and Mike Siweirka along with former Missouri City Councilmember Bob Burton.


Financial filings

As of February 29, 2008, Hrbacek's campaign is fourth with total fundraising at $266,086. This total includes a loan from Hrbacek to his campaign of $113,000. In the October 2007 filing, the Hrbacek Campaign reported net contributions of $109,195 ranking his campaign fourth in 3rd quarter contributions. In the 2007 Year End filing, the Hrbacek campaign reported net contributions of $37,592 which was sixth most for the quarter. In the Pre-Primary filing covering 1 January through February 13, the Hrbacek campaign collected $6,299, which ranked eighth among all candidates filing. The Hrbacek Campaign has made an effort to collect contributions from within the boundaries of Texas Congressional District 22 and with the exception of Political Action Committees, did not accept or solicit large contributions from lobbyists, D.C. insiders and special interests outside of CD 22.


Photoshop controversy

On January 19, 2008 a mailer containing a photo that was presented as a true image of Hrbacek was in reality a computerized composite of Hrbacek's face and someone else's slimmer figure, in suit and tie, from neck to knee. It made international news.


Election results

In the 2008 Republican primary, Hrbacek collected 10.5 percent of the vote to finish in fifth place.2008 Republican Party Primary Election – Results
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References


External links


2008 Congressional campaign website


{{DEFAULTSORT:Hrbacek, Dean A. Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American accountants People from Sugar Land, Texas Texas lawyers Mayors of places in Texas University of Houston alumni University of Houston–Clear Lake alumni Texas Republicans