Glen Charles Robertson (born 1959) is an American

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who served two terms as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Lubbock Lubbock ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Lubbock County. With a population of 272,086 in 2024, Lubbock is the 10th-most populous city in Texas and the 84th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the ...

, from May 19, 2012 until May 17, 2016. Robertson was an unsuccessful Republican candidate in the

runoff election The two-round system (TRS or 2RS), sometimes called ballotage, top-two runoff, or two-round plurality, is a single-winner electoral system which aims to elect a member who has support of the majority of voters. The two-round system involves one ...

held on May 24, 2016, for

Texas's 19th congressional district Texas's 19th congressional district of the United States House of Representatives includes the upper midwestern portion of the state of Texas. The district includes portions of the State from Lubbock to Abilene. The current Representative fr ...

seat, which was vacated in January 2017 by the Republican

Randy Neugebauer Robert Randolph Neugebauer (born December 24, 1949) is an American politician who was the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for , having served from a special election in Texas' 19th congressional district special electi ...

of Lubbock, who has filled the position since 2003. Robertson was defeated by

Jodey Arrington Jodey Cook Arrington ( ; born March 9, 1972) is an American politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for since 2017. The district includes a large slice of West Texas, centered around Lubbock, Texas, ...

, a former vice chancellor of

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...

and an official in the administration of former

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

. Arrington polled 25,214 votes (53.7 percent) to Robertson's 21,769 (46.3 percent). Robertson had led a nine-candidate field in the

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

on March 1 with 27,791 (26.7 percent) of the ballots cast, followed by Arrington's 26,980 (26 percent). In third place was Michael Bob Starr, the former commander of

Dyess Air Force Base Dyess Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located about southwest of downtown Abilene, Texas, and west of Fort Worth, Texas. The host unit at Dyess is the 7th Bomb Wing assigned to the Global Strike Command Ei ...

who led handily in Abilene and finished with 22,256 votes (21.4 percent). Laredo surgeon Donald R. May finished fourth in the primary with 9,592 votes (9.2 percent). In the first phase of the campaign, Robertson had questioned Starr’s participation in the

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

"Fun Run" at Dyess Air Force Base. Mayor Norm Archibald of Abilene said that he believed the advertisement backfired on Robertson in the runoff campaign against Arrington.

Background

Robertson attended Texas Tech in Lubbock from 1976 to 1978.

Career

Politics

In the 2012 Lubbock mayoral election, a

non-partisan Nonpartisanship, also known as nonpartisanism, is a lack of affiliation with a political party and a lack of political bias. While an ''Oxford English Dictionary'' definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., ...

contest under Texas law, Robertson unseated Tom Martin by 30 percentage points—a result thought to be related to voter perceptions that municipal "taxes" had increased in the form of fees. One Lubbock resident (who had previously supported Martin but who went for Robertson in 2012) cited Martin's "dedication and countless hours" but explained the magnitude of the election margin as being an undercurrent of concerns about increasing debt and spending, and the escalating reliance on hidden taxes on water bills to fund unrelated departments. Shortly after inauguration Robertson announced his support for building an electricity plant powered by

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

and for changes in the structure of water fees to emphasize conservation. Robertson told the

West Texas West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the desert climate, arid and semiarid climate, semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Texas, Wichita Falls, Abilene, Texa ...

Home Builders Association that he resists untested experiments to address Lubbock's utility situation: "I don't want to be the first Christian to face the lion, because he got the biggest and the meanest lion." In January 2015, Robertson said that he might run against Representative Neugebauer in the 2016 election. Robertson cited his unhappiness with what he called Neugebauer's failure to bolster the

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

industry. In March, Robertson said that he would not run for Congress but would instead seek re-election as mayor. Then, on October 13, 2015, Robertson announced his candidacy for Congress once Neugebauer decided not to run again. In the same announcement, Robertson said that he would vacate his position as mayor in May 2016 regardless of the outcome of the congressional race. After winning the May 7, 2016 general election,

Dan Pope Daniel Manning Pope (born March 19, 1963) is an American businessman and politician. He served as the 35th Mayor of Lubbock, Texas, and has completed his third term as Mayor. Early life Pope was born in Temple, Texas to Bert and Marcia Pope a ...

succeeded Robertson as mayor. In February 2016, Robertson received national attention when he called upon a local

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

ic group to take down a banner, reading "Love for All." He received widespread criticism when it was determined that Robertson did not attempt to find out what the banner said before he issued his complaint.

Business

Robertson had been a member of the Electric Utility Board. He serves on the

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

of the West Texas Municipal Power Agency. He owns and operates Hillcrest Country Club and Robertson Bonded Warehouse, both in Lubbock.

Electoral history

Personal life

Robertson is married to the former Karen Lynn Phillips. He has three sons from a previous marriage, Jason Robertson, Jeremy Robertson, Jared Robertson, and a stepson, Kirby Phillips.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Glen 1959 births Living people Businesspeople from Texas Mayors of Lubbock, Texas Texas Tech University alumni Texas Republicans