Michael B. Watson (born September 19, 1961 in
Hopewell, Virginia) is an
American politician. A
Republican, he was elected to the
Virginia House of Delegates in 2011. He represented the
93rd district, made up of the city of
Williamsburg
Williamsburg may refer to:
Places
*Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia
*Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City
*Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California
*Williams ...
and parts of the counties of
James City and
York and the city of
Newport News on the
Virginia Peninsula.
Early life, education, business career
Watson was born in
Hopewell, Virginia. His father was a millwright and a
tugboat operator.
He attended
Old Dominion University and
New River Community College
New River Community College (NRCC) is a public community college in Dublin, Virginia, in the New River Valley of southwestern Virginia. It is one of the 23 colleges in the Virginia Community College System. NRCC's service region covers the coun ...
, receiving an
A.A.S.
An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree.
The f ...
degree in Instrumentation Technology from the latter school in 1983.
In 1988 he established Control Automation Technologies Corporation, an industrial controls business, in North Carolina which was name
North Carolina's Small Business of the Yearin 1998 and was selected as finalist for the national Blue Chip Enterprise Award in 1999. He founde
CATLab - Accredited Calibration Laboratoriesdivision in 1999 and in 2006 established a second laboratory, returning to his native Virginia.
He married Amy Michelle Bourbonais. They have three sons, Cody, Adam and Taylor.
Political career
Watson was the 2011 Republican nominee in the 93rd House district, whose
Democratic incumbent,
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...
Robin Abbott, was
redistricted out.
Abbott moved back into the redrawn district and ran for reelection. Watson defeated her, with 51.7% of the vote.
During his first year in office Watson earned the legislature's second highest business rating from Virginia Free, won the Champion of Free Enterprise Award from the VA Chamber of Commerce, and was named Freshman Legislator of the Year. Following the 2013 session, Watson held VA Free's highest cumulative pro-business rating in the General Assembly by any member having served at least one full term and was awarded the Champion of Free Enterprise Award for the second consecutive year. He was also one of four founders of the General Assembly's first ever bi-partisan Business Development Caucus.
Watson lost his reelection bid to
Monty Mason in 2013. In June 2014, Watson was named Coordinator of the Small Business Subcommittee under the Business Climate Industry Council of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce. with a mission of developing the Chamber's legislative agenda for the implementation of Blueprint Virginia. In November 2014, Watson was appointed to the Higher Education Advisory Committee to General Assembly’s House Committee on Education.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Michael B.
1961 births
Living people
Republican Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates
People from Hopewell, Virginia
Old Dominion University alumni
21st-century American legislators