Featured Voice of the Texas GOP: Robert Nichols

First elected to the Texas Senate in 2006, Robert Nichols represents 16 counties including the greater part of East Texas and Montgomery County.

Nichols serves as vice chair of the Intergovernmental Relations Committee and sits on the Transportation and Homeland Security, Natural Resources, Health and Human Services, and Nominations Committees. He was also appointed last year to the influential Sunset Advisory Commission.

During his two sessions as a state senator, Nichols authored important legislation to protect landowners' rights, increase educational opportunities in East Texas and reform transportation policies. He was designated as a top legislator by Texas Insider and a Champion of Free Enterprise by the Texas Association of Business. He was recently elected by fellow GOP senators to chair the Senate Republican Caucus.

Before running for Senate, Nichols served as a transportation commissioner for eight years where he established a reputation for increasing efficiency without compromising quality.

Nichols is a businessman from Jacksonville, Texas. In his hometown he served on city council, was elected mayor, built four successful manufacturing facilities, earned 32 U.S. patents, and created more than 900 jobs for East Texas families.

Working his way through college by selling fireworks and ironing clothes for other students, Nichols earned a bachelor's degree from Lamar University in 1968. He married his high school sweetheart, Donna, and they are the proud parents of three children: Brittney, Joshua, and Collynn'rae. He is a member of the First United Methodist Church in Jacksonville.

Source: www.nichols.senate.state.tx.us

"Though Texas has fared better than other states in the recent recession, the state still faced a significant financial shortfall. The Texas Constitution requires the Legislature to both pass a budget and that it be balanced. It took a special session to complete all the work, but the Legislature passed a balanced budget with no new taxes and protected the integrity of the Rainy Day Fund. To do this, we cut more than $15 billion from current spending levels and focused on the state services that are the most essential including healthcare services and education." - Robert Nichols