State Rep. Tom Craddick

In 1971, Rep. Craddick was part of a bipartisan group of legislators known as “The Dirty 30” that pushed for House ethics reforms. In 1975, Speaker Bill Clayton appointed Craddick as the first Republican committee chairman in 100 years, and he continued to hold chairmanships under Clayton’s successors, Gib Lewis and Pete Laney.

Rep. Craddick served as Speaker of the Texas House from January 2003 to January 2009. He was the first Republican to serve as Speaker since Reconstruction. During his tenure as Speaker, the Legislature passed tort reform and a property tax reduction, and reformed a school finance system that had been ruled unconstitutional by the Texas Supreme Court. As Speaker, he appointed women and minorities — including 12 Democrats — to committee chairmanships.

Rep. Craddick owns Craddick Properties, a Midland investment business, and is president of Craddick, Inc. He and his wife Nadine, a Vice President of Craddick, Inc., have founded several scholarship funds, including the Tom and Nadine Craddick Presidential Scholarship Endowment for the Texas Tech University System and the Nadine and Tom Craddick Distinguished Chair in Medical Science Endowment for The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Their daughter Christi Craddick serves as a Commissioner on the Texas Railroad Commission.