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Kenny Ewell Marchant
Carrollton &
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Congressman Kenny Marchant was sworn in on January 4,
2005, as the Representative for the 24th District of Texas.
Marchant and his wife, Donna, reside in Coppell, Texas. They
have raised their four children (three sons and one daughter) in
District 24 and are the proud grandparents of two grandchildren.
Marchant is a graduate of R. L Turner High School in Carrollton,
Texas and holds both a Bachelor’s and an Honorary Doctorate
Degree from Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Oklahoma.
Marchant is a local businessman and investor. He is also active
in funding educational scholarships, assisting local charities,
and aiding local churches through the Marchant Family
Foundation.
Congressman Marchant currently serves on the House Financial
Services Committee, Education and Labor Committee and the
Oversight and Government Reform Committee. His legislative
leadership in the U.S. Congress has earned him numerous
distinctions including being named “Hero of the Taxpayer” and
“Small Business Champion” by Americans for Tax Reform and one of
the 2007 “Best and Brightest” Member of Congress by The American
Conservative Union. Marchant was the recipient of the “Spirit of
Enterprise” award by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for leading
the way to create jobs and spur economic growth. Marchant has
also been recognized by the Family Research Council as a “True
Blue Member of Congress” for his unwavering commitment to strong
family values.
Prior to his election to the United States House of
Representatives, Marchant served nine terms as a Texas State
Representative. During this time he served as Chairman of the
Texas House Committee in Financial Institutions, Chairman of the
House State Affairs Committee, and Chairman of the Texas House
Republican Caucus.
During his three term tenure as Chairman of the Committee on
Financial Institutions, Marchant directed and sponsored
comprehensive reforms to reshape the face of the Texas State
financial regulatory environment. His reforms included an
overhaul of the Texas Banking Code, branch banking for
interstate banks, and successful passage of legislation
authorizing home equity borrowing.
As Chairman of the Texas House Republican Caucus, Marchant led
his party in the 2002 elections to a majority in the Texas House
for the first time since Reconstruction. As Republican House
Caucus Chairman and Vice-Chairman, he served under Texas’ three
modern Republican governors: Bill Clements, George W. Bush, and
Rick Perry.
Marchant’s community and legislative leadership in the Texas
House earned him numerous distinctions including, “Top Ten
Legislator” by Texas Monthly magazine and Harte Hankes
communications, “Citizen of the Year” by Metrocrest Chamber of
Commerce, and “Legislator of the Year” by the Texas Municipal
League.
Congressman Marchant began his career in public service in 1980
with his election to the Carrolton City Council. In 1984 he was
elected Mayor of Carrolton. Marchant held the position of Mayor
until 1987, when he was elected to the Texas State Legislature.
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A family helping of politics - From
Carrollton to Congress, Marchants' power has modest roots
Dallas Morning News, The (TX) - Sunday, March 16, 2008
Author: STEPHANIE SANDOVAL, Staff Writer
With their hands in city, county and national politics and, at
one time, the state Legislature, the Marchant family might seem
to embody the term "dynasty." But it's not a label they welcome.
"That's the only way some people know how to describe it," said
U.S. Rep. Kenny Marchant. "I would call it continuity more than
anything else."
The Republican, who now lives in Coppell, has spent nearly 28
years in government - as a Carrollton City Council member and
mayor, a state representative and, for the last four years, a
member of Congress.
His brother Ron served two terms on the Carrollton council and
14 years as a Denton County justice of the peace before becoming
a county commissioner in 2007.
And Kenny's son Matthew has become the third Marchant to serve
on the Carrollton council, a platform that some expect to
catapult him, too, to the mayor's chair and perhaps higher
office.
Kenny drew no challenger in the March primary, and the
local-election filing deadline passed last week with no one
stepping forward to challenge Matthew in May.
While the family's political might can be a blessing at election
time, it can also be a curse.
"When Matthew ran for mayor, a lot of people said ... they
didn't want there to be a dynasty there," said Mayor Becky
Miller, who narrowly won that 2005 race. She said many thought
"he didn't deserve it just because he was a Marchant."
And in the 2006 race for county commissioner, people would say,
"You're running against a Marchant? Yeah, you got my vote," said
Amy Manuel, who took on Ron but lost.
Matthew said his family's prominence makes it a challenge "to be
evaluated on your own." He largely shares his father's and
uncle's conservative political views, work ethic and dedication
to family, but "I don't ask to be elected because of my last
name, and I don't use it to accomplish things."
'Elbow grease'
Some assume Matthew - whose father is wealthy - grew up with a
silver spoon in his mouth, but he said "there's more elbow
grease and sweat than gilded-age stuff in my house."
Kenny, Ron and their three siblings were raised by a barber and
a stay-at-home mom. Hobart Marchant, an Army veteran of World
War II, cut hair near Marsh and Walnut Hill lanes in Dallas
while Helen took in ironing and washing, baby-sat and sold
magazines to supplement their income.
Kenny is the oldest sibling, followed by Ron, then Randy, Sandra
and Pam. When the boys weren't shining shoes or sweeping hair at
Hobart's shop, they threw paper routes, mowed lawns or washed
dishes in restaurants.
"We were taught early that Mom and Daddy would put food on the
table and clothes on our backs," Ron said. "Anything above that,
we'd have to go out and earn the money ourselves."
Friends describe the family as close-knit, with strong Christian
values. Most attend Carrollton Nazarene Church.
Hobart and Helen are thought of warmly even by some who aren't
fans of their sons. Andy Olivo, a lawyer who left his Carrollton
council seat to run for the Legislature in 2002, called Hobart
"a very kind person, a very good citizen." He is less
complimentary of Kenny, whom he accuses of reneging on a promise
to support him if he resigned from the Carrollton council to run
for the Legislature. It was that council seat that Matthew won
in 2002.
"I wouldn't say it opened up a position for Matthew. People told
me that," Mr. Olivo said. "But I thought it was unusual ... I
didn't get the endorsement from Kenny."
Kenny said he told Mr. Olivo that he couldn't support an
opponent of state Rep. Steve Wolens, his colleague and friend.
He said he has encouraged a lot of people to run for office but
has never manipulated anyone to create openings for his son.
Roots in service
Ron said he and Kenny aspire to be "simple civil servants" who
"give more than we receive."
"That comes from my mom and my dad," he said, "because they've
always been in a position - more through the church community
than in a public arena - where they've given of themselves."
Hobart claims no credit for the clan's successes. "If they got
any money, they had to make it themselves," he said, "and they
did and decided to go to college."
As a measure of the family's closeness, all but two of Hobart
and Helen's five kids, 15 grandkids and five great-grandkids
live within about five miles of one another, mostly in
Carrollton .
It is perhaps that family strength that has helped them through
trying times. Ron and his former wife lost a premature baby and
suffered a miscarriage. And a van crash during a 1998 mission
trip in Mexico seriously injured Kenny's wife and daughter and
left Kenny Jr., then 14, paralyzed below the waist.
"No one is exempt from what the world has to throw in your
face," Ron said. "The difference is how you get through it. And
God ... has helped us do that."
College years
Kenny and Ron both studied religion at Southern Nazarene
University in Bethany, Okla., working their way through together
as roofers.
"Kenny ... was showing us in college his propensity to set up a
business and have some success at it," said former Denton County
Judge Jeff Moseley, who attended college with the brothers.
After graduation, Kenny planned to go into the ministry, but "we
had Matthew and had bills to pay, and every preacher I knew was
poor as a church mouse."
So he came home and started a roofing business, then went into
home construction and, eventually, property development and
investments. Kenny made millions - he's the 18th-richest member
of Congress, according to the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call -
and his businesses eventually involved brothers Randy and Ron,
as well as Hobart and Helen.
"Kenny and his success in business was a catalyst for a lot of
people," Ron said.
Kenny entered politics in 1979.
"We had some building inspectors that were asking for bribes,"
he said. "We had some incompetence going on."
He said builders asked him to run for the Carrollton council to
fix the problems. After two terms, plus one as mayor, he began
18 years in the Legislature, where he rose to become Republican
leader in the House.
Into politics
Since his election to the U.S. House in 2004, Kenny has secured
millions for transportation projects in his district, which
extends from Carrollton south to Cedar Hill and Duncanville.
For Carrollton , he obtained funding to depress Belt Line Road
to let the planned DART rail line run overhead and for a
platform connecting the station to the historic downtown.
Family members say Kenny's foray into politics set an example
for Ron and Matthew. Ron had gotten a taste in college, serving
on the student council and helping two students run for the
Bethany City Council. And after the dorm basement flooded, he
helped campaign for a city bond election for a new storm water
system.
"In those days of being young, I wanted to change the world one
issue at a time," he said.
But it would be 1987, a decade after college, before Ron would
enter the political arena in Carrollton . At the county level,
he is best known for his work with juvenile offenders and
truants.
Matthew entered politics at age 25, winning election to an
unexpired Carrollton council term in 2002 and re-election in
2003. He lost the 2005 mayor's race but returned to the council
in 2006.
Not long after, Matthew proposed - and the council approved -
restricting where sex offenders can live, making Carrollton one
of the first Texas cities to do so. He also instigated city
incentives to encourage upgrades of older shopping centers. And
he has supported the city's efforts against illegal immigration.
Future candidates?
There may also be other politicians up and coming in the family.
Kenny's other son, Luke, worked for U.S. Sen. John Cornyn,
R-Texas, and is running former Cornyn chief of staff Pete
Olson's campaign for a Houston-area congressional seat. And
Ron's son Zachary, a junior at the University of North Texas,
has talked of running for office someday.
"Public service in one form or another has always been a part of
what we do," Matthew said.
Staff writer Todd Gillman in Washington contributed to this
report.
Kenny Marchant
Position: U.S. representative, 24th District
Age: 57 Birthplace: Bonham, Texas
Education: graduated, R.L. Turner High School, 1969; bachelor's
degree, religion, Southern Nazarene University, Bethany, Okla.,
1974; attended Nazarene Theological Seminary, Kansas City, Mo.,
1975-76
Political career: elected, Carrollton City Council, 1980, 1982;
elected, Carrollton mayor, 1984; elected, Texas House, 1986,
1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002; elected,
Congress, 2004, 2006
Career: partner, Shake and Shingles Supply, 1976-80; owner and
builder, Kenwood Homes, 1980-87; land developer, 1988 to 2004;
investor and ranch owner, 2000 to present
Family: wife, Donna; children, Matthew, 31, Luke 27, Kenny Jr.,
24, and Dallas, 22
Ron Marchant
Position: Denton County commissioner, Precinct 2
Age: 55 Birthplace: Bonham, Texas
Education: graduated, R.L. Turner High School, Carrollton ,
1971; bachelor's degree in religious education, Southern
Nazarene University, Bethany, Okla., 1977
Political career: elected, Carrollton City Council, 1987, 1989;
elected, Denton County justice of the peace, Precinct 6, 1992
(unexpired term), 1994, 1998, 2002; elected, Denton County
commissioner, Precinct 2, 2006
Career: associate professor, Southern Nazarene University,
Bethany, Okla., 1977-79; owner/operator, Marchant Art Service,
Oklahoma City, Okla., 1979-83; president, Kenwood Management,
1983-88; director of marketing, Westpark Medical Center,
McKinney, 1988-90; director of marketing, HCA Denton Community
Hospital, Denton, 1990-91; owner/operator, R.C. Marchant Custom
Homes, Carrollton , 1991-93
Family: divorced; three children, Mackenzie, 23, Zachary, 21,
and Hannah, 17
Matthew Marchant
Position: Carrollton mayor pro tem
Age: 31 Birthplace: Dallas
Education: graduated, Trinity Christian Academy, 1994;
bachelor's degree in political science, Southern Nazarene
University, Bethany, Okla., 1998; law degree, University of
Texas law school, 2000
Political career: elected, Carrollton City Council, 2002
(unexpired term), 2003; lost race for mayor, 2005; elected to
City Council (special election), 2006
Career: president, Hobart Development Inc., 2000-02; real estate
lawyer, Strasburger & Price, Frisco, 2002 to present
Family: wife, Lindsay; two children, ages 4 and 22 months
FAMILY TIES
Here's a look at the political involvement of brothers Kenny and
Ron Marchant and their sons:
KENNY MARCHANT
Former Carrollton City Council member, mayor and state House
member, current U.S. representative. His children include:
-Matthew, a Carrollton council member whom some expect to one
day run for mayor and possibly higher office
-Luke, who has worked for U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and is
helping with Pete Olson's Houston-area congressional campaign
RON MARCHANT
Former Carrollton council member and Denton County justice of
the peace, current county commissioner. His children include:
-Zachary, who has talked of one day running for office
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