Bill Zedler

Background

Zedler obtained his bachelor's and master's degrees in business administration from Sam Houston State University. In 1967, after leaving the university, he entered the United States Army and served as a first lieutenant in the Vietnam War, in which he earned the Army Commendation Medal.

In the early 1980s, Zedler worked as an administrator in the health-care industry. He is affiliated with Kiwanis International and the Chamber of Commerce.

Zedler is the chairman of the board of elders at the Park Springs Bible Church in Arlington. He and his wife, the former Ellen Tuffly, have three grown children and six grandchildren.

Political life

Zedler has long been active in Republican politics. A former precinct chairman, he worked in 1976 in the successful Texas campaign to nominate Ronald W. Reagan for U.S. President, though Reagan lost the party nomination nationally to incumbent Gerald Ford, who was then unseated by the Democrat Jimmy Carter.

Zedler first ran for the legislature in the 2000 Republican primary. He was defeated by the incumbent Kim Brimer, who received 5,472 votes (55 percent) to Bill Zedler's 4,461 (45 percent). In 2002, when Brimer moved into the District 10 seat in the Texas Senate for a six-year stint, Zedler won the Republican nomination in House District 96. Living at the time in Burleson, Zedler won 55.1 percent of the vote to defeat two intraparty rivals from Arlington, Daniel Thomas "Tom" Serna (born c. 1956) and Kellye Ann Reeves Swanda (born c. 1965).

In the general election of 2002, Zedler defeated the Democrat Darrel Cox, 21,896 (60 percent) to 14,589 (40 percent). By virtually the same percent, Zedler defeated Cox again in 2004 but in a higher turnout election accompying the presidential contest. Zedler polled 40,224 (60.3) to Cox's 26,447 (39.7 percent). In the 2006 general election, Zedler defeated another Democrat, Christopher D. Youngblood (born c. 1980) of Arlington, 19,520 (52.5 percent) to 16,483 (44.3 percent). Another 3.2 percent of the ballots cast went to the Libertarian Party nominee, Samuel S. Thomas.

In 2008, Zedler was sidelined for one term, when the Democrat Chris Turner unseated him, 41,977 (51.3 percent) to 38,108 (46.6 percent). Libertarian Party candidate Todd Litteken held the remaining 2.1 percent of the vote. Zedler rebounded in 2010, when he unseated Turner by a slightly higher percent than Turner had received in victory in 2008. Zedler polled 23,747 (52.4 percent) to Turner's 21,583 (47.6 percent). Turner is now the District 101 representative.

In the 2012 general election, Zedler won again with 36,940 votes (80.5 percent), when no Democrat filed for representative. The remaining 8,931 votes (19.5 percent) went to the Libertarian Max William Koch III of Arlington.

With the support of the Tea Party movement, Zedler won easy renomination in the low turnout Republican primary held on March 4, 2014, when he defeated intraparty rival, Michael Daniel "Mike" Leyman (born c. 1947) of Mansfield, Texas, 4,536 (62.9 percent) to 2,681 (37.1 percent).

Zedler is a member of the House committees of (1) Defense and Veterans Affairs and (2) Public Health.

Legislative positions

The pro-life Zedler is a member of the advisory board of the Arlington Pregnancy Center. In 2013, he supported the ban on abortion in Texas after twenty weeks of gestation; the measure passed the House, 96-49. He co-sponsored companion legislation to increase medical and licensing requirements of abortion providers, a law that the opponents claim could shut down many abortion facilities. These issues brought forth an unsuccessful filibuster in the Texas State Senate by Wendy R. Davis of Fort Worth, who in 2014 is the Democratic nominee for governor against Republican Greg Abbott. Zedler also voted on two abortion restriction measures in 2011, one of which forbids state funding of agencies which perform abortions; the other requires a woman procuring an abortion to undergo first a sonogram. Supporters of the ultrasound legislation claim that a woman could change her mind about an abortion once she witnesses the development of the unborn child. The Texas Right to Life Committee rated Zedler 78 percent favorable in 2013, 89 percent in 2011, and 100 percent in 2005.

Zedler voted against the legislation to establish a taxpayer-funded breakfast program for public schools; the measure nevertheless passed the House, 73-58. He co-sponsored legislation to provide marshals for school security as a separate law-enforcement entity. He also co-sponsored the extension of the franchise tax exemption to certain businesses, which passed the House 117-24. He voted against the adoption of the biennial 2013 state budget. He voted to require testing for narcotics of those individuals receiving unemployment compensation. Zedler voted against the "equal pay for women" measure, which nevertheless passed the House, 78-61.

Zedler co-sponsored the measure to forbid the state from engaging in the enforcement of federal regulations of firearms. He co-sponsored related legislation to permit college and university officials to carry concealed weapons in the name of campus security. He voted to reduce the time required for one to obtain a concealed-carry permit in Texas. He backed the redistricting bills for the state House and Senate and the United States House of Representatives. He voted against term limits for certain state officials. He voted against the bill to prohibit texting while driving.

In 2011, Zedler voted to reduce funding for state agencies. He voted to establish eligibility standards for indigent health care. He voted against the institution of corporal punishment in public schools, but the measure nevertheless passed the House, 80-64. He voted to prohibit smoking in public places. He opposed the sales tax on Internet transactions; the measure passed the House, 125-20. In the name of election integrity, he co-sponsored legislation in 2012 to forbid one individual from turning in multiple ballots. He also supported picture identification for voters casting a ballot, a measure which finally took effect in October 2013.

Interest group ratings

In 2013, Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle Forum, managed in Texas by Cathie Adams, a former state chairman of the Texas Republican Party, rated Zedler 95 percent favorable. The Young Conservatives of Texas, of which he is a board member, rated him an 86 percent lifetime score. The Texas League of Conservation Voters rated him 50 percent; the Sierra Club, 15 percent. The interest group, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, founded by Michael Quinn Sullivan, rated him 100 percent in 2013. The Texas Association of Business gave him a cumulative score of 81 percent over his entire legislative career. The National Rifle Association scored Zedler 92 percent in 2013 and "A" ratings for all previous House sessions. The Libertarian Party in 2007 rated Zedler 90 percent favorable on economic issues but only 20 percent on personal liberties. In his first legislative session in 2003, he was rated 100 percent by the interest group, Texans for Lawsuit Reform.