Glen Charles Robertson (born 1959) is an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

who served two terms as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Lubbock Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northwe ...

, from May 19, 2012 until May 17, 2016. Robertson was an unsuccessful

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

candidate in the

runoff election The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resul ...

held on May 24, 2016, for

Texas's 19th congressional district Texas's 19th congressional district of the United States House of Representatives includes the upper midwestern portion of the state of Texas. The district includes portions of the State from Lubbock to Abilene. The current Representative from ...

seat, which was vacated in January 2017 by the Republican

Randy Neugebauer Robert Randolph "Randy" Neugebauer (born December 24, 1949) is an American politician who was the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for , having served from a special election in Texas' 19th congressional district specia ...

of Lubbock, who has filled the position since 2003. Robertson was defeated by

Jodey Arrington Jodey Cook Arrington (born March 9, 1972) is an American politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for . The district includes a large slice of West Texas, centered around Lubbock, Texas, Lubbock and Ab ...

, a former vice chancellor of

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

and an official in the administration of former

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

. Arrington polled 25,214 votes (53.7 percent) to Robertson's 21,769 (46.3 percent). Robertson had led a nine-candidate field in the

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

on March 1 with 27,791 (26.7 percent) of the ballots cast, followed by Arrington's 26,980 (26 percent). In third place was Michael Bob Starr, the former commander of

Dyess Air Force Base Dyess Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located about southwest of downtown Abilene, Texas, and west of Fort Worth, Texas. The host unit at Dyess is the 7th Bomb Wing assigned to the Global Strike Command Ei ...

who led handily in Abilene and finished with 22,256 votes (21.4 percent). Laredo surgeon Donald R. May finished fourth in the primary with 9,592 votes (9.2 percent). In the first phase of the campaign, Robertson had questioned Starr’s participation in the

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

"Fun Run" at Dyess Air Force Base. Mayor Norm Archibald of Abilene said that he believed the advertisement backfired on Robertson in the runoff campaign against Arrington.

Background

Robertson attended Texas Tech in Lubbock from 1976 to 1978.

Career

Politics

In the

2012 Lubbock mayoral election Elections are held in Lubbock, Texas to elect the city's mayor. Currently, such elections are regularly scheduled to elect mayors to two-year terms. Elections before 2006 2006 The 2006 Lubbock mayoral election was held on May 13, 2006, t ...

, a

non-partisan Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party. While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers sp ...

contest under Texas law, Robertson unseated Tom Martin by 30 percentage points—a result thought to be related to voter perceptions that municipal "taxes" had increased in the form of fees. One Lubbock resident (who had previously supported Martin but who went for Robertson in 2012) cited Martin's "dedication and countless hours" but explained the magnitude of the election margin as being an undercurrent of concerns about increasing debt and spending, and the escalating reliance on hidden taxes on water bills to fund unrelated departments. Shortly after inauguration Robertson announced his support for building an electricity plant powered by

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

and for changes in the structure of water fees to emphasize

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...

. Robertson told the

West Texas West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the arid and semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Abilene, and Del Rio. No consensus exists on the boundary betwee ...

Home Builders Association that he resists untested experiments to address Lubbock's utility situation: "I don't want to be the first Christian to face the lion, because he got the biggest and the meanest lion." In January 2015, Robertson said that he might run against Representative Neugebauer in the 2016 election. Robertson cited his unhappiness with what he called Neugebauer's failure to bolster the

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

industry. In March, Robertson said that he would not run for Congress but would instead seek re-election as mayor. Then, on October 13, 2015, Robertson announced his candidacy for Congress once Neugebauer decided not to run again. In the same announcement, Robertson said that he would vacate his position as mayor in May 2016 regardless of the outcome of the congressional race. After winning the May 7, 2016 general election,

Dan Pope Daniel Manning Pope (born March 19, 1963) is an American businessman and politician. He is the 35th Mayor of Lubbock, Texas, and has completed his third term as Mayor. Early life Pope was born in Temple, Texas to Bert and Marcia Pope and grad ...

succeeded Robertson as mayor. In February 2016, Robertson received national attention when he called upon a local

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

ic group to take down a banner, reading "Love for All." He received widespread criticism when it was determined that Robertson did not attempt to find out what the banner said before he issued his complaint.

Business

Robertson had been a member of the Electric Utility Board. He serves on the

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

of the West Texas Municipal Power Agency. He owns and operates Hillcrest Country Club and Robertson Bonded Warehouse, both in Lubbock.

Electoral history

Personal life

Robertson is married to the former Karen Lynn Phillips. He has three sons from a previous marriage, Jason Robertson, Jeremy Robertson, Jared Robertson, and a stepson, Kirby Phillips.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Glen 1959 births Living people Businesspeople from Texas Mayors of Lubbock, Texas Texas Tech University alumni Texas Republicans