James Edward "Jim" Nugent (June 24, 1922 – July 17, 2016) was an American politician and a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

in the U.S. state of Texas. His most recent position was from 1979 to 1995 as a member of the

Texas Railroad Commission The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC; also sometimes called the Texas Railroad Commission, TRC) is the state agency that regulates the oil and gas industry, gas utilities, pipeline safety, safety in the liquefied petroleum gas industry, and sur ...

, which regulates the state's energy industries.

Political life

Nugent graduated in 1941 from

Schreiner College Schreiner University is a private Presbyterian university in Kerrville, Texas. The university enrolls an estimated 1,300 undergraduate and graduate students. It offers over 40 four-year undergraduate programs, an MBA and a master of education. ...

in Kerrville, Texas. He then attended from 1946 to 1949 the

University of Texas School of Law The University of Texas School of Law (Texas Law) is the law school of the University of Texas at Austin. Texas Law is consistently ranked as one of the top law schools in the United States and is highly selective—registering the 8th lowest ac ...

in Austin, from which he received his Juris Doctor degree. That same year, he became the

county attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a lo ...

in his native Kerr County, a position that he retained until 1954. From 1961 to 1979, Nugent was a member of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abo ...

from District 56, previously designated by several other numbers. Nugent served as Speaker Pro Tem in his last legislative term from 1977 to 1979. In 1973, Representative Nugent was the author of the 215-page House Bill 1, designed to establish procedures for transparency in state government. The measure forced candidates to make their incomes public information. They were also required to reveal detailed information on their campaign expenses. The law also allowed greater public access to government meetings and records. It was not a reaction to the 1972 banking fraud scandal known as

Sharpstown Sharpstown is a master-planned community in the Southwest Management District (formerly Greater Sharpstown), Southwest Houston, Texas.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 ...

Charles R. Matthews, a former mayor of

Garland A garland is a decorative braid, knot or wreath of flowers, leaves, or other material. Garlands can be worn on the head or around the neck, hung on an inanimate object, or laid in a place of cultural or religious importance. Etymology From the ...

, Texas. Matthews led with 2,046,614 votes (49.8 percent) to Nugent's 1,978,759 (48.1 percent). A third candidate, Libertarian Rich Draheim, held the remaining 84,769 (2.1 percent) of the ballots cast.

Family

Nugent was married to the former Billie Louise Merritt (1921-2002), who is interred in Austin at the

Texas State Cemetery The Texas State Cemetery (TSC) is a cemetery located on about just east of downtown Austin, the capital of the U.S. state of Texas. Originally the burial place of Edward Burleson, Texas Revolutionary general and vice-president of the Republic of ...

, which is open to state legislators and certain other government officials and their spouses. Mrs. Nugent was previously married to Calvin Cocke Trammell, Sr. (1921-1962). In 1956, after a divorce, she married Nugent, and the couple had a daughter in Kerrville, Billie Nan Nugent (born 1959). Nugent's stepson is Calvin "Skip" Trammell, Jr. (born 1943), also a Kerrville native. Bille Nan Nugent's former husband, Joe Cotten (born c. 1951) of Frisco ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for the Railroad Commission in the 2012 primary election. He attributed his relationship to James Nugent, his former father-in-law as having inspired him to make the race.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nugent, James E 1922 births 2016 deaths Schreiner University alumni University of Texas School of Law alumni Texas lawyers Members of the Railroad Commission of Texas Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives People from Kerrville, Texas United States Navy personnel of World War II 20th-century American lawyers