While Democrat State Senator Wendy Davis has been pursuing redistricting lawsuits and spending time in federal courts in San Antonio and Washington D.C., including a rejected voting rights claim before the US Supreme Court, her Republican opponent, pediatrician and State Representative Mark Shelton, has repeatedly said that he would run against Davis regardless of the boundaries. Now, both candidates will finally get their wish.

On Wednesday, an out-of-court compromise settlement was reached to keep the existing ten-year boundaries of State Senate District 10 in effect for the 2012 election cycle.  And because no Democrat has ever pulled 50% or higher in the district, Shelton predicts Davis is going to suffer from a classic case of “be careful what you ask for!”

For example, in the 2010 elections the highest Republican vote in State Senate District 10 was 60.1% whereas the highest Democrat vote was only 44.6%.  “This proves that if Davis had been on the ballot in 2010, she would have lost,” said Shelton. “This also proves her plurality victory in 2008 was an election ‘fluke’ caused by under-votes (Republicans skipping the race) plus a high Libertarian Vote (the Libertarian candidate received more votes than vote margin between Davis and her 2008 Republican opponent).”

“Again, the truth is no democrat, including Davis, has ever reached 50% in State Senate District 10 and on this point, Davis flat fibbed to the judges in her redistricting court cases when she falsely claimed to represent a majority Democrat constituency.  So, I’m glad to finally see her come clean on the Republican nature of this district.”

“With the compromise map now in hand, it’s time for Davis to get out of the courtroom and start debating issues as she has a lot of explaining to do,” announced Shelton. “Whereas I have supported senior citizens tax exemptions and voted to balance the state budget without raising taxes, Davis has consistently called for higher spending and higher taxes. In fact, Davis even voted AGAINST senior citizen tax exemptions while she was on the City Council. Why?”

“Whereas as a physician, I see firsthand the downside to children and seniors from Obamacare, I have actively opposed Obamacare and it’s penalties on individuals who don’t have health insurance.  However, Davis has supported Obamacare and its costly government intrusion into our lives. In fact, this past session, Davis even voted AGAINST disclosing the real cost of Obamacare to the people Texas. Why?”

“Whereas I have supported ethics in government, Davis has used her position in public service to enrich herself with lucrative and ethically questionable contracts for her own real estate title business and law practice. She needs to make public all of her current law firm contracts for a full public inspection and review of all ethical concerns.”

“And whereas I have supported public transparency in government, Davis has been dishonest with the public opting for sneaky deals like moving public housing complexes next to exiting neighborhoods without public hearings (which she did while on the City Council) and has continued this sneakiness by saying she was for local government control, when in reality she has voted for foreign owned companies over local governments in building our local roads (2007-RTC and 2009-State Senate). Why?”

“I look forward to debating these, and others issues, with Davis in the election ahead,” Shelton concluded.

Shelton is a 20-year pediatrician at Cook Children’s Medical Center and has served as past president of Lena Pope Home. He and wife, Mary Ann, have four children including a son currently attending the United States Naval Academy.  Shelton lives in the Mistletoe area of Fort Worth and was raised in Arlington. Both his Fort Worth home and his parent’s Arlington home are in State Senate District 10.

A popular public official, Shelton received 55.3% of the vote in 2008 with both a Democrat and Libertarian opponent, and 86.3% of the vote against a Libertarian opponent in 2010 to earn his second term as a State Representative. This past legislative session, he served on the Texas House Appropriations and Public Education Committees.  During the past four months, Shelton’s campaign has lined up over 500 endorsements from voters and community leaders across Tarrant County including Fort Worth Congresswoman Kay Granger and Arlington State Representative Diane Patrick.

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC today announced its endorsement of State Rep. Mark Shelton (R-Tarrant) in Senate District 10.  In making the endorsement, TLR PAC Chairman Richard J. Trabulsi, Jr. said:

“Dr. Shelton is a principled conservative and an effective Member of the Texas House.  As a physician, Dr. Shelton is acutely aware of the importance of lawsuit reform and the critical role tort reform plays in strengthening our economy, creating jobs and improving access to healthcare for all Texans. Dr. Shelton has been a strong voice on civil justice issues in the Texas House and we know he will be the same in the Texas Senate. TLR PAC is proud to endorse him.”

Dr. Shelton graduated from Baylor University with a Bachelor of Science degree and received his Doctor of Medicine degree from the Texas A&M University College of Medicine (now the Texas A&M Health Science Center). He was elected to the Texas House in 2008, representing part of Tarrant County.  Senate District 10 includes parts of Tarrant County.

TLR PAC is the political arm of Texans for Lawsuit Reform, the state’s largest civil justice reform organization. TLR is a bipartisan, volunteer-led coalition with more than 17,000 supporters residing in 869 Texas communities and representing 1,266 different businesses, professions and trades. For more information about TLR PAC visit www.tlrpac.com.

Ft. Worth Republican State Representative Mark Shelton today announced his campaign for State Senate District 10 with endorsements from over 100 Tarrant County leaders, doctors, local elected officials, and Congresswoman Kay Granger.

Shelton, a pediatrician with Cook Children’s Hospital, was first elected to the Texas House in 2008, where he currently serves on the Committees on Appropriations and Public Education.

“I’m running for Senate District 10 because like the dozens of local conservative leaders who’ve honored me with their endorsement, I understand that Tarrant County needs effective and conservative representation in the Texas Senate.” As a member of the House Committee on Appropriations, Shelton helped create a balanced budget without raising taxes, despite a record $27 billion shortfall.

A vocal opponent of Obamacare, Shelton filed legislation during the 82nd Legislative Session highlighting the unbearable cost of the Federal Health Care law (the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) to Texas taxpayers.

While working to balance the budget, Shelton also pushed to prioritize spending, increase funding for border security and passed legislation protecting victims of human trafficking.

As a member of the Public Education Committee, Shelton passed legislation to remove unfunded state mandates from local school districts allowing local districts more flexibility to work with parents and teachers to craft education policy at the community level.

From 1988 until taking office in November 2008, Shelton served as the Director of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Program at Cook Children’s Medical Center, where he was in charge of the Hospital Infection Control Program, the Pediatric AIDS Program, the Infectious Diseases Clinical Research Program, and the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Consultation Service. He has also served as vice president of the Cook Children’s Physician Network and as a board member of the Cook Children’s System. He remains a practicing physician at Cook Children’s Medical Center.

Shelton has also been active with the Boy Scouts of America, the Ronald McDonald House, and the Lena Pope Home, where he has served as president of the board. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree at Baylor University and went on to attend the Texas A&M University College of Medicine (now the Texas A&M Health Science Center), receiving his Doctor of Medicine Degree in 1983. He is double-boarded in Pediatrics and Pediatric Infectious Diseases.

Shelton and his wife Mary Ann have been married for 29 years, and they have four children: Richard, Andrew, Peter, and Betsy. His son, Peter, is currently attending the United States Naval Academy.