Jim Squier

Jim Squier was a Republican candidate in the 2008 congressional elections for the 22nd Congressional District (map) of Texas. He was seeking the Republican nomination to challenge incumbent Rep. Nick Lampson (D-Texas) but lost a primary election on March 4, 2008.

Positions, record and controversies
Jim Squier on the Rule Of Law: "Having served as an attorney and judge for more than 30 years, I believe that the keystone on which American society was built is the rule of law. Our founding fathers created a system of laws that guarantee our individual liberties and they entrusted them to us to preserve, protect and pass along. I believe they fully understood the laws they wrote, as a result I am a strict constructionist. I resist the notion that legal scholars know better what our Constitution means than the people who wrote it. I see an alarming trend to misuse the law to permit any manner of personal conduct with no effort at responsible behavior. Courts stretch and distort the clear meaning of our founding documents. Judges don't confine their rulings to interpreting and applying the law, which is the extent of their authority. This decline in our rule of law leads to insecurity in our homes, our communities, our schools and our nation. I will work hard as your congressman to focus on the constitutional republic our founders intended."

Squier is a self-professed "christian". He has made comments about the bible from his bench in the 312th Judicial District Court. The Houston Chronicle ran an article about the Honorable Judge Jim Squier that discussed his bible study group being held on his lunch hour at the courthouse. Squier was quoted as saying; "Is there a problem with people praying and practicing their faith, reading the Bible, on their lunch hour?" Source: http://www.bloghouston.net/item/5080.

2008 elections
Judge James D. "Jim" Squier was seeking the Republican nomination to challenge Rep. Nick Lampson (D-Texas) in the 2008 congressional elections. He lost a primary election on March 4, 2008.

Serving 20 years on the bench in Harris Judge Jim Squier gained a reputation of integrity, honesty and leadership throughout the community.

In 1995, Jim was chosen by his peers as Administrative Judge – a position which he held until 2003. In this capacity, Judge Squier led the recovery from charges of corruption and cronyism that plagued that Harris County Judicial System in the early 1990's.

In recognition of his leadership, Judge Squier has received numerous awards and recognitions, including:

• Member of the Texas Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Child Support and Visitation Guidelines • Houston Bar Association Judicial Opinion Poll’s top rated District Court Judge in 1997 • Life Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation • Houston Bar Foundation’s 2001 Distinguished Service Award • Houston Police Officers Union’s 2002 Outstanding Family Judge of the Year • P.O.L.I.C.E. Inc.’s 2004 Outstanding Family Judge of the Year • Houston City Magazine’s 2004 Outstanding Civil Judge of the Year

Born in Chicago on July 18, 1946, Squier moved to Harris County with his family in 1949. He attended Garden Villas Elementary School and Jesse H. Jones High School. After graduation, Jim went to the University of Houston, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in 1968.

After college, Jim moved to Pasadena, Texas where he taught and coached basketball during the day, while earning his law degree at University of Houston, which he received in 1974. Jim then practiced law privately from 1974 to 1987, when he was appointed Associate Judge of the 312th District Court, where he served until September 2007.

Since his retirement, Judge Squier is currently a Senior District Court Judge, as dictated by Texas legal tradition.

Judge Squier and his wife Bonnie are members of Houston's Second Baptist Church. They have four sons and six grandchildren.

Money in politics
After stepping down from the 312th District Court bench on September 21, 2007, James D. “Jim” Squier has leveled the playing field in the Congressional District 22 Republican Primary in just 40 days of fundraising.

According to reports to the Federal Election Commission, Squier was next to last in fundraising as of 9/30/2007 with only $13,400 raised due to fundraising efforts starting in the last week of September. By the end of October, over $60,000 was raised. “Although we have two more months to raise funds in this quarter, we are enormously proud of the efforts of our volunteers and supporters who worked so hard and continue to work, to support our campaign and our conservative agenda,” Squier said.

“The funds we have raised are local in nature and represent a tremendous outpouring of support for our campaign. What has happened in the last few weeks is very exciting, I look forward to what the rest of the campaign will bring,” Squier added.

During his twenty years of service as a Judge in Harris County, Judge Jim Squier was rated the top District Judge by the Houston Bar Association and was rated as the Outstanding Family Judge by the Houston Police Officers Association on two occasions.

Committees
Squier will be assigned committees if and when he is elected to Congress.

Contact
Campaign website

Related SourceWatch articles

 * 2008 U.S. congressional elections
 * 2008 U.S. congressional election dates
 * Portal:Texas and the U.S. Congress

External resources

 * 2008 Race Tracker page on Texas’s 22nd Congressional District

External articles

 * "CQPolitics Candidate Watch," CQ, September 14, 2007.