Randolph Blake Farenthold(born December 12, 1961) is an American politician and lobbyist.[1][2]A member of theRepublican Party,Farenthold co-hosted a conservative talk-radio program before beginning a career in politics. Farenthold served as theU.S. representativeforTexas's 27th congressional districtfrom 2011 until his resignation in April 2018 in the wake of reports he used public funds to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit and had created an intensely hostile work environment for women in his congressional office.[3][4][5][6]Upon resigning, Farenthold pledged to reimburse theUS$84,000 in public money that he used to settle the lawsuit. He later reneged on his pledge to repay.[2][7]
Blake Farenthold | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromTexas's27thdistrict | |
| In office January 3, 2011 – April 6, 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Solomon Ortiz |
| Succeeded by | Michael Cloud |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Randolph Blake Farenthold December 12, 1961 Corpus Christi, Texas,U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Debbie Farenthold |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | University of Texas at Austin(BS) St. Mary's University, Texas(JD) |
Early life and education
editFarenthold was born and raised inCorpus Christi, Texas,the son of Mary Sue (née Ogg; 1939–2014) and George Randolph "Randy" Farenthold (1939–1972). His wealthy paternal grandfather, George Edward Farenthold (1915–2000), was a Belgian immigrant descended from an aristocratic industrialist family, and worked in the oil industry in Texas.[8]Blake is the former step-grandson ofFrances Farenthold,who married and divorced his grandfather, George Farenthold.[8]
Farenthold attendedIncarnate Word Academyand theUniversity of Texas at Austinwhere he received a Bachelor of Science degree in radio, television, and film. He received aJuris DoctorfromSt. Mary's University School of Lawin San Antonio,[9]and was admitted to the Texas Bar (Bar# 06814500).
Early career
editFarenthold was a radioDJin college. Before running for office, he was a right-wing talk radio host in Corpus Christi (co-hostingLago in the Morning) and spent seven years at the Kleberg Law Firm, where his stepfather, Hayden Head Sr., was a partner.[10]
U.S. House of Representatives
editElections
edit- 2010
Farenthold defeatedincumbentDemocraticRep.Solomon Ortizby 799 votes on election night.[11]Ortiz asked for a manual recount. On Monday, November 22, Ortiz conceded the race to Farenthold. Farenthold's final margin of victory over Ortiz was 47.85 to 47.1 percent.[12]His margin of victory was 799 votes.[13]Ortiz had represented the district since its creation in 1982.
- 2012
Redistrictingafter the 2010 census made Farenthold's district significantly more Republican. His old district had been 70 percent Latino, but the new map shifted most of the Latino areas to the newly created 34th district. To make up for the loss in population, his district was shifted well to the north and east, absorbing some heavily Republican territory nearHoustonandAustin.
He defeated Democratic nominee Rose Meza Harrison 57-39%.[14]
- 2014
Farenthold was not challenged in the Republican primary. In the general election, he defeated Democrat Wesley Reed by a margin of 83,342 to 44,152 (63.6 to 33.7%).[15]
- 2016
Farenthold won renomination in the March 1 Republican primary with 42,872 votes (56%) to 33,699 (44%) for his challenger, Gregg Patrick Deeb (borncirca1964) of Corpus Christi, who formerly lived inSouth Carolina.[16]In the general election held on November 8, Farenthold defeated the Democrat Raul "Roy" Barrera, who had won his party nomination on March 1 with 16,140 votes (50.3%) over two opponents.[17]Farenthold polled 142,251 votes (61.7%) to Barrera's 88,329 (38.3%).[18]
Farenthold joined theRepublican Study Committee,as well as theTea Party Caucus.Since redistricting in 2011, his district ran along the middle Texas Gulf Coast fromCorpus ChristitoBay Cityand inland toLuling,and includesAransas,Calhoun,Jackson,Lavaca,Matagorda,Nueces,Refugio,San Patricio,Victoria,Wharton,and parts ofBastrop,Caldwell,andGonzalesCounties.
Political positions
editInternet
editHaving used the Internet since the mid-1980s,[19]Farenthold received praise from the online privacy community when he introduced bipartisan legislation that would prevent states from forcing companies to weaken encryption for law enforcement purposes.[20]However, Farenthold voted torepealan FCC Internet privacy rule that would have prohibitedInternet service providersfrom selling the browsing history of their customers without customers' consent.[21]
Donald Trump
editFarenthold endorsed Trump in the 2016 presidential race.[22]After theDonald Trump and Billy Bush recordingwas made public, Farenthold was asked what it would take for him to rescind his endorsement, and whether Trump saying "I really like raping women" would be sufficient, Farenthold said that he "would have to consider it."[22]Farenthold later apologized, saying "I do not, and have not ever condoned rape or violence against women. That is not the kind of man I believe Donald Trump to be."[22]
He supportedDonald Trump's 2017executive orderto impose a temporary ban on entry to the U.S. to citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries, saying "we must be cautious who we allow into our country."[23]
Ethics
editIn January 2017, Farenthold voted in favor of gutting the powers of theOffice of Congressional Ethics,supporting a measure that would remove the office's independence by placing it under the jurisdiction of the Republican-ledHouse Ethics Committee.Following a backlash, the decision was reversed.[24]
Health care
editOn May 4, 2017, Farenthold voted to repeal thePatient Protection and Affordable Care Act(Obamacare) and pass theAmerican Health Care Act.[25][26]In a radio interview in July 2017, he said it was "absolutely repugnant" that theAffordable Care Acthad not been repealed yet. In particular, he criticized "some female senators from the Northeast," and stated "if it was a guy from south Texas, I might ask him to step outside and settle thisAaron Burr-style."[27][28]
2016 election conspiracy theories
editIn a May 2017 appearance on CNN, Farenthold publicly doubted theRussian hack of Democratic Party serversand instead promoted a debunkedconspiracy theorythat the hack was an "inside job." When pressed by journalistJohn Berman,Farenthold defended his statement by saying that there were "Things circulating on the internet." Farenthold's claim contradicted testimony from formerCentral Intelligence Agency(CIA) DirectorJohn Brennanand the conclusions of theFederal Bureau of Investigationand CIA.[29][30][31]Farenholdt's statement was criticized by the editorial board of theCorpus Christi Caller-Times,who called it "Farenthold's latest new low" and said "Farenthold's antics are becoming increasingly cartoonish."[32]
Allegations of inappropriate behavior and resignation from Congress
editLauren Greene
editIn 2014, Farenthold was sued by a former staffer, Lauren Greene, who accused the congressman of gender discrimination, saying that he created ahostile work environmentand improperly fired her after she complained.[33][34]Greene said another Farenthold aide told her the lawmaker said he had "sexual fantasies" and "wet dreams" about Greene. She also claimed that Farenthold "regularly drank to excess" and told her in February 2014 that he was "estranged from his wife and had not had sex with her in years."[3]
When she complained about comments Farenthold and a male staffer made to her, Greene said the congressman improperly fired her. Thesexual harassmentlawsuit was settled out of court in November 2015 on confidential terms.[35][36]In December 2017, it was reported that the settlement, for $84,000, was made with taxpayer money.[3][37]
Michael Rekola
editIn December 2017, Michael Rekola, a former senior aide and communications director to Farenthold, alleged that the congressman was verbally abusive and sexually demeaning, and described his congressional office as an intensely hostile environment with Farenthold often making comments about women's physical features, including their breasts or behinds.[5]Past co-workers and relatives have corroborated Rekola's story, some having first-hand accounts of Farenthold subjecting his staff "to a stream of angry behavior... screaming fits of rage, slamming fists on desks and castigating aides", and regularly using profane slurs to describe those who worked in his office.[6]Farenthold denied using sexual insults, but admitted to using vulgar language, claiming that it was "in jest".[38]
Resignation from Congress
editFarenthold announced on December 14, 2017, that he would retire and not seek reelection to his seat in 2018.[39][40]
On April 6, 2018, he suddenly resigned from office.[41]
On April 24, 2018, Texas GovernorGreg Abbottordered an emergency special election for thedistrict.Abbott asked Farenthold to pay the cost for the special election;[42]Farenthold declined to do so.[43]The June 30, 2018 special election to replace Farenthold was won by fellow RepublicanMichael Cloud.[44]
Farenthold rejected calls for him to repay the public funds used to settle the sexual harassment case against him.[45][46]
Lobbying career
editAfter resigning from Congress, Farenthold announced on May 14, 2018 that he would be serving as thelegislative liaisonfor theCalhoun Port Authorityat a salary of $160,000.10.[47]Farenthold's appointment was questioned because of the reasons for the resignation and because"Revolving Door" lawsgenerally prohibit former representatives from immediately lobbying their recent colleagues.[48][49]Farenthold resigned as lobbyist for the port authority in January 2019.[50]In May 2019 the board member who directed port staff to hire Farenthold as a lobbyist was defeated for reelection.[51]
Personal life
editFarenthold lives with his wife Debbie and his two daughters, Morgan and Amanda,? inCorpus Christi.He is anEpiscopalian.[52]
In 1972, when Farenthold was ten years old, his father disappeared and was later found dead, his body having washed ashore after being weighted down with a cement block and deposited inCorpus Christi Bay.[53]The gangland-style murder was the work of enemies of the elder Farenthold, who feared he would testify against a group of con artists who had tried to defraud him out of $100,000.[8]
Electoral history
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Blake Farenthold | 50,954 | 47.85 | |
| Democratic | Solomon Ortiz(incumbent) | 50,155 | 47.10 | |
| Libertarian | Ed Mishou | 5,372 | 5.04 | |
| Total votes | 106,599 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Blake Farenthold (incumbent) | 120,684 | 56.75 | |
| Democratic | Rose Meza Harrison | 83,395 | 39.22 | |
| Independent | Bret Baldwin | 5,354 | 2.52 | |
| Libertarian | Corrie Byrd | 3,218 | 1.51 | |
| Total votes | 212,651 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Blake Farenthold (incumbent) | 83,342 | 63.60 | |
| Democratic | Wesley Reed | 44,152 | 33.69 | |
| Libertarian | Roxanne Simonson | 3,553 | 2.71 | |
| Total votes | 131,047 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Blake Farenthold (incumbent) | 142,251 | 61.69 | |
| Democratic | Wesley Reed | 88,329 | 38.31 | |
| Total votes | 230,580 | 100 | ||
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'I will say this on the record: I have been advised by my attorneys not to repay that,' Farenthold told [ABC News]. 'That's why it hasn't been repaid.'
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