James R. Pitts (January 1, 1947 – July 20, 2024) was an American politician and lawyer who served in the Texas House of Representatives from 1993 to 2015.
He also served on the Community Advisory Council for the Scottish Rite Learning Center; was chosen as Waxahachie's "Outstanding Citizen of the Year" in 1999; served on the Board of Trustees at ZACH Theatre in Austin, TX for nearly twenty years; and was named one of Texas' "Ten Best Legislators" in 2005[1] by the magazine Texas Monthly.
He also retained his posts as chairman of the Subcommittee on Regulatory Agencies and as a member of the Select Committee on Teacher Health Insurance.
In December 2006, just before the commencement of the 80th legislative session, Pitts announced his candidacy for the position of Speaker, held since 2003 by fellow Republican Tom Craddick of Midland.
Pitts and fellow Republicans Charlie Geren, Brian McCall, and Robert Talton continued to fight what they called "arm twisting and intimidation,"[4] and late in the legislative session, other Republicans such as chairmen Byron Cook of Corsicana, Jim Keffer of Eastland, and Fred Hill, joined the fight to oust Craddick.
Early in 2009, Pitts joined a small group of Republicans, including Byron Cook, Jim Keffer, and Burt Solomons of North Carrollton, who voted with the Democrats to topple Speaker Craddick and replace him with Joe Straus.
[5] In 2013, Appropriations chairman Pitts and Speaker Straus faced the task of reconciling an expected $4.7 billion shortfall in the state budget.
Since 2003, annual spending by Texas state government has been kept in the lower single digits and below the rates of inflation and population growth.
Publicly available documents revealed that Pitts and two other members of the House sent more letters to the president of the University of Texas on behalf of applicants than anyone else whose correspondence was included in a recent inquiry into admissions favoritism.
Ashley is the Director of Development for the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University and is the mother of one child (Margaret).
Ryan is a graduate of the University of Texas School of Law and is currently the chief executive officer at Ellis County Title Company.