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Jeffrey Curtis Leach (born June 10, 1982) is a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives for district 67, representing a portion of Collin County.
Jeff Leach | |
|---|---|
 Leach in 2018 | |
| Member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 67th district | |
| Assumed office January 8, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Jerry A. Madden |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 10, 1982 Plano, Texas, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Rebecca Swann Leach |
| Children | 3 |
| Residence(s) | Allen, Texas |
| Alma mater | Plano Senior High School Baylor University (BS) SMU Dedman School of Law (JD) |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Website | jeffleach |
Biography
editLeach was born in Plano, Texas and graduated from Plano Senior High School.[1] He attended Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Following graduation from Baylor, Leach earned his J.D. degree from SMU Dedman School of Law in Dallas and currently practices with the Texas law firm, Gray Reed.
Leach specializes in complex commercial and civil litigation, construction law, and real estate.[1] Leach serves on the Board of Trustees for Houston Baptist University, on the Texas Judicial Council, and as a board member of the Texas Conservative Coalition Research Institute. In January 2021, he was appointed to serve on the board of directors of the Prestonwood Pregnancy Center.[1]
In 2020, Leach was angered by tweets from a professor at Collin College, within his district, critical of then-Vice President Mike Pence. He reached out to the president of the college and asked if the professor was "paid with taxpayer dollars." In February 2021, Leach prematurely tweeted that the professor had been fired. Nine days later, the college fired the professor. In January 2022, the college offered the professor a large settlement for violating her First Amendment rights.[2]
Notable votes
editOn May 27, 2023, Leach voted for the impeachment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.[3]
Personal life
editLeach and his wife Becky have three children and are members of Cottonwood Creek Church in Allen.
88th Texas Legislature
editFor the 88th Texas legislative session, Leach was appointed Chairman of the House Committee on Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence as well as a member of the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence.[4]
2020 campaign
editLeach's seat was targeted by the Texas Democratic Party in 2020;[5] however, Leach defeated his opponent, Lorenzo Sanchez, by a margin of 51.7% to 48.3%, despite Democrat Joe Biden winning the 67th district in the concurrent presidential election.[6] It was the costliest state house race in the history of Texas.[citation needed]
Honors and recognition
edit- "Best Legislator of the Year" by Texas Monthly magazine[7]
- "Champion of Faith and Family" by Texas Values[8]
- "Free Enterprise Champion" by the Texas Association of Business[9]
- "Courageous Conservative" by the Texas Conservative Coalition[10]
- "Best of Dallas-area's Freshman Class" by Dallas Morning News[11]
- "Top Rated Conservative in the Texas House" by Texas Eagle Forum[12]
- "Taxpayer Champion" by Texans for Fiscal Responsibility[citation needed]
- "Best Freshmen Legislator" by Capitol Inside[citation needed]
- "Favorite Legislator" by Plano Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Ben Harris[citation needed]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Meet Jeff". Jeff Leach. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
- ^ "VICTORY: Collin College to pay thousands to history professor fired for tweets". 25 January 2022.
- ^ "Ken Paxton was impeached by the Texas House. See how each representative voted". Texas Tribune. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
- ^ Representatives, Texas House of. "Texas House of Representatives". www.house.texas.gov. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
- ^ Rayasam, Renuka (20 October 2020). "Where Texas Could Actually Turn Blue in 2020". POLITICO. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
- ^ Collin County election results by precinct 2020
- ^ Hooks, Christopher; Ratcliffe, R. G.; July 2021 6, rea Zelinski (2021-06-15). "2021: The Best and Worst Legislators". Texas Monthly. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "2021 Faith & Family Scorecard | Texas Values ActionTexas Values Action | The Advocacy Arm of Texas Values". Texas Values Action | The Advocacy Arm of Texas Values. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
- ^ "Texas Association of Business". txbiz.org. Archived from the original on 2014-03-22. Retrieved 2014-01-06.
- ^ "Courageous Conservatives-83rd Legislature". txcc.org. Retrieved 2014-01-06.
- ^ "Best of Dallas-area's Freshman Class". dallasnews.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-01-06.
- ^ "Legislative Scorecards". texaseagle.org. Archived from the original on 2014-01-03. Retrieved 2014-01-06.