Max Sandlin: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|American politician (born 1952)}}

|office1 = Judge of the [[Harrison County, Texas|Harrison County Court]]

|term_start1 = 1986

|term_end1 = 1996

|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1952|09|29}}

|birth_place = [[Texarkana, Arkansas]], U.S.

|spouse = {{marriage|Leslie Howell|1981|2000}}<br>{{marriage|[[Stephanie Herseth Sandlin|Stephanie Herseth]]|2007}}

==Early life and career==

The son of the former Margie Beth Barnett and her husband Maxwell Allen Sandlin, Max Sandlin is a graduate of [[Baylor University]], where he was a member of [[Phi Delta Theta]] and named Outstanding Young Alumni, and [[Baylor Law School|Baylor University School of Law]], where he was a member of the National Championship [[Mock Trial]] Team. He was the Distinguished Speaker for the John William Minton and Florence Dean Minton Endowed Law School Lecture Series at Law Day 2004 at Baylor Law School.

He practiced law in Texas and had a broad-based litigation and business practice. He was active in the banking and energy industries. He also served on the Board of Directors of East Texas Legal Services.<ref name=lobbyist>{{cite news |first=Kevin |last=Bogardus |title=Blue Dog heads to K Street |date=2011-03-02 |url=https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/84267-blue-dog-heads-to-k-street/ |work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]] |access-date=2011-03-03 |quote=Sandlin is married to former Rep. Max Sandlin (D-Texas), a lobbyist who heads up the government relations and public strategies team at Mercury.}}</ref><ref name=RollCall>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Murray |title=GOP Assails Sandlin Family Ties |date=2010-07-26 |publisher=[[Congressional Quarterly|CQ-Roll Call, Inc.]] |url=http://www.rollcall.com/issues/56_11/-48645-1.html |work=[[Roll Call]] |accessdate=2011-03-04 |quote=Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin’s family situation is becoming a major headache for the South Dakota Democrat in her tough re-election bid, with Republicans ramping up their criticisms of her voting record — and her lobbyist husband’s extensive list of clients.}}</ref><ref name=Carney>Carney, Timothy (2011-03-03) [http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/2011/03/couple-passes-through-revolving-door-together-congresswoman-joins The couple that passes through the revolving door together: Congresswoman joins her ex-Rep. husband on K St.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718005709/http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/2011/03/couple-passes-through-revolving-door-together-congresswoman-joins |date=2011-07-18 }}, ''[[Washington Examiner]]''</ref> He is a former County Judge and County Court at Law Judge.

==Congress ==

First elected to Congress in 1996, he rose to become a member of the senior House Democratic leadership, serving as [[Chief Deputy Whips of the United States House of Representatives|Chief Deputy Whip]]. He served on the powerful and exclusive [[United States House Committee on Ways and Means|Ways and Means Committee]], the [[United States House Committee on Financial Services|Financial Services Committee]], and the [[United States House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure|Transportation and Infrastructure Committee]]. He was an elected and later a leadership representative on the [[Democratic Steering and Policy Committee]], and also among the small group of legislators selected for the Parliamentary Group, representatives called upon for rapid parliamentary and procedural action on the floor of the U.S. House.

While in the House, Sandlin was frequently asked to present and argue policy, and the [[Austin American-Statesman]] noted "Sandlin is a forceful and articulate speaker, a lawyer by trade who treats audiences like juries that can be charmed, coaxed, inspired and won over."<ref>

}}

The Paris Daily News noted that "Sandlin is highly polished...with God-given speaking talents" and an "...ability to communicate eloquently."<ref>

Sandlin was known as a consensus builder, and ''[[The Almanac of American Politics]]'' noted that he had a "...moderate voting record that straddles Democratic wings."<ref>{{Cite book|last1 = Barone|first1 = Michael|last2 = Ujifusa|first2 = Grant|title = The Almanac of American Politics|publisher = [[National Journal Group]]|year = 1999|location = Washington, DC|isbn = 978-0-8129-3193-8|url-access = registration|url = https://archive.org/details/almanacofamerica00}}</ref>

}}

}}

</ref> No Democrat has garnered more than 35 percent of the vote since Sandlin left office.

==Private life==

Sandlin is currently a partner and co-chairman of Mercury, a public strategy firm.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://mercuryllc.com/why-mercury|title=About}}</ref>

Sandlin is a former youth baseball, basketball, and softball coach. He is the father of five children, has three grandchildren, and is married to former U.S. Representative [[Stephanie Herseth Sandlin]] (D-SD).<ref>{{cite news|title=Wedding Bell Bliss

*{{C-SPAN|45742}}

{{s-prec|usa}}

{{s-bef|before=[[Ken Bentsen Jr.]]|as=Former US Representative}}

{{s-ttl|title=[[United States order of precedence|Order of precedence of the United States]]<br>''{{small|as Former US Representative}}''|years=}}

{{s-aft|after=[[Jim Turner (politician)|Jim Turner]]|as=Former US Representative}}

[[Category:21st-century American legislators]]

[[Category:Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas]]

[[Category:Members of Congress who became lobbyists]]