40 Facts About Tom Pauken

Thomas Weir Pauken was born on January 11,1944 and is an American politician and member of the Republican Party.

Tom Pauken is a former member and chairman of the Texas Workforce Commission.

Tom Pauken served as chairman of the Texas Republican Party from 1994 to 1997 during the transition period when the party leaped quickly from minority to majority status at the statewide level.

Tom Pauken was a candidate for governor in 2014 but withdrew early in the contest and supported Greg Abbott, the state attorney general and the party nominee in the November 4 general election.

Tom Pauken was born on January 11,1944, in Victoria, Texas.

Tom Pauken obtained his Juris Doctor degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas in 1973.

Tom Pauken is married to Ida Ayala, and the couple has seven children: Thomas, Michelle, Angela, Elizabeth, Daniel, Monica, and Victoria.

Tom Pauken was elected national chairman of College Republicans and served from 1965 to 1967.

The issue of the Vietnam War dominated his time as chairman; Tom Pauken organized the bipartisan National Student Committee for the Defense of Vietnam.

Tom Pauken was asked to serve on President Reagan's transition team after the 1980 election.

On February 3,1981, Tom Pauken was nominated by Reagan to serve as director of the ACTION agency, now known as AmeriCorps.

Tom Pauken ended ACTION's funding of liberal organizations, many of whom had ties to Saul Alinsky.

At ACTION, Tom Pauken oversaw the implementation of the Just Say No to Drugs program in which Nancy Reagan served as chief spokeswoman.

Tom Pauken was awarded the Ronald Reagan Medal of Honor by Reagan administration alumni.

In 1985, Tom Pauken left the Reagan administration to return to Texas to enter private business.

Tom Pauken joined a Dallas-based venture capital company in 1986.

Tom Pauken won the chairmanship by defeating a last-minute challenge waged by still serving US Representative Joe Barton of Ennis, whose district at the time stretched from the Dallas southern suburbs to Bryan-College Station.

Tom Pauken chaired the Texas delegation to the Republican National Convention in 1996.

Tom Pauken supported the selection of Hutchison as a delegate to the national convention, and she was elected a delegate at the state convention.

Tom Pauken served as chairman of Texas Workforce Commission from March 2008 through April 2012.

Tom Pauken initiated the creation of the Texas Back to Work program, which offers an incentive of up to $2,000 to employers for hiring qualified out-of-work Texans who lost their job through no fault of their own.

Tom Pauken announced his retirement from TWC effective March 1,2013.

In 1978, Tom Pauken challenged the freshman Democratic Representative Jim Mattox of Dallas for Texas's 5th congressional district seat in the United States House of Representatives, a position held by earlier Republicans Bruce Reynolds Alger and Alan Steelman.

Tom Pauken offered a conservative alternative in sharp contrast to Mattox.

In 1998 Tom Pauken lost his bid in the Republican primary for the Attorney General of Texas.

In 2010, Tom Pauken endorsed Perry for renomination in his successful race against Senator Hutchison and for reelection in the fall campaign against the Democrat Bill White, a former mayor of Houston, Texas.

However, Tom Pauken remained neutral in Perry's unsuccessful bid for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.

Tom Pauken is the author of two books, The Thirty Years War: The Politics of the Sixties Generation and Bringing American Home: How America Lost Her Way and How We Can Find Our Way Back.

Tom Pauken gives every indication that after fighting for 30 years, he is just getting his second wind.

Tom Pauken is a frequent political commentator on Texas radio stations and television programs in addition to regular speeches to civic clubs and conventions.

Tom Pauken is a guest opinion column contributor to several Texas newspapers and blogs.

Tom Pauken is a regular contributor to Chronicles, a paleoconservative magazine published by the Rockford Institute in Rockford, Illinois.

In mid-2012, Tom Pauken emerged as a leading opponent of Texas' current model of mandatory testing and college preparation.

Tom Pauken contended a system of "test learning" de-emphasizes a more wholistic educational approach and leads to a higher number of dropouts.

Tom Pauken proposed a multi-pathway system by which high school students can learn career-centric math and science skills, while earning certifications and licenses in their preferred fields.

Tom Pauken said that he wants to end "crony capitalism" and repair long-term problems of public education.

Tom Pauken vowed to run a common-sense issues campaign, not one based on "consultant-driven sound bites".

Tom Pauken withdrew from the race on December 5,2013, citing his "financial and organizational" difficulties and the lack of a "realistic path to victory".

Tom Pauken supports expanded vocational education, greater local control of schools, and reduced emphasis on standardized testing.

In 1998, the last time that Tom Pauken sought elected office, he finished with 30 percent in a three-candidate field for the office of Texas attorney general.