Tony Buzbee

Tony Buzbee is an American lawyer and politician. On October 30, 2018, Buzbee announced he would be running for mayor of Houston, Texas.

Buzbee grew up in Atlanta, Texas on a farm-house with his parents and three siblings. Buzbee earned a B.S. in Psychology from Texas A&M University and a J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center, where he was managing editor of the Houston Law Review. Between college and law school, Buzbee served as a marine and reached the rank of captain.

He was a briefing attorney for Judge Samuel B. Kent, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas and then began his legal career as an attorney at Susman Godfrey LLP in Houston. Buzbee founded his own law firm in 2000 Buzbee has represented clients including horse trainer Bob Baffert and recording artist and business man Jimmy Buffett. Buzbee has represented multiple governmental entities, including the State of Louisiana, and the Basque Government in the Kingdom of Spain. In 2014 it was announced that Buzbee would be lead counsel for Governor Rick Perry of Texas after Perry was indicted on two felony counts which were later dismissed in 2016. In 2009, Buzbee won the largest jury verdict against British Petroleum (BP) in history. Buzbee is the managing partner of the Buzbee Law Firm in Houston, Texas.

Real estate

Buzbee is also a property developer, working to redevelop historic downtown Friendswood. He owns Buzbee Properties, a residential and commercial real estate firm focused on the south Texas communities of Friendswood, Pearland, Alvin, Webster, Pasadena, Clear Lake, League City, Kemah and Seabrook.Buzbee also owns various retail entities, commercial buildings, and several hotels in Florida.

In 2002, the legal publication Texas Lawyer named Buzbee as a Top 5 "Go To" Lawyer for Commercial Litigation in the State of Texas. He has been selected multiple times as a Texas "Super Lawyer" by Thomson Reuters (2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014).

Buzbee appeared on the cover of The New York Times magazine in November 2010 regarding his role in the litigation against BP following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The article described Buzbee as "one of the most successful trial lawyers in the country."Buzbee appeared again in The New York Times in March 2013 after his appointment to the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents, this time the magazine referred to Buzbee as a "big, mean, ambitious, tenacious, fire-breathing Texas trial lawyer."

In May 2013, Texas Monthly profiled Buzbee for his role in the sexual abuse case against wealthy philanthropist, Stanley Marsh, stating, "Buzbee has made his reputation going after corporations, and he usually wins big."In November 2015, Buzbee was awarded Attorney Of The Year by Texas Lawyer Magazine. In March 2017, Buzbee was selected as the 2017 Distinguished Aggie Lawyer as part of the 18th Annual Conference of the Aggie Bar Association. In the University of Houston Law Alumni Association Awards of 2017, Buzbee was awarded the Dean's Award for his work in protecting the school's name and brand in a federal trademark infringement lawsuit in 2016.

Buzbee is active in several Houston-area charities.In addition to previously serving on the Board of Directors at the Jesse Tree charity, he has also given support to the Star of Hope Mission for the Homeless, Meals on Wheels, the Friendswood Methodist Church, and others.

In 2012, Buzbee donated $3 million to the Texas A&M Foundation. The Buzbee Leadership Learning Center, the first construction on the quad in 73 years, is named in his honor.

In April 2014 Buzbee donated $1 million to establish the first ever endowed faculty chair at the new Texas A&M University School of Law. It will be called the Anthony G. Buzbee Dean's Endowed Chair and the incoming dean will use the funds to invest for things such as hiring new faculty and expanding academic programs.

In July 2014 Buzbee contributed $3 million and agreed to an annual contribution of $100,000 to the 12th Man Foundation at Texas A&M. The donation will help support Aggies Athletics and give Buzbee access to the West Legacy Suite at the recently renovated Kyle Field.

Community service

Buzbee is partial owner and serves on the Board of Directors of Galveston's Hometown Bank. He also has served on the Board of Visitors of Texas A&M Galveston, and The Bay Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

In March 2013, Governor Rick Perry appointed Buzbee to the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents. He was appointed along with fellow Houston attorney Charles Schwartz and re-appointee Morris Foster.His term expired February 1, 2019.

In 2002, Buzbee unsuccessfully ran for the Texas state House as a Democrat. From August 2003 to April 2005, Buzbee served as chair as of the Galveston County Democratic Party. Buzbee has more recently distanced himself from any partisan affiliation and has no record of party primary voting since 1994.

In 2012, Buzbee supported Republican Texas Governor Rick Perry's presidential campaign with financial support and the use of his private jet. Buzbee also served as one of Perry's debate coaches. That same year, Buzbee served as debate coach to Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst in his unsuccessful run for the United States Senate. In 2016, Buzbee hosted a fundraiser at his River Oaks mansion for then Presidential candidate Donald Trump, but Buzbee later disavowed Trump following the release of the Access Hollywood tape and stated his intention to write-in veteran Dan Moran for President. Subsequently, Buzbee gave $500,000 to Trump's Inauguration Committee.

On October 30, 2018, Buzbee announced he would be running in the 2019 Houston mayoral election, challenging incumbent Houston Mayor, Sylvester Turner. He is running on a platform of universal pre-K, infrastructure improvement, crime reduction, and expanding access to 5G broadband