Paul Michael Parker (born October 31, 1949) is an American businessman and politician from the U.S. state of Mississippi. He served in Congress as a member of the Democratic Party and, later, the Republican Party. He later served as Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Army, with authority over the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Parker was born in Laurel, Mississippi and he graduated from William Carey College with a BA in English in 1970. Before entering politics, Parker owned and operated a funeral home business, insurance companies, land and timber companies, and a sand, clay and gravel business. Parker was elected to the House of Representatives as a Democrat in 1988 following a hard-fought primary with a wide field of contenders. The district included Jackson, Vicksburg, Natchez, McComb, and Brookhaven.
Party switchEdit
Parker during his tenure in Congress
As a Democratic congressman, Parker wore his party ties very loosely. His voting record was conservative even by Mississippi Democratic standards. During Parker's successful 1992 general election campaign, he did not endorse Democratic Presidential candidate Bill Clinton. After his re-election in November 1994, Parker voted 'Present' in the election for Speaker of the House in 1995 instead of voting for the House Democratic leader Richard Gephardt.
On November 10, 1995, Parker joined the Republican Party. Although his district was almost 40 percent African-American—one of the highest percentages for a Republican-held district—Parker was reelected with little difficulty in 1996. He did not run for re-election in 1998 in order to focus on his bid for Governor of Mississippi.
In the 1999 gubernatorial election Parker had almost 9,000 fewer votes than his Democratic opponent, Lieutenant GovernorRonnie Musgrove. However, due to the presence of two minor candidates, Musgrove came up a few thousand votes short of a majority. Under the state constitution, a gubernatorial candidate must win a majority of the popular vote and a majority of state house districts. Each candidate carried 61 of the 122 state house districts. The election was thus decided by the state house, where the Democrats had a supermajority at the time. However, Parker refused to concede, and the House elected Musgrove 86-36 along partisan lines.[1]
Army CorpsEdit
Parker was appointed by George W. Bush as Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works), with oversight of the Army Corps of Engineers, which has numerous projects in Parker's home state of Mississippi. Parker was one of the first political casualties of the Bush administration's heavily centralized management style when he spoke out to promote the Corps of Engineers priorities and was then asked to leave in the summer of 2002. In recent years Parker has been a Washington lobbyist, specializing in infrastructure issues.
Post-politicsEdit
In August 2020, Parker endorsed Democrat Joe Biden for President, along with 26 other former Republican members of Congress.[2]
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Paul Michael Parker born October 31 1949 is an American businessman and politician from the U S state of Mississippi He served in Congress as a member of the Democratic Party and later the Republican Party He later served as Assistant Secretary of the U S Army with authority over the U S Army Corps of Engineers Michael ParkerAssistant Secretary of the Army for Civil WorksIn office October 2001 March 2002PresidentGeorge W BushPreceded byJoseph WestphalSucceeded byJohn WoodleyMember of the U S House of Representatives from Mississippi s 4th districtIn office January 3 1989 January 3 1999Preceded byWayne DowdySucceeded byRonnie ShowsPersonal detailsBornPaul Michael Parker 1949 10 31 October 31 1949 age 73 Laurel Mississippi U S Political partyDemocratic before 1995 Republican 1995 present EducationWilliam Carey University BA Contents 1 Biography 1 1 Party switch 1 2 Army Corps 1 3 Post politics 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksBiography EditParker was born in Laurel Mississippi and he graduated from William Carey College with a BA in English in 1970 Before entering politics Parker owned and operated a funeral home business insurance companies land and timber companies and a sand clay and gravel business Parker was elected to the House of Representatives as a Democrat in 1988 following a hard fought primary with a wide field of contenders The district included Jackson Vicksburg Natchez McComb and Brookhaven Party switch Edit nbsp Parker during his tenure in CongressAs a Democratic congressman Parker wore his party ties very loosely His voting record was conservative even by Mississippi Democratic standards During Parker s successful 1992 general election campaign he did not endorse Democratic Presidential candidate Bill Clinton After his re election in November 1994 Parker voted Present in the election for Speaker of the House in 1995 instead of voting for the House Democratic leader Richard Gephardt On November 10 1995 Parker joined the Republican Party Although his district was almost 40 percent African American one of the highest percentages for a Republican held district Parker was reelected with little difficulty in 1996 He did not run for re election in 1998 in order to focus on his bid for Governor of Mississippi In the 1999 gubernatorial election Parker had almost 9 000 fewer votes than his Democratic opponent Lieutenant Governor Ronnie Musgrove However due to the presence of two minor candidates Musgrove came up a few thousand votes short of a majority Under the state constitution a gubernatorial candidate must win a majority of the popular vote and a majority of state house districts Each candidate carried 61 of the 122 state house districts The election was thus decided by the state house where the Democrats had a supermajority at the time However Parker refused to concede and the House elected Musgrove 86 36 along partisan lines 1 Army Corps Edit Parker was appointed by George W Bush as Assistant Secretary of the Army Civil Works with oversight of the Army Corps of Engineers which has numerous projects in Parker s home state of Mississippi Parker was one of the first political casualties of the Bush administration s heavily centralized management style when he spoke out to promote the Corps of Engineers priorities and was then asked to leave in the summer of 2002 In recent years Parker has been a Washington lobbyist specializing in infrastructure issues Post politics Edit In August 2020 Parker endorsed Democrat Joe Biden for President along with 26 other former Republican members of Congress 2 In 2023 Parker endorsed Democrat Brandon Presley for the 2023 Mississippi gubernatorial election He appeared in a campaign commercial titled Republicans which featured various Republicans espousing their support for Presley 3 4 See also EditList of American politicians who switched parties in office List of United States representatives who switched partiesReferences Edit Almanac of American Politics 2002 Gov Ronnie Musgrove D Mississippi Governor Archived from the original on October 22 2012 Retrieved October 20 2012 Beer Tommy 27 Prominent Republicans Including Jeff Flake Announce They ll Endorse Joe Biden Forbes Retrieved August 24 2020 Vance Taylor September 20 2023 Former Republican congressman endorses Democrat Brandon Presley for governor Mississippi Today Retrieved October 12 2023 Republicans retrieved October 12 2023External links EditUnited States Congress Michael Parker id P000066 Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Parker s lobbying profile permanent dead link Appearances on C SPANU S House of RepresentativesPreceded byWayne Dowdy Member of the U S House of Representativesfrom Mississippi s 4th congressional district1989 1999 Succeeded byRonnie ShowsParty political officesPreceded byKirk Fordice Republican nominee for Governor of Mississippi1999 Succeeded byHaley BarbourPolitical officesPreceded byJoseph Westphal Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works2001 2002 Succeeded byJohn WoodleyU S order of precedence ceremonial Preceded byDavid R Bowenas Former US Representative Order of precedence of the United Statesas Former US Representative Succeeded byGregg Harperas Former US Representative Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Michael Parker politician amp oldid 1179735079, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
