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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Legendary Texas journalist R. G. Ratcliffe is |
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retiring from Texas Monthly magazine in 2019, drawing to a close a |
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remarkable four-decade career covering state and national |
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politics; and |
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WHEREAS, Raised in Dallas, Robert Gary Ratcliffe first saw |
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his name in print at the age of five, when he got behind the wheel of |
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his mother's car and drove it into a house, an episode that became a |
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national wire service story; he subsequently focused on covering |
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the news rather than making it, and he honed his skills as a student |
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radio reporter at the University of Missouri while earning a degree |
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in journalism and American history; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Ratcliffe spent the early years of his career in |
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Georgia and Florida, and it was during that period that he developed |
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an interest in political journalism after conducting investigative |
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reporting on elected officials who took bribes from Colombian drug |
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lords; he also covered the trial of serial killer Ted Bundy for the |
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Florida Times-Union; returning to Texas, he worked briefly in the |
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Arlington bureau of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram before relocating |
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to Austin; after initially covering events in the capital city for |
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the Star-Telegram, he spent 24 years as a reporter for the Houston |
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Chronicle; in 2011, he started writing for Texas Monthly, and he |
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joined the magazine's permanent staff in 2017; and |
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WHEREAS, Over the course of his 40 years in journalism, |
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Mr. Ratcliffe has covered six Texas governors, from Bill Clements |
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to Greg Abbott, as well as every national presidential race from |
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1988 to 2008; along the way, he also reported on the 1985 Mexico |
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City earthquake, chronicled the tectonic shift from Democratic to |
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Republican dominance in Texas politics, and authored an |
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investigative story about University of Texas management company |
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investments that has been used in teaching journalism classes at |
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Columbia University; he even got to enjoy a moment in the limelight |
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when he was featured in the HBO documentary Journeys with George, |
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about the 2000 presidential campaign; and |
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WHEREAS, By dedicating himself to the mission of holding |
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elected officials accountable for their actions, R. G. Ratcliffe |
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has earned a well-deserved reputation as one of the best political |
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reporters in Texas and throughout the nation, and his sharp |
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intellect, keen insight, and dry wit will be greatly missed by all |
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those who have had the good fortune to appreciate his work; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas |
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Legislature hereby congratulate R. G. Ratcliffe on his retirement |
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from Texas Monthly and extend to him sincere best wishes for |
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continued success and happiness; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for Mr. Ratcliffe as an expression of high regard by the |
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Texas House of Representatives. |