{{short description|American politician}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Bennett Ratliff | image = | caption = | state_house = Texas | district = 115th | party = Republican | term_start = January 8, 2013 | term_end = January 13, 2015 | preceded = Jim Jackson | succeeded = Matt Rinaldi | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1961|8|18}} | death_date = | death_place = | death_cause = | resting_place = | birth_place = Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. | spouse = Rebecca | children = 3 | relations = Bill Ratliff (father)<br>Plasma (niece) | education = University of Texas at Austin (BS) }}
'''Bennett Ratliff''' (born August 18, 1961)<ref name=ttribune>{{cite web|url=http://www.texastribune.org/directory/bennett-ratliff/#ui-tabs-1|title=Rep. Bennett Ratliff, District 115 (R-Coppell)|publisher=Texas Directory|accessdate=March 16, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140323055230/http://www.texastribune.org/directory/bennett-ratliff/#ui-tabs-1|archive-date=March 23, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> is an American civil engineer, businessman, and politician who served as a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from district 115 in Dallas County<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lrl.state.tx.us/legeLeaders/members/memberDisplay.cfm?memberID=5754&searchparams=chamber=H~city=~countyID=0~RcountyID=~district=~first=~gender=~last=Ratliff~leaderNote=~leg=83~party=~roleDesc=~Committee=|title=Bennett Ratliff|publisher=Texas Legislative Reference Library|accessdate=March 16, 2014}}</ref> and currently serves as Chairman of the Planning and Zoning Commission in Plano, Texas.<ref name=rprofile>{{cite web|url=http://vote-tx.org/Intro.aspx?State=TX&Id=TXRatliffBennett|title=Biographical Profile for Bennett Ratliff|publisher=vote-tx.org|accessdate=March 16, 2014|archive-date=March 16, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140316181738/http://vote-tx.org/Intro.aspx?State=TX&Id=TXRatliffBennett|url-status=dead}}</ref>
== Career ==
He founded The Ratliff Group, LLC, an engineering and construction management firm, in Coppell in 2002 and has grown it to be one of the most successful and respected firms in its market segment.<ref name="rprofile" /><ref name="votesmart">{{cite web|url=http://votesmart.org/candidate/biography/138380/bennett-ratliff#.UyUMIMtOUfg|title=Bennett Ratliff's Biography|publisher=votesmart.org|accessdate=March 16, 2014}}</ref> In 2013, Ratliff was given the Distinguished Engineering Award from the Texas Engineering Foundation of the Society of Professional Engineers in recognition of his distinguished service to the engineering profession and in 2015 was inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Alumni for the University of Texas Cockrell School of Engineering. In 2016, Ratliff was again recognized by his peers in the Texas Society of Civil Engineers as the Citizen Engineer of the Year, for his service to the State of Texas and his community.
Prior to his legislative term, Ratliff was a nine-year elected member and vice president of the board of trustees of the Coppell Independent School District, had twice served as a delegate to the State Republican Party Convention and had been involved in a number of local and state Republican campaigns.<ref name="rprofile" />
In October 2021, the Plano City Council appointed Ratliff to serve on the Planning & Zoning Commission and named him Chairman in October 2024.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}
== Texas House of Representatives ==
Representative Ratliff served on the House committees of (1) Appropriations and (2) Public Education.<ref name=votesmart/> He authored eighteen bills and by the end of the session, thirteen of his priority issues had become law, the best record of any freshman in the 83rd Legislative Session.
In his bid for a second term, Ratliff lost the Republican nomination to a 2012 tea party opponent, Matt Rinaldi, who received 4,167 votes (50.6 percent) to Ratliff's 4,075 votes (49.44 percent) in the March 4, 2014 Republican primary.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist.exe |title=Republican runoff primary returns (House District 115), March 4, 2014 |publisher=Texas Secretary of State |accessdate=July 10, 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061108172637/http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist.exe |archivedate=November 8, 2006 }}</ref> Rinaldi, an Irving lawyer and one of Ratliff's opponents two years before, had extensive support from a special interest PAC, Empower Texans. On March 1, 2016, Ratliff tried unsuccessfully to regain his seat, but lost again to the Empower Texans backed Rinaldi in the Republican primary 8,804 to 7,668 (53.45% to 46.55%)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist273_state.htm|title=Republican runoff primary returns (House District 115), March 1, 2016|publisher=Texas Secretary of State|accessdate= April 21, 2016}}</ref>
In the 2018 General Election, Ratliff broke with the Republican Party to endorse Democratic candidate Julie Johnson<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2018/09/14/former-state-lawmaker-backs-matt-rinaldi-s-challenger-the-latest-texas-republican-to-endorse-a-democrat/ |title=Former state lawmaker backs Matt Rinaldi's challenger, the latest Texas Republican to endorse a Democrat |last=Barragán |first=James |newspaper=Dallas Morning News |date=September 14, 2018 |accessdate=January 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200130014522/https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2018/09/14/former-state-lawmaker-backs-matt-rinaldi-s-challenger-the-latest-texas-republican-to-endorse-a-democrat/ |archive-date=January 30, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> for Ratliff's former Texas House seat, due to the need for the legislature to address Ratliff's top priority, Texas' Public Education Finance system. Ratliff proved to be correct in his support, as Johnson went on to win the seat with a double-digit margin<ref>{{cite web |date=6 November 2018 |title=Texas Midterm Election Results |url=https://www.texastribune.org/2018/11/06/texas-midterm-election-results-texas-house-races/ |access-date=25 January 2024 |website=Texas Tribune}}</ref> over Matt Rinaldi, and became the first Democratic representative to co-author House Bill 3 <ref>{{cite web|url=https://house.texas.gov/news/press-releases/?id=6777 |title=Representative Johnson Co-Authors Sweeping School Finance Reform Bill}}</ref> to reform and overhaul the Texas School finance system, a bill that passed with overwhelming bipartisan support and was signed into law by Republican Governor Greg Abbott.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist.exe |title=Republican primary returns (House District 115), May 29, 2012 |publisher=Texas Secretary of State |accessdate=March 15, 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061108172637/http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist.exe |archivedate=November 8, 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist.exe |title=Republican runoff primary returns (House District 115), July 31, 2012 |publisher=Texas Secretary of State |accessdate=March 15, 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061108172637/http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist.exe |archivedate=November 8, 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist.exe |title=General election returns (House District 115), November 6, 2012 |publisher=Texas Secretary of State |accessdate=March 15, 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061108172637/http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist.exe |archivedate=November 8, 2006 }}</ref>
== Personal life == Ratliff and his wife, Rebecca, a former public schoolteacher, have three grown children and two grandchildren.<ref name="ttribune" /><ref name="votesmart" />
==References== {{reflist}} {{S-start}} {{s-par|us-tx-hs}} {{succession box | before=Jim Jackson | title=Texas State Representative from District 115 (Dallas County) | years=2013– | after=Matt Rinaldi}} {{s-end}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ratliff, Bennett}} Category:1961 births Category:Living people Category:Politicians from Fort Worth, Texas Category:People from Coppell, Texas Category:Businesspeople from Texas Category:School board members in Texas Category:Republican Party members of the Texas House of Representatives Category:Cockrell School of Engineering alumni Category:21st-century American engineers Category:21st-century members of the Texas Legislature