Tommy Merritt:  A True Son of East Texas

A native of Gregg County, Tommy Merritt was born and raised in Kilgore, Texas and has deep family roots in East Texas.  Tommy Merritt is a descendent of the distinguished Capt. Jesse Billingsley, who led a storied life.  Billinglsey was a Republic of Texas Veteran (fighting at the battle of San Jacinto) and served as a Texas Ranger, a member of the Republic of Texas House of Representatives and a Member of the Texas State Senate. 

After graduating from Kilgore High School, Tommy attended Kilgore College and graduated from Texas Christian University with a Bachelor of Business Administration.

From 1971 to 1974 he served the United States Postal Service as a Postal Inspector. Following his desire to work in the private sector to grow and build a small business, Merritt founded Gregg Industrial Insulators, Inc. in 1976 and grew it into the successful company it is today.

After gaining a great depth of knowledge in the private sector, Tommy Merritt turned his focus to community involvement and public service. In 1984, he traveled with the Council for a Secure America to Israel to gain a better understanding of terrorism and how the Israelis combat it.

Tommy was elected as a director to the Gregg County Appraisal Board and served from 1986 to 1993 fighting to ensure that the appraisal process was fair to homeowners and landowners.  In 1990 Bill Clements, the first Republican Governor in Texas since Reconstruction, appointed Tommy to the Sabine River Authority for a term that ended in 1995.  In 1996, Merritt was elected to serve Gregg County and a portion of Rusk County in the Texas House of Representatives.

Tommy Merritt served House District 7 from 1997-2010.  During his tenure he was appointed Chairman of both the House Committee on Public Safety and the House Committee on Energy Resources.  Merritt also served on the House Committees on Transportation, Redistricting, Select Federal Legislation, Local and Consent Calendars, Border and International Affairs, Defense Affairs & State-Federal Relations, and State Affairs.

Among his Legislative accomplishments, Tommy has proven time and again that he is a strong supporter of public education, law enforcement, private property rights, and small business owners. For 14 years, Tommy prioritized equitable funding to East Texas for public education, transportation, and public safety. Thanks in part to his work fighting the flow of illegal drugs into Texas, Tommy Merritt also been inducted into the Texas Drug Fighter Hall of Fame. Tommy also fought to preserve the rights of property owners and for the interests of the agriculture and cattle ranching industries.

A lifelong Republican, Tommy has worked to build the Republican Party in Texas, working to elect every Republican nominee for President since 1964.  In 2000, on behalf of then Governor Bush, Tommy caucused  in Iowa, led the Strike Force Team in Oregon and was asked to oversee the recount in Florida. After the election, Tommy was selected by President Bush as the only elected official from Texas, on the Bush-Cheney Presidential Energy Advisory Team.

A dedicated husband and father, Tommy has been married for over 30 years to his beautiful wife Janet, and together they have three wonderful children, Missy, Meredith, and Thomas. The Merritts attend the First Baptist Church in Longview and Kilgore.