Transportation Chairman Williamson dead at 55

December 30, 2007

By MATT CURRY / The Associated Press

DALLAS — Texas Transportation Commission Chairman and former longtime state lawmaker Ric Williamson died Sunday of an apparent heart attack, officials said. He was 55.

Williamson died at Weatherford Regional Medical Center just after 1 a.m., Texas Department of Transportation spokesman Chris Lippincott said.

"It is a great shock, everyone is very surprised to hear this news," Lippincott told The Associated Press on Sunday. "He certainly left his imprint on the commission and on the state with the vision he had for transportation."

Gov. Rick Perry said Williamson was a longtime friend who will be greatly missed. The two were conservative Democratic colleagues in the Texas House during 1980s. Both later joined the GOP.

Williamson served in the Legislature for more than 20 years.

"Ric's passion to serve his beloved state of Texas was unmatched and his determination to help our state meets its future challenges was unparalleled," Perry said in a written statement. "He will be missed beyond words. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Williamson family during this very difficult time."

Perry named Williamson to the transportation commission in 2001, and he became chairman in 2004. The five-member commission oversees the Texas Department of Transportation.

State lawmakers heavily criticized state transportation policy on toll roads and private contracts during this year's legislative session.

The agency has traditionally been a pay-as-you-go organization, building roads with money collected from gas taxes and fees.

But under Perry and his appointees to the commission, notably Williamson, the agency has increasingly shifted to relying on toll roads and borrowed money to speed construction. The change has prompted intense criticism from the public and lawmakers.

Legislators from rural areas were concerned about private property rights. Those from urban districts complained of toll roads financed and owned by foreign companies.

"We were moving faster than most government agencies move and it spooked some people," Williamson said in June.

TxDOT Executive Director Amadeo Saenz said Williamson was a visionary.

"As a member and chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission, he brought passion and focus to meeting many of the challenges facing Texas today and for generations to come," he said.

Williamson served in the Legislature from 1985-98, and was on key committees such as the House/Senate Budget Conference Committee, Appropriations (vice chairman) and Ways and Means.

He received a bachelor's from the University of Texas at Austin in 1974 and went into the natural gas production business.

Survivors include his wife, Mary Ann; three daughters; and two grandchildren.

Services were pending.