Karen Bartlett

Republican

Texas 24 District

Biography:

Name: Karen Anne Bartlett
Place of Birth: Hazard, Kentucky
Place of Residence: Fort Worth, Texas
Date of Birth: March 26, 1948

Karen Anne Bartlett was born in Hazard, Kentucky in March 1948. She went to Southern Methodist University for her undergraduate degree. She completed a master's degree in public policy from the University of Chicago in 1974 and returned to Texas to work for the Budget division of the Denton County government. She moved to Fort Worth in 1978 and took a job as Assistant County Administrator for the city.

In 1980, she ran for the Texas State Senate and lost. In 1981, she won a seat on the Forth Worth City Council. In 1984, she was elected Mayor of Forth Worth. At the request of her husband Danny, she opted out of running for a second term in 1988 to spend more time with their two young children and to pursue private-sector opportunities, including brief stints with the Texas Chamber of Commerce and the Christain Coalition.

In 1990, Democratic Rep. Martin Frost surprised everyone and retired. After turning back a more conservative challenger in the Republican primary, Bartlett won the House seat. She lives in Forth Worth with her husband Danny, her son Mike and daughter Mackenzie.