Gary Halter is a Professor of Political Science at Texas A&M University in College Station. He is a native of Amarillo and Wichita Falls, Texas and his PhD is from the University of Maryland. He served as the Mayor of College Station, Texas for six years and as a council member for five years. He has worked as a consultant to many city councils in Texas and in other states on goal setting and policy making. With Harvey Tucker, is a co-author of theTexas Legislative Almanac.