Austen Furse is a Houston businessman and former Presidential advisor who has worked his whole life to advance conservative Republican causes and traditional Texas values.

As a partner in a family business with roots in early Texas ranching, he has long been involved in the heritage of the land -- farming & ranching -- that is the heart of the Texas tradition. He grew up in the rural coast of Texas, Matagorda County, where he attended public schools.

Before graduating from college, Furse took time off to work for a Republican Presidential candidate, George H. W. Bush. Later, Furse would return to work for Bush in the position of Policy Advisor to then-Vice President’s 1988 campaign, where he helped with debate preparation, speechwriting, and was in charge of the drafting of the Bush energy policy among other issues.

After serving in the Presidential Transition, President Bush appointed Furse as White House Director of Policy Planning, a post charged with long-range planning of a host of issues, mainly involving domestic policy. In a later history of the 41st Presidency, Furse was referred to as one of “the cleverest minds” in the Bush White House. He served in this position until the end of the Bush Presidency when he returned to Texas to pursue business, Republican causes, and raise with his wife Anne, their three children.

Since then Furse has founded Texans For Tax Limits, which instituted the no-new-tax pledge among Texas legislators. The New York Times Magazine cited him in a cover story as one of the new generation of America’s conservative leadership. He has helped in the drafting of the national GOP Platform. Locally, he led an effort opposing a taxpayer-funded sports stadium. He was a co-founder of Let the People Vote, a grass-roots citizen’s effort that failed to force an election on the Main Street Light Rail line, but succeeded in passing a tax limitation measure for Houstonians, the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.
He has been a delegate to numerous state GOP conventions, and served on various Harris County GOP committees, including Finance, Local Affairs, and as chairman of the Legislative Affairs Committee. Furse has also been a regular adviser on public policy to elected officials and candidates including, at his request, George W. Bush (at the time, a gubernatorial candidate). Furse has been a board member for causes including Texas Right to Life and the Houston Property Rights Association. Furse and his family worship at St. John the Divine Church in Houston.