Nick Lampson (born February 14, 1945) is an American politician from the state of Texas. He was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 2nd District from 1997 to 2005 and is currently the 2006 Democratic candidate for the neighboring 22nd District, represented since 1985 by former Republican majority leader Tom DeLay. A lifelong resident of the oil-producing city of Beaumont, Texas and second-generation Italian-American, Lampson earned his Bachelors Degree in Biology and Masters Degree in Education from Lamar University. In 1976, he was elected property tax assessor for Jefferson County, of which Beaumont is the county seat. He served in that post for 18 years, during which he modernized the office and improved collection rates.
