HILLSBORO — State Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, participated in a cermonial swearing-in Thursday evening before a crowd of roughly 500 at an auditorium on Hill College’s campus.

The event was not official, as Birdwell was sworn in a month earlier, two days after winning a special election over Waco Republican David Sibley.

Birdwell shared the stage with his childhood pastor, his wife and a number of state and local officials, including Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, the presiding officer in the Texas Senate, who swore him in.

Birdwell, a retired Army officer, likened his service in the military to his approach to lawmaking.

“You’re not placing me in a position of authority over you. You are placing me in a position of authority subordinate to you,” he said.

The special election divided the Senate district along geographical lines, with Birdwell winning by huge margins in Hood and Johnson counties while Sibley won convincingly in McLennan County.

People from all 10 counties in the district were in attendance at the event.

Waco Mayor Jim Bush was in the audience, and state Rep. Charles “Doc” Anderson sat behind Birdwell on stage.

Though there were a few notable absences, Birdwell’s event drew a majority of the Republican county party chairs from the district.

The chairs will pick their party’s nominee to run in November to serve in the 2011 legislative session.

McLennan County GOP chair Joe Hinton was not among a group of chairs sitting in the front of the auditorium who Birdwell thanked by name during his speech.

mshapiro@wacotrib.com

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