William J. “Bill” Blythe, Jr. is a Broker/Associate with Martha Turner Properties in Houston, Texas. He provides forty years of real estate expertise to his many clients, having been involved in commercial and residential sales, building, and developing within the Houston metropolitan area. His business and political experience endows him with a broad understanding of the purchase and selling of real property in Texas, and of the Texas real estate industry itself.

Mr. Blythe was a member of the Texas House of Representatives for twelve years from 1971 to 1983. He was the author of the legislation creating the Texas State Pension Review Board, which he served on from 1979 to 1991. He also authored legislation enacting the Texas Crime Victims Act and the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District. In addition he co-authored substantial finance revisions to the Texas Mass Transit Authority Act for the Houston and San Antonio metropolitan areas.

Mr. Blythe served as Executive Director of the Texas Association of Public Employee Retirement Systems (TEXPERS) for over fourteen years. A founding member of TEXPERS, he previously served on the TEXPERS Board of Directors and also as First Vice President. Mr. Blythe is a Director of the Texas Hedge Fund Association, which was launched in the Spring of 2002. He is the Past President of the Scholarship, Research & Education Foundation for Public Employees and a founding member of the National Society of Pension Professionals.

A native of San Antonio, Mr. Blythe attended the University of Texas, earning a B.A. Degree in General Business. He also attended the University of Virginia and the London School of Economics and Political Science. He served for eight years in the United States Army on both active and reserve duty. He was a member of the Texas State Guard retiring at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Mr. Blythe is an active volunteer in the Houston community, and is involved in numerous City of Houston and Harris County civic and historic organizations. He is a recipient of the Houston Junior Chamber of Commerce’s Charles A. Perlitz, Jr. Memorial Award for “Leadership Training through Community Development.”

Mr. Blythe is married and the father of two daughters and a stepdaughter. He attends St. John the Divine Episcopal Church where he has been a member of the Associate Vestry. His leisure hours are devoted to his family and his tennis game.