Posted on 05/29/2011 3:09:05 PM PDT by Borges
Former Texas Gov. William "Bill" Clements Jr., who broke the Democratic Party's century-long hold on the Governor's Mansion with his election 33 years ago, died Sunday. He was 94, had suffered a stroke and had been ill for some time.
A brusque and colorful Dallas oilman, Clements shocked the political establishment by beating Democrat John Hill Jr. in the 1978 gubernatorial election. Hill, then the attorney general, had unseated Gov. Dolph Briscoe in the Democratic primary, and Capitol power players — as overwhelmingly Democratic then as they are Republican now — assumed the race was over.
Clements, spending freely from his own bank account, overtook Hill and became the first Republican elected governor since Reconstruction. While he hadn't been elected to office before, he had been involved in GOP politics, and he served as Deputy Secretary of Defense, a civilian post, from 1971-77, in the Nixon and Ford administrations.
He lost a reelection bid to Mark White in a Democratic sweep in 1982, and then won the office back from White in 1986. His second term was marred by revelations of a football scandal at Southern Methodist University; Clements admitted that he and others on the university's board of governors had approved a plan to continue to pay football players who'd been promised pay by boosters. The rationale was that they were honoring a deal; the NCAA, in response, shut down SMU's football program with an administrative "death penalty."
Clements was born in 1917 in Dallas, studied engineering at SMU, served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in World War II and then went into the oil business. The company he and others began in the late 1940s became SEDCO, at one time the biggest oil drilling contractor in the world.
As governor, he was known for his plaid sports jackets, an affinity for hamburgers and a knack for ditching his security detail. He sparked what became the tort reform movement in Texas government, pushing lawmakers into several special sessions in fights over workers' compensation insurance and other issues that pitted businesses against trial lawyers. He appointed Republicans to a Texas Supreme Court that was dominated by Democrats. And he helped plant the political seeds that grew into the current Republican domination of Texas politics, both in employing people who rose into positions of power and influence later and in building the Republican infrastructure — politics, finance and policy — that allowed the party to overtake the Democrats in state government in the 1990s.
He continued his involvement in politics after he left office and gave away some of his fortune, notably contributing $100 million to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
Clements is survived by his wife, Rita, and by a daughter. His son, Gill Clements, was murdered last year by a neighbor in East Texas.
Remembrances and official statements are starting to come in.
From Gov. Rick Perry:
Anita and I are deeply saddened today as our state and nation have lost a true pioneer, and a larger-than-life entrepreneur, public servant and, most of all, a Texan. Gov. Clements was a mentor and someone I admired and respected greatly. As the father of the modern day Texas Republican Party, Gov. Clements is responsible for the growth, success and election of Texas Republicans in every corner of our state. Today, Texans and Americans have lost a leader whose leadership, service and patriotism were unparalleled. Anita and I send our deepest sympathy to Rita Crocker Clements and the Clements family during this difficult time.
Today, I have ordered flags to be lowered to half-staff in honor of the life and service of former Texas Governor William P. Clements, Jr.
"He was an exceptional individual," said state Sen. Chris Harris, R-Arlington. "He had a keen insight into what was best for Texas at the time. He was just truly an exceptional individual. I think it's very sad that he's gone, but he contributed so much to the state."
Harris hinted at Clements' personality when asked whether he has any particular memories that stand out. "The ones that stand out I'm not going to tell you about."
Former House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, said he had fond memories of Clements and talked to him every day during the legislative session while Clements was in office. "He knew what needed to be done and how to get it done," Craddick said. "I think he was a really great governor."
He recalled Clements as a "crusty guy."
"I went to a couple of events in Dallas, and people would come in in suits and ties. He'd come in off the farm in old dirty boots and khakis. He was kind of a one-of-a-kind."
Houston Democrat John Whitmire served under Clements in both the House and the Senate. "You always hate to lose a leader," he said. "He served the state a long time.
"I have good memories... He very much ran the state like you would expect a CEO to do," Whitmire said. "He ran it like it was a business. A no-nonsense guy. Didn't handle fools very well. I always admired him, but he was certainly in a different era than we are."
House Speaker Joe Straus issued a statement:
"Julie and I are saddened by the passing of former Texas Governor Bill Clements, with whom my family enjoyed a decades-long friendship," Speaker Straus said. "We extend our deepest sympathies and heartfelt prayers to Rita and the entire Clements family."
Former Texas Supreme Court Justice Tom Phillips was appointed to a district judgeship in Houston and then to the top civil judicial post in the state by Clements. He didn't meet the governor until the announcement he was joining the Supreme Court, and said he'd been avoiding him after hearing that Clements didn't want his judges involved in party politics.
"There's a famous story of a judge he had appointed who went to a rally to thank him," Phillips said. Clements acknowledged the thank you and then the judge some advice that got passed around: "I appointed you to work, too, not to eat a tamale on a Wednesday afternoon."
Because he was a Republican governor in a Democratic state government, Clements had to pick his shots. Phillips said his biggest influence might have come though his appointments. At a Harris County Republican precinct meeting, Phillips said, someone raised their hand and asked the governor if he would use his appointments to build the party. He didn't get the answer he wanted, Phillips said. "No, if I'm elected, I'm going to appoint the best people to the job," Clements replied. "If you want a political hack, there are other candidates."
"You knew where he stood, whether he was for you or he was against you, and that was refreshing," Phillips said.
Sad to hear.
I was not a resident during his term, but he sounded like a great Gov.
He was a cheerful and friendly man. I had a “Gee, I Miss Bill Clements!” bumper sticker, back in the day.
Good man. A real man and a real American. RIP!
One of the giants in Texas. RIP.
God Bless Texas and God Bless Bill Clements and those close to him.
RIP Governor....you did good!
The first Republican to have served as governor of the U.S. state of Texas since Reconstruction when he became the 42nd and 44th Governor of Texas, serving from 1979 to 1983 and 1987 to 1991. Clements's eight years in office were the most served by any governor prior to current governor Rick Perry.
Without Clements, we might have been as whacky-lib as New England.
God speed, governor.
I remember when Texas was a one-party state and that party was the Democrats. Back then, the political intrigue was between “conservative” Democrats and “liberal” Democrats. Many of the “conservative” ones switched parties after John Tower was elected senator and Bill Clements was elected governor.
I remember Clements telling the media after the Pemex oil spill that all we needed was a hurricane to come by and clean up the Gulf. The media went crazy over that one.
I also remember Clements was at the heart of the SMU play-fpr-pay football scandal that resulted in the “death penalty” for that school’s athletic programs.
Between Reagan in the White House and Clements as governor, Texas politics took a surprising spin from the expected.
Rest in Peace, Governor. Governor Clements didn’t mind bucking the feds, remember when they tried to muck ruck around our oil and gas pipelines with regulations and tariffs...he just turned the gas spigot off to the north for a couple of weeks. I still get a chuckle out of that.
I thought George W. Bush served eight years (two terms), prior to Rick Perry.
Bush served from 1995-2000. He resigned to assume the presidency midway through his 2nd term.
RIP.
Too bad he didn’t run for a third term and spare Texas Ann Richards.
Well, he was already 73 by 1990 and probably didn’t want to spend his golden years dealing with more crapola in Austin. IIRC, there wasn’t an overwhelming worry with his retirement that we’d lose the Governorship. Clayton Williams (who won the primary in a 60% landslide to 15% for second-place finisher Kent Hance, the former Dem Congressman who beat George Bush in 1978) would’ve won by a decent margin were it not for his “rape” gaffe. Of course, had Williams won, George Bush probably might not have ended up either as Governor or President... but Jeb might’ve.
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