Mark White (Texas politician)

White served as the state's assistant attorney general from 1966 to 1969. He later returned to Houston to begin private practice. By 1972, he was working for the Joe Reynolds firm in Houston. White was interested in serving state government again and upon the election of Dolph Briscoe to the Governor's Mansion.

White declined to seek a second term as state attorney general, but chose to seek the governorship in 1982 against fellow Democrat Bob Armstrong, who was the outgoing state Land Commissioner, who vacated the General Land Office following twelve years, and then the incumbent Bill Clements, Texas' first Republican governor since Reconstruction.[11] In November 1982, he defeated Clements over concerns about the governor's poor economic numbers and lack of support from minority groups.[11] White received 1,697,870 votes (53.2 percent) to Clements' 1,465,537 (45.9 percent) in a year where Texas Democrats swept all the statewide offices up for grabs; led by U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen (who won a third six-year term to the Senate) and the legendary Lieutenant Governor of Texas William P. Hobby Jr..[12]

As the state's 43rd chief executive from January 18, 1983, to January 20, 1987, White worked to "preserve and enhance... resources so that Texas would not fall back, but go forward as a state of the future".[4] His main concerns were the economy and education.

By focusing on Texas' resources, White was able to work on many problems facing the state in the early 1980s.

The Texas economy during the early and mid-1980s was volatile. The price of oil declined and pushed Texas into a recession. This led Governor White to "lay the groundwork for a more diversified economy--one less reliant upon the...swings of a single industry".[9]

Governor White in Austin, 1983

White served as governor during Texas' sesquicentennial in 1986 and oversaw a number of the celebrations concerning that anniversary.[13]

Among White's appointments was Elma Salinas Ender as the first Hispanic woman to serve as judge of a district court in Texas.[2] From 1983 until her retirement in 2012, Ender was judge of the 341st Judicial District, based in Laredo.[14] White also appointed Myra McDaniel as the first African American to serve as General Counsel to the Governor in 1983 and later appointed her as Texas Secretary of State in 1984.

When he took office, Texas was ranked as one of the lowest performing states for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) also in teachers' salaries.[15] After taking office, White immediately appointed a committee on Public Education, called a special session of the legislature in 1984, and worked with lawmakers to pass the Educational Opportunity Act (EOA).[16]

By focusing on education, White was able to make Texas a "state of the future" with regard to its most important resource, its children.[15] Through his diligent work as Governor of Texas, many of the problems of the present and future were alleviated.[11]

Among White's advisors as governor were the Dallas industrialist H. Ross Perot and former State Senator Max Sherman, who left a brief stint in the administration to become dean of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs in Austin.[13]

In 1983 Gov. White reportedly used the phrase "cold, barren place"[17] about the largest American state. The words "we’ll split Alaska in two and make Texas the third largest state" predate this by over a decade.[18] In 1994 The Economist printed about "Texas representatives who were trying to block Alaska's statehood" and a similar threat: "we'll divide Alaska."[19]

In the 1986 gubernatorial election, White lost to former Republican Governor Clements, 52.7% to 46.0%.[3] Some believe that the wildly unpopular "no-pass, no-play" policies of the White administration, which prohibited any high school student athletes from participating in varsity sports if they were failing any single element of their overall class load, sealed the doom of a second term.[15] Clements polled 1,813,779 votes (52.7%) to White's 1,584,515 votes (46.1%) in the November 1986 general election and left office on January 20, 1987.[3]

Following his departure from office, White worked for the law firm Keck, Mahin & Cate. White attempted to run for governor again in 1990, but he was defeated in the Democratic primary by Ann Richards, who then defeated Jim Mattox in a runoff election and the Republican Clayton W. Williams, Jr., in the general election.[20] During the 1990 campaign, a campaign commercial depicted White "walking down a hallway displaying larger-than-life photos of the men put to death during his administration in 1983-1986. 'Only a governor can make executions happen,' White declared as ominous music played in the background. 'I did, and I will.'"[21]

White practiced law and was chairman of the board of the Houston Independent School District Foundation, a non-profit organization which supports the public schools. White endorsed Houston City Council candidate Jolanda Jones in the 2003 and 2007 city elections. The latter endorsement helped lead to Jones winning an at-large seat on the council. He also endorsed then-United States Senator Barack Obama (D-Illinois) in the Texas primaries for the 2008 Democratic Presidential nomination, which Obama went on to win the presidency.

In 2011, White publicly opposed Texas A&M's potential departure from the Big 12 conference to join the Southeastern Conference (SEC).[22]