Bill Clements
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William Perry "Bill" Clements, Jr. is the first Republican to have served as governor of the U.S. state of Texas since Reconstruction. He served two nonconsecutive terms from 1979-1983 and 1987-1991.
He was born in Dallas, Texas, on April 17,1917). He worked as an oil driller for many years, eventually founding SEDCO, the world's largest offshore drilling company. Clements entered politics as the Deputy United States Secretary of Defense under Presidents Nixon and Ford, in the latter administration under Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld (1975-77; 2001 - ).
In 1979, Clements succeeded Democrat Dolph Briscoe to become governor of Texas. To win the governorship, he first defeated State Representative Ray Hutchison in the Republican primary by a lopsided vote of 115,345 to 38,268. Hutchison, a prominent Dallas attorney, is the husband of State Treasurer (1991-1993) and U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, who has served since 1993. Clements won the November 1978 general election by narrowly defeating Democratic former Supreme Court Chief Justice John L. Hill. Clements polled 1,183,828 votes (49.96 percent to Hill's 1,166,919 ballots (49.24 percent). The La Raza nominee, Mario C. Compean, and two other minor candidates shared 18,942 ballots. Clements' margin over Hill was 16,909. Therefore, Clements fell just under a simple majority, making him another "minority governor." The more liberal Hill, who had also once been the appointed secretary of state, had denied renomination in the primary to Governor Dolph Briscoe of Uvalde.
Clements hence became the first Republican to be elected governor of Texas since Reconstruction. In winning, Clements ran 350,158 ballots behind the defeated 1972 GOP nominee, Henry Grover, because turnout was much lower in the 1978 off-year election than during a presidential election. The 1972 Texas governor's race was the last to coincide with a presidential election because when the terms went to four years, the gubernatorial elections were also set to coincide with the off years between presidential elections.
Clements ran for reelection in 1982, but he was defeated by Democratic Attorney General Mark White by more than 200,000 votes because of sagging economic numbers and weak support from minority voters, who customarily choose Democratic candidates. White received 1,697,870 (53.2 percent) to Clements' 1,465,537 (45.9 percent).
In between his two terms as governor, Clements was chairman of the board of governors of Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He ran again in 1986, winning a contested GOP primary against Congressman Tom Loeffler of New Braunfels and former Democratic Congressman Kent Hance of Lubbock. In the fall, Clements unseated Governor White, who was hurt by the unpopularity of the "no pass/no play" policy involving high school athletes. In gaining his second term, Clements polled 1,813,779 ballots (52.7 percent) to White's 1,584,512 (46.1 percent). Clements had turned the tables on White in a near mathematical reversal of the 1982 results. Clements finished his term, opted not to run for a third term as governor, and was succeeded by Democrat Ann Richards in 1991. (Richards narrowly defeated Republican standard bearer Clayton Wheat Williams, Jr., of Midland, who at the start of the campaign had a commanding lead.)
Clements' second term was marred by his admission, shortly after his election, that the SMU board had been aware and approved of continuing payments to athletes in violation of NCAA rules.
During his tenure, Clements worked to reduce crime, improve education and the state's economy and worked to improve local relations with Mexico, especially on issues important to their mutual borders, like immigration and the drug war. While Clements was governor, Charlie Brooks, Jr., was the first inmate ever to be executed by lethal injection (December 1982). Clements faced heavily Democratic state legislatures during his tenure. In 1979, the legislature overrode one of his vetoes, the last time that Texas lawmakers have completed an override.
Since leaving the governorship, Clements has lent considerable personal effort to support a variety of Republican candidates seeking office in Texas. He resides in Dallas with his second wife, Rita Crocker Clements, who was first lady of Texas during both of his administrations. She was subsequently appointed to the University of Texas Regents by Governor George W. Bush. Clements is known for his ascerbic, energetic personality, which Democrats abhorred but Republicans tended to cheer. In 2006, Clements was raising funds for prospective 2008 presidential candidate, Senator John McCain of Arizona.
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