White, Mark

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Date
2016-07-29
Main contributors
Center for Public History, University of Houston; University of Houston Libraries, University of Houston
Summary
In this interview, Nancy Beck Young talks with former Texas Governor Mark White on a variety of topics related to his career, as well as state and national politics. He discusses the political shift that occurred in Texas which was once dominated by the Democratic Party. Governor White talks about his tenure as the attorney general of Texas during the first and second governorships of Republican Bill Clements. He discusses how difficult it was to work with Clements and illustrates the bullying tactics Clements and other Republicans used in order to get many elected officials statewide to switch from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party. Mark White also talks about the highs and lows of his term as Governor of Texas, including energy policy, compromise, intervention from the federal government, unemployment, education, the influence of oil prices on the Texas economy, the criminal justice system, and many others. He examines two prolific United States Supreme Court cases, Edgewood v. Kirby and Ruiz v. Estelle, and the influences they have had on Texas politics. Governor White also honors the three Texas politicians that have become President of the United States (Lyndon Johnson, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush) by offering his personal take on each of them as politicians and as human beings. The interview concludes with the former governor discussing the changing demographics in the state and potential Democratic Party strategies for responding to this change.
Genre
interviews
Subjects
Politics and government; White, Mark
Location
Houston, Texas
Collection
Oral Histories from the Houston History Project
Unit
University of Houston Libraries Special Collections
Language
English
Rights Statement
In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
Notes

Collection

University of Houston Libraries Special Collections
Houston History Archives
Oral Histories from the Houston History Project
Other Identifier
Preservation Location: ark:/84475/pm29010q19s
Resources
Finding Aid
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This item is accessible by: the public.