Ruth McClendon

Ruth Elizabeth Jones McClendon (born October 5, 1943)^[1] is a Democratic African-American politician from the South Side of San Antonio, Texas, who represented District 120 in the Texas House of Representatives from 1996 to 2016.

On January 6, 2016, Jones in a letter to Governor Greg Abbott announced her resignation from the House effective on January 31. A brain cancer patient, Jones in her last legislative session in 2015 used an electric scooter to get around the state capitol.^[2]

Background

McClendon graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Texas Southern University in Houston and earned a Master of Arts from Webster University in Webster Groves in suburban St. Louis, Missouri.^[3]

McClendon is listed in Who's Who in American Politics, Who's Who of American Women, the International Who's Who of Professional and Business Women, and Who's Who in Texas History.^[4]

In May 2016, McClendon's husband, Dennis McClendon (born c. 1942), is seeking reelection to a third term in the District 2 seat as a trustee of the Alamo Community College District.^[5]

Political life

McClendon won a special election for the state House on November 5, 1996; she was sworn into office a week later to succeed Karyne J. Conley, who had resigned on July 8.^[6]

McClendon rarely faced serious opposition. Republicans did not even contest her heavily Democrat seat in 2014, when the party won 98 of the 150 state House seats. In her last legislative race, McClendon defeated a Libertarian Party opponent, Gilberto Villela, 16,892 (82.3 percent) to his 3,637 (17.7 percent).^[7]

Prior to her legislative service, McClendon was a member of the San Antonio City Council and was the Mayor Pro Tempore from June 1993 until August 1996. For two terms, McClendon was the chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Resolutions. She also served as a member of the House Committee on Transportation in 2009. Additionally, she held a coveted seat for four terms on the House Appropriations Committee, which writes the state budget. As of 2014, McClendon had authored, sponsored, co-sponsored, or and passed more than 160 bills, excluding resolutions. She listed her legislative priorities as education, health care for children, the frail, and the elderly, restorative justice programs, and improvements of the state transportation system.^[4]

McClendon cites the late U.S. Representative Barbara Jordan of Texas as her role model. McClendon was reared in the Fifth Ward of Houston, which Jordan represented first in the Texas State Senate and then the national Congress. While McClendon, a juvenile probation officer for seventeen years, said that she has faced few overpowering obstacles in her life, "discrimination has been an ongoing obstacle that we all must fight."^[4]

Choosing her successor

Six of her fellow Democrats sought to succeed the retiring McClendon in the primary election held on March 1, 2016. Three of those candidates moved into District 120 specifically to run for the seat. One of those, Barbara Gervin-Hawkins, is a sister of San Antonio Spurs basketball legend George Gervin. Gerwin-Hawkins is co-founder of Gervin Academy, an educational institution on the south side of San Antonio, but she had been living in the northwestern portion of the city prior to announcing her bid for representative. Civil rights activist Mario Marcel Salas, a former southside member of the San Antonio City Council of half Hispanic and half African-American descent, also returned to the district from the northwestern part of the city to make the race to succeed McClendon.^[8]

Gervin-Hawkins and Salas led the primary field and will contest the May 24 runoff election. Gervin-Hawkins led with 2,677 votes (26.3 percent); Salas followed, 2,363 (23.2 percent). In third place was another educator, Byron Miller, with 1,912 votes (18.8 percent).^[9]

Salas noted that Gervin-Hawkins' charter schools have been "warned" three times by the Texas Education Agency. "We've seen this across the state with some charter schools. They often don't have certified teachers [and hire those] with no real background," Salas said.^[10] Gervin-Hawkins said her teachers have bachelor's degrees and are "highly qualified" in their subject areas. She said the purpose of charter schools is to enhance educational opportunities for children.^[10]

References