The Texas Senate will be celebrating Former Members Day on Thursday, April 4. This event is an opportunity to recognize those who have served in the Texas Senate.

This time-honored tradition will include a dinner on April 3, and a reception the following morning. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and current members of the Texas Senate will recognize former members on the Senate floor on April 4.

The Texas House of Representatives will be celebrating Speaker's Reunion Day on Friday, April 5. This time-honored tradition — which dates back to 1876 — was originally known as Speaker's Day.

In 1995, HB 1527, 74th Legislature, became law, officially designating a day to honor all former members of the Texas House of Representatives; it also changed the name to Speaker's Reunion Day. Now, this biennial event continues to be an opportunity for all current and former members to congregate and celebrate their service to the State of Texas.

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Below you'll find a preview of the 86th Texas Legislature. New and returning members will be sworn in on January 8, 2019, the opening day of the regular session.

 

Membership statistics for previous sessions are available on the library's Member statistics page.

 

Summary of the 86th Legislature

Party	House	Senate	Overall
Democrat	66	12	78
Republican	83	19	102
Total	149	31	180

 

Gender	House	Senate	Overall
Women	34	9	43
Men	115	22	137
Total	149	31	180

 

Members not returning to the 86th Texas Legislature

 

Not Returning		Replacement
	Sen. Konni Burton (R)		Beverly Powell (D)
	Sen. Craig Estes (R)		Pat Fallon (R)
	Sen. Sylvia Garcia (D)		Carol Alvarado (D)
	Sen. Don Huffines (R)		Nathan Johnson (D)
	Sen. Van Taylor (R)		Angela Paxton (R)
	Sen. Carlos Uresti (D)		Pete Flores (R)
	Rep. Rodney Anderson (R)		Thresa "Terry" Meza (D)
	Rep. Roberto Alonzo (D)		Jessica González (D)
	Rep. Carol Alvarado (D)		Christina Morales (D)
	Rep. Diana Arévalo (D)		Trey Martinez Fischer (D)
	Rep. Cindy Burkett (R)		Rhetta Andrews Bowers (D)
	Rep. Byron Cook (R)		Cody Harris (R)
	Rep. Scott Cosper (R)		Brad Buckley (R)
	Rep. Tony Dale (R)		John H Bucy III (D)
	Rep. Dawnna Dukes (D)		Sheryl Cole (D)
	Rep. Gary Elkins (R)		Jon E. Rosenthal (D)
	Rep. Wayne Faircloth (R)		Mayes Middleton (R)
	Rep. Pat Fallon (R)		Jared Patterson (R)
	Rep. Helen Giddings (D)		Carl Sherman (D)
	Rep. Larry Gonzales (R)		James Talarico (D)
	Rep. Lance Gooden (R)		Keith Bell (R)
	Rep. Jason Isaac (R)		Erin Zwiener (D)
	Rep. Mark Keough (R)		Steve Toth (R)
	Rep. Linda Koop (R)		Ana-Maria Ramos (D)
	Rep. Jodie Laubenberg (R)		Candy Noble (R)
	Rep. René Oliveira (D)		Alex Dominguez (D)
	Rep. Larry Phillips (R)		Reggie Smith (R)
	Rep. Joe Pickett (D)		Art Fierro (D)
	Rep. Matt Rinaldi (R)		Julie Johnson (D)
	Rep. Justin Rodriguez (D)		Ray Lopez (D)
	Rep. Kevin Roberts (R)		E. Sam Harless (R)
	Rep. Mike Schofield (R)		Gina Calanni (D)
	Rep. Leighton Schubert (R)		Ben Leman (R)
	Rep. Ron Simmons (R)		Michelle Beckley (D)
	Rep. Joe Straus (R)		Steve Allison (R)
	Rep. Tomas Uresti (D)		Leo Pacheco (D)
	Rep. Jason Villalba (R)		John Turner (D)
	Rep. Paul Workman (R)		Vikki Goodwin (D)

 

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Locating photos of Texas legislators from the pre-Civil War period is no easy task. The composites that currently decorate the Capitol's ground floor halls were not yet a tradition, and photography was a relatively new technology.

 

That rarity means the Legislative Reference Library was especially pleased to learn about The Texas Album of the Eighth Legislature. The album is an early attempt to document all of the state's officials, created by a traveling photographer, William DeRyee and his business partner, R.E. Moore. DeRyee took individual albumen portraits of the Eighth Legislature (1860), along with Governors Hardin R. Runnels and Sam Houston, Lieutenant Governor Edward Clark, and Speaker Marion DeKalb Taylor. A short biography and the counties the member represented accompany many of the portraits. Most of the biographies are the usual recitations of the member's family and work, but Rep. George McKnight's stands out—his bio page includes an original poem, "The Wanderer," musing on the loss of his parents and siblings.

 

Original copies of the album are held by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC), the Bancroft Library at University of California-Berkeley, and the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History. Looking at the different copies, you can see evidence of their prior owners' use. In the TSLAC edition, someone scribbled over the faces of some of the officials. They also wrote little notes in the margins, like—on Sam Houston's photo page—"Old Uncle Sam father of Texas — Sam 72 years old."

 

Many of the photos in the Bancroft copy have faded, and someone attempted to recreate some of the disappearing eyes, mouths, and other features—not to good effect. (Trying to pencil in eyes and noses on a photo never works well.) In some instances where the photo was missing all together, a previous owner attempted penciled-in portraits. Let us say that these portraits are more cartoonish than realistic. See page 237's cartoon of Rep. L.B. Camp—who has a perfectly respectable portrait in TSLAC's copy—as one example, and scroll to the end of our digital album to check out more caricatures/doodles. (Some of the drawings at the end of the album appear to be women; however, there were no biographies to go with them.) The photos and the bios in Bancroft's album are also jumbled up: Sam Houston's photo is almost 350 pages after his biography.

 

In an effort to pull the best of the originals together, the LRL has compiled a digital album and integrated photos and information from it into our Texas Legislators: Past & Present database, where you can view information about legislators in Texas from 1846 through the present.

 

Interesting historical side note: Following the 1860 publication of The Texas Album of the Eighth Legislature, photographer William DeRyee continued his photography business a little longer, but the Confederacy saw another use for his chemistry background. He was appointed state chemist and put in charge of the Texas Percussion Cap Manufactory. He also worked with the Confederate Nitre and Mining Bureau. He made various innovations and developments in explosives, but the Confederacy lacked well-trained chemists to assist him with his work. Following the Civil War, he opened a drugstore in Corpus Christi and developed a treatment of chlorine water with creosote as an antiseptic that helped alleviate a yellow fever epidemic. His son, Charles DeRyee, is credited with first documenting the presence of the boll weevil in Texas.

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"Failure to have the views of the minority represented is failure to have a democracy.  The minority side of the house is seldom comfortable. You can become unpopular by just jogging people's conscience. If you keep telling them they know what is right, but aren't doing it, then you get to be a thorn under their saddle." – Babe Schwartz  

 

Sen. Babe Schwartz fought for what mattered to him throughout his career, and what a career it has been! You can learn more about Sen. Schwartz’s life and contributions in our exhibit, “A Texas Treasure: A.R. 'Babe' Schwartz.”

 

Born in 1926 to Russian immigrant parents, Aaron Robert “Babe” Schwartz grew up as a self-described “beach bum” on Galveston Island. After graduating from Ball High School, he proudly served in the U.S. Navy from 1944–1946, and then in the U.S. Air Force Reserve from 1948–1953. Schwartz graduated from Texas A&M in 1948 and earned his law degree at the University of Texas in 1951. Later that year, he married wife Marilyn; they went on to have four sons and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

 

While in law school, Schwartz worked for the chief clerk's office in the Texas House of Representatives and in the Texas Legislative Council. He returned to his hometown to serve as a prosecutor in the Galveston County attorney’s office for a few years, but he was eager to run for office. Schwartz served as a representative from 1955–1959, and then as a senator from 1960–1981.

 

"I always felt it necessary to be a little better educated, a little better prepared, a little better briefed than my opposition." – Babe Schwartz

 

A thread that runs throughout Sen. Schwartz’s life is his affinity for the Texas coast. One of his first jobs—at age 11—was on the beach, renting beach chairs, umbrellas, and other shoreline gear. While serving in the legislature, he was instrumental in the creation of the 1959 Open Beaches Act and the passage of the Coastal Public Lands Management Act of 1973. He chaired multiple committees, many relating to beaches and the coast. After his terms in the legislature, Schwartz went on to serve as a lobbyist, often for environmental causes, and he taught law school courses including Ocean and Coastal Law. In honor of these contributions, "Babe's Beach," a stretch of shoreline west of 61st Street in Galveston, was dedicated in May 2016.

 

As his quotations above suggest, Sen. Schwartz also made quite a name for himself as a fighter who was willing and prepared to go nose-to-nose in the chambers. He participated in at least seven filibusters. Lt. Governor Bill Hobby even gave Schwartz a pair of boxing gloves after one of his debates.

 

"There are few people in recent Texas politics who have had as much impact as Babe has. He has provided a rallying post on bill after bill. He has been the real conscience of the Senate on any number of bad appointments over the years. He's experienced and perceptive and he can frequently catch a bad bill no one else sees. He has no reluctance to stand up and take on any issue that he perceives to be adverse to the public interest. His departure leaves a great void that will be difficult to fill." – U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, who served in the 63rd, 64th, and 65th Texas Legislatures with Schwartz

 

Visit the LRL to see some of Sen. Schwartz’s memorabilia and to learn more about his life and career.

 

Sen. Schwartz passed away on August 10, 2018, at age 92. We will miss you, Babe!

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	Rep. Roberto Alonzo	Defeated in Democratic primary election, 3/6/2018
	Rep. Diana Arévalo	Defeated in Democratic primary election, 3/6/2018
	Rep. Cindy Burkett	Defeated in Republican primary election for Texas Senate, 3/6/2018
	Rep. Byron Cook	Retiring
	Rep. Scott Cosper	Defeated in Republican primary runoff election, 5/22/2018
	Rep. Dawnna Dukes	Defeated in Democratic primary election, 3/6/2018
	Sen. Craig Estes	Defeated in Republican primary election, 3/6/2018
	Rep. Wayne Faircloth	Defeated in Republican primary election, 3/6/2018
	Rep. Pat Fallon	Won Republican primary for Texas Senate, 3/6/2018
	Rep. Helen Giddings	Retiring
	Rep. Larry Gonzales	Resigned effective 6/7/2018
	Rep. Lance Gooden	Won Republican primary runoff for U.S. House of Representatives, 5/22/2018
	Rep. Jason Isaac	Defeated in Republican primary election for U.S. House of Representatives, 3/6/2018
	Rep. Mark Keough	Won Republican primary election for Montgomery County judge, 3/6/2018
	Rep. Jodie Laubenberg	Retiring
	Rep. René Oliveira	Defeated in Democratic primary runoff election, 5/22/2018
	Rep. Larry Phillips	Resigned effective 4/30/2018
	Rep. Kevin Roberts	Defeated in Republican primary runoff election for U.S. House of Representatives, 5/22/2018
	Rep. Leighton Schubert	Resigned effective 2/4/2018
	Rep. Joe Straus	Retiring
	Sen. Van Taylor	Won Republican primary election for U.S. House of Representatives, 3/6/2018
	Rep. Tomas Uresti	Defeated in Democratic primary election, 3/6/2018
	Rep. Jason Villalba	Defeated in Republican primary election, 3/6/2018

 

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	Rep. Cindy Burkett	Running for Texas Senate
	Rep. Byron Cook	Retiring
	Rep. Pat Fallon	Running for Texas Senate
	Rep. Helen Giddings	Retiring
	Rep. Larry Gonzales	Retiring
	Rep. Lance Gooden	Running for U.S. Congress
	Rep. Jason Isaac	Running for U.S. Congress
	Rep. Mark Keough	Running for Montgomery County judge
	Rep. Jodie Laubenberg	Retiring
	Rep. Larry Phillips	Retiring
	Rep. Kevin Roberts	Running for U.S. Congress
	Rep. Leighton Schubert	Resigned effective 2/4/2018
	Rep. Joe Straus	Retiring
	Sen. Van Taylor	Running for U.S. Congress

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