Betty Andujar
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Richards Andujar, known as Betty Andujar (November 6, 1912 - June 8, 1997), was the first Republican
woman, a homemaker by stated occupation, to have served in the Texas State Senate. From 1973 to 1983, she represented District 12 in Fort Worth
, the seat of Tarrant County
in North Texas.
in Dauphin County
, Pennsylvania
, where her father was, according to information supplied by her family to the Texas State Cemetery
, the state's chief justice. However, there is no Judge Richards on the List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania; perhaps "Richards" is not a maiden name but a middle name, or her father had another surname. Andujar received a bachelor's degree from the Presbyterian women's institution, Wilson College
in Chambersburg
, Pennsylvania, just north of the Maryland
state line. In 1935, Andujar, who was Anglo
, acquired her Hispanic
name through her marriage to the physician John Jose Andujar (1912-2003). The couple moved to
Fort Worth in 1937, when Dr. Andujar was appointed laboratory director of Harris Hospital there.
and in 1972 was among those receiving the title "Female Newsmaker of the Year".A conservative within the Republican Party, Andujar in 1973 introduced an unsuccessful bill to remove prison terms for conviction of the possession of marijuana, claiming that the narcotic should be treated like that of alcohol
abuse.
Andujar was a delegate to both the 1972
and 1976 Republican National Convention
s in Miami Beach
, and Kansas City
, Missouri
, respectively. In the latter, she was part of the 100-member delegation from Texas, all of whom were committed to the unsuccessful insurgent challenge waged by Governor
Ronald W. Reagan to sitting U.S. President Gerald R. Ford, Jr. Andujar was an early Reagan backer in contrast to U.S. Senator John G. Tower, who led the failed Ford forces in the Lone Star State but was not permitted to be a delegate. The Texas campaign was led by co-chairmen Ernest Angelo
of Midland
, Ray Barnhart
of Pasadena
, and Barbara Staff
of Dallas
.In 1976, Andujar was elected to the Texas Republican national committeewoman, a position which made her a member of the Republican National Convention
through 1982.
In 1977, during the 65th
legislative session, Andujar was among four senators chosen to serve as the President Pro Tempore, the first Republican so honored by the chamber. The designation made her "acting governor" whenever both Governor Dolph Briscoe
and Lieutenant Governor Bill Hobby were out of state.In the 1979 session, Andujar was included among the "Ten Worst Legislators" by Texas Monthly
magazine. It was the only time she made either the "Ten Best" or "Ten Worst" listings.
In 1988, the Andujars established the first permanent chair of pathology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
in Dallas. She also worked to expand the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine into the University of North Texas Health Science Center. In 1996, Andujar became the first layperson to receive the Citation of Merit Award from the Texas Society of Pathologists for her earlier legislation requiring that county coroners be qualified pathologists. She was active in the auxiliaries of the Texas and Tarrant County medical associations. She served on the boards of the Medical College of Pennsylvania and the Texas Rape Prevention and Control Project. She was also active in the Association for the Prevention of Blindness and the American Cancer Society
. In the Senate, she sponsored bills to allow physicians in Texas to remove corneas and to assist women in the collection of child support.
Andujar was also the first Republican to represent Tarrant County in the legislature. In 1982, the most recent year in which Texas Democrats
swept all statewide offices, Andujar was defeated for reelection to the Senate by Hugh Q. Parmer
, a former mayor of Fort Worth, who held the seat until 1991. Parmer subsequently in 1990 lost the U.S. Senate election to incumbent Republican Phil Gramm
. The Senate seat, which now includes part of Denton County
as well as continued portions of Tarrant, is held by the Republican Jane Nelson
.
The Andujars are interred at the Texas State Cemetery
in Austin
.
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
woman, a homemaker by stated occupation, to have served in the Texas State Senate. From 1973 to 1983, she represented District 12 in Fort Worth
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
, the seat of Tarrant County
Tarrant County, Texas
Tarrant County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, it had a population of 1,809,034. Its county seat is Fort Worth. Tarrant County is the sixteenth most populous county in the United States and the third most populous in Texas. The county is named in honor...
in North Texas.
Early years
Andujar was born in the state capital of HarrisburgHarrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
in Dauphin County
Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
Dauphin County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and is one of the three counties comprising the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010 census, the population was 268,100. The county includes the city of Harrisburg, which has served as the state capital...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, where her father was, according to information supplied by her family to the Texas State Cemetery
Texas State Cemetery
The Texas State Cemetery is a cemetery located on about just east of downtown Austin, the capital of Texas. Originally the burial place of Edward Burleson, Texas Revolutionary general and Vice-President of the Republic of Texas, it was expanded into a Confederate cemetery during the Civil War...
, the state's chief justice. However, there is no Judge Richards on the List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania; perhaps "Richards" is not a maiden name but a middle name, or her father had another surname. Andujar received a bachelor's degree from the Presbyterian women's institution, Wilson College
Wilson College (Pennsylvania)
Wilson College, founded 1869, is a private, Presbyterian-related, liberal arts women's college located on a campus in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by two Presbyterian ministers, but named for its first major donor, Sarah Wilson of nearby St. Thomas Township,...
in Chambersburg
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
Chambersburg is a borough in the South Central region of Pennsylvania, United States. It is miles north of Maryland and the Mason-Dixon line and southwest of Harrisburg in the Cumberland Valley, which is part of the Great Appalachian Valley. Chambersburg is the county seat of Franklin County...
, Pennsylvania, just north of the Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
state line. In 1935, Andujar, who was Anglo
Anglo
Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to the Angles, England or the English people, as in the terms Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-American, Anglo-Celtic, Anglo-African and Anglo-Indian. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to people of British Isles descent in The Americas, Australia and...
, acquired her Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
name through her marriage to the physician John Jose Andujar (1912-2003). The couple moved to
Fort Worth in 1937, when Dr. Andujar was appointed laboratory director of Harris Hospital there.
Political career
Andujar was listed in Who's Who in American PoliticsMarquis Who's Who
Marquis Who's Who, a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc., is the American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies...
and in 1972 was among those receiving the title "Female Newsmaker of the Year".A conservative within the Republican Party, Andujar in 1973 introduced an unsuccessful bill to remove prison terms for conviction of the possession of marijuana, claiming that the narcotic should be treated like that of alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
abuse.
Andujar was a delegate to both the 1972
1972 Republican National Convention
The 1972 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States was held from August 21 to August 23, 1972 at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida. It nominated the incumbents Richard M. Nixon of California for President and Spiro T. Agnew of Maryland for Vice...
and 1976 Republican National Convention
1976 Republican National Convention
The 1976 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States met at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri, from August 16 to August 19, 1976. The convention nominated incumbent Gerald Ford for President, but only after narrowly defeating a strong challenge from former California...
s in Miami Beach
Miami Beach, Florida
Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on a barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter which separates the Beach from Miami city proper...
, and Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, respectively. In the latter, she was part of the 100-member delegation from Texas, all of whom were committed to the unsuccessful insurgent challenge waged by Governor
Governor of California
The Governor of California is the chief executive of the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced...
Ronald W. Reagan to sitting U.S. President Gerald R. Ford, Jr. Andujar was an early Reagan backer in contrast to U.S. Senator John G. Tower, who led the failed Ford forces in the Lone Star State but was not permitted to be a delegate. The Texas campaign was led by co-chairmen Ernest Angelo
Ernest Angelo
Ernest Angelo, Jr., known as Ernie Angelo , is a Texas oilman and Republican politician who served from 1972–1980 as mayor of the West Texas city of Midland and was in 1976 the co-manager of the Ronald W...
of Midland
Midland, Texas
Midland is a city in and the county seat of Midland County, Texas, United States, on the Southern Plains of the state's western area. A small portion of the city extends into Martin County. As of 2010, the population of Midland was 111,147. It is the principal city of the Midland, Texas...
, Ray Barnhart
Ray Barnhart
Ray Anderson Barnhart is a retired businessman and Republican politician, formerly from Pasadena in Harris County, Texas.From 1981–1987, Barnhart was director of the Federal Highway Administration under U.S. President Ronald W. Reagan...
of Pasadena
Pasadena, Texas
Pasadena is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area. It is the second-largest city in Harris County, 17th-largest in Texas, and 162nd largest in the United States. The area was founded in 1893 by John H. Burnett of Galveston....
, and Barbara Staff
Barbara Staff
Barbara Ruth Wright Staff is a retired Republican political activist from Plano, Texas. She was co-chairman of her state's 1976 Ronald Reagan presidential primary campaign.-Background:...
of Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
.In 1976, Andujar was elected to the Texas Republican national committeewoman, a position which made her a member of the Republican National Convention
Republican National Convention
The Republican National Convention is the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States. Convened by the Republican National Committee, the stated purpose of the convocation is to nominate an official candidate in an upcoming U.S...
through 1982.
In 1977, during the 65th
Sixty-fifth Texas Legislature
The 65th Texas Legislature met from January 11, 1977 to May 30, 1977 in regular session, and again in two special called sessions . All members present during this session were elected in the 1976 general elections.-Sessions:...
legislative session, Andujar was among four senators chosen to serve as the President Pro Tempore, the first Republican so honored by the chamber. The designation made her "acting governor" whenever both Governor Dolph Briscoe
Dolph Briscoe
Dolph Briscoe, Jr. was a Uvalde, Texas rancher and businessman who was the 41st Governor of Texas between 1973 and 1979....
and Lieutenant Governor Bill Hobby were out of state.In the 1979 session, Andujar was included among the "Ten Worst Legislators" by Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Austin, Texas. Texas Monthly is published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. and was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, Texas Monthly chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the environment, industry, and education...
magazine. It was the only time she made either the "Ten Best" or "Ten Worst" listings.
In 1988, the Andujars established the first permanent chair of pathology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center is one of the biomedical research institutions of the University of Texas System, incorporating three degree-granting institutions, four affiliated hospitals, including Parkland Memorial, the teaching hospital, and biomedical research...
in Dallas. She also worked to expand the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine into the University of North Texas Health Science Center. In 1996, Andujar became the first layperson to receive the Citation of Merit Award from the Texas Society of Pathologists for her earlier legislation requiring that county coroners be qualified pathologists. She was active in the auxiliaries of the Texas and Tarrant County medical associations. She served on the boards of the Medical College of Pennsylvania and the Texas Rape Prevention and Control Project. She was also active in the Association for the Prevention of Blindness and the American Cancer Society
American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society is the "nationwide community-based voluntary health organization" dedicated, in their own words, "to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and...
. In the Senate, she sponsored bills to allow physicians in Texas to remove corneas and to assist women in the collection of child support.
Andujar was also the first Republican to represent Tarrant County in the legislature. In 1982, the most recent year in which Texas Democrats
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
swept all statewide offices, Andujar was defeated for reelection to the Senate by Hugh Q. Parmer
Hugh Parmer
Hugh Q. Parmer is an attorney and Democratic politician in Fort Worth, Texas. He served in both houses of the Texas State Legislature, on the Fort Worth City Council, and as mayor of Fort Worth. In 1990, he was his party's unsuccessful nominee for the U.S...
, a former mayor of Fort Worth, who held the seat until 1991. Parmer subsequently in 1990 lost the U.S. Senate election to incumbent Republican Phil Gramm
Phil Gramm
William Philip "Phil" Gramm is an American economist and politician, who has served as a Democratic Congressman , a Republican Congressman and a Republican Senator from Texas...
. The Senate seat, which now includes part of Denton County
Denton County, Texas
Denton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 432,976; in 2009 the estimated population had reached 628,300. Part of the Dallas – Fort Worth Metroplex, it is one of the fastest-growing counties in the United States. The county seat is Denton. The county...
as well as continued portions of Tarrant, is held by the Republican Jane Nelson
Jane Nelson
-Biography:Jane Gray Nelsonis a businesswoman and former teacher who represents Texas Senate District 12, encompassing parts of Denton and Tarrant counties...
.
The Andujars are interred at the Texas State Cemetery
Texas State Cemetery
The Texas State Cemetery is a cemetery located on about just east of downtown Austin, the capital of Texas. Originally the burial place of Edward Burleson, Texas Revolutionary general and Vice-President of the Republic of Texas, it was expanded into a Confederate cemetery during the Civil War...
in Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
.