Texas Almanac, 1992-1993 Page: 439
656 p. : ill. (some col.), maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this book.
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POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT 439
science at Southern Methodist University in Dallas be-
fore returning to teach at Midwestern.
In 1956, Tower attended his first national political
convention, traveling to San Francisco for the renomi-
nation of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. At home, he
was a member of the 23rd Senatorial District executive
committee and served as chairman of the state edu-
cation and research committee.
Tower did his homework in the Senate, becoming an
authority in national defense and the military. Under
his guidance, defense spending rose to $211 billion a
year. He was credited with bringing many lucrative de-
fense contracts to Texas. When Republicans gained the
majority in the Senate in 1981, Tower became chairman
of the powerful Armed Services Committee. As impor-
tant, he put together a highly competent staff to deal
with his constituents' relations with the federal govern-
ment, which earned him many friends among the grass-
roots of the state's voters.
He also was an active fund-raiser for the party and
chaired the Republican Senate Campaign Committee to
elect more GOP faithful to the upper house.
As surprising as his election 23 years earlier was
Tower's decision not to seek re-election in 1984, after
holding some fund-raisers for his anticipated cam-
paign. In his retirement, the former senator became a
high-paid defense consultant.
The following year, President Ronald Reagan
named Tower to the post of strategic arms negotiator
with the Soviet Union. In 1986, Reagan appointed Tower
to chair a three-member bipartisan committee to inves-
tigate the infamous Iran-contra scandal.
Ironically, it was his experience in defense that
opponents used against him when President George
Bush tried to appoint Tower Secretary of Defense in
1989. Critics claimed the former senator was too close to
defense contractors to perform the duties of the office
properly. In one of the few personal setbacks of his po-
litical career, Tower's appointment was rejected by the
same Senate in which he served for more than two dec-
ades. It was the first rejection of a cabinet nominee in
more than 30 years.
In a book published just before his death, Conse-
quences: A Personal and Political Memoir, Tower
lashed out at many who contributed to defeat of his
nomination.
Tower's personal life was turbulent, including two
Sen. John Tower
publicized divorces. He had three daughters by his
first wife, Lou, including Marian, who died with her
father in the plane crash that ended his life.
At the time of Tower's death, Republicans held 10
of 27 Texas seats in the U.S. House and more than 60
seats in the Texas Legislature. Republicans also hold
many local government positions, an unheard-of cir-
cumstance before Tower opened the door and led the
way for development of the two-party system in the
state. Despite his quips about his height, in Texas polit-
ical history, John Tower indeed did - tower.
-Mike Kingston
Attorney General State Treasurer Agriculture Comm. Crim. Ct., PI. 5
- J 0 a a
C - a ._* u
n : - Z> i X. = County
3,102 4,924 174 3,655 4,308 263 3,786 4,243 211 2,954 4,677 ..... Upshur
675 485 41 662 510 48 569 624 37 465 552 ...... Upton
2,275 2,951 123 2,480 2,623 148 3,209 2,140 71 2,155 2,425 ..... Uvalde
2,300 4,142 153 2,270 4,060 227 2,261 4,120 181 2,342 3,947 . . . Val Verde
4,606 5,202 219 5,143 4,705 302 5,783 4,286 212 3,760 5,306 ... Van Zandt
8,722 8,665 390 8,385 8,593 455 8,588 8,688 334 7,996 7,293 .... Victoria
4,751 5,234 205 5,172 4,963 225 5,623 4,569 167 4,459 4,828 ..... Walker
2,453 3,719 116 2,602 3,643 154 2,857 3,408 117 2,197 3,700 ..... Waller
2,011 1,540 106 1,748 1,970 118 1,324 1,989 91 1,504 1,838 ...... Ward
4,745 3,554 190 4,992 3,467 149 5,626 2,964 84 4,164 3,432 . Washington
1,672 12,634 176 2,490 11,245 515 2,185 11,684 331 2,933 10,709 ...... Webb
4,534 4,219 171 4,556 4,239 190 5,608 3,309 114 3,804 4,354 .... Wharton
1,019 1,011 35 1,102 930 52 1,337 808 23 753 1,160 .... Wheeler
12,613 16,920 755 14,155 15,372 998 10,754 18,745 903 12,094 15,968 ..... Wichita
1,277 1,993 56 1,459 1,824 72 1,515 1,857 52 1,121 1,971 ... Wilbarger
1,314 2,322 62 1,134 2,364 102 1,650 1,997 47 990 2,321 ..... Willacy
17,513 19,615 1,273 17,794 19,097 1,486 16,542 20,981 1,165 17,661 17,262 .. Williamson
2,554 3,786 223 2,662 3,520 235 3,342 3,033 155 2,325 3,230 ..... Wilson
1,248 741 46 1,119 896 45 867 1,124 38 983 960 .... Winkler
3,801 4,915 343 4,265 4,426 392 5,006 3,888 298 3,405 4,973 ....... Wise
4,049 4,064 215 4,479 3,613 290 4,679 3,523 208 3,810 3,814 ...... Wood
1,102 781 61 1,231 624 89 1,382 554 30 985 782 . . Yoakum
2,644 2,808 105 2,899 2,568 127 3,644 2,082 100 2,183 2,781 ..... Young
416 1,223 18 457 1,113 38 490 1,119 19 413 1,103 ..... Zapata
300 2,101 17 339 1,944 29 394 1,910 19 283 1,901 ..... Zavala
1,708,110 1,963,714 110,511 1,895,651 1,772,200 130,543 1,864,463 1,820,145 112,017 1,666,778 1,757,025 .. State Totals
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Kingston, Mike. Texas Almanac, 1992-1993, book, 1991; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth279642/m1/443/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.