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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The passing of former state representative Ruth |
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Jones McClendon of San Antonio on December 19, 2017, at the age of |
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74, brought a great loss to the people of Texas, whom she so |
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commendably served over the course of her remarkable career in |
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public life; and |
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WHEREAS, Born in Houston on October 5, 1943, Ms. McClendon |
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attended Texas Southern University and went on to earn a master's |
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degree from Webster University in Missouri; before entering |
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politics, she worked for 17 years as a juvenile probation officer; |
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she was later elected to the San Antonio City Council and served |
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from 1993 until 1996, when she won a seat in the state legislature |
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as the representative for House District 120 in East San Antonio, a |
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seat she held for the next two decades; and |
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WHEREAS, A dynamic, tenacious legislator, Ruth McClendon won |
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not only the high regard but also the genuine affection of members |
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on both sides of the aisle for her unfailing integrity, her joyous |
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spirit, and her ability to never make a hard-fought struggle |
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personal; intently focused on serving her constituents and the |
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people of Texas, she worked assiduously to build consensus and |
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advance measures for the common good; and |
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WHEREAS, In particular, Representative McClendon was a |
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staunch advocate for education, for children's programs, and for |
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laws protecting the elderly and the infirm; she also authored |
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legislation approved by the 84th Legislature that established a |
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commission to study wrongful convictions in the Texas criminal |
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justice system; possessed of a keen business sense, she |
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additionally sought to strengthen the state's transportation |
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infrastructure; in 2005, she proposed a constitutional amendment, |
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subsequently approved by voters, to dedicate a fund for rail |
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relocation and improvement, and in every legislature thereafter, |
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she filed bills to create a consistent means for financing such |
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work; during her lengthy tenure in the house, Ms. McClendon served |
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as a senior member of the Transportation and Appropriations |
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Committees and as chair of budget and oversight for agencies under |
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the jurisdiction of the Pensions and Investments Committee; she |
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also chaired the Rules and Resolutions Committee; and |
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WHEREAS, Along with other causes that were dear to her heart, |
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helping young people learn about the political system that impacted |
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their daily lives became a focus of her attention, leading her to |
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establish the McClendon Legislative Scholars Program through a |
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partnership with The University of Texas at San Antonio; this |
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accomplished lawmaker received a Lifetime Achievement Award from |
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Capitol Inside and was named by Texas Monthly to its list of the 10 |
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Best Legislators in 2015; in 2016, in recognition of her efforts, |
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the Ruth Jones McClendon Learning Academy, a charter campus for |
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middle school students, opened in San Antonio; and |
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WHEREAS, Representative McClendon balanced the |
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responsibilities of her office with the rewarding family life she |
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shared with her husband, Denver McClendon, her children, Thaddies |
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and Vanessa, and her stepchildren, Mark, Angela, and Meredith; she |
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considered motherhood to be one of her proudest achievements and |
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greatest joys, and in her later years, she had the pleasure of |
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seeing her family grow to include 11 grandchildren, Maliyah, |
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Elizabeth, Thaddies, Bomani, Reseun, Remi, Alade, Nicholas, |
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Preston, Sydney, and Lawrence; and |
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WHEREAS, Ruth Jones McClendon devoted a distinguished |
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legislative career to bettering the lives of her fellow Texans, |
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particularly those whose voices are seldom heard, and she will long |
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be remembered and revered for exemplifying the highest ideals of |
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public service; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of the Honorable Ruth |
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Jones McClendon and extend deepest sympathy to her loved ones, to |
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her many friends, and to all those who mourn her passing; and, be it |
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further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for her family and that when the Texas House of |
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Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of the |
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Honorable Ruth Jones McClendon. |