September 13, 2006

Glenda Dawson's Death Spurs Questions
about Whether Name Remains on Ballot

By Mike Hailey
Capitol Inside Editor

State Rep. Glenda Dawson had been undergoing dialysis treatment for 18 years by the time she had a transplant at the age of 46 with a kidney that her sister had donated. The new lease on life might explain Dawson's devotion as a state lawmaker to programs designed to enlighten others on the life-saving potential of organ donation while confronting some of the complex legal and medical issues surrounding the process. She was especially proud of a new organ donor registry and education and awareness program that was established by legislation that she'd sponsored and shepherded into law last year.

Nineteen years after a new kidney saved Dawson's life, the Pearland Republican's second House term was cut short when she died Tuesday of complications from an illness that struck within the past month. Dawson had been admitted into the hospital about three weeks ago for tests - and she passed away at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. She was 65.

Dawson's death caught House leaders and colleagues by surprise with most unaware that she'd been admitted to a hospital about three weeks ago or less for tests after the onset of a sudden illness. Exactly how and when a successor will be chosen remained up in the air late Tuesday.

While Governor Rick Perry's office indicated that he would review his options before making a decision on a process for choosing a new representative for House District 29, an examination of state law makes it appear that Dawson's name will have to remain on the November 7 general election ballot regardless whether a special election is held to fill the remainder of a current term that expires in four months after the regular session gets under way in January.

According to the Texas Election Code, "if a candidate dies or is declared ineligible after the 74th day before election day, the candidate's name shall be placed on the ballot." Dawson died after the 56th day before this year's general election is set to be held.

Under that scenario, HD 29 voters in Matagorda and part of Brazoria counties would choose between the late Republican lawmaker and the Democratic nominee, Anthony A. Dinovo, a Pearland physician, when casting ballots in the general election. Dinovo, 38, works at Alvin Community Health Endeavor, a private clinic that treats patients without insurance with compensation from the federal government. The Democratic nominee graduated from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston - the facility where Dawson died - and he spent an additional three years there as a family practice resident.

If Dawson's name remained on the ballot and received more votes in death than Dinovo, Perry would follow the normal process of filling a vacancy through a special election after the November 7 vote. He could declare such an election to be an emergency and speed up the timetable for it in order to ensure that the district has representation in the House when the regular session convenes in January. Dinovo would be sworn into the House at that time if he received more votes than Dawson did posthumous in the general election.

Dawson would have been a big favorite to win re-election in district where Republicans at the top of the ticket have received about two thirds of the votes in the past two elections. GOP leaders made HD 29 more conducive to a Republican victory when they added some more of Brazoria County to it during the 2001 redistricting process. Dawson, who'd been a school teacher in Pearland for 33 years, beat veteran House member Tom Uher in 2002 with 57 percent of the vote. Uher, a Bay City Democrat, served in the House for 36 years before being ousted by Dawson. Republicans had received less than 60 percent of the HD 29 vote on average in 2000 before the lines were redrawn. .

During Dawson's first term she was named repeatedly in news stories as one of a half-dozen Texas House candidates who'd received financial support from the Republican National Committee right about the time the national party organization received a check for the same amount from the political action committee that former Congressman Tom DeLay founded called Texans for a Republican Majority. TRMPAC contributed directly in 2002 to about 20 Republican House candidates including incumbents, challengers and contenders for open seats.

With TRMPAC's help and a new House map, the GOP seized its first majority in the lower chamber in more than 130 years. DeLay and three consultants for TRMPAC were eventually indicted on charges of using the PAC as a conduit to pass corporate funds to candidates illegally. None of the defendants have gone to trial on the felony charges, which grand juries in Travis County issued in 2004 and 2005. Dawson and the other candidates who received campaign donations from TRMPAC were never accused of any wrongdoing - even though several were pounded by Democratic opponents during subsequent campaigns for their association with the PAC and DeLay.

The location and time of funeral services for Dawson have not been set at this point.