MADLA HONORED AS GOVERNOR FOR A DAY

The state honored one of its longest serving lawmakers today when Senator Frank Madla was sworn in as Governor for a Day. In a tradition dating back more than 50 years, the president pro tempore of the Senate serves one day as Governor of Texas. The president pro tempore is third in line for office of governor, and serves in that capacity any time both the Governor and Lt. Governor are out of the state.

Frank L. Madla has served in the Legislature since 1973, and has held his Senate seat since 1993. Senator Madla represents the largest district in the state, stretching from El Paso to San Antonio, comprising two-thirds of the Texas-Mexico border. He has championed many causes throughout his career, and is known for carrying legislation to improve the wine industry in Texas, making the state one of the top producers of quality wine in the country. He also spearheaded legislation to bring a new Toyota manufacturing plant to San Antonio, adding hundreds of jobs to that community, as well as more than a billion dollars to the state economy.

Madla was honored at the ceremony by several of his colleagues in the Senate and House, who spoke in praise of him. Senator Judith Zaffirini of Laredo lauded Madla for his exemplary leadership as both a member and a committee chairman in the Senate. "Whatever the issue, whatever the problem, whatever the controversy, whatever the challenge, Frank Madla knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way," she said. "He leads not only through his actions, but also by his example."

Fellow Senator Chris Harris remarked on Madla's compassion for less-fortunate Texans. "Frank taught me that we have to care about the infirm, that we have to care about the poor. Frank taught me that we have to care about the people in the nursing homes, and Frank taught me that that was our true obligation as leaders in Texas."

During his inaugural address as Governor of Texas for a day, Madla took the opportunity to speak to the issues facing the Legislature in the impending special session. He called for lawmakers to put aside party politics to do what is best for Texans. "Members in the Texas Senate have prided themselves in working in a non partisan way," said Madla. "When I walk into a classroom or a nursing home, I don't see children as Democrats or Republicans, and I don't see senior citizens as Democrats or Republicans. They are children and senior citizens, and the needs that they have are not Democratic needs or Republican needs, they are just needs. They have problems that require solutions," he said. "I think that the very best solutions for the people of this state are the solutions that come from working together."

Governor Madla serves as Chairman on the Intergovernmental Relations Committee, and sits on the Finance, Natural Resources, and State Affairs Committees. In his 33 years of legislative service he has passed more than 100 bills in the House and over 570 bills in the Senate. He has been honored for his service by organizations such as the Texas Hospital Association, the Texas Police Chiefs Association, and the University of Texas as San Antonio, and is the past recipient of the Legislator of the Year Award from the Association of Rural Communities in Texas.

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