Lamar alumni Mark White Jr. shocked the entire state when he won the gubernatorial election in 1982. How did M. White, often described as a “shy” student who kept to himself and never held the titles of class president or valedictorian during high school, become the governor of Texas? M. White discovered what he loved – government – and never let obstacles hinder his pursuit to expand education within Texas until his unfortunate passing in 2017.
M. White followed a conventional path throughout his primary and secondary education – from Woodrow Wilson Elementary School to Lanier Middle School to Lamar High School. At Lamar, M. White often sat near the back of the classroom and rarely engaged with other students.
“He was a late bloomer because in high school he didn’t graduate anywhere near the top half of the school; he was right in the middle,” Mark White’s son, Andrew White, a Lamar alumni as well, said. “He wasn’t actively involved in high school; he didn’t play sports and wasn’t the president of the student council.”
In the 1980s, as many Lamar graduates attended Rice University, the long lineage of Baylor University graduates in M. White’s family encouraged him to attend Baylor University.
I remember him bragging about his teachers and saying the teachers at Lamar were like college preparatory . . .”
— Linda Gale White
“He went to Baylor because his mother went to Baylor, his cousins went to Baylor, and his uncle went to Baylor,” M. White’s wife, Linda Gale White, said. “Baylor was in his background so I don’t think he considered any other school.”
From the moment M. White stepped foot at Baylor, he blossomed.
“He blossomed at Baylor. He came out of his shell and just built confidence,” L.G. White said. “He became a member of the fraternity and made great friends that he kept in touch with until the day he died and many of them still keep in touch with me.”
After his undergraduate degree, M. White attended law school at Baylor.
“He went to law school and went to the Attorney General’s office to work as the Assistant Attorney General. Then he got involved in Dolph Briscoe’s campaign. When Briscoe won the gubernatorial election in 1972, Briscoe appointed Mark as Secretary of State.”
In 1977, M. White resigned as Secretary of State to run for Attorney General. Despite the opinion of friends and colleagues that he would never win, M. White put everything into becoming Attorney General.
“He was running against the governor’s son, Price Daniel Jr., who was the Speaker of the House, in the primary,” A. White said. “Dad went to Baylor, grew up on Kipling, and didn’t have a political career except for being Secretary of State. Now he was running against Price and everyone was telling him that he had no chance.”
The secret to M. White’s victory – he worked harder and strategically outworked Daniel Jr.
“Political ads on television were just beginning,” L.G. White said. “Price thought that he was going to win so he didn’t buy T.V. ads. Mark bought the areas that he needed for over $200,000. He also knew a lot of county judges and people in the court house who helped him win. He was able to get his name out there.”
After his victory, M. White purchased a new sailboat and named it appropriately.
“Everyone said he had no chance, he won, and bought a sailboat and called it “No Chance,” A. White said.
Instead of running for a second term, M. White ran in the 1982 gubernatorial election and, after a successful campaign against incumbent Bill Clements, became the 43rd governor of Texas.
“When he passed away, I read the comments online and someone had said ‘I can’t believe he grew up to become governor because he never said a word in school,’” L.G. White said.
As governor, M. White tried to implement expensive and expansive legislation to accomplish a plethora of goals from increasing teacher pay to guaranteeing a work free lunch.
Everyone said he had no chance, he won, and bought a sailboat and called it “No Chance.”
— Andrew White
M. White struggled to make his campaign promises into a reality.
“In 1986, the price of oil crashed and back in the 1980s Texas and oil were synonymous,”A. White said.
“The state had a much smaller budget to work with, but dad had already said he was going to increase teacher salaries so that created a problem. Dad supported a tax increase to pay for it.”
Despite the difficulty, M. White managed to pass House Bill 72, the most extensive education reform bill, which increased teacher salaries.
“Teachers were mainly women and were getting paid less than garbage men and prison guards and he was able to give them the largest pay raise in Texas history,” A. White said. “H.B. 72 you can put on the map for how education in Texas improved. Nothing has been done since then to come close to that bill. One of the reasons why it made sense to dad is because he understood what it was like to be a teacher: his mother was a teacher, his little sister was a teacher, and his bride was a teacher. It was near and dear to him to make sure that we have good teachers.”
Most of all, L.G. White vividly recalls M. White’s never ending compliments about Lamar, a school that always remained dear to him.
“I remember him bragging about his teachers and saying the teachers at Lamar were like college preparatory,” L.G. White said. “He liked Lamar and always said that it was like the two country clubs at the end of the street because Lamar was looked up to.”