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Preston Smith (governor)

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Preston Smith
40th Governor of Texas
In office
January 21, 1969 – January 16, 1973
LieutenantBen Barnes
Preceded byJohn Connally
Succeeded byDolph Briscoe
35th Lieutenant Governor of Texas
In office
January 15, 1963 – January 21, 1969
GovernorJohn Connally
Preceded byBen Ramsey
Succeeded byBen Barnes
Member of the Texas Senate
from the 28th district
In office
January 8, 1957 – January 8, 1963[1]
Preceded byKilmer B. Corbin
Succeeded byH. J. "Doc" Blanchard
Member of the
Texas House of Representatives
from the 119th district
In office
January 9, 1945 – January 9, 1951[1]
Preceded byHop Hasley
Succeeded byWaggoner Carr
Personal details
Born
Preston Earnest Smith

(1912-03-08)March 8, 1912
Corn Hill (now Jarrell), Texas, U.S.
DiedOctober 18, 2003(2003-10-18) (aged 91)
Lubbock, Texas, U.S.
Resting placeTexas State Cemetery (Austin, Texas)
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Ima Mae Smith
​
​
(m. 1935; died 1998)​
Children2
Alma materTexas Tech University (BBA)
ProfessionEntrepreneur, politician

Preston Earnest Smith (March 8, 1912 – October 18, 2003) was an American entrepreneur and politician who served as the 40th governor of Texas from 1969 to 1973. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the lieutenant governor from 1963 to 1969.

Early life

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Smith was born into a tenant farming family of 13 children in Corn Hill, a town in Williamson County, Texas, that has since been absorbed into nearby Jarrell.[2][3][4] The family later moved to Lamesa, Texas, where Smith graduated in 1928 from Lamesa High School. In 1934, he graduated from Texas Technological College (now Texas Tech University) in Lubbock with a bachelor's degree in business administration.[3] Staying in Lubbock, he founded a movie theater business and invested in real estate.[3][5]

Political career

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Smith (second from left) with state House Speaker Gus Mutscher, former President Lyndon B. Johnson and Lieutenant Governor Ben Barnes in Brenham, August 1970.

Smith was first elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1944 and then to the Texas State Senate in 1956.[6]

Smith's inauguration on January 21, 1969, had what was called "the flavor of the South Plains". The Texas Tech University marching band led the parade just behind the marshal and the color guard. A mounted masked Red Raider rode with the band. Governor and Mrs. Smith, both Tech graduates, followed in an open convertible. Other Smith family members rode in the parade, followed by the new lieutenant governor, Ben Barnes. The band of Lamesa High School, Smith's alma mater, was the first among the high school groups. Before the oath taking, the first to be televised in Texas history, Smith had been feted with a $25-per-place victory dinner in the Austin Municipal Auditorium, now the Long Center for the Performing Arts.[7][8]

In 1971 and 1972, Smith was embroiled in the Sharpstown scandal stock fraud scheme, which eventually led to his downfall. Smith lost his third-term bid for the governorship of Texas to Dolph Briscoe of Uvalde in the Democratic primary in 1972.[9][10][11]

Later life and attempted political comeback

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Preston Smith". Legislative Reference Library of Texas. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  2. ^ Stiles, Matt (October 18, 2003). "Former Gov. Preston Smith dies". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on February 20, 2005. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Robison, Clay (October 18, 2003). "Ex-Gov. Preston Smith, 'proud Texan,' dies at 91". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on October 20, 2003. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  4. ^ "New Corn Hill, Texas". Texas Escapes. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  5. ^ Slaughter, George. "Smith, Preston Earnest (1912–2003)". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  6. ^ Charles Ashman, Connally: The Adventures of Big Bad John, New York: William Morrow Company, 1974, p. 22.
  7. ^ "1969: Smith's inaugural celebration to have flavor of South Plains". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. January 27, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  8. ^ "Texas midterm voter turnout highest since 1970".
  9. ^ William H. Brackney, Historical Dictionary of the Baptists. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. April 13, 2009. p. 455. ISBN 9780810862821. Retrieved September 30, 2013.
  10. ^ "Robyn Followwill-Line, "Grady Hazlewood"". Amarillo Globe News, May 19, 2000. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
  11. ^ "Randall George Pendleton obituary". cemetery.state.tx.us. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
  • Kinch, Sam Jr.; Procter, Ben (1972). Texas Under a Cloud: Story of the Texas Stock Fraud Scandal. Jenkins.
[edit]
Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Texas
1962, 1964, 1966 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Democratic nominee for Governor of Texas
1968, 1970 		Succeeded by
Texas House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from District 119 (Lubbock)
1945–1951 		Succeeded by
Texas Senate
Preceded by Texas State Senator
from District 28 (Lubbock)
1957–1963 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Lieutenant Governor of Texas
January 15, 1963 – January 21, 1969 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Governor of Texas
January 21, 1969 – January 16, 1973 		Succeeded by
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