Frank L. Madla

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Frank Lloyd Madla, Jr. (January 23, 1937 -- November 24, 2006), was a Democratic member of both the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas State Senate from south San Antonio for thirty-three years. He, along with Mary Cruz, his 81-year-old mother-in-law, and Aleena Virginia Jimenez, his beloved five-year-old granddaughter and only grandchild, died in a house fire early the Friday morning after Thanksgiving Day. Madla, who was asleep in his home upstairs, had tried to escape through the bedroom window but succumbed to smoke and flames. Aleena was declared to be without brain function and died after being removed from life support a day later. His wife, Helen Cruz Madla (born 1954), narrowly survived the blaze.

[edit] 33 years in the Texas legislature

Madla was born in Helotes (Bexar County) to the late Frank L. Madla, Sr., and Epigmenia Madla (born 1912), who survives her son. He was a junior high school teacher for ten years before he became a private consultant and entered politics. He was initially elected to the lower house of the Texas legislature in a San Antonio-based district in 1972. He served for twenty years in the House until he was elected to the District 24, later District 19 state Senate seat, which is geographically large and stretches from San Antonio to as far west as El Paso. (In Texas, state Senate districts are geographically and demographically larger than United States House of Representatives districts.)

Madla held the Senate seat with little or no opposition from January 1993 until May 2006, when he resigned at the conclusion of a special session on education and after he had lost Democrat renomination to District 118 state Representative Carlos Ismael "Charlie" Uresti (born 1963). In the primary held on March 7, Uresti, an attorney, prevailed, 24,610 (56.5 percent) to Madla's 18,936 (43.5 percent).

Uresti claimed that Madla was too closely tied to the Republican leadership in the Senate and had voted in 2003 to remove 180,000 youngsters from the Children's Health Insurance Program. Madla referred to Uresti's charge as a "procedural matter." There were also questions about Madla's more than $1.1 million in campaign contributions, some from lobbyists. State Senator Eliot Shapleigh of El Paso, considered one of the most liberal senators, came into the district to campaign for Uresti. Shapleigh said that Republicans often approached Madla first when they were seeking Democratic support for GOP initiatives. Rarely does a sitting senator campaign against a colleague, particularly of his own party.

Among the nearly 700 legislative bills which Madla supported that came to fruition was the establishment of a new Toyota plant in San Antonio. The first San Antonio-made truck rolled off the assembly line only days before Madla's death. Madla worked for years to establish a Texas A&M University branch campus in south San Antonio. In 2005, the legislature passed a bill that Madla wrote which authorized the creation of the campus. In the special 2006 legislative session dedicated to educational finance matters, Madla persuaded his colleagues to approve $40 million in tuition revenue bonds for the development of the new campus, which is scheduled to be completed in 2009.

In his later legislative years, Madla brought granddaughter Aleena to the legislature on a regular basis. The child was said to have brightened committee meetings when she was not simply skipping down the hallway or munching on candy. Madla plastered his office with pictures of Aleena and put her face on his computer screen. "Frank got his little angel, and Aleena got her popo. They were the closest anybody could be," said his former state Senate colleague Leticia Van de Putte, a San Antonio Democrat.

[edit] His former colleagues comment

"It is a terrible, terrible loss," said an emotional state Senator Eddie Lucio, a Democrat from Brownsville, the seat of Cameron County in far south Texas. Lucio, who was perhaps Madla's closest friend in the Senate, said that he feared Mrs. Madla may "never be able to get over it [the loss of her husband, mother, and granddaughter]." Lucio added that he was still reeling from the tragedy, calling it "a truly low point in my life."

Aleena's parents donated her organs so that she could "live in another child," said Lucio. "My only consolation is knowing Aleena is now with her grandpa," he continued.

Investigators did not immediately determine the cause of the fire, although they declared it accidental and said that it had started in the living room, according to District Fire Chief Randy Jenkins. Dozens of candles had been lit in the living room and in the backyard during the Madla's Thanksgiving celebration and, although they had been extinguished, they had likely caused the fire, Jenkins said.

"This is a tragedy of immense proportions to Frank's family, friends and to our entire community," said U.S. Representative Charles "Charlie" Gonzalez, another San Antonio Democrat. "It is still difficult to comprehend and accept what happened."

[edit] Last rites

Father Eddie Bernal, pastor of St. Benedict's Catholic Church, remembered Madla as "a real champion of the Gospel," adding that the former lawmaker often helped the poor, the imprisoned, and others in need. "He never got credit for a lot of things he did because he wanted to do things anonymously," Bernal said. "Even his family didn't know about some of them."

Carlos Uresti and Madla had waged a bitter campaign in the March Democratic primary. Uresti expressed some regret, saying, "I wish some of the things that had gone on hadn't happened but that's the campaign world."

In addition to his wife and mother, Madla is survived by his son, Dr. Frank Lloyd Madla, III, and his wife, Nenette Madla; his daughter, Marci Madla; step-granddaughter, Crystal Torres; brother, Ralph Madla; sister, Mary Ellen Madla Ibarra and her husband, Joe Ibarra, as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

A rosary was recited and a mass held on November 30, 2006, at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Helotes. Graveside services were held on December 1, 2006, at the Texas State Cemetery, 909 Navasota in Austin. The family requested memorials to the Senator Frank Madla Scholarship Fund, c/o Frank Madla, III, 18550 Frank Madla Rd., #1, Helotes, TX 78023 or the Cordi Marian Sisters, 1162 FM 471, San Antonio 78253.

Early in 2006, prior to Madla's primary defeat, the former Royalgate Elementary School in San Antonio was renamed "Frank Madla Elementary School".

[edit] Perry orders flag at half-staff

As a state representative, Madla became friends with a freshman colleague who entered the legislature in 1983, James Richard "Rick" Perry of Haskell County. Perry was a Democrat at the time, and fellow Democrat Madla helped him become orientated to legislative procedures. At the time of Madla's death, Perry had been reelected to his second full term as governor, but as a Republican, he having left the Democratic Party in 1989.

Perry ordered state flags at state buildings flown at half-staff in Madla's honor and issued this tribute: "Frank Madla was a dear friend and a dedicated public servant who was an exemplary representative for South and West Texas. Frank was a mentor to me when I came in to the legislature. He had a heart of gold and was a true Texas patriot. He and his wife, Helen, were two of Anita's [First Lady Anita Thigpen Perry] and my favorites. His death is a tragic loss to the community, to his friends and to his family. Anita and I offer our prayers on behalf of his wife Helen for her continued recovery."

President George W. Bush, Perry's predecessor as governor, issued his condolences to the Madla family and promised to pray for Mrs. Madla's full recovery: "Frank was a dedicated public servant who devoted more than three decades of his life to serving his state and all its people in the Texas House and Senate."

In 1985, Texas Monthly, in its biennial feature on the best and worst Texas legislators named Madla to the "Honorable Mention" category, as one of the top twenty legislators for that session.

[edit] References

http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/112506/sta_112506078.shtml

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA112606.01B.madlafollo.314576c.html

"House Fire Kills Madla", Laredo Morning Times, November 25, 2006

http://obits.mysanantonio.com/story.cfm?type=0&id=58578

http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist.exe

http://justanothermatt.blogspot.com/2006/01/frank-madla-buys-good-press_31.html

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/politics/stories/MYSA030806.01A.uresti.410dc8c.html

http://blogs.chron.com/texaspolitics/archives/2006/11/president_bush.html

http://www.senate.state.tx.us/kids/Sen19.htm

http://preview.ussearch.com/preview/newsearch?searchFName=epimena&searchMName=&searchLName=madla&searchCity=san+antonio&searchState=TX&searchApproxAge=90&adID=10002101&searchtab=people&x=17&y=9

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[edit] Election History

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[edit] References