Former Democratic Texas Gov. Mark White dies at 77
AUSTIN, Texas — Former Texas Gov. Mark White, a Democrat who championed public education reforms that included the landmark “no-pass, no-play” policy for high school athletes, has died. He was 77.
The former governor, who fought kidney cancer for years, died Saturday in Houston shortly after waking up and feeling uncomfortable, according to his wife, Linda Gale White, and his son Andrew White.
Governor from 1983 until 1987, White was Texas’ attorney general when he defeated Gov. Bill Clements, Texas’ first Republican governor since Reconstruction who spent a then-record $13 million on his re-election campaign. Clements beat White four years later.
White’s education reforms included pay raises and competency tests for teachers, class size limits for elementary schools and the creation of the state’s high school basic skills graduation test. White also pushed through a $4 billion tax hike for schools and highways.