William Wade Zedler, known as Bill Zedler (born August 19, 1943),[1] is a retired medical consultant from Arlington, Texas and a former a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives for District 96. He served continuously from 2003 to 2021 except for the term from 2009 to 2011, when he was temporarily unseated by Democrat Chris Turner.[2]
Bill Zedler | |
|---|---|
 Zedler in 2012 | |
| Member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 96th district | |
| In office January 11, 2011 – 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Chris Turner (now in District 101) |
| Succeeded by | David Cook |
| In office January 14, 2003 – January 13, 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Kim Brimer |
| Succeeded by | Chris Turner |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 19, 1943 |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Ellen Tuffly Zedler |
| Children | 3 |
| Residence(s) | Arlington, Texas |
| Alma mater | Sam Houston State University |
| Occupation | Retired medical consultant |
A board member of the bipartisan Texas Conservative Coalition, Zedler was considered one of the most conservative of contemporary Texas legislators.[3]
Zedler won his seventh nonconsecutive term in the state House in the general election held on November 6, 2018. With 32,656 votes (50.9 percent), he defeated Democrat Ryan E. Ray, who polled 30,295 (47.2 percent). The Libertarian Stephen Parmer held another 746 votes (1.9 percent).
In February 2019, Zedler, whom The Texas Observer labeled an "outspoken anti-vaxxer",[4] drew national attention[5] when he introduced a Texas bill that would allow parents to opt-out of school vaccination requirements.[6] The move was criticized as support for the anti-vax movement, so he later tried to set the record straight by explaining he wasn't "completely against vaccines".[7] He was also criticized for his false claim that measles, which is caused by a virus, could be treated with antibiotics.[5][6] He was quoted as saying "They want to say people are dying of measles. Yeah, in third-world countries they're dying of measles. Today, with antibiotics and that kind of stuff, they’re not dying in America."[8] In the U.S. 1-2 people die for every 1000 people infected with measles.[9]
References
edit- ^ "Rep. Bill Zedler (R-TX 96th District)". Missouri Library Association. Retrieved March 19, 2014.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Bill Zedler". Texas Legislative Reference Library. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
- ^ "Bill Zedler's Biography". votesmart.com. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
- ^ Novack, Sophie (February 26, 2019). "Amid Measles Outbreak, Texas Lawmakers Want to Make it Even Easier to Opt Out of Vaccines". The Texas Observer. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
- ^ a b Bever, Lindsey (February 27, 2019). "Lawmaker promoting anti-vaxx bill suggests measles can be treated with antibiotics. (It can't.)". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
- ^ a b "Texas lawmaker says he's not worried about measles outbreak because of 'antibiotics'". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2019-02-27.
- ^ Tinsley, Anna M. (April 4, 2019). "As measles cases stack up, Texas lawmaker says he's opposed to mandated vaccine schedules". Star-Telegram. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
- ^ "Amid Measles Outbreak, Texas Lawmakers Want to Make it Even Easier to Opt Out of Vaccines". The Texas Observer. 2019-02-26. Retrieved 2019-02-27.
- ^ "Measles Data and Statistics" (PDF). CDC. April 16, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
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