Martha Whitehead is an American politician from the U.S. state of Texas. She was the last Texas State Treasurer before the position was abolished by constitutional amendment in 1996.

Martha Whitehead
Texas State Treasurer
In office
June 14, 1993 – August 31, 1996
GovernorAnn Richards
George W. Bush
Preceded byKay Bailey Hutchison
Succeeded byOffice abolished
Personal details
Political partyDemocratic

Career

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Whitehead served as the mayor of Longview, Texas.[1] In 1993, Texas Governor Ann Richards appointed Whitehead as Texas State Treasurer, filling the vacancy created when the previous incumbent, Kay Bailey Hutchison was elected to the United States Senate.[2]

Texas Treasurer

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In 1994, Whitehead ran for State Treasurer on a platform of abolishing the office and transferring its few remaining functions to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.[3] In 1995, the Texas Legislature passed a proposed constitutional amendment to abolish the office, which was approved by a majority of voters later that same year. The office was formally dismantled in 1996. On her last day in office, on August 31, 1996, she scraped her name and title off the glass front of the Treasurer's headquarters.[4][5]

References

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  1. ^ SAM HOWE VERHOVEK (October 30, 1994). "THE 1994 CAMPAIGN: TEXAS; Candidate Seeks Job She Would Cut - The New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  2. ^ "Texas Register - The Portal to Texas History". Texinfo.library.unt.edu. January 6, 1976. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  3. ^ Ramsey, Ross (September 26, 2018). "Analysis: Texas politics can change plenty in 2018 without a blue wave". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  4. ^ "Karl Rove writes that Democrats abolished state treasurer's office after she won it and she later became senator | PolitiFact Texas". Politifact.com. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  5. ^ "Texas Says Goodbye to Treasury". The New York Times. Associated Press. August 31, 1996. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
Party political offices
Preceded by
Nikki Van Hightower
Democratic nominee for Texas State Treasurer
1994
Succeeded by
office abolished
Political offices
Preceded by Treasurer of Texas
1993–1996
Succeeded by
office abolished