Price Daniel, Jr.

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Price Daniel Jr.
Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives
In office
1973–1975
Preceded by Rayford Price
Succeeded by Bill W. Clayton
Texas State Representative
In office
1968–1975
President Texas State Constitutional Convention
In office
1974–1974
Personal details
Born (1941-06-08)June 8, 1941
Austin, Travis County, Texas
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Liberty County, Texas
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Diane Ford Wommack (1966–1975)
Vickie Loretha Carroll Moore (1976–1981)
Children Thomas Houston Campbell Daniel
Franklin Baldwin Daniel
Marion Price Daniel, IV
Profession Attorney

Marion Price Daniel, Jr. (properly Marion Price Daniel III) (June 8, 1941 – January 19, 1981) was a United States politician from Texas who served as Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives from 1973 to 1975.

Early life

Daniel was born on June 8, 1941, in Austin, Texas, to Marion Price Daniel, Sr. and the former [1] Jean Houston Baldwin, a member of both the Daughters of the Republic of Texas and the Daughters of the American Revolution. Price Sr. was a political legend in Texas, having served as Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, as United States Senator at the time of Price Jr.'s birth, and later as Governor of Texas, followed by Associate Justice of the Texas Supreme Court. Uncle William Partlow Daniel,[2] brother of Price Sr., was a lawyer in Liberty, Texas, who had served in the Texas House of Representatives and had been appointed Governor of the U.S. Territory of Guam by President John F. Kennedy.

Price Jr. was a great-great-great-grandson of Sam Houston. Daniel was raised in Austin and followed the political career of his father. By age twelve, he was making speeches on his father’s behalf. He graduated from Austin High School in 1959, Baylor University in 1964, and Baylor Law School in 1966. While at Baylor, Daniel started a mail-order book business[3] that specialized in rare books of Texas history.

Political career

After receiving his law degree, Daniel moved to Liberty, Texas, and began legal practice there, and was also elected Justice of the Peace for Liberty County. In 1968, at age 27, he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives from the same seat his father had held from 1939 to 1945.

After the fallout from the Sharpstown scandal, with those connected being voted out of office, there was a 50% turnover in both houses of the Texas Legislature. On January 9, 1973, Price Jr. was unanimously[4] elected[5] Speaker of the House.

Under Daniel’s leadership, the reform-minded Sixty-third Texas Legislature passed new ethics, financial disclosure, and open-records laws. The Legislature also updated and strengthened open-meetings, and lobbying laws. He believed that it should be illegal for the speaker to offer favors or make threats in order to get votes. Because of the great power of the office, Daniel believed that no speaker should be elected for more than one term, and consequently he did not seek reelection in 1974. There had been talk of Price Jr. running for Governor in 1974,[6] but he was apparently not interested.

Price Jr served as president of the 1974 Texas Constitutional Convention, the first since the Constitution was established in 1876.[7] He relented on a right-to-work compromise to appease the conservatives, and in doing so, lost his base of the liberal labor force. The 1974 convention to revise the state constitution was not a success. Further alienating his support base, Price Jr held a press conference blaming organized labor, and specifically what he saw as its manipulation of racial minority delegates, for the convention's failure.

In 1978, Daniel unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for Texas Attorney General,[8] losing to eventual general election winner Mark White.

Personal life and death

Daniel was married twice. He married politically connected Diane Ford Wommack on April 4, 1966.[9] Diane was a descendant of Texas Governor (1907–1911) Thomas Mitchell Campbell. Diane gave birth to his son Thomas Houston Campbell Daniel. Their divorce[10] was final November 26, 1975.

His second wife was Dairy Queen waitress Vickie Loretha Carroll Moore. Vickie and husband Larry Dale Moore were divorced on August 16, 1976. Price Jr. and Vickie were married November 1, 1976.[10] Vickie gave birth to two sons by Price Jr., Franklin Baldwin Daniel and Marion Price Daniel IV. One month after Price Jr. declared his candidacy for Texas Attorney General, Vickie filed for divorce on October 22, 1977, but apparently withdrew the petition. In May 1980, Price Jr. re-wrote his will, cutting Vickie out. December 31 of that year, Vickie once again filed for divorce, even though she and Price Jr. continued to share a house with separate quarters. Price Jr. was served with divorce papers on January 15, 1981. On January 19, Price Jr. returned home where he was allegedly shot and killed by Vickie.[11]

After a 10-hour session involving 22 people, the Liberty County grand jury returned an indictment of murder against Mrs. Daniel.[12] At the time of her indictment, she had not yet been questioned by authorities about the events leading up to her husband's death, nor had she testified before the grand jury. Vickie was represented by flamboyant legal legend Richard "Racehorse" Haynes[13] and was acquitted on October 30, 1981.[14] The shooting and Vickie Daniel’s murder trial were the subject of a 1987 book, Deadly Blessings and a 1992 made-for-television film, Bed of Lies.

Price Daniel Jr's Houston family tree

Marion Price Daniel, Jr was a direct descendant of Sam Houston and his wife Margaret Lea Houston through his mother Jean Houston Baldwin Daniel, as noted by the family tree below.

Bibliography

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References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Murph: Price Daniel Jr from the Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved 6 June 2010. Texas State Historical Association
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Further reading

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External links

Texas House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from District 6 (Liberty)
1969–1973		 Succeeded by
Arthur "Buddy" Temple
Preceded by Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from District 16 (Liberty)
1973–1975		 Succeeded by
Perry A. Tanner, Jr.
Political offices
Preceded by Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives
1973–1975		 Succeeded by
Bill W. Clayton
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