“To be successful in the 140-day session, we must be fully engaged the other 590 days of the biennial political cycle. That takes finances and elbow grease to help get the best candi- dates from all political stripes elected to serve, so we can have physicians available in the legislature at critical times to en- sure the views of all practicing doctors are taken into consid- eration,” he said. TEXPAC also helped score some key primary wins for non- physician candidates who, with local physician backing, ousted some opponents unfriendly to medicine’s agenda, Mr. Reyn- olds says.
Bennett Ratliffe (R-Coppell) toppled four other candidates
in the Republican primary contest for the House District 115 seat, ultimately defeating in a runoff an optometrist who spent more than three-quarters of a million dollars. Ninety percent of the loser’s campaign funds came from optometrists. Chris- topher Paddie (R-Marshall) unseated an incumbent with a long antimedicine record for the House District 9 seat. In both contests, the local physician communities were committed to defend against potential scope-of-practice infringements.
FAMILIAR FACES
Meanwhile, several veteran physician and alliance members in the legislature are well-positioned to continue building strong relationships with other elected officials and provide leader- ship in navigating the evolving health care landscape, Dr. Todd says.
Those unopposed veterans include Sen. Bob Deuell, MD
(R-Greenville), a family physician who is vice-chair of the Sen- ate Health and Human Services Committee and sits on the state Medicaid Reform Waiver Legislative Oversight Commit- tee, along with House Rep. John M. Zerwas, MD (R-Simonton), who won reelection in District 28. Dr. Zerwas, an anesthesi- ologist, also sits on the House Public Health and Appropria- tion Committees with Rep. Susan King (R-Abilene), wife of TMA Board Trustee Austin King, MD, and an alliance member who won her race outright, as well. Representative Schwert- ner is expected to win the open Senate seat in District 5. Drs. Shelton and Schwertner also sat on the House Appropriations Committee. U.S. House Rep. Michael Burgess, MD, an obste- trician-gynecologist and long-time TMA ally, is in a contested congressional race for his North Texas seat. These figures will be “in a position of great importance to the institutional memory going forward, transferring that knowledge to the newcomers, and helping to train them up,” Dr. Todd said. TEXPAC has high hopes for success on Nov. 6. Nearly all of the physician and alliance candidates are expected to win their contests, if they haven’t already, especially after they came out on top this far amid crowded fields, entrenched incumbents, and rugged runoffs. Dr. Shelton’s tightly contested District 10 Senate race against incumbent Sen. Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth) will be one to watch and, if successful, could for the first time put four physicians in the Senate. “Winning the primary election very strongly predicts who is
22 TEXAS MEDICINE November 2012
going to win the general election, and that’s why it was critical in some races for us to get engaged early on in the process,” TEXPAC’s Dr. Weltge said. Regardless of who wins, he added, “our task and goal is
to make sure that all elected legislators are educated on the implications of the medical issues they are presented with and that they all understand the importance of good health policy.” n
Amy Lynn Sorrel is an associate editor of Texas Medicine. You can reach her by tele- phone at (800) 880-1300, ext. 1392, or (512) 370-1392; by fax at (512) 370-1629; or by email at
amy.sorrel@
texmed.org.
The Texas Medical Association Political Action Committee (TEXPAC) is a bipartisan political action committee of TMA and affiliated with the American Medical Association Political Action Committee (AMPAC) for congressional contribution purposes only. Its goal is to support and elect pro-medicine candidates on both the federal and state level. Voluntary contributions by individuals to TEXPAC should be written on personal checks. Funds attributed to individuals or professional associations (PAs) that would exceed legal contribution limits will be placed in the TEXPAC administrative account to support political education activities. Contributions are not limited to the suggested amounts. TEXPAC will not favor or disadvantage anyone based on the amounts or failure to make contributions. Contributions are subject to the prohibitions and limitations of the Federal Election Campaign Act. Contributions or gifts to TEXPAC or any CMS PAC are not deductible as charitable contributions or business expenses for federal income tax purposes. Federal law requires us to use our best efforts to collect and report
the name, mailing address, occupation, and name of employer of individuals whose contributions exceed $200 in a calendar year. To satisfy this regulation, please include your occupation and employer information in the space provided. Contributions from a practice business account must disclose the name of the practice and the allocation of contributions for each contributing owner. Should you have any questions, call TEXPAC at (512) 370-1361.
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