W
hen a competitive March primary election knocked out one of El Paso’s longtime medicine- friendly House representatives, local physicians like Gilberto Handal, MD, decided to “take the bull by the horns” as the race for the House Dis- trict 76 seat headed into a late May runoff. In one corner stood a former Texas House
member with a poor track record of supporting the House of Medicine and working with fellow lawmakers. From the other corner, Dr. Handal and the El Paso County Medical Society heard a different story. After interviewing Democratic newcomer Cesar Blanco for possible endorsement by the Texas Medical Association Politi- cal Action Committee (TEXPAC), TMA’s political advocacy arm, they agreed: The former chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Pete Gallego (D-Texas) not only had experience and success working with Democratic and Republican peers, but also had an open ear toward medicine’s issues. “He worked with the Texas Legislature. He’s been able to negotiate for El Paso and compromise when it’s needed. We talked to him about physicians being the leaders of the [health care] team, and he understands the differences in nurse practi- tioner training. And he is willing to listen to any argument and make reasonable, knowledgeable decisions,” said Dr. Handal, an infectious disease specialist. “That’s what it took for us to understand he was the right person for the delegation of El Paso.” El Paso County Medical Society submitted its endorsement
recommendation to TEXPAC’s Candidate Evaluation Commit- tee, which supported the move, as did the full TEXPAC Board of Directors. Come May 27, Mr. Blanco won his party’s nomi- nation with TEXPAC’s support and nearly 70 percent of the vote.
JOIN TEXPAC
All TMA and TMA Alliance members, plus TMA and county medical society staff, are eligible to join TEXPAC. To enlist in the Party of Medicine, visit
www.texpac.org, or call the TMA Knowledge Center at (800) 880-7955.
20 TEXAS MEDICINE September 2014 TODAY
“We [physicians] really made a difference,” Dr. Handal said.
“To me, it’s almost unprofessional if we are not defending the profession,” in the political realm, he says. “We can’t be reac- tive, and politics is a way to be proactive.” With government playing an increasingly broad role in phy- sicians’ and patients’ day-to-day lives, the medical profession needs to be involved more than ever, says TEXPAC Board Chair Jerry Hunsaker, MD. That involvement is critical not only to the PAC’s success as a political entity but also to physicians’ success in caring for their patients. “Political participation is crucial to providing good patient care,” the Corpus Christi ophthalmologist said.
GUERILLA WARFARE In an increasingly difficult political environment, TEXPAC lead- ers say the organization is poised to get even tougher with changes that ensure medicine’s voice rings in the Texas Legisla- ture and that good health policy — not partisan politics — pre- vails. The impending departure of Gov. Rick Perry, combined with big turnover at the Capitol and in statewide offices, made this year’s primary election season one of the most significant Texas has seen in the past 20 years. And big spending by anti- medicine groups made for some contentious races. “The political environment is getting more competitive.
There are more players. And it’s getting more expensive. TEX- PAC has a good track record, but we’ve got room to improve,” said Waco otolaryngologist Brad Holland, MD. The TEXPAC membership chair also heads the organiza-
tion’s restructuring committee. “We don’t want to be a Repub- lican PAC or organization. We don’t want to be a Democratic PAC or organization. We want to be the Party of Medicine. But to do that, we need more of our practicing physicians — those out in the trenches feeling the pain of all that’s brought down on them — we need more of those doctors involved. And we need to do better than the 11 percent of TMA member physi- cians involved.” TEXPAC emerged strong, winning most of the 2014 primary and runoff races in which it endorsed candidates and preserv- ing key seats held by physician and TMA Alliance (the associa- tion’s volunteer force) members. Rep. J.D. Sheffield, DO (R- Gatesville), and Sen. Donna Campbell, MD (R-New Braunfels), each overcame three-way primary races in their districts to win their party nominations without a runoff. The TMA Alliance’s Rep. Susan King (R-Abilene) also took her primary race with nearly 70 percent of the vote. A surge of grassroots activism by TEXPAC and the alliance accompanied those battles.
But the significant loss of some pro-medicine candidates and long-standing office-holders — most notably, family phy- sician Sen. Robert Deuell, MD (R-Greenville) — means physi- cians cannot let down their guard, Dr. Holland warns. TEXPAC leaders say the conservative group Empower Tex- ans and Texas Right to Life ganged up on Senator Deuell for defending medicine on end-of-life issues. (See “Difficult Choic- es,” February 2013 Texas Medicine, pages 35–38.) Their candi- date ousted the three-term veteran lawmaker by a mere 300
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