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|preceded=Murray Watson, Jr.
|preceded=Murray Watson, Jr.
|succeeded=Craig Anthony Washington
|succeeded=Craig Anthony Washington
|office2=President pro tempore of the Texas Senate]
|office2=President pro tempore of the Texas Senate
|term_start2=1981
|term_start2=1981
|term_end2=1981
|term_end2=1981
|preceded2=Jack Ogg
|preceded2=Jack Ogg
|succeeded2=John T. Wilson
|succeeded2=John T. Wilson
|office3=Texas State Representative for Harris County]]
|office3=Texas State Representative for Harris County
|term_start3=1971
|term_start3=1971
|term_end3=1973
|term_end3=1973
'''Walter Henry Mengden, Jr.''' (October 25, 1926 – April 23, 2018), was an [[attorney]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.martindale.com/Walter-H-Mengden-Jr/1678742-lawyer.htm|title=Walter H. Mengden, Jr. Lawyer Profile|publisher=martindale.com|accessdate=September 10, 2011}}</ref> and [[oil]]man in [[Austin]] and [[Houston, Texas|Houston]], [[Texas]], who served as a [[conservative]] [[Republican Party|Republican]] in both houses of the state legislature from Harris County.
'''Walter Henry Mengden, Jr.''' (October 25, 1926 – April 23, 2018), was an [[attorney]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.martindale.com/Walter-H-Mengden-Jr/1678742-lawyer.htm|title=Walter H. Mengden, Jr. Lawyer Profile|publisher=martindale.com|accessdate=September 10, 2011}}</ref> and [[oil]]man in [[Austin]] and [[Houston, Texas|Houston]], [[Texas]], who served as a [[conservative]] [[Republican Party|Republican]] in both houses of the state legislature from Harris County.
==Early years==
==Background==
Mengden was the son of Walter Mengden, Sr. (1903–1986) and Eugenia Mengden (1905–1983) of Houston.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi|title=Social Security Death Index|publisher=ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com|accessdate=September 10, 2011}}</ref> In 1938, the senior Mengdens purchased the Holley-Mengden House at 2240 Glen Haven Boulevard in Houston, now an historic site. There Mengden lived until adulthood.<ref name=hmh>{{cite web|url= http://www.houstontx.gov/planning/AboutPD/news_releases11/HolleyMengden_LogginsHughes.pdf|title=Holley-Mengden House and Loggins-Hughes Building now historic landmarks|date=May 4, 2011|publisher=houstontx.gov|accessdate=September 11, 2011}}</ref> In 1950, Mengden received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the [[University of Texas at Austin]]. Subsequently, he obtained his [[L.L.B.]] and [[Juris Doctor]]ate from the UT School of Law. He was admitted to the bar in 1954. He was a [[Roman Catholic]].<ref name=senate/>
Mengden was the son of Walter Mengden, Sr. (1903–1986) and Eugenia Mengden (1905–1983) of Houston.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi|title=Social Security Death Index|publisher=ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com|accessdate=September 10, 2011}}</ref> In 1938, the senior Mengdens purchased the Holley-Mengden House at 2240 Glen Haven Boulevard in Houston, now an historic site. There Mengden lived until adulthood.<ref name=hmh>{{cite web|url= http://www.houstontx.gov/planning/AboutPD/news_releases11/HolleyMengden_LogginsHughes.pdf|title=Holley-Mengden House and Loggins-Hughes Building now historic landmarks|date=May 4, 2011|publisher=houstontx.gov|accessdate=September 11, 2011}}</ref> In 1950, Mengden received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the [[University of Texas at Austin]]. Subsequently, he obtained his [[L.L.B.]] and [[Juris Doctor]]ate from the UT School of Law. He was admitted to the bar in 1954. He was a [[Roman Catholic]].<ref name=senate/>
Mengden served in the [[United States Navy]] during [[World War II]] and the [[United States Army|Army]] in the [[Korean War]]. He and his wife, the former June Shell (born 1933), have a daughter and three sons.<ref name=davis>Jim Davis of Harte-Hanks, "Senatorial Candidates Gear Up for Race," ''The Paris (Texas) News,'' April 25, 1982.</ref>
Mengden served in the [[United States Navy]] during [[World War II]] and the [[United States Army|Army]] in the [[Korean War]]. He and his wife, the former June Shell (born 1933), have a daughter and three sons.<ref name=davis>Jim Davis of Harte-Hanks, "Senatorial Candidates Gear Up for Race," ''The Paris (Texas) News,'' April 25, 1982.</ref>
==Political life==
After a single term in the Texas House in District 22-2 in 1971 and 1972, Mengden was elected in 1972 to senate district 13, a post that he filled from anuary 1973 to January 1983.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lrl.state.tx.us/legeLeaders/members/memberdisplay.cfm?memberID=540|title=Walter Mengden|publisher=lrl.state.tx.us|accessdate=September 10, 2011}}</ref> District 13 had previously been based in the [[Waco, Texas|Waco]] and [[Temple, Texas|Temple]] area of Central Texas but was moved to Harris County with the 1971 redistricting. The district was further redistricted in the 1980s and is now majority [[African American]] and represented by a [[Democratic Party|Democrat]].
After a single term in the Texas House in District 22-2 in 1971 and 1972, Mengden was elected in 1972 to senate district 13, a post that he filled from anuary 1973 to January 1983.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lrl.state.tx.us/legeLeaders/members/memberdisplay.cfm?memberID=540|title=Walter Mengden|publisher=lrl.state.tx.us|accessdate=September 10, 2011}}</ref> District 13 had previously been based in the [[Waco, Texas|Waco]] and [[Temple, Texas|Temple]] area of Central Texas but was moved to Harris County with the 1971 redistricting. The district was further redistricted in the 1980s and is now majority [[African American]] and represented by a [[Democratic Party|Democrat]].
==Senate service==
===Senate service===
Mengden was sometimes called "Mad Dog Mengden" for his opposition to many bills supported by his more [[liberal]] colleagues,<ref name=hmh/> but he remained popular in District 13, as it was then configured, having been reelected in 1976 and 1980 with little opposition. Mengden was particularly known for his sponsorship of "law-and-order" legislation backed by law-enforcement agencies and appealing to conservative voters concerned about the crime rate. The Sheriff's Association of Texas, in its publication ''Texas Lawman,'' named Mengden the "Most Outstanding Member of
Mengden was sometimes called "Mad Dog Mengden" for his opposition to many bills supported by his more [[liberal]] colleagues,<ref name=hmh/> but he remained popular in District 13, as it was then configured, having been reelected in 1976 and 1980 with little opposition. Mengden was particularly known for his sponsorship of "law-and-order" legislation backed by law-enforcement agencies and appealing to conservative voters concerned about the crime rate. The Sheriff's Association of Texas, in its publication ''Texas Lawman,'' named Mengden the "Most Outstanding Member of
Mengden also pushed, unsuccessfully, for the adoption of [[initiative]] and [[referendum]] in Texas, having lobbied for the reform measure during the 1974 state constitutional convention, which adjourned without a new governing document.<ref name=iTenit>{{cite web|url=http://www.iandrinstitute.org/Texas.htm|title=Initiative and Referendum Institute|publisher=iandrinstitute.org|accessdate=September 10, 2011}}</ref> In the initiative, which started in [[South Dakota]] in 1898, voters can write their own legislation and submit to a popular referendum, thus bypassing the legislature in certain situations. Instead, Texans can vote only on state constitutional amendments, usually held in November of odd years. These amendments are usually parochial and non-controversial in nature and thus attract little interest. An exception was the 1991 amendment to establish the state [[lottery]]. Initiative and referendum enjoyed large support from grassroots Republicans, but Governor [[Bill Clements]] never called the promised special session of the legislature to consider the measure. Thereafter, Governor [[George W. Bush]] had initiative and referendum removed from the party platform, and support for the reform has since languished.<ref name=init/>
Mengden also pushed, unsuccessfully, for the adoption of [[initiative]] and [[referendum]] in Texas, having lobbied for the reform measure during the 1974 state constitutional convention, which adjourned without a new governing document.<ref name=iTenit>{{cite web|url=http://www.iandrinstitute.org/Texas.htm|title=Initiative and Referendum Institute|publisher=iandrinstitute.org|accessdate=September 10, 2011}}</ref> In the initiative, which started in [[South Dakota]] in 1898, voters can write their own legislation and submit to a popular referendum, thus bypassing the legislature in certain situations. Instead, Texans can vote only on state constitutional amendments, usually held in November of odd years. These amendments are usually parochial and non-controversial in nature and thus attract little interest. An exception was the 1991 amendment to establish the state [[lottery]]. Initiative and referendum enjoyed large support from grassroots Republicans, but Governor [[Bill Clements]] never called the promised special session of the legislature to consider the measure. Thereafter, Governor [[George W. Bush]] had initiative and referendum removed from the party platform, and support for the reform has since languished.<ref name=init/>
In 1981, Mengden was one of four senators named as Senate President Pro Tempore. He soon left the Senate to contest the 1982 Republican nomination for the [[U. S. Senate]] to challenge the two-term [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] [[Lloyd M. Bentsen, Jr.]], also of Houston, an icon in the eyes of most Texans at the time. Mengden lost the nomination to then [[U.S. Representative]] James Mitchell "Jim" Collins (1916-1989) of [[Dallas]]. Mengden accused Collins of having focused in [[Washington, D.C.]], primarily on killing "bad legislation," rather than passing needed bills. "Our problems are so great that even if that was valid sixteen or seventeen years ago, it's not today," said Mengden, who claimed to have obtained passage in the state Senate of ninety-one bills.<ref name=davis/> Both candidates ran as active supporters of President Reagan.
===Campaign for U.S. Senate, Republican primary 1982===
In 1981, Mengden was one of four senators named as Senate President Pro Tempore. He soon left the Senate to contest the 1982 Republican nomination for the [[U. S. Senate]] to challenge the two-term [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] [[Lloyd Bentsen|Loyd Millard Bentsen, Jr.]], also of Houston, an icon in the eyes of most Texans at the time. Mengden lost the nomination to then [[U.S. Representative]] James Mitchell "Jim" Collins (1916-1989) of [[Dallas]]. Mengden accused Collins of having focused in [[Washington, D.C.]], primarily on killing "bad legislation," rather than passing needed bills. "Our problems are so great that even if that was valid sixteen or seventeen years ago, it's not today," said Mengden, who claimed to have obtained passage in the state Senate of ninety-one bills.<ref name=davis/> Both candidates ran as active supporters of President Reagan.
Collins polled 152,469 votes (58 percent) in the low-turnout primary to Mengden's 91,780 (34.9 percent). A third contender, computer executive Don L. Richardson, received the remaining 7.1 percent of the vote. Collins was then handily defeated by Bentsen. The year 1982 remains the most recent in Texas political history in which Democrats carried all statewide offices on the ballot.
Collins polled 152,469 votes (58 percent) in the low-turnout primary to Mengden's 91,780 (34.9 percent). A third contender, computer executive Don L. Richardson, received the remaining 7.1 percent of the vote. Collins was then handily defeated by Bentsen. The year 1982 remains the most recent in Texas political history in which Democrats carried all statewide offices on the ballot.