by April Castro
The Associated Press
Democrat Jim Mattox, known as the junkyard dog of Texas politics who served in Congress and as state attorney general and battled Ann Richards in a vicious campaign for governor, has died. He was 65.
Mattox, a bare-knuckled political brawler while the state was still fiercly Democratic, died at his Dripping Springs home, his sister, Janice Mattox, said Thursday. She did not know the cause of death.
He was remembered for his advocacy of the everyday Texan.
"Jim Mattox was a tireless fighter for average working families in Texas," said U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco. "His was a voice that will be missed but not forgotten."
As attorney general, Mattox earned a reputation as a staunch advocate of Texas consumers, but his battles often sparked controversy.
He sued Mobil Oil Co., an action that benefited a campaign donor. Mattox was indicted on commercial bribery charges but was acquitted by a jury in 1985.
He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1976 and remained in office until 1982. He was elected attorney general in 1982 and re-elected in 1986.
In his unsuccessful run for governor in 1990, his bruising campaign style — which some observers say alienated Democratic voters and cost him the nomination — was put on display. He lost to Ann Richards after accusing her of cocaine use with no evidence to back it up.
"Did she use marijuana? Or something worse, like cocaine? Not as a college kid, but as a 47-year-old elected official sworn to uphold the law," Mattox asked in one 1990 television ad. Later he alleged outright that Richards, then the state treasurer, once was addicted to cocaine.
That campaign effectively ended Mattox’s political career, though he tried twice more, losing the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in 1994 to Richard Fisher and losing another run at his old seat at the attorney general’s office in 1998 to Republican John Cornyn.
Mattox had his share of detractors.
In the 1998 campaign, the Texas Civil Justice League bashed Mattox in a fund-raising letter for Cornyn: "Mattox’s vicious attack campaigns are infamous — and frighteningly effective," the letter said. "That’s why he has long been known as the ‘junkyard dog’ of Texas politics."
Mattox started his career as the assistant district attorney in Dallas and later ran for the state Legislature to represent east Dallas. While in the Texas House, he took an interest in ethics reform and open government legislation.
In Congress, he was the only freshman elected to the powerful House Budget Committee and later chaired that committee’s Task Force on National Security and Veterans Affairs, as well as the Banking Committee.
Mattox had remained active in politics. He campaigned for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in this year’s Texas primary, saying the former first lady had "earned her spurs."
Mattox appeared at a packed rally by former President Bill Clinton in Austin before the primary, helping to fire up the crowd with a rousing introduction of the former president.
Texas Democratic Party Chairman Boyd Richie called Mattox a "tough public servant," naming his work in child support enforcement and consumer protection initiatives.
"His legacy of service and dedication to our great state will endure, and he will be dearly missed," Richie said. "Jim truly represented the best interests of Texans and will not soon be forgotten."
He is survived by his wife, Marta, and their two children, Jim and Cissy.
Associated Press Writers Paul J. Weber in Dallas and Jay Root and Kelley Shannon in Austin contributed to this report.