Albert Bel Fay - Running For Texas Land Commissioner

Running For Texas Land Commissioner

In 1962 and 1966, Fay was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for Texas land commissioner. In the latter race he won the endorsement of the AFL-CIO executive board. He lost both races to popular Democrat Jerry Sadler, who once had gubernatorial ambitions of his own. In the 1962 campaign, Fay hailed U.S. President John F. Kennedy for signing into law the establishment of the Padre Island National Seashore north of Brownsville.

In 1966, Fay supported President Lyndon B. Johnson in the establishment of the Guadalupe Mountains National Park in West Texas near the New Mexico border. Both acquisitions had long been strongly promoted by Democratic U.S. Senator Ralph Yarborough. Previously, Texas had only one national park: Big Bend along the Rio Grande River in the southwestern part of the state. Fay found himself allying with liberal Democrat Yarborough, whereas his opponent, Sadler, and the Texas Republican U.S. Senator John G. Tower were opposed to the additional park lands. Sadler took the view that the acquisition of lands from private individuals would mean less property tax revenues needed to provide the local share of financing of public schools as well as declining funds to the state Permanent School Fund.

No Republican was elected land commissioner until 1998, when current Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst won the position. Dewhurst succeeded long-time Land Commissioner Garry Mauro, who had first been elected in 1982.