Jerry Sadler

Jerry Sadler (September 8, 1907 - February 25, 1982) was a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Railroad Commission. From 1961 to 1971, he was the elected Commissioner of the General Land Office.

Early years

Sadler was born near Palestine in Anderson County in East Texas. He served in the U. S. Army 12th Cavalry from 1927 to 1929 at Fort Brown in Brownsville, Texas.

Political career and wartime service

In 1938, Sadler was elected to the Texas Railroad Commission. One of his colleagues on the regulatory body was Ernest O. Thompson, the former mayor of Amarillo known as expert on oil and natural gas policy. Sadler resigned from the commission in 1942 to enter the U.S. Army. He werved during World War II in the Persian Gulf command. He was honorably discharged in 1945 with rank of lieutenant colonel.

After the war, Sadler returned to Anderson County. In the 1946 gubernatorial election, Sadler ran for the Democratic nomination, but was defeated by his successor on the Railroad Commission, Beauford H. Jester of Corsicana.

He was elected a member of the Texas House of Representatives from Anderson County, having served from 1955 to 1961.

Sadler served as Commissioner of the General Land Office of Texas from 1961 - 1971. In 1962, Sadler opposed Senator Ralph Yarborough’s plans to create a National Seashore at South Padre Island. Sadler claimed that a National Seashore that took over state-owned tidelands would prohibit the removal of oil and gas, thus depriving Texas of millions of dollars in revenues dedicated to the permanent public school fund. Using emotionally charged phrases such as "summarily stripped of such great wealth," Commissioner Sadler persuaded Governor Price Daniel, Sr., to appoint a statewide committee to study the feasibility of a state park in place of the National Seashore.

Ultimately, the Padre Island National Seashore was designated.

Ironically, Padre Island would provide the setting for the final phase of Sadler’s tenure as Land Commissioner. Starting in 1968, Sadler was involved with the Platoro company of Indiana, which was dredging along the Gulf Coast near South Padre Island and found the wreck of a Spanish galleon. Platoro kept the treasures, which were removed to Indiana. When Sadler’s name was linked to the company, he went on an offensive demanding accountings from the company, but his involvement became a brewing scandal.

In 1969, State Representative Jake Johnson of San Antonio held a press conference demanding the return of the Spanish treasure. "At the conference, Sadler ended up holding Johnson in a choke hold as a radio reporter stuck a microphone in his face and asked him for comment. 'The land commissioner is choking me,' Johnson replied." ^[1]

Jerry Sadler monument at Texas State Cemetery in Austin, Texas

The following year, State Representative Bob Armstrong defeated Sadler in the Democratic primary and went on to succeed him in that office.

Sadler died in 1982. He was survived by his wife, the former Laura Jones (born August 24, 1920). Sadler is interred at Texas State Cemetery in Austin.

References

1. ^ San Antonio Express-News, March 1, 2007

Political offices
Preceded by Charles Vernon Terrell	Texas Railroad Commissioner 1939-1943	Succeeded by Beauford H. Jester
Texas House of Representatives
Preceded by James Paxton	Member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 27 (Palestine) 1955–1961	Succeeded by Rayford Price
Preceded by Bill Alcorn	Commissioner of the Texas General Land Office 1961–1970	Succeeded by Bob Armstrong

Persondata
Name	Sadler, Jerry
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	September 8, 1907
Place of birth
Date of death	February 25, 1982
Place of death