Mae Jackson Waco Mayor

Questions #1. Where and when was she born? #2. What were the results when people voted? #3. What was her role in the government? #4. How many years was she in government? #5. How did the citizens of Waco and the people in the government view her? #6. When did she die?

Answers #1. She was born in Teague, Texas. She was born on September 10, 1941. #2. Mae Jackson,62 years old, got 2,453 votes. Maurice Labens,74 years old, got 2,187 votes. Randy Riggs,41 years old, got 1,546 votes. Bruce Dyer, 72 years old, got less than 90 votes. Chris “Scottie” Josely, 22 years old, got less than 90 votes. #3. Mae Jackson’s role in the government was Waco Mayor. #4. She was in the government for 5 years. She was a city council woman for 4 years, and a mayor for 1 year. #5. Lyndon Olson Jr., a Democratic activist and former U.S. ambassador of Sweden, said, “She’s a very direct, very honest person. She didn’t believe there were any limits to what she could do with her life.” Congressman Chet Edwards called her a “barrier breaker and a bridge builder.” McLennan County Commissioner, Lester Gibson, said, “Mae Jackson left foot prints that are easily followed.” #6. She died on February 11,2005. She lived to be 63 years old. Some say she died of a blood clot.

Mae’s Quotes “If you are really sincere about wanting to help people, no matter who they are, no matter where they live, that’s a true born leader.” “The mayor’ s job is to look at the bigger picture in terms of what’s good for Waco all over.” “When I was thinking about running for mayor, I talked to a woman out on Harris Creek I’ve known for years. I was asking if she’d support me. And she said, ‘Mae, I don’t have any trouble supporting you. You’ve always represented the majority with-out sacrificing the needs of the minority.’ And that’s what I grew up believing. That’s my philosophy.”

Extra Information Education:Valedictorian, Booker T. Washington High School (1958) in Teague; B.S., Texas Southern University in Houston; Master of Social Work, Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio; doctorate, University of Texas at Arlington. Public Service: *President of the Local Coalition of Black Democrats, Waco, in 1978. *Vice chairwoman, Governor’s Commission for Women, from 1985 to 1987. Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, from 1991 to 1997. *Waco District 1 councilwoman, from 2000 to 2004. *Waco Mayor, from May 24, 2004 to February 11,2005.

Extra Information Mae Jackson and her husband, Dillard Huddleston, had three kids, two girls and one boy, and a grandchild. Jackson was a volunteer in many organizations, such as the Laura Edwards Day Care Center, Mental Health Association, Waco Boys Club, and many more. Jackson did many things as a mayor. For example, she brought Antioch Baptist and First Baptist together, and she brought Democrats and Republicans together, and that’s just a few of the many contributions she made to the city of Waco.

Extra Information When Mae was on Waco’s city council, she fought for funding the new city community center at Quinn Campus, the formerly abandoned college campus in East Waco. When Mae entered the 2004 mayoral race, she was thinking of some ideas to make Waco a better place. Some of her ideas were increasing tourism and downtown development, building a new library, expanding the convention center, reducing homelessness and improving housing stock in older neighborhoods.