Betty Brown is the state district representative for Texas House of Representatives District 4

Texas House of Representatives District 4

District 4 is a district of the Texas House of Representatives that serves the whole of Kaufman County and Henderson County. The current representative for District 4 is Republican Betty Brown, who was first elected in 1998.-District description:...

. She was first elected to the position in 1998.

Asian-American name changing controversy

She ignited a firestorm in 2009 when, while the Texas House Elections Committee was hearing testimony on the voting difficulties encountered by Asian American

Asian American

Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...

s who use two different names, she suggested that Asian Americans adopt names that are "easier for Americans to deal with." Though at first defending her statement, accusing Democrats

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 of making the issue "about race," she eventually apologized for the incident, acknowledging the "diversity of Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

" and the "enrichment" that Asian-Americans bring to the state.

2010 Election

She ran for reelection, but in the March primaries she lost her seat to Lance Gooden, who was a former aide of hers.