Judy Petty Wolf
Encyclopedia
Judy C. Petty, later Judy Petty Wolf (born September 4, 1943), is a retired officer of the University of Texas Health Science Center
at San Antonio
and a former Republican
member of the Arkansas House of Representatives
. As a lawmaker, she was the primary sponsor of landmark legislation on justice for crime
victims.
A native of the capital city
of Little Rock, Wolf graduated magna cum laude from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock
. As Judy Petty, a divorced mother with a young daughter, she took a job in the middle 1960s for $300 per month as a secretary to Winthrop Rockefeller
, the twice elected first Republican governor of Arkansas since Reconstruction. She was state chairman of the Arkansas Reagan for President Campaign in 1976 and supported Ronald W. Reagan in 1980 and 1984.
challenge to entrenched Democratic
U.S. Representative Wilbur D. Mills, the chairman at the time of the powerful tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee. Mills' involvement with a Washington, D.C.
, stripper called "Fanne Foxe" provided an opening for Petty's conservative challenge to the veteran lawmaker. (Marshall Frady, Southerners, 128) She was the only Republican ever to challenge Mills. In a heavily Democratic year nationally, she still managed to gain nearly 42 percent of the vote.
Petty criticized Mills' integrity and focused on contributions that he received in his brief run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1972. David L. Parr, a former special counsel with Associated Milk Producers, Inc., pleaded guilty to making an illegal $75,000 contribution to Mills' presidential campaign. Mills replied that his aides accepted the contribution without his permission. A similar donation was made by Gulf Oil Corporation in the amount of $15,000. Petty declared that Mills was "standing with his feet planted in sour milk."
Petty took a mainline Republican stand on defense and federal spending.
She campaigned most actively in the district. In Conway
north of Little Rock, she was refused permission by State Senator Guy Hamilton "Mutt" Jones, Sr. (1911-1986), to ride in the Faulkner County fair parade
.
President Ford posed for pictures with Mrs. Petty in the campaign but declined to campaign actively for her, lest he anger his old House colleague Mills. (Arkansas Gazette, November 3, 1974) Ronald Reagan, however, came to Little Rock to speak on Petty's behalf. Petty hammered away at what she perceived as Mills' arrogance of power. "The most beautiful words in the Constitution are not 'he's the chairman' or 'he's the powerful,; it's 'we the people,'" she exclaimed.
Mills received 80,296 votes and won all nine counties in his district as he had always done. Petty trailed with 56,038 (41.1 percent). The Republican's better tallies were in Saline and Pulaski counties, where she drew some 46 pecent each.
as governor, although she outpolled all other Republicans on the ballot.
In her 1982 reelection, Petty was targeted by the Arkansas Gazette, which termed the former Winthrop Rockefeller aide "an ultraconservative Republican whose record is her worst reference". (Gazette, October 27, 1982) However, Petty was endorsed for reelection by the United Transportation Union, which passed up the pro-labor choice, Democrat Jim Brandon, who accused Petty of having a negative record in regard to workers and employment issues. (Arkansas Gazette, October 5, 1982)
In 1984, Petty did not seek a third legislative term but instead ran once again for the Second Congressional District seat being then vacated by her fellow Republican Edwin R. Bethune of White County
, north of Little Rock. Bethune ran instead, unsuccessfully as it developed, for the United States Senate
. Incumbent
Democrat David Hampton Pryor
handily won his second term and ended Bethune's elective political career.
Petty faced the formidable challenge of the high-strung Democratic sheriff
in Pulaski County, Tommy F. Robinson
.
Robinson won the election based on his blue-collar appeal. Later he switched to the Republican Party, and in 1990, unsuccessfully sought the party's gubernatorial nomination, having lost to the favorite of business, Sheffield Nelson
. Robinson's House seat also reverted to its traditional Democratic moorings with the election of former U.S. Representative Ray Thornton
, who had served during the 1970s from the Fourth Congressional District in south Arkansas. The seat remained Democratic until 2010, when Tim Griffin defeated Democratic state senator Joyce Elliott
.
After her legislative service, Petty was the director of public affairs for the bipartisan American Legislative Exchange Council
and public affairs consultant to the U.S. Department of Transportation, all in Washington, D.C. She represented the United States at North Atlantic Treaty Organization conferences in France
, Belgium
, England
, and Germany
.
in the New Orleans suburbs after she married her high school sweetheart, veterinarian
, Dr. Robert H. Wolf. They both took jobs with the UT Health Sciences Center in San Antonio, he in 1987 and she in 1989.
As Judy Wolf, she coordinated special events and served as director of community relations and special services, vice president for university relations, and, finally, senior vice president for external affairs. She oversaw the center's fund-raising and development programs, news and media relations, public relations, communications and publications, community relations and special events.
Mrs. Wolf produced award-winning videos and publications and directed the Health Science Center’s yearlong 25th anniversary celebration, which included more than 50 community events. She received the "Best of Texas" award from the Texas Public Relations Association for the most outstanding PR campaign in the state. Magazine and newsletters produced under her direction secured state, regional, national, and international awards, including the Gold Quill Award, presented in Toronto, Canada
, in 2003 for the Mission magazine and the HSC News. One of her later accomplishments included the dedication ceremony of the Sam and Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies.
In 1997, she was appointed to a four-year term to represent Bexar County
on the Statewide Health Coordinating Council on the recommendation of State Senator Jeff Wentworth
of San Antonio.
Dr. Wolf, meanwhile, was the director of laboratory animal research and was instrumental in the development of some of the center's research buildings. The couple retired jointly in the summer of 2006. Health Sciences Center President Dr. Francisco G. Cigarroa
, a native of Laredo
, described the Wolfs as "integral to almost everything that has gone on at this Health Science Center in the last nineteen years. They have been extraordinary leaders, as well as mentors and advisors to numerous individuals at the Health Science Center. They will be greatly missed, but we wish them much happiness in their retirement years."
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is an institute of health science education and research, located in the South Texas Medical Center....
at San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
and a former Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
member of the Arkansas House of Representatives
Arkansas House of Representatives
The Arkansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The House is composed of 100 members elected from an equal amount of constituencies across the state. Each district has an average population of 26,734...
. As a lawmaker, she was the primary sponsor of landmark legislation on justice for crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
victims.
A native of the capital city
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
of Little Rock, Wolf graduated magna cum laude from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock
University of Arkansas at Little Rock
University of Arkansas at Little Rock , is a public research university located in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States, and the second largest university by enrollment in the state of Arkansas....
. As Judy Petty, a divorced mother with a young daughter, she took a job in the middle 1960s for $300 per month as a secretary to Winthrop Rockefeller
Winthrop Rockefeller
Winthrop Rockefeller was a politician and philanthropist who served as the first Republican Governor of Arkansas since Reconstruction. He was a third-generation member of the Rockefeller family.-Early life:...
, the twice elected first Republican governor of Arkansas since Reconstruction. She was state chairman of the Arkansas Reagan for President Campaign in 1976 and supported Ronald W. Reagan in 1980 and 1984.
Challenging Wilbur Mills
In 1974, she gained national attention with her GOPRepublican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
challenge to entrenched Democratic
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...
U.S. Representative Wilbur D. Mills, the chairman at the time of the powerful tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee. Mills' involvement with a Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, stripper called "Fanne Foxe" provided an opening for Petty's conservative challenge to the veteran lawmaker. (Marshall Frady, Southerners, 128) She was the only Republican ever to challenge Mills. In a heavily Democratic year nationally, she still managed to gain nearly 42 percent of the vote.
Petty criticized Mills' integrity and focused on contributions that he received in his brief run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1972. David L. Parr, a former special counsel with Associated Milk Producers, Inc., pleaded guilty to making an illegal $75,000 contribution to Mills' presidential campaign. Mills replied that his aides accepted the contribution without his permission. A similar donation was made by Gulf Oil Corporation in the amount of $15,000. Petty declared that Mills was "standing with his feet planted in sour milk."
Petty took a mainline Republican stand on defense and federal spending.
She campaigned most actively in the district. In Conway
Conway, Arkansas
Conway is the county seat of Faulkner County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 58,908 at the 2010 census, making Conway the seventh most populous city in Arkansas. It is a principal city of the Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area which had...
north of Little Rock, she was refused permission by State Senator Guy Hamilton "Mutt" Jones, Sr. (1911-1986), to ride in the Faulkner County fair parade
Parade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of some kind...
.
President Ford posed for pictures with Mrs. Petty in the campaign but declined to campaign actively for her, lest he anger his old House colleague Mills. (Arkansas Gazette, November 3, 1974) Ronald Reagan, however, came to Little Rock to speak on Petty's behalf. Petty hammered away at what she perceived as Mills' arrogance of power. "The most beautiful words in the Constitution are not 'he's the chairman' or 'he's the powerful,; it's 'we the people,'" she exclaimed.
Mills received 80,296 votes and won all nine counties in his district as he had always done. Petty trailed with 56,038 (41.1 percent). The Republican's better tallies were in Saline and Pulaski counties, where she drew some 46 pecent each.
Politics in the 1980s
In 1980, Petty was elected to the first of two two-years terms in the state legislature from a Little Rock district. She benefited from a GOP tide that year, with the election of Reagan as president and Frank D. WhiteFrank D. White
Frank Durward White was the 41st Governor of the U.S. state of Arkansas since Reconstruction. He served a single two-year term from 1981 to 1983. He is one of only two people to have defeated President Bill Clinton in an election. Frank Durward White (June 4, 1933 – May 21, 2003) was...
as governor, although she outpolled all other Republicans on the ballot.
In her 1982 reelection, Petty was targeted by the Arkansas Gazette, which termed the former Winthrop Rockefeller aide "an ultraconservative Republican whose record is her worst reference". (Gazette, October 27, 1982) However, Petty was endorsed for reelection by the United Transportation Union, which passed up the pro-labor choice, Democrat Jim Brandon, who accused Petty of having a negative record in regard to workers and employment issues. (Arkansas Gazette, October 5, 1982)
In 1984, Petty did not seek a third legislative term but instead ran once again for the Second Congressional District seat being then vacated by her fellow Republican Edwin R. Bethune of White County
White County, Arkansas
White County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of 2010, the population was 77,076. The county seat is Searcy. White County is Arkansas's 31st county, formed on October 23, 1835, from portions of Independence, Jackson, and Pulaski counties and named for Hugh Lawson White, a...
, north of Little Rock. Bethune ran instead, unsuccessfully as it developed, for the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
. Incumbent
Incumbent
The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
Democrat David Hampton Pryor
David Pryor
David Hampton Pryor is a former Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives and United States Senator from the State of Arkansas. Pryor also served as 39th Governor of Arkansas from 1975 to 1979 and was a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1960 to 1966...
handily won his second term and ended Bethune's elective political career.
Petty faced the formidable challenge of the high-strung Democratic sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
in Pulaski County, Tommy F. Robinson
Tommy F. Robinson
Tommy Franklin Robinson is a politician from the state of Arkansas.-Early life:Robinson was born in Little Rock and graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He served in the United States Navy from 1959 to 1963....
.
Robinson won the election based on his blue-collar appeal. Later he switched to the Republican Party, and in 1990, unsuccessfully sought the party's gubernatorial nomination, having lost to the favorite of business, Sheffield Nelson
Sheffield Nelson
Sheffield E. Nelson is a lawyer, businessman, and politician from Little Rock, Arkansas. Originally a Democrat, Nelson in 1990 ran for governor of Arkansas as a Republican against then governor and future U.S. President Bill Clinton and in 1994 against the Democratic Governor Jim Guy Tucker.Nelson...
. Robinson's House seat also reverted to its traditional Democratic moorings with the election of former U.S. Representative Ray Thornton
Ray Thornton
Raymond Hoyt "Ray" Thornton, Jr. is a former U.S. Representative from the US state of Arkansas.Thornton earned a degree in political science from Yale University and, later, a law degree from the University of Arkansas...
, who had served during the 1970s from the Fourth Congressional District in south Arkansas. The seat remained Democratic until 2010, when Tim Griffin defeated Democratic state senator Joyce Elliott
Joyce Elliott
Joyce Ann Elliott is a Democratic member of the Arkansas Senate, representing the 33rd District since 2009. She is the former Majority Leader. She was previously a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from 2000 through 2006.-2010 U.S...
.
After her legislative service, Petty was the director of public affairs for the bipartisan American Legislative Exchange Council
American Legislative Exchange Council
The American Legislative Exchange Council is a politically conservative 501 non-profit Policy Organization, consisting of both state legislators and members of the private sector. ALEC's mission statement describes the organization's purpose as the advancement of free-market principles, limited...
and public affairs consultant to the U.S. Department of Transportation, all in Washington, D.C. She represented the United States at North Atlantic Treaty Organization conferences in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
UT Health Sciences Center
Petty lived for a time in CovingtonCovington, Louisiana
Covington is a city in and the parish seat of St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 8,483 at the 2000 census. It is located at a fork of the Bogue Falaya and the Tchefuncte River....
in the New Orleans suburbs after she married her high school sweetheart, veterinarian
Veterinarian
A veterinary physician, colloquially called a vet, shortened from veterinarian or veterinary surgeon , is a professional who treats disease, disorder and injury in animals....
, Dr. Robert H. Wolf. They both took jobs with the UT Health Sciences Center in San Antonio, he in 1987 and she in 1989.
As Judy Wolf, she coordinated special events and served as director of community relations and special services, vice president for university relations, and, finally, senior vice president for external affairs. She oversaw the center's fund-raising and development programs, news and media relations, public relations, communications and publications, community relations and special events.
Mrs. Wolf produced award-winning videos and publications and directed the Health Science Center’s yearlong 25th anniversary celebration, which included more than 50 community events. She received the "Best of Texas" award from the Texas Public Relations Association for the most outstanding PR campaign in the state. Magazine and newsletters produced under her direction secured state, regional, national, and international awards, including the Gold Quill Award, presented in Toronto, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, in 2003 for the Mission magazine and the HSC News. One of her later accomplishments included the dedication ceremony of the Sam and Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies.
In 1997, she was appointed to a four-year term to represent Bexar County
Bexar County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,392,931 people, 488,942 households, and 345,681 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,117 people per square mile . There were 521,359 housing units at an average density of 418 per square mile...
on the Statewide Health Coordinating Council on the recommendation of State Senator Jeff Wentworth
Jeff Wentworth
Earl Jeffrey "Jeff" Wentworth is a Republican member of the Texas Senate since 1993. He succeeded Republican Cyndi Taylor Krier , who instead became the Bexar County judge...
of San Antonio.
Dr. Wolf, meanwhile, was the director of laboratory animal research and was instrumental in the development of some of the center's research buildings. The couple retired jointly in the summer of 2006. Health Sciences Center President Dr. Francisco G. Cigarroa
Francisco G. Cigarroa
Francisco Gonzalez Cigarroa is a medical doctor and Chancellor of the University of Texas System. He is also the first Hispanic to serve as president of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio ....
, a native of Laredo
Laredo, Texas
Laredo is the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, located on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 236,091 making it the 3rd largest on the United States-Mexican border,...
, described the Wolfs as "integral to almost everything that has gone on at this Health Science Center in the last nineteen years. They have been extraordinary leaders, as well as mentors and advisors to numerous individuals at the Health Science Center. They will be greatly missed, but we wish them much happiness in their retirement years."