Although it was a razor-thin victory, the Dems, and some Republican challengers, apparently got the message. Ms. Delisi ran unopposed the next seven elections, until she squashed Bill Smith in 2006 to secure a ninth term.
Last September, she said she would not seek re-election. In late July, Ms. Delisi retired from office. She said she is expecting to receive an appointment soon, but would not elaborate.
Ms. Delisi will continue to work in Austin, hanging her hat at Delisi Communications, her son Ted’s firm that provides political consulting and direct mail services.
“Here’s the relationship. I call him boss. He calls me Mom,” Ms. Delisi said. “I’m going to be doing strategic development. This is the kind of stuff that I love. I don’t have any business yet, but I’m giving it a whirl.”
Looking back on almost two decades of public service, Ms. Delisi said she didn’t want to continue working in the Legislature if the job would become routine.
“There always has to be caution. I was watching myself, wanting to be sure I still had zeal for the job. It can be very demanding and some people just wear out,” Ms. Delisi said. “I didn’t want to just occupy a seat.”
Advice for the new representative
Mrs. Delisi said although contracts have secured water for Bell County through the first half of this century, her successor should sleep with one eye open.
“There are people in Austin who want to change that. San Antonio is thirsty and they look at us and they say you’re floating on an oasis,” she said. “When it comes to water I am fiercely protective.”
Ms. Delisi also advised the winner of the November election to be patient and persistent.
“What I have found, very necessary legislation takes three terms. There’s one term you talk about it, and the fur flies. There’s another that all the legislation is written but you can’t get it passed, and finally (the third time) you do get it passed.”
One issue Ms. Delisi has worked on for most of her political career - widening Interstate 35 through Bell County - is unfinished. Although bulldozers are rolling on sections of the interstate and Loop 363, future construction has been stalled. There is no relief in sight for Salado, Troy and the elevated section of I-35 through Temple.
“Here’s the challenge for a district like ours. We are an area that is critical for the mobility of the state, but we don’t have the population. So, trying to get the state to pay attention to us, you have to be there constantly saying, this area needs funding,” Ms. Delisi said, hammering her fist into her palm.
And of course, in politics you need skin thick like rawhide and waterproof like a duck’s back.
“I’ve had people picketing my office,” Ms. Delisi said, regarding the time when the Legislature was grappling with school finance reform. “I get many vitriolic letters. When I announced that I was retiring I got this e-mail, ‘good riddance.’”
No glass ceiling
When Ms. Delisi joined the Legislature there were a little more than a dozen women representatives out of 150. Although a minority, she said it never felt like there was a “men only” sign hanging over the Capitol front steps.
“If you do your homework, know what you’re talking about, an honest broker, have good ideas, it’s not a good-old-boy system, it’s just a good policy system,” Ms. Delisi said. “I’ve been super pleased with the appointments I received under three speakers.”
During her tenure as state representative, Ms. Delisi wrote, sponsored and carried legislation covering a myriad of statewide issues. But she said partnerships forged with the state are more rewarding because they yield specific results for Bell County.
“I’m very, very pleased with the growth of Temple College and with their emphasis on the health sciences, with their dual credit programs,” Ms. Delisi said. “I’m very pleased of the buildings over my tenure that were built at Scott & White, the A&M buildings, the education building and the medical school building.”
Dr. J. James Rohack, director of the Scott & White Center for Healthcare Policy, has worked with Ms. Delisi in several capacities. He said the medical community would sorely miss the longtime legislator.
“As Texas Medical Association president, one of the things we worked with was trying to control health care costs with children,” Rohack said. ”Clearly, Rep. Delisi was a champion to make children healthy. We have lost a real champion in public health.”
Today, at age 65, Ms. Delisi is pretty and petite. But fellow lawmakers learned not to underestimate her spine.
“I think I was referred to one time as a gentle touch to the throat,” she said, with a wry smile.
But getting things done in Austin takes more than backbone, the grandmother and former health education teacher said. It takes preparation, negotiation and teamwork.
One of her teammates, state Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, said Rep. Delisi always addressed pending legislation with Bell County’s best interest in mind. Working with Rep. Delisi on health care, education and transportation issues, they shared a “common philosophy” of cooperation.
“Every time one of us had a problem, the first thing we did was call the other,” Fraser said. “It’s going to be a challenge, getting up to speed. It’s going to be huge shoes to fill for the person coming in.”
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