Wright, James Claude, Jr. (1922-2015), a Texas Democrat, served as speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 1989. Wright resigned as speaker and as a member of Congress after the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct accused him of breaking a number of House ethics rules.
One charge was that Wright had accepted about $145,000 worth of gifts from a Texas real estate developer who was in a position to benefit directly from legislation over which Wright had influence. The committee also accused Wright of earning more income from outside sources than House rules permitted. According to the committee, the extra income was disguised as earnings from the sale of Wright’s book Reflections of a Public Man (1984). Wright denied that he had broken any House rules. However, he resigned as speaker and gave up his seat in Congress. Before becoming speaker, Wright had served as majority leader of the House since 1976.
Wright was born on Dec. 22, 1922, in Fort Worth, Texas, and attended Weatherford College and the University of Texas. He left the university in 1941, during World War II, to enlist in the Army Air Forces. From 1947 to 1949, Wright was a member of the Texas House of Representatives. Then, at the age of 26, he was elected mayor of Weatherford, Texas. He was mayor until 1954, when he won election to the U.S. House of Representatives. In Congress, Wright supported generous spending for defense and highway construction. He also favored water conservation. Wright died on May 6, 2015.
