Gus Franklin Mutscher is a former Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives

Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives

The Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the Texas House of Representatives. The Speaker's main duties are to conduct meetings of the House, appoint committees, and enforce the Rules of the House...

, having served from 1969-1972. He was one of several Texas politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

s indicted

Indictment

An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...

 in the Sharpstown bank stock fraud scandal

Sharpstown scandal

The Sharpstown scandal was a stock fraud scandal in the state of Texas in 1971 and 1972 involving the highest levels of the state government. The name came from the involvement of the Sharpstown area of Houston.-Background:...

 (was later found not guilty on appeal). Mutscher's opponents, many within his own party, were known as the "Dirty 30"; their ranks included Joseph Hugh Allen

Joseph Hugh Allen

Joseph Hugh Allen was a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives from the industrial city of Baytown, who fought for ethics reform...

 of Baytown

Baytown, Texas

Baytown is a city within Harris County and partially in Chambers County in the Gulf Coast region of the U.S. state of Texas. Located within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area, it lies along both State Highway 146 and Interstate 10. As of 2010, Baytown had an population of 71,802...

 and Robert Gammage

Robert Gammage

Robert Alton "Bob" Gammage is a politician from the U.S. state of Texas, having served as a Democrat in the Texas House of Representatives, the Texas State Senate, and the United States House of Representatives....

 of Houston

Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

.

Mutscher was born in the community of William Penn in Washington County. He attended the William Penn Common School and graduated from Brenham High School in Brenham

Brenham, Texas

Brenham is a city in east-central Texas in Washington County, Texas, United States, with a population of 16,147 according to the 2009 census. It is the county seat of Washington County...

. He attended Blinn College

Blinn College

Blinn College is a two-year academic institution based in Brenham, Texas with campuses in Brenham, Bryan, Schulenburg, and Sealy. While the Brenham campus is Blinn's main campus, more than 70% of students attend the Bryan campus....

, the community college

Community college

A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries.-Australia:Community colleges carry on the tradition of adult education, which was established in Australia around mid 19th century when evening classes were held to help adults...

 of Washington County in Brenham, on a baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 scholarship, he graduated with an Associate of Arts degree. The then enrolled in the University of Texas at Austin

University of Texas at Austin

The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...

, from which he procured a Bachelor of Business Administration

Bachelor of Business Administration

The Bachelor of Business Administration is a bachelor's degree in Commerce and business administration. In most universities, the degree is conferred upon a student after four years of full-time study in one or more areas of business concentrations; see below...

 degree in 1956 and a reserve commission in the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

.

While working for the Borden Company, Mutscher was first elected in 1960. at the age of twenty-eight, to the Texas House in 1960, when the Kennedy

John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....

/Johnson

Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...

 slate narrowly won in Texas.

Mutscher married a former Miss America

Miss America

The Miss America pageant is a long-standing competition which awards scholarships to young women from the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...

, Donna Axum

Donna Axum

Donna Axum was crowned Miss America in 1964.Axum from El Dorado, Arkansas, now lives in Fort Worth, Texas, and is a member of the boards of the National Committee for the Performing Arts of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the Fort Worth Symphony, the Van Cliburn Foundation, named for the...

 of El Dorado, Arkansas

El Dorado, Arkansas

El Dorado , a multi-cultural arts center: South Arkansas Arts Center , an award-winning renovated downtown, and numerous sporting, shopping, and dining opportunities. El Dorado is the population, cultural, and business center of the 7,300 mi² regional area...

; the marriage ended in divorce

Divorce

Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...

; she remarried and resides with her third husband in Fort Worth

Fort Worth, Texas

Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...

.

After his legislative service, Mutscher, a Democrat

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...

 was first appointed and then elected as the administrative county judge of his native Washington County. He resides in the county seat of Brenham.