O.H. "Ike" Harris

O. H. "Ike" Harris (June 5, 1932—July 7, 2021) was an attorney and lobbyist in Austin, Texas, who served from 1963 to 1965 and 1967 to 1995 as a Republican member from Dallas County in both houses of the Texas State Legislature. He was elected to his single term as a state representative in 1962. His Senate tenure in District 8 ran from 1967 to 1995. In his final 1993–1995 biennial term, Harris was the dean, or senior member in tenure, among all of the state senators.

Harris is particularly remembered for having authored legislation that permits parimutuel betting at horse race tracks in Texas. On October 10, 2009, the racing industry honored him with its JoAnn Weber Distinguished Service Award during induction ceremonies of the Texas Racing Hall of Fame held at Retama Park in Selma near San Antonio, Texas. He also worked to implement interstate banking, insurance reform, and the expansion of the University of Texas at Dallas to a four-year institution. In 1973, he was Senate President Pro Tempore in the 63rd Legislative Session.

In 1954, Harris received his Bachelor of Science degree in political science from University of North Texas in Denton. Upon graduation, he entered the United States Air Force, where he was an instructor pilot until his honorable discharge with the rank of captain in 1957. He then entered Southern Methodist University School of Law, since known as the Dedman School of Law, where he served as president of the law school and the student body.

Harris assumed the nickname "Ike" from an older brother while he was seeking the SMU student body presidency. This may have been in acknowledgement of U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a native-born Texan also referred to by the appellation. Harris was affiliated with Cycen Fjodr, a men's honorary society; Barristers, a legal honorary society, and he was listed among Who's Who Among American Colleges and Universities.

In 1962, Harris won his single two-year term in the Texas House, having succeeded the two-term Democrat Bill Jones of Dallas. Two years later, Harris was unseated by John Wright of Grand Prairie, as the Democrats swept Texas and Dallas County, then previously one of the state's more Republican-leaning areas. President Lyndon B. Johnson won a huge margin nationally and in Texas over the Republican nominee, U.S. Senator Barry M. Goldwater of Arizona. Even the lone Dallas County Republican U.S. representative, Bruce Alger, along with colleague Ed Foreman of Odessa, were unseated that year. Alger had served since 1955; Foreman only for the 1963–1965 U.S. House term. Harris' elevation to the state Senate occurred in a special election after the death in August 1967 of Democratic state Senator George M. Parkhouse.

Texas Monthly magazine more than once named Harris among the "Top Ten Worst Legislators." In 1975, the publication called him "a playboy . . . a double zero as a legislator . . . a sad case of unapplied talent; he's perfectly capable of being an outstanding member (he's not dumb), and his colleagues like him though he doesn't care enough to try. Sits through committee meetings looking bored and restless, as though he were daydreaming at a sermon. Regards attendance at Senate sessions as a burden to be tolerated for the sake of the after-hours fringe benefits. . . . Seems to operate on the principle that if you have enough special interests, eventually you'll have a majority of the people behind you."

In the 1975 legislation session, Harris supported legislation that delayed the time from seven to fifteen years that uncashed traveler's checks revert to the Texas state treasury instead of the coffers of the express companies. The measure cost the state approximately $150,000 per year. Harris also favored requiring citizens to pay a fee for seeking access to public records. Another Harris measure, supported by building contractors, weakened measures requiring fire escapes in new buildings.

During his twenty-seven years in the Senate, Harris served for a time as chairman of the (1) State Affairs, (2) Economic Development, and (3) Jurisprudence committees. He was vice-chairman of the (1) Committee of the Whole on Redistricting, Ethics and Elections, (2) Nominations Committee, and the Sunset Advisory Commission, which recommends over a 12-year cycle the elimination of certain useless state bureaucracies. As a legislator, Harris held membership in the National Conference of State Legislatures, the Texas Judicial Council, Legislative Natural Resources Board, and the Legislative Budget Board.

Texas Monthly found Harris more interested in social parties than his own Republican Party. Texas Monthly said that Harris "has a long history of talking like a Republican back home but voting compliantly with the Democratic Senate leadership.". Harris referred most GOP matters to his Tarrant County colleague, Betty Andujar of Fort Worth. In 1976, Harris joined U.S. Senator John G. Tower of Texas in supporting President Gerald R. Ford, Jr., for nomination to a full term in the first ever Texas primary in which presidential convention delegates were chosen by voters. Ford, however, was defeated 2-1 in the primary by a coalition supporting Ronald W. Reagan, headed by cochairmen Ernest Angelo of Midland, Ray Barnhart of Pasadena, and Barbara Staff of Dallas, as well as Betty Andujar. Ford ultimately still defeated Reagan at the 1976 Republican National Convention in Kansas City, Missouri.

In his last Senate election in 1992, Harris had no Democratic opponent and polled 83 percent of the vote against the nominee of the Libertarian Party. He did not run again in 1994.

In his legal and lobbying work, Harris represents clients before the legislature. His expertise is in taxation, economic and industrial development, oil and natural gas, education, and private property interests.

Harris died on July 7, 2021, at the age of 89.