Joseph Hugh Allen

Who was 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. He was among the bipartisan "Dirty Thirty" lawmakers who in 1971 pushed for the ouster of Speaker Gus Mutscher of Brenham in Washington County, who was subsequently convicted of accepting bribes in exchange for the passage of banking legislation in what is known as the Sharpstown scandal. Their efforts prompted a regime change in Austin, ushered in Dolph Briscoe and William P. Hobby, Jr., as governor and lieutenant governor, respectively, and launched new ethics laws in the 1973 legislative session.