The Senator of Perfect Attendance

Judith Zaffirini started at the bottom of the Texas Senate hierarchy in 1987, ranked number 30 out of 31 members. Thirty-seven years later, she ascended to the highest position when former Senator John Whitmire resigned on December 31, 2023, to become Houston's mayor. She became the first woman Dean of the Senate, succeeding 24 men who held the title since 1909.

Senators look to the Dean for guidance on protocol, decorum, traditions, and knowledge. Zaffirini earned this distinction through sheer longevity and an obsessive dedication to her work that borders on superhuman.

She holds a perfect voting record. Not almost perfect. Actually perfect. Zaffirini has cast 76,843 consecutive votes, a state and national record that began the moment she took office in 1987. She has never missed a single vote in nearly four decades of service.

Her bill-passing record is equally absurd. Zaffirini has passed more than 1,524 bills throughout her career, making her the highest bill-passer in Texas legislative history. During the 2025 Republican-dominated session alone, she passed 135 bills, marking her sixth consecutive session as the legislature's most prolific bill-passer. She accomplished this as a Democrat in a body controlled by Republicans, which requires the kind of bipartisan maneuvering that most politicians only pretend to practice.

Her strategy in those early years was delightfully petty. While senior senators sauntered in late, Zaffirini showed up on time every single day. She presented her bills during morning calls when the chamber was nearly empty, getting recognized because she was the only senator actually present. She turned punctuality into her legislative superpower.

Zaffirini has supported herself since age 17. She has a bachelor's, a master's, and a doctoral degree from the University of Texas at Austin. She has accumulated more than 1,300 awards for her legislative and professional work. The Sisters of Mercy named her an Honorary Nun.

Still not impressed?

There are buildings across Texas with Zaffirini's name: a courthouse, a student center, an elementary school, a library, a park, a road, a patient suite, and even a soccer mini-pitch. She appears in 25 books and is referenced in 22 others.

When Zaffirini and Eddie Bernice Johnson joined Cyndi Krier in the Senate in 1987, they marked the first time more than one woman served in the 31-member body. Only 25 women have served alongside 954 male senators across 89 Texas Legislatures. The disparity is staggering, though Zaffirini herself became the first Mexican American woman elected to the Texas Senate in 1986.

She represents 16 counties in Senate District 21, stretching from Laredo on the Texas-Mexico border to Starr County in the Rio Grande Valley, Dimmit County in the Winter Garden, and Travis and Hays counties in Central Texas. She serves as Vice Chair of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and sits on committees covering Business and Commerce, Finance, and State Affairs. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick appointed her to the Texas Judicial Council and the Texas Access to Justice Commission.

Her priorities have remained consistent: education, health and human services, responsive representation. She advocates for accessible healthcare, improved infrastructure, environmental protection, and educational opportunities from pre-kindergarten through doctoral programs. She fights corruption in the judiciary and champions transparency in government.

Zaffirini is up for re-election in 2026. She is being primaried by Cortney Jones. This is notable because Zaffirini has rarely faced Democratic primary challengers. If she wins that hurdle, she'll face off again with Republican Julie Dahlberg, who ran against her in 2022 and lost.

District 21 stretches from the border to Austin, from the Rio Grande Valley to Central Texas. Sixteen counties, nearly a million constituents, and one woman who hasn't taken a sick day since 1987. That's either remarkable dedication or a pathological inability to let go.

Longevity isn't legacy. Zaffirini has the numbers, the votes, the bills, the years, but numbers don't inspire movements or shift power dynamics. They just accumulate. Like interest. Like dust.

@Santitos

@salinasmariasantos

Copyright © 2026 Maria Santos Salinas for FRONTeras.

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