Bill Zedler

William Wade Zedler, known as Bill Zedler (born August 19, 1943),^[1] is a retired medical consultant from Arlington, Texas and a former a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives for District 96. He served continuously from 2003 to 2021 except for the term from 2009 to 2011, when he was temporarily unseated by Democrat Chris Turner.^[2]

Bill Zedler
Zedler in 2012
Member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 96th district
In office January 11, 2011 – 2021
Preceded by	Chris Turner (now in District 101)
Succeeded by	David Cook
In office January 14, 2003 – January 13, 2009
Preceded by	Kim Brimer
Succeeded by	Chris Turner
Personal details
Born	(1943-08-19) August 19, 1943 (age 80)
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Ellen Tuffly Zedler
Children	3
Residence(s)	Arlington, Texas
Alma mater	Sam Houston State University
Occupation	Retired medical consultant

A board member of the bipartisan Texas Conservative Coalition, Zedler was considered one of the most conservative of contemporary Texas legislators.^[3]

Zedler won his seventh nonconsecutive term in the state House in the general election held on November 6, 2018. With 32,656 votes (50.9 percent), he defeated Democrat Ryan E. Ray, who polled 30,295 (47.2 percent). The Libertarian Stephen Parmer held another 746 votes (1.9 percent).

In February 2019, Zedler, whom The Texas Observer labeled an "outspoken anti-vaxxer",^[4] drew national attention^[5] when he introduced a Texas bill that would allow parents to opt-out of school vaccination requirements.^[6] The move was criticized as support for the anti-vax movement, so he later tried to set the record straight by explaining he wasn't "completely against vaccines".^[7] He was also criticized for his false claim that measles, which is caused by a virus, could be treated with antibiotics.^[5][6] He was quoted as saying "They want to say people are dying of measles. Yeah, in third-world countries they're dying of measles. Today, with antibiotics and that kind of stuff, they’re not dying in America."^[8] In the U.S. 1-2 people die for every 1000 people infected with measles.^[9]

References

1. "Rep. Bill Zedler (R-TX 96th District)". Missouri Library Association. Retrieved March 19, 2014.^{[permanent dead link]}
2. "Bill Zedler". Texas Legislative Reference Library. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
3. "Bill Zedler's Biography". votesmart.com. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
4. Novack, Sophie (February 26, 2019). "Amid Measles Outbreak, Texas Lawmakers Want to Make it Even Easier to Opt Out of Vaccines". The Texas Observer. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
5. Bever, Lindsey (February 27, 2019). "Lawmaker promoting anti-vaxx bill suggests measles can be treated with antibiotics. (It can't.)". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
6. "Texas lawmaker says he's not worried about measles outbreak because of 'antibiotics'". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2019-02-27.
7. Tinsley, Anna M. (April 4, 2019). "As measles cases stack up, Texas lawmaker says he's opposed to mandated vaccine schedules". Star-Telegram. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
8. "Amid Measles Outbreak, Texas Lawmakers Want to Make it Even Easier to Opt Out of Vaccines". The Texas Observer. 2019-02-26. Retrieved 2019-02-27.
9. "Measles Data and Statistics" (PDF). CDC. April 16, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2022.

Texas House of Representatives
Preceded by Kim Brimer	Texas State Representative for District 96 (part of Tarrant County) 2003–2009	Succeeded by Chris Turner
Preceded by Chris Turner (now in District 101)	Texas State Representative for District 96 (part of Tarrant County) 2011–2021	Succeeded by David Cook