Austin -- It won't pay much beyond personal reward, but her fight for 13 El Paso widows will probably stand out as a career highlight for state Capitol lobbyist Deborah Ingersoll

She makes her living helping clients sherherd legislation through the perilous journey in the state Capitol or trying to kill bills harmful to their interest.

The former El Pasoan, an Yselta High School graduate of 1978, has invested hundreds of hours on an issue that appeared to be hopeless. But she figured that helping 13 widows of El Paso police officers and firefighters was worth making a good fight.

It began in August when she got a desperate letter from her ex-mother-in-law, who didn't know how to respond to an attempt by the El Paso Fireman and Policemen's Pesion Fund to collect about $43,000 in pension overpayments during the past 11 years.

Ingersoll flew out to El Paso and began organizing a campaign that resulted in a 141-0 vote in the State House this week for a measure bringing dramatic relief for those 13 widows, who collectively were said to owe $750,000 in 15 years of overpayments. The pension board had made a clerical mistake.

El Paso legislators Joe Pickett and Paul Moreno were the primary bill authors. But Pickett says Ingersoll deserves much of the credit.

"It was a good bill. That helps, but she lobbied members, too. She was tenacious," Pickett says.

"What she helped on was getting a good bill passed early. A lot of good bills die in the session" because of time runs out.

Ingersoll organized a letter-writing campaign, enlisted help from senior groups such as AARP and Silver-Haired Legislature, wrote news releases, arranged testimony before the House Pensions committee and even testified herself.

At first, committee member Aaron Pena, D-Edinburg, a lawyer, told Ingersoll there was "no solution" for the widows' plight. Eventually. they found one and Pena signed on as a joint author, as did committee member Ruth Jones McClendon, D-San Antonio.

At first, the widows simply wanted legislation to prevent something similar happening to others. The bill, which now goes to the Senate, includes a grandfatherclause to help the 13 widows. They will be responsible for only three years of the overpayments.

Ingersoll's staff pitiched in, as did other lobbyists. "Everyone's been working for free on theis one," she says.

Lobbyists sometime hold their noses when pushing a particular issue for a paying client. But the widows' case was an easy one, Ingersoll says: "It wass the right thingto do. You do get emothional about it, and the good guys won this won."

E.J. Ingersoll considerss her ex-daughter-in-law "like a daughter."

"Holy cow, she has done so much for so many. It's Debbie. Debbie is the reason we got this," E.J. Ingersoll says.

El Paso legislators Pat Haggerty, Norma Chavez, and Chente Quintanilla signed up as co-sponcers of the bill.

"I'll campaign for every one of tehm," says Marilyn Rago, Whose pension overpayments reached $176,000 during the past 13 years.

Gary Scharrer may be reached at gscharrer@elpasotimes.com