Rep. Kirk England of Grand Prairie is switching parties, saying he'll seek reelection as a Democrat. There hasn't been a party switch in the Texas Legislature in a decade, and it's been a long, long time since a legislator left the Republicans for the Democrats and survived the switch.
Full StoryIt wasn't the best week for the Texas GOP, and state bloggers (they're mostly libs, see) are ecstatic! They're also nattering about the U.S. Senate race, speculating on the 2010 Governor campaign and handing over the megaphone to interviewees and guest writers. Lastly, a little alliteration.
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Trading Spaces
Professors-R-Squared gives some very scholarly reasons why they are seriously concerned about Grand Prairie Rep. Kirk England's skedaddle from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party.
"The tide has changed," chimes in Burnt Orange Report, giving props to House Democratic leadership. "My only caution would be for the closet Democrats not to wait too long," says Eye on Williamson. Texas Kaos warns that if England is going to run as a Democrat, he'd better start voting like one, too.
"Party switching is a mix of opportunism and genuine sentiment," says Off the Kuff. "Whatever England's reasons, we say welcome," writes Houtopia.
Burnt Orange has a letter from Rep. Jim Dunnam, D-Waco, who says the switch is all the sweeter because England likely would have won reelection, even as a Republican.
"Take that GOP!... Well, we're not so sure it hurts the Republicans," says Texas Progressive Alliance, writing that a tough Democratic primary between England and Katy Hubener could hurt the eventual nominee in the general election.
Kuff hopes "a non-Craddickite will emerge" as the replacement for 16-year veteran Rep. Dianne White Delisi, R-Temple. Her retirement is a victory for legal needle-exchange programs , blogs Grits for Breakfast.
Rep. Fred Hill's retirement might be good news for House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, and Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, and therefore is bad news [for Democrats], says Kuff. Chronic agrees .
Here's Texas Observer Blog's roundup of the campaign activity.
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Was That the Honeymoon?
Breaking from the pack, Burnt Orange contributor Hugh Stearns renounces support for Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful Rick Noriega, citing financial donations to Noriega by Republican patron Bob Perry. Stearns elaborates upon his position the next day, after conversations with Noriega, wife Melissa Noriega and opponent Mikal Watts at a Brazos County Democrats fundraiser. Two days later, Stearns posts a letter of refutation by Melissa Noriega. Three days after this, Stearns concludes, "the draft Noriega effort was a mistake. He is a greatly compromised candidate who is not all that progressive."
What?! Not progressive!? retorts fellow Burnt Orange contributor boadicea. "Hugh Stearns is a player in the housing construction and renovation industry. As such he is in direct competition with Robert "Bob" aka "Swiftboat Bob" Perry," says Half Empty, dismissing Stearns as a shill for Watts.
"To me, it's a non-issue..." says McBlogger, who notes the Perry contribution to Noriega was smaller than Watts' contributions to Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott. More from McBlogger here.
Texas Politics, the Houston Chronicle's blog, puts the numbers in context here, writing that Noriega has received $7,000 from Perry since 2006, while Watts donated $100,000 to the pro-Craddick/Rick Perry Hillco PAC, a group to which Bob Perry has given a cool $1 million since 2001.
Brains and Eggs lists some of the more recent reasons why he doesn't like Republican incumbent John Cornyn, while Half Empty expounds upon his objections to Watts's stance on stem cell research. He also has a video of Noriega, here. Kaos says Watts's health care plan is better than the Republicans', but still inadequate.
Cornyn's lambasting of MoveOn.org has translated into $500,000 in donations for the organization, reports Kaos. Could Watts be disbarred for claiming he paid off court judges? wonders Kaos, adding that it looks like Corpus Christi lawyers are colluding to decide judgeships. Dear Watts supporters: Stop stuffing the poll!! shouts Burnt Orange. The Democracy for Texas Senate Endorsement Poll results will be released next week [eds. note: Noriega, supported by the bloggers doing the poll, won it.]
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Roamin' Forum
Half-Empty has a five-part video series on why Ron Reynolds is running for state representative, here, here, here, here and here. Reynolds squares off against incumbent Dora Olivo, D-Rosenberg, in the House District 27 primary. The GOP candidate is Steve Host.
Capitol Crowd profiles Xcel Energy lobbyist Eric Woomer, who was the inaugural "Person of the Week" in fall 2004. And Kuff continues his series of interviews with Houston City Council candidates, this time featuring Lawrence Allen, John Marron and Manish Mehta.
Texas Blue, meanwhile, goes on the record with a pair of Democratic Party chairs, Nancy Archer, of Liberty County, and Bob Dean, of Reeves County. Blue also has an audio interview with Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, and an editorial by Rep. Mark Homer, D-Paris, in which omnibus water bill (Senate Bill 3, including reservoirs) rears its ugly head.
Poll results are in: The Texas Youth Commission is worse off than ever, according to Grits for Breakfast readers.
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Skipping Ahead
Burnt Orange comments on a hypothetical poll for the 2010 Democratic governor nomination (The order: 1. Chris Bell, 2. Tony Sanchez, 3. John Sharp, 4. Bill White). After looking at the same poll, McBlogger urges Bell to run... for the Texas Supreme Court.
In other news, Observer takes a jab at incumbent Gov. Rick Perry's jargon on the global warming bandwagon.
Word on the Hill is that U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison will resign her position to run for governor in 2010, according to Right of Texas, who also lists as possible candidates Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, U.S. Rep. Joe Barton and U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions. To complete the DFW trifecta, ROT suggests U.S. Rep. Jeb Hensarling would make a good candidate.
That's not what we're hearing, says Trail Blazers, the Dallas Morning News's blog, who relays rumors that KBH could be the GOP's Vice-Presidential candidate (or maybe even Perry.)
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Alliteratively Political
State Sen. Steve Ogden: The Bryan Republican will run against U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, predicts Eye on Williamson after reading the Austin American-Statesman's op-ed page.
Message to Mainstream Media: Give credit where credit's due, says Grits.
Table of TV Tunes: An exhaustive listing of theme songs, courtesy of Mike Falick's blog.
Modern Man's Migration: An interactive Web site charting the dispersion of human beings throughout the last 160,000 years or so, via Mike Falick.
Denton Disposed Demographically in a Democratic Direction: There's hope for liberals in Denton County and similar exurban areas in the state, according to an analysis by Blue.
This edition of Out There was compiled and written by Patrick Brendel, who hails from Victoria and finds Austin's climate pleasantly arid. We cherry-pick the state's political blogs each week, looking for news, info, gossip, and new jokes. The opinions here belong (mostly) to the bloggers, and we're including their links so you can hunt them down if you wish. Our blogroll — the list of Texas blogs we watch — is on our links page, and if you know of a Texas political blog that ought to be on it, just shoot us a note. Please send comments, suggestions, gripes or retorts to Texas Weekly editor Ross Ramsey .
Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams is online with a video promoting nuclear power.
And if you scratch around a little, you'll find he's building a library of videos on YouTube. Williams, chairman of the RRC this year, will be seeking reelection in 2008. He touted the video while announcing he'll emcee a "Solutions Day" event at the invitation of former U.S. Rep. Newt Gingrich, R-Georgia, and also doing a seminar (it'll be online at AmericanSolutions.com) on nuclear and coal power generation. Here's the nuke video:
Terry Keel and Ron Wilson — the two guys who gave House Speaker Tom Craddick his "absolute power" reading of House rules last session — told a room full of lobbyists and lawyers they expect a debate over the rules, but not much change, when the Legislature returns in 2009.
The two appeared before the Professional Advocacy Association of Texas — the "lobby lobby" — explaining their reading of the current rules and guessing at the key points of the coming debate.
Keel, who was named full time House Parliamentarian after the session, said he doesn't expect much change to follow the discussion.
"I'll bet you that everybody here predicting that there's going to be radical changes [in the rules] are going to be wrong... it cuts both ways when you start messing with them too much...
"I might be wrong," he said. "They might be changing all kinds of stuff. But if they do, it's going to be a real interesting show."
Wilson said the rules are made for tricksters — he was one as a House member — but only if most members don't take the time to bone up on the details. Most members, he said, didn't start looking at the rules until the crises started to pile up in May, at the end of the session: "We had to bring them up to speed on what the rules that they voted for actually said."
He put some distance between the parlimentarians and the people they work for, and said Craddick wasn't the first speaker to deny members attempts to be recognized.
"The speakers are the ones that rule. The parliamentarians advise... The speaker says, "I'm gonna go left, and the parliamentarian has to go back and figure out how to go left."
"Terry and i didn't change the rules when we came on board. Pete Laney refused Sylvester Turner the right to put an article in the Journal... Paul Moreno — the 'conscience of the body' — went to the back mic [for a motion to adjourn] and Laney told him to get a glass of water and come back tomorrow." [It's not clear that last bit actually happened, but it got a laugh.]
Keel echoed the bit about members not paying attention and suggested they'll probably heed his regular advice — "Why don't you go actually read these rules?" — before they return in January 2009.
He also said the comments of two state reps frame the main question about a speaker's power to recognize — or ignore — a member seeking to make a motion.
In a brief filed with Attorney General Greg Abbott for an opinion that's still pending, Rep. Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, wrote that the House rules weren't intended to create a "divine speakership" and that the speaker's powers don't include "absolute authority to determine whether a member will be recognized on any matter, including a question of privilege."
On the other side, he quoted from a brief by Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, who wrote that the power to recognize has to be in place to keep order in the House: "If it didn't exist, any member could raise a privileged motion and successfully circumvent whatever business the House is conducting at that time..."
Two other briefs, he said, frame the question about whether the House can oust a speaker in mid-term. From Rep. Brian McCall, R-Plano: "I believe that the choice would have been an easy one for our forefathers who would have preferred to listen an participate in the loud cacophony of the 150." And from Rep. Jodie Laubenberg, R-Parker, who referred to last session's talk of changing speakers as "a political fight instigated by members admitting to aspirations for the speakership and prioritizing politics over real work."
"This," Keel said, "is exactly what you're going to hear when the rules are debated."
Taking away a speaker's power of recognition would allow members to stop the business of the House, Keel said, in effect giving them the power to filibuster. One proposed workaround is to require a large number of members to mount a challenge. The theory is that that's less likely to happen every day, and less likely to disrupt legislative business. It'll get debated, he said.
Keel and Wilson expect one rule to change, or at least get debated. That's the interpretation of what constitutes a mistake in the bill analyses attached to legislation that comes to the floor. It's a constant source of the "points of order" used to knock legislation out of consideration, and Craddick's rules wizards think it's time to loosen up.
"No matter who the next speaker of the House is," Keel said, "I would expect a change to a more liberal view of the sufficiency of the bill analysis and a less technical interpretation of what's in the rules."
The dual exits of two Dallas-area Republicans (Grand Prairie State Rep. Kirk England and Dallas Criminal Court Judge John Creuzot) to the Democratic Party raise a question: Is Texas still a red state?
Top Republican strategist Bryan Eppstein says yes. Top Democratic strategist Kelly Fero says yes, too. They also both see the possibility of Democrats making gains in the Texas House in 2008.
And that's where their stories diverge.
According to Fero, Texas "is a changing state, like the country is," though Texas is transitioning a little more slowly than everyone else. But don't think of Violet Beauregarde from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (who changed color when she chewed the wrong gum) — Texas isn't turning blue, nor is the United States. Rather, Fero says, "We are in a transitional period looking for other identifiers for candidates other than party ID."
Voters, he says, are "disgusted and frustrated" with the two-party system in general, and are becoming less and less likely to vote for candidates based solely on the 'R' or 'D' that follow their names on the ballot. Fero sees third-party candidates and independents becoming major factors some time around when his grandchildren can vote. For now, he says Democrats will be competitive in two statewide races next year, one of those being the U.S. Senate contest between incumbent John Cornyn, a Republican, and a Democratic challenger, either Mikal Watts or Rick Noriega (He's also got the Supreme Court on his list, and maybe more).
On the other side of the aisle, Eppstein points to redistricting as the underlying cause of recent Democratic gains. "Aggressive" redistricting in 2002 secured 16 additional House seats for Republicans, which with the passage of time are now "melting away," as Texas, statistically, moves toward equilibrium.
The same is true nationwide, Eppstein says, and it's a cycle he says happens each decade: The majority party shores up its numbers during redistricting, then bleeds seats until it's time to redraw the lines again. (That's not obvious in our graph of the party affiliations of Texas state senators and representatives).
Eppstein deemphasizes the clout of the burgeoning, presumably blue-leaning, Hispanic population, saying that's "a changing demographic that's not voting." What would really hurt Republicans, he says, is continuation of the personal scandals now rocking the national party. Eppstein doesn't think Democrats will break the GOP's monopoly on statewide offices in Texas, noting that no one even came close in 2006, aside from the Governor's race, where four candidates — including Republicans Rick Perry and Carole Keeton Strayhorn — scattered voter loyalties.
— Patrick BrendelSteve Host, a Republican from Richmond, will join the race for HD-27. That's the seat now occupied by Rep. Dora Olivo, D-Rosenberg. Host runs three businesses — an insurance agency, a mortgage company, and a coffee shop — and says small business people don't have a big enough voice in Austin.
• Paula Day, a well-known Republican activist in Fort Worth and an aide (in the district office) to former Rep. Anna Mowery, R-Fort Worth, left her government job to work for Craig Goldman, one of the Republicans trying to win Mowery's job in a special election in November. She says he's an old friend, and says she'll support him, in part, because he "has agreed to support Speaker Craddick."
• Democratic Senate candidate Rick Noriega of Houston picked up endorsements from the last two chairs of the Texas Democratic Party. Molly Beth Malcolm and Charles Soechting both say they'll support him in his primary race against Mikal Watts of San Antonio. The two Democrats are fighting for a chance to challenge U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in the general election.
• Republican Wade Gent of Forney had been mulling a rematch with Rep. Betty Brown, R-Terrell, and now has decided he'll do it. And at about the same time, she was announcing her intention to seek another term. Game on.
• Democratic Judge Jim Coronado says he'll run for a district court job in Austin even though Gov. Rick Perry filled it by appointing Republican Melissa Goodwin to the post. The 427th District Court is new, created in 2005 and unfilled until now. Goodwin, an Austin lawyer and a former Justice of the Peace, had also been mentioned as a possible candidate for the Lege. Coronado had his announcement on the wires within hours of Perry's announcement of the appointment.
• Rep. Jim Murphy, R-Houston, says — officially, now — that he'll seek a second term in HD-133... Ditto Solomon Ortiz Jr., D-Corpus Christi, in HD-33... Flynn's in: Rep. Dan Flynn, R-Van, announced his reelection bid...
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst got a cranky letter from his last political opponent after listing Democrat John Sharp among his supporters on a fundraising letter.The text of the letter (an actual copy follows):
Says a Dewhurst spokesman: "The campaign is removing Mr. Sharp's name and honoring that request."The Honorable David Dewhurst
Lieutenant Governor of the State of Texas
The Capitol Second Floor East
Austin, TX 78711
Dear Governor Dewhurst:
You are having a fundraiser at a gentleman named Rusty Parker's house on October 18th of this year. In the invitation of that fundraiser you have me listed as a platinum fundraiser and a contributor. I am listed along with Brint Ryan. As you know, I am not a supporter of yours politically, and I wanted to call this mistake to your attention if you are not already aware of it. As you know, I am not a supporter, I am not a contributor; that was a Ryan & Company contribution procured by Brint Ryan and had absolutely nothing to do with me, including even my knowledge. I would appreciate it if you would remove me from any association with this or any other fundraiser where my name might "inadvertently" be included.
Respectfully yours,
John Sharp
Gov. Rick Perry and his family are moving out of the Mansion for repairs, and moving into new digs near Austin's Barton Creek Country Club.According to a lease released by the governor's office, the rental home is owned by J. Campbell Murrell of Austin. Its value is listed as $1 million on the Travis County tax rolls, and the Perry's can move in any time after October 1. A spokeswoman says they'll likely move early next month. The Mansion, as we've already reported, needs fixing. The Perrys will make their home in West Austin until the work's done. The rent on the new place? $9,900 per month. State officials said earlier they think the renovations will take around 18 months. The costs of the rental — and of whatever the Department of Public Safety does to make it secure — will be borne by the state. The Mansion sprucing is supposed to cost up to $10 million, and these costs are included in that total. The state found the property through a Realtor — Melinda Grace of Austin — who is also a Perry contributor. She and her husband, Guy Grace, gave Perry two contributions totaling $3,500 in 2006.
Willacy County Judge Eliseo Barnhart was indicted for perjury earlier this month, accused of lying about a very personal condition.The charges are related to an investigation that started with allegations of inappropriate sex and now include charges that the family of the girl involved tried to force Barnhart — who's also a coach and teacher — to quit his job or to pay them his salary. The charge against Barnhart — which got him suspended, with pay, from his county job — alleges aggravated perjury.
A local Austin candidate hits the web with a commercial filled with images from the civil rights battles of the 1950s and 1960s.Travis County Tax Collector-Assessor Nelda Wells Spears, facing a challenge from former state Rep. Glen Maxey, has a two minute spot on her website, and on YouTube, that starts with a series of black-and-white photos of Rosa Parks, Blacks sitting in at lunch counters, marches, cops with dogs, the Selma march, LBJ signing civil rights legislation, Martin Luther King voting, and John and Bobby Kennedy.
It switches to color shots of former Austin lawmaker Wilhelmina Delco and Ann Richards, and then of voting signs and voting booths. Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready" plays over it all, and there's no announcer.
Toward the end, when the voting photos come up, words appear on screen: "Different times, same struggle" and "steady leadership through changing times."
Democratic consultant Kelly Fero, who's working for Spears, says the message is really about "new-fangled assaults on voting rights" and says frankly that it's aimed at white liberals and minorities, who they think will decide that Democratic primary election.
It's also a jab at Maxey's fame as the first and so far the only openly gay member of the Texas Legislature. Spears is trying to claim the civil rights ground dear to those liberals before he can.
Her office mainly collects taxes — they brag they've got the highest collection rate among the state's urban counties — but also registers voters. And he says the ads were partly inspired by her own history. The first time she visited the tax office she now runs, Fero says, was with her grandmother, who took her along in the early 1950s to pay her poll taxes. Here's the spot, followed by links to both candidates' websites:
Spears' website is here.
Maxey's website is here.
Come March, Democratic primary voters will likely know all about U.S. Senate hopeful Rick Noriega's ties to utility companies. What voters will make of it is still anybody's guess.
Noriega's personal narrative — a state rep and lieutenant colonel in the National Guard with liberal leanings on social issues and service in Afghanistan and here in the wake of Hurricane Katrina — has made him a favorite of progressive Democrats. But he is also strongly connected with a favorite populist punching bag: utility companies. Noriega was a lobbyist with Houston Lighting and Power in 1994-1997, and is currently on leave as from his job as a marketing manager with one of HL&P's offspring: Houston-based CenterPoint Energy.
Noriega has also routinely given small contributions to various utility PACs which have, in turn, spread their wealth widely, including to some Republicans who are unlikely to get Christmas cards from Democratic primary voters, like Gov. Rick Perry, House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, and to Noriega's possible opponent, Sen. John Cornyn.
Some political watchers say this link to utility companies could become ammunition for trial lawyer and multimillionaire Mikal Watts, who'll face Noriega for the Democratic Party's nomination in March.
"It will certainly become an issue in the primary," says GOP consultant Todd Smith, who doesn't have a candidate in the race. "The traditional Democratic activist is not usually found on the same side as the major utility companies."
University of Houston political scientist Richard Murray says the political importance of the utility issue depends largely on the well-funded Watts' campaign decision on which "bullets to fire."
Kim Devlin, Watts' spokeswoman, won't discuss campaign strategy but did say that there's "no doubt" voters would have a greater understanding of both candidates' past by the March election. "That's just the very nature of campaigns," she says.
Smith, a Republican, says Watts should highlight Noriega's ties to a large utility company while portraying his own success as a trial lawyer as proof of his commitment to individual consumers.
"It's the most compelling difference between the two," Smith says.
But other political observers say Noriega's employment history is no big deal and his public service record will "very much overshadow" his time as a lobbyist.
"He's got a great story to tell," says former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk, a Democrat who lost to Cornyn in 2002. Kirk is now a very well paid utility lobbyist himself. Kirk adds that lobbyists-turned-lawmakers are often more adept at dealing with the legislative minutia necessary to get laws passed. "It does give you a more well-rounded picture," he says.
Noriega spokesman James Aldrete also sees his candidate's past as a plus, saying that most voters won't be turned off by Noriega's jobs, but will identify with him.
"The fact is, when you come from a middle-class family you have to have a real job," Aldrete says.
As for the contributions to utility PACs that give to Republicans, Aldrete says Noriega was just being a "team player" by contributing to his industry's PACs and wasn't intending his money to go any individual candidate. Aldrete says Noriega did deliver HL&P PAC checks to different candidates and gave reports on how different races were shaping up, but never had the authority to say who got money and how much.
Noriega recently took some flak from Watts' camp from receiving money from Republican benefactor Bob Perry (a major funder of the "swift boat" campaign against John Kerry in 2004). Noriega's camp fires back, saying taking a small amount of money from Perry pales in comparison to Watts' large donations to numerous Republicans.
Tom "Smitty" Smith, director of Public Citizen's Texas office, says voters should question Noriega's policy towards utility companies but shouldn't be concerned that his past jobs have corrupted his judgment. From Smith's vantage point, Noriega has been a model lawmaker in terms of being "keenly aware" of potential conflict of interests and recusing himself from votes that may affect his past or current employer.
"We wish that more people would do what Rick does," Smith says. "He's got real good sense of ethics and responsibilities."
— Alan Suderman
Polls, endorsements, what's that guy doing?, bonds and a mess of candidate stuff.
U.S. Senate candidate Rick Noriega won an online poll over his Democratic primary opponent, Mikal Watts, getting 78.4 percent of the votes cast. The sponsor, Democracy for Texas, used that as the basis for its endorsement. That group's with Noriega. Both candidates filled out the group's questionnaire — those results are online. And we should mention that the group's steering committee includes Glen Maxey, a former legislator who's also working for Noriega.
Separately, Noriega got the endorsement of VoteVets.org, which bills itself as the biggest organization of Iraq and Afghanistan vets
• File away for later: Former Comptroller John Sharp gave us a "no comment" when we asked about his political future. The rumors we were chasing? That he's planning to leave Ryan & Co., the tax consulting firm where he works, to run for office in 2008 or 2010. For now, he's concentrating his political efforts on passage of $3 billion in cancer research bonds in November.
• The $3 billion in proposed cancer research bonds on the November ballot got an endorsement from the Texas AFL-CIO. Labor was quiet on most of the amendments, but signed off on that one and five more: bonds for student loans, new rules for home equity loans, additional homestead exemptions for disabled veterans, recorded final votes in the Legislature and denial of bonds to people who violate certain family violence orders. In bondese, that would be Props 2, 8, 9, 11, 13, and 15.
• Back, after two years: Norm Newton signs on with Quico Canseco's congressional campaign. Canseco hopes to knock off U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, D-San Antonio. Newton's an old hand in Republican politics and was one of the originators of Associated Republicans of Texas.
• If you stay in office for a while, the number of people who want to serve just piles up. Apparently. Look at the number of people getting mentioned for Rep. Dianne White Delisi's seat in the Texas Lege: Republicans Martha Tyroch, who's on Temple's City Council; Jim Covington, the Mayor of Belton; John Alaniz, president of a property management firm in Temple; Ann Utley, former chairman of what was then the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, who splits time between Dallas and a ranch in the district; and Sam Murphy, an aide to U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco.
• In, officially: Rep. Doro Olivo, D-Rosenberg, will seek reelection in HD-27.
• Eddie Saenz — who's challenging Rep. Aaron Peña, D-Edinburg, in HD-40, won an endorsement from Edinburg Mayor Joe Ochoa. Peña countered with endorsements from five former Edinburg mayors: Al Ramirez, Ronald Case, Richard Alamia, Rudy de la Viña, and Richard Garcia.
• State elections in 2006 cost a total of $157.6 million, according to a new analysis of Texas campaigns by Texans for Public Justice. That outfit says $87.1 million of that went into all of the House and Senate races that year, a little more than the $70.5 million it cost to choose seven people for executive branch agencies. The most expensive of those — the race for governor — came in at $42.5 million, according to TPJ's report.
They dissected the numbers every which way. Two thirds of the total amount — $105.4 million — was spent by winning candidates. Republican candidates spent $103.2 million; Democrats spent $39 million. Incumbents spent $88.9 million; challengers spent almost $37 million. Here's an odd number: In 14 open-seat races for the Texas House, the winners spent $4.3 million, while the losers spent $5.9 million.
The report is online: www.tpj.org/reports/politex2006/index06.html.
• Department of Corrections: We spelled Wade Gent's name right last week, but put him in the wrong column. Gent, who's challenging Rep. Betty Brown, R-Terrell, is a Republican. They'll meet in March, in a rematch of their 2006 primary battle. Brown won that with 52.5 percent of the votes, to Gent's 47.5 percent. Sorry, sorry, sorry.
Amadeo Saenz is the new executive director at the Texas Department of Transportation. He's a 51-year-old engineer and the first Hispanic to lead that agency. Saenz was most recently TXDOT's assistant executive director for engineering operations.
Coby Shorter III is your new Deputy Texas Secretary of State, named to that post by SOS Phil Wilson. Shorter had been deputy in the governor's appointments office and worked for then-Gov. George W. Bush and U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm before that.
And now, a mess of appointments made by Gov. Rick Perry over the last couple of weeks:
• Billye Proctor Shaw as presiding officer of the Texas Commission on the Arts. She's the president of Big Tex Solutions in Abilene.
• H.L. Bert Mijares Jr. of El Paso as chairman of the Public Finance Authority. He's an architect, and had been vice chairman.
• Donald Wall, a Paris consultant, to be presiding officer of the Sulphur River Mobility Authority.
• Robert Kelly Shepard (a reappointment) of Weatherford to the North Texas Tollway Authority Board of Directors. He's a captain with American Airlines.
• Joseph "Jody" Gonzalez of Krugerville to the Texas Fire Protection Commission. He's the chief and director of the Denton County Department of Emergency Services.
• Charlie Amato of San Antonio, Ron Blatchley of Bryan, and Michael Truncale of Beaumont to the board of regents at the Texas State University System. Amato is co-owner and chairman of Southwest Business Corp. Blatchley is the co-owner of BMB Homes. Truncale is a senior partner with Orgain Bell and Tucker, a law firm.
• John Sylvester of Houston as presiding officer of the Texas Workforce Investment Council. He's an executive with Linbeck Construction Inc.
• To the Texas Historical Commission: Mario Castillo of San Angelo, president of the Aegis Group; John Crain of Dallas, president and CEO of Summerlee Foundation; David Gravelle of Dallas, a branding and marketing consultant; John Hansen of El Paso, president of an eponymous investment firm; Lisa Hembry of Dallas, president of Dallas iMedia Network; Gilbert Peterson of Alpine, an exec at West Texas National Bank; and Steve Tomka, director of the Department of Anthropology Center for Archaeological Research at The University of Texas at San Antonio.
• To the Texas Board of Occupational Therapy Examiners: Judith Ann Chambers of Austin, a retired counselor and teacher; Stephanie Johnston of Houston, a professor at Tomball College; Pamela Nelon, a Fort Worth Realtor; and James Vasquez, regional director of rehabilitation for Cantex Senior Communities.
• And to the Texas Physician Assistants Board: Teralea Davis Jones of Beeville, rural health clinic coordinator of Beeville Family Practice; Felix Koo of McAllen, clinical coordinator of the Physician Assistant Studies Program at UT-Pan American; Dr. Michael Mitchell of Henrietta, a partner at the Clinics of North Texas; and Abelino "Abel" Reyna of Waco, a partner with Reyna and Reed LLP.
Take a break. Read a book. R.A. "Jake" Dyer, who usually scribbles for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Austin bureau, has a second book on pool hitting the stands. It's called The Hustler and the Champ: Willie Mosconi, Minnesota Fats, and the Rivalry that Defined Pool. Go to a store, or get it from Amazon: Support your local press.
