SD-4 Field Narrows to Two

State Rep. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, insurance company president Gordy Bunch, former state Sen. Michael Galloway and state Rep. Steve Toth, R-The Woodlands, were the four initial candidates in a May 10 special election for Senate District 4. Creighton and Toth are heading to a runoff Tuesday.
State Rep. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, insurance company president Gordy Bunch, former state Sen. Michael Galloway and state Rep. Steve Toth, R-The Woodlands, were the four initial candidates in a May 10 special election for Senate District 4. Creighton and Toth are heading to a runoff Tuesday.

Two Republican state representatives  — Brandon Creighton of Conroe and Steve Toth of The Woodlands — are through to a runoff election to fill the state Senate seat left vacant by the resignation of Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, last October.

But aside from both being members in good standing of the Texas House Republican Caucus, the two men took different paths to earning a spot in the next round of the special election.

Creighton had the deepest pockets of the four men in the special election field — the other two candidates were Gordy Bunch and Michael Galloway. On the final full fundraising report, Creighton reported spending nearly $550,000 in April on the campaign.

That was more than six times the amount spent by Toth, who rode Tea Party connections to a GOP primary win two years ago over House Public Education Chairman Rob Eissler.

That residual name ID among Montgomery County voters seemed to be a decisive factor in Toth’s success. Nearly two-thirds of the 30,000-plus votes cast in the special election came from Montgomery County.

In fact, Toth was able to amass a nearly 1,500-vote advantage over third-place finisher Bunch. That secured his place in the runoff even with Bunch besting Toth by 700-plus votes in Jefferson County and nearly 200 votes in Harris County.

Overall, Creighton took 45 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results tallied by the secretary of state. Toth came in second with almost 24 percent, with Bunch in third with close to 22 percent.

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Here's a data point to file away for later this month. Almost 19,000 votes were cast early in the SD-4 special election, or a bit less than two-thirds of the total number of votes. Like the upcoming runoff elections, the SD-4 special election was on a truncated early voting schedule. We've remarked before on the continuing trend toward voters preferring to cast ballots before Election Day. If voters statewide later this month mirror the trend among SD-4 voters, that could point to something interesting. Scheduling the runoff for the May 27 — the day after Memorial Day — might not have the same impact on turnout as it would have had in years past when more votes were cast on Election Day. We're not predicting anything here. The behavior of this subset of voters from a small corner of the state might turn out not to share much with the larger primary electorate. But it's well worth keeping an eye on turnout trends in early voting next week.

*****

Early voting for the party primary runoff elections begins Monday, May 19, and continues through Friday, May 23. The last day to apply for a runoff mail-in ballot is today. The secretary of state’s office further specifies that the ballot application must be received — and not postmarked — by today.

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And here’s one last, pre-early voting batch of endorsements…

•    In the closely watched CD-4 election, 91-year-old incumbent Ralph Hall, R-Rockwall, scored an endorsement from his former colleague Ron Paul. His challenger, John Ratcliffe, picked up support from the Tea Party Express to go along with endorsements from Club for Growth, the Madison Project and the Senate Conservatives Fund. Hall has a few Tea Party-related endorsements of his own, ranging from U.S. Reps. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and Trey Gowdy of South Carolina to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

•    Aside from rumors put out by the Sid Miller campaign that he might be getting a nod from his friend Gov. Rick Perry, the GOP ag commissioner candidate is touting an endorsement from state Rep. Tim Kleinschmidt, R-Lexington.

•    GOP lieutenant governor candidate Dan Patrick has been endorsed by Focus on the Family founder James Dobson.

The Back-and-Forth on Attack Ads Picks Up

The competition remains fierce between the GOP contests for lieutenant governor and attorney general for the title of nastiest runoff contest.

•    Late last week, AG candidate Dan Branch aired an ad to keep fresh for voters the news that his opponent, Ken Paxton, was reprimanded for not disclosing his work soliciting work for an investment adviser. The ad itself created controversy because it was made just about entirely from a news report aired by a Fort Worth station, which sent the Branch campaign a letter in protest.

Branch followed with another ad going after Paxton on the same issue. This time, he featured a Dallas businessman who had sued Paxton after learning the lawmaker had made money after referring him to an investment adviser. That investment ended up losing money.

The Branch campaign also highlighted a couple of police associations in Paxton's Senate district — in Allen and McKinney —and State Republican Executive Committee member Bonnie Lugo, who all took back endorsements of Paxton.

Paxton hit back with an ad describing Branch as a "registered union lobbyist" and a "liberal Republican." The first description was judged "false" by PolitiFact Texas.

•    Things were no less heated in the race between David Dewhurst and Dan Patrick for their party's nomination for lieutenant governor. Dewhurst followed up on the decision by former rival Jerry Patterson to un-endorse Patrick by cutting a quick ad featuring a few of Patterson's favorite firearms and Patterson saying, "Dan is not the man."

Patrick responded by featuring a kitchen sink in an ad calling out the incumbent for running a negative campaign. Dewhurst volleyed back with an ad featuring a woman from a previous attack ad to claim that it isn't negative campaigning if what is being communicated in the ads is the truth.

•    Democratic U.S. Senate candidate David Alameel has increasingly taken to ignoring his runoff rival, Kesha Rogers, to start training fire on the GOP incumbent John Cornyn. In an interesting twist, Cornyn is now returning fire — and using campaign materials originally created by Rogers to do so.

Cornyn's fundraising email centered on a news report on a sexual harassment claim made by four workers who worked for Alameel's chain of dental clinics. The email was intended to question Alameel's commitment to advancing women's best interests as senator. The claims never involved Alameel personally, and a later complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ended with a consent decree that required Alameel's clinics to put into practice a non-harassment policy.

The email featured an image created by Rogers' campaign that was critical of Wendy Davis' decision to endorse Alameel. In a play on The Most Interesting Man in the World ad campaign by Dos Equis beer, the Rogers campaign took a picture of Davis and superimposed the words, "I don't always endorse men who fire women that complain about sexual harassment in the workplace ... but when I do, they are named David Alameel."

Newsreel: Regent Impeachment, Ad Wars, Murky Water

This week in the Newsreel: A House committee finds grounds for UT regent Wallace Hall's impeachment, more nasty campaign ads flood your feed and Houston's water supply has a hint of Dallas.

Inside Intelligence: About Teachers and Charters...

Student achievement ought to be included in teacher evaluations, according to two-thirds of our insiders in government and politics. And while 60 percent of them do not think charter schools should be allowed to use public buildings for free, nearly half said those schools should get the same per-pupil funding that public schools get from the state.

Should students be allowed to choose which public schools they attend, subject to availability? Yes, according to 80 percent of the insiders.

We collected comments along the way, and a full set of those is attached. Here’s a sampling:

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Should assessments of public school teachers be based on student achievement?

• "How we determine student achievement should not be tied exclusively to test scores. If a bunch of kids show up to 3rd grade unable to read and they all came from Mr. Jones' 2nd grade class, then Mr. Jones deserves an immediate and thorough audit."

• "Teacher performance should be based on outcomes like everyone else in the work forces. Showing up is not good enough. And one size fits all should be eliminated. All classrooms are not equal. An underperforming school that is brought from failing has achieved more than a school that improves their level of excellence. An F to a B is shows more grade improvement than from an A to an A+"

• "This should be one element among several, but it can not be the sole measure. Too many other factors influence student achievement."

• "Achievement, not standardized tests."

• "Define achievement. Is it the progress a student makes from Aug - May/June or is it the end product in May/June? Also, how do you account for the 'achievements' of naturally bright kids? Should a teacher receive high marks because she happens to teach AP Chemistry whose students perform well, while a fourth grade teacher is stuck with slow learners? Achievement doesn't seem like a meritorious method of assessing teachers."

• "A teacher is supposed to take a child who doesn't know "something" and teach them that "something". If one can't assess the teacher on how successful they are at transferring essential knowledge and skills, then why measure them at all?"

• "But only in part. If teachers are allowed to actually TEACH the core subjects - reading, math, science, WRITING - then yes - test for achievement in those areas. But DO NOT force teachers to teach for a test or what will be covered on a test. Why is it that we no longer teach HANDWRITING?"

• "What else should they be based on? We evaluate coaches on wins. We evaluate lawyers on results. We evaluate stockbrokers on successful investments. We evaluate real estate agents on results. We evaluate our elected representatives on results. I obviously could go on and on. This is not to say that we shouldn't take a lot of things into account, such as effort and growth, but results are what matters for our kids, so results should matter in evaluation."

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Should charter schools be allowed to use public buildings for free?

• "Yes, but only if they follow the same state imposed rules that public schools need to follow."

• "If a public building is empty then filling it with students is one of several worthwhile ways to keep it maintained."

• "I think it depends. I'd favor charters using unused or under-used buildings but absolutely dead-set opposed to building new buildings at taxpayer expense and turning them over."

• "They are public schools and when not in use buildings should be made available."

• "If they want to be free of public rules they should want to be free of public spaces. Use our spaces, play by our rules."

• "There is always a cost in using a building, even if it is just in the maintenance. Those costs that result from the building's use by the charter school should be borne by the charter school. At the same time, profit by the lending entity should be avoided."

• "Charter schools are public schools. They should have access to public buildings."

• "They are FOR PROFIT and should pay rent"

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Should the state give charter schools the same per-pupil funding public schools receive?

• "They are educating the same Texan that would otherwise be going to a public school. That child's education is just as important."

• "Pursuing innovative methods of educating Texas children while alleviating the burden on outdated school systems is something worth funding. If the experiment doesn't live up to the promise, then cut the funding."

• "Part of their appeal is that they can do the same job for less money. So, let them. If the reformers are right, they can produce better results at less cost. Put up or shut up."

• "Their premise is that they can do a better job outside of regulations. Fewer regulations mean fewer costs incurred to meet the regulations."

• "The better question is why shouldn't public charter schools receive the same per-pupil funding as public schools receive."

• "As a matter of fact the already do. Like traditional schools, they are funded on average daily attendance. Unlike traditional schools, they do not have to have an election to receive enrichment funds. They are automatically entitled to enrichment based on the statewide average. Theoretically, a charter school can be located in a district where it receives more funding than public schools if the statewide enrichment rate exceeds the home district rate."

• "Yes, parents shouldn't have to accept lower funds for their student because they make a choice, provided by the state, that is a better educational option for students."

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Should students be allowed to choose — based on availability — which public schools they want to attend?

• "Absolutely"

• "How about actually fixing the schools so that there isn't such a huge difference among the schools within a school district? Let's solve the problem so down the road the only real choices will be about magnet programs-- music, sports, etc."

• "Forcing kids to stay in failing schools solely because of the economics of where their family lives is a disservice to working families. Families deserve as many options as possible when it comes to something that is taxpayer supported and will significantly impact that student's future."

• "Competition makes everything better."

• "Nice emphasis on large school districts with this question. I'm sure the kids in small town rural Texas would like to choose to attend "better" suburban schools."

• "Yes. Time to inject some free market capitalism into the system. Let the schools compete."

• "I am reluctant to end the tradition of neighborhood public schools."

• "Rich people have a choice -- where to move for a good school district, or whether to put their kids into private schools. Why shouldn't less affluent have a choice as well?"

Our thanks to this week's participants: Gene Acuna, Cathie Adams, Jenny Aghamalian, Clyde Alexander, George Allen, Jay Arnold, Louis Bacarisse, Charles Bailey, Walt Baum, Eric Bearse, Dave Beckwith, Andrew Biar, Allen Blakemore, Chris Britton, David Cabrales, Lydia Camarillo, Thure Cannon, Snapper Carr, Janis Carter, William Chapman, Elna Christopher, Kevin Cooper, Beth Cubriel, Randy Cubriel, Curtis Culwell, Denise Davis, Hector De Leon, Eva De Luna-Castro, June Deadrick, Nora Del Bosque, Holly DeShields, Tom Duffy, David Dunn, Jeff Eller, Jack Erskine, Jon Fisher, Neftali Garcia, Norman Garza, Dominic Giarratani, Bruce Gibson, Stephanie Gibson, Eric Glenn, Kinnan Golemon, Jim Grace, John Greytok, Clint Hackney, Anthony Haley, Wayne Hamilton, Bill Hammond, John Heasley, Ken Hodges, Steve Holzheauser, Billy Howe, Laura Huffman, Deborah Ingersoll, Richie Jackson, Cal Jillson, Bill Jones, Mark Jones, Robert Jones, Lisa Kaufman, Robert Kepple, Richard Khouri, Tom Kleinworth, Ramey Ko, Sandy Kress, Dale Laine, Nick Lampson, Pete Laney, Dick Lavine, James LeBas, Luke Legate, Ruben Longoria, Vilma Luna, Matt Mackowiak, Luke Marchant, Kathy Miller, Steve Minick, Bee Moorhead, Mike Moses, Steve Murdock, Nelson Nease, Keats Norfleet, Pat Nugent, Todd Olsen, Nef Partida, Gardner Pate, Jerod Patterson, Jerry Philips, Tom Phillips, Wayne Pierce, Richard Pineda, Allen Place, Royce Poinsett, Kraege Polan, Gary Polland, Jay Propes, David Reynolds, Carl Richie, Grant Ruckel, Jason Sabo, Andy Sansom, Jim Sartwelle, Barbara Schlief, Stan Schlueter, Bruce Scott, Robert Scott, Ben Sebree, Bradford Shields, Christopher Shields, Nancy Sims, Ed Small, Martha Smiley, Larry Soward, Leonard Spearman, Dennis Speight, Jason Stanford, Bob Strauser, Colin Strother, Sherry Sylvester, Gerard Torres, Trey Trainor, Vicki Truitt, Ken Whalen, David White, Christopher Williston, Seth Winick, Peck Young, Angelo Zottarelli.

The Calendar

Sunday, May 18

  • Fundraiser for state Rep. Eddie Rodriguez; Esther's Follies, Austin (4 p.m.)

Tuesday, May 20

  • Texas Latina List and Tarrant County Democratic Party fundraiser for lieutenant governor candidate Leticia Van de Putte; Rose Marine Theater, Fort Worth (6:30-8:30 p.m.)
  • "Texas Women: A Story of Pride, Independence and Self-Reliance": A RedState Women panel discussion; The Austin Club, Austin (11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.)

Wednesday, May 21

  • Texas Public Policy Foundation's Policy Primer "Let the People In: Scope of Practice Reform in Texas"; state Capitol, Legislative Conference Center E2.002, Austin (11:30 a.m.)
  • Dallas County Democratic Party's Johnson Jordan Annual Dinner; Hyatt Regency Dallas (6:30 p.m.)
 

The Week in the Rearview Mirror

Three days after a legislative committee said there were grounds to impeach University of Texas System Regent Wallace Hall, the chairman of UT’s board of regents, Paul Foster, said Hall should resign.

In light of Gov. Rick Perry’s word of caution about raising tuition, the University of Texas System board of regents on Wednesday only approved tuition increases for out-of-state and health science campus students.

An attorney for Perry asked a judge to allow his witnesses to avoid passing through public areas en route to appearing before a grand jury looking at Perry's actions attempting to induce Travis County DA Rosemary Lehmberg to resign. The catch? The only possible route goes through Lehmberg's office.

House Speaker Joe Straus named nine legislators to a select committee on child protection. Chaired by state Rep. Dawnna Dukes, D-Austin, the panel will study deaths due to neglect and abuse and make recommendations afterward. The members will also work with the Protect Our Kids Commission, which was created by legislation in 2013.

Robert Nelsen, who has served as president of the University of Texas-Pan American since 2010, announced Monday that he will be stepping down at the end of August.

A federal appeals court halted the Texas execution of Robert James Campbell just hours before he was to be put to death Tuesday based on questions about whether the 41-year-old inmate is mentally disabled. Campbell was set to be the first prisoner executed since the botched execution in Oklahoma last month.

Health officials canceled a multimillion-dollar contract with Xerox, and the state sued the contractor late last week amid allegations it erroneously doled out hundreds of millions of dollars for medically unnecessary Medicaid claims.

Texas' "sriracha delegation" on Monday made its long-awaited visit to California to woo the makers of the popular hot sauce, but it was no clearer at the conclusion of the visit what might come of it.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be in Austin on June 20 to give a keynote address at the Long Center, it was announced this week. Her appearance will come 10 days after the publication of her new book, Hard Choices, which looks back at her tenure as the country's top diplomat.

Disclosure: The University of Texas at Austin is a corporate sponsor of The Texas Tribune. A complete list of Texas Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.

Political People and their Moves

Mary Anne Wiley has been named Gov. Rick Perry's new general counsel. She had served as deputy general counsel and director of criminal justice policy for the office since 2001 and replaces David Morales, who has accepted a position outside the governor's office.

Leslie Ward of Austin was named by Perry to the Texas Economic Development Corp. for a term to expire at the pleasure of the governor. Ward, a vice president of legislative affairs for AT&T Texas, was also named chairwoman of the corporation.

TCEQ Chairman Bryan W. Shaw was named to the EPA's Good Neighbor Environmental Board by EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy for a term ending March 9, 2015. The board makes recommendations based on environmental infrastructure needs in the states along the border with Mexico.

Donna Warndof has been named Harris County's new director of the Office of Legislative Relations. She has more than 15 years of legislative experience, with stints at the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association, Occidental Petroleum, and as a lobbyist at the Austin lobbying firm of Adams and Zottarelli, where she represented clients including Bexar County and the Texas Conference of Urban Counties.

Mark Miner, a former communications director for Perry, has returned to McGuireWoods Consulting as senior vice president.

Betsy Madru, formerly state Sen. Kel Seliger's legislative director, has been hired by Waste Control Specialists. Her new position involves outreach to state officials. She began work on May 1.

Robert "Bob" Donohoe will become the Texas Medical Liability Trust's new president and CEO effective July 1. He is currently the organization's COO.

The UT System Board of Regents has approved the establishment of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Center for Energy, Law and Business — a joint project of UT-Austin's School of Law and the McCombs School of Business.

Deaths: Sam W. Russell, who, as a Democrat, served in the Texas House representing Mount Pleasant from 1983 to 1992. He left the Legislature to serve as Gov. Ann Richards' legislative director. He later was an Austin-based lobbyist and was elected Titus County Judge in 2006. He was 68.

Disclosure: The Texas Medical Association and the University of Texas at Austin are corporate sponsors of The Texas Tribune. AT&T Texas was a corporate sponsor in 2009 and 2010 of the Tribune. A complete list of Texas Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.

Quotes of the Week

When you do something a lot, you get good at it. ... I think Texas probably does it as well as Iran.

University of Houston law professor David Dow on Texas' efficient system of applying the death penalty

I’m a huge fan of House Bill 5, and if I was to have another kid, I’d probably name him Jimmie Don.

Perrin-Whitt CISD Superintendent John Kuhn making an unusual tribute to the legislative prowess of House Public Education Chairman Jimmie Don Aycock

Absolutely. I think I miscalculated.

Former U.S. Speaker of the House Jim Wright of Fort Worth, saying he now regrets the 1989 decision to resign as speaker in the face of ethics complaints filed against him

I hope the governor offered to restore her budget if she honors his request.

Craig McDonald on the request by Gov. Rick Perry's attorney to use Travis County DA Rosemary Lehmberg's office to allow witnesses to avoid appearing in public en route to appearing before a grand jury

There are too many bad ideas on immigration reform that too many conservatives have become satisfied with just saying no. But I think we can do better than that by advancing our own conservative ideas for immigration reform.

Tea Party Express co-founder Sal Russo on the need for conservatives to show more leadership on immigration reform