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Ross Ramsey co-founded The Texas Tribune in 2009 and served as its executive editor until his retirement in 2022. He wrote regular columns on politics, government and public policy. Before joining the Tribune, he was editor and co-owner of Texas Weekly. He did a 28-month stint in government with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Before that, he reported for the Houston Chronicle, the Dallas Times Herald, as a Dallas-based freelancer for regional and national magazines and newspapers, and for radio stations in Denton and Dallas.
Far more money is extracted from Texans in the form of state and local sales taxes, but property taxes are the source of more complaints. School taxes lead the list but account for a smaller share of the overall tax bill than 10 years ago. Full Story
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Campus carry opponents lost their fight to keep guns off of state college and university grounds, so now they're making fun of the people who want to carry guns on campus. With sex toys. The next act in this political theater won't be boring. Full Story
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Legislation that would have blocked public employees from paying union or association dues with paycheck deductions failed last session. But the Senate is reopening the issue, and it could play against a powerful House chairman up for reelection next year. Full Story
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State leaders are sending a signal that lawmakers are going to continue walking the margins between church and state, and religion and politics, through another election and legislative cycle. Full Story
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Texas swings from conservative to very conservative every two years. The turnout is higher when there is a presidential race on the ballot, and the state's Republicans are a little less dominant those years. Full Story
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By the numbers, there are some federal and state legislative districts in Texas that can be considered competitive in November general elections. There just aren't many of them. Full Story
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It should come as no surprise when political plotters and schemers try to pack a primary election to force an incumbent into a runoff. Their hope is that the runoff's greater concentration of partisan voters will be harder on the incumbents. Full Story
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As the presidential political season starts in Texas, here's a look — based on the results in past general elections — at how the state's congressional and statehouse districts stack up for the candidates from both parties. Full Story
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Anti-establishment Republicans have tried three times to knock House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, out of the top job. Now they're entering an election season nearly five dozen votes short of what they need. Full Story
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Splitting the majority party in the House of Representatives leaves a potential speaker with two routes to the top. Lawmakers did it one way in Texas and another way in Washington, D.C. Full Story
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