In their first and probably only televised debate, Bill White sounded experienced, as you’d expect of a three-term mayor of Houston, while wealthy hair care magnate Farouk Shami was more passionate, more animated, and much more prone to political mistakes.
Texas Legislature
Posted in
State Government
Primary Color: HD-146
State Rep. Al Edwards, D-Houston, and former State Rep. Borris Miles are vying for the same Texas House seat for the third time. In a district with a high dropout rate, a high incidence of HIV infection, and a high percentage of people without health insurance, they predictably disagree about who can best deliver on promises of help, hope and change.
Posted in
State Government
A Hard Road
Lawmakers are still perturbed at TxDOT, but the state’s transportation agency is trying to do better. The first step, says one commissioner: Figure out how to meet the transportation needs of Texas citizens — which it’s not doing.
Posted in
State Government
TribBlog: Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Change
Sen. Cornyn said allowing openly gay men and women to serve in the U.S. military would hinder recruitment efforts.
Posted in
State Government
2010: Terri Hodge to Resign, Plead Guilty
The embattled state representative admits making a false statement on a federal tax return.
Posted in
Economy
Burned Orange
A clash over a beloved campus music club at UT-Austin portends the gnashing of teeth at schools statewide as a budgetary winter threatens to envelop higher education.
Posted in
State Government
Seat Warmers?
Dallas County Republicans are jockeying for a chance to topple two freshman Democrats who seized House districts in 2008. The incumbent Dems — hoping to claim their first House majority in eight years — are girding for battle.
Posted in
Demographics
2010: Game On in HD-76
A little insight into state Rep. Norma Chavez’s Democratic primary race out in El Paso can be gleaned from the campaign finance reports filed yesterday, and it looks like she could have a real fight on her hands.
Posted in
Economy
Their State of the State
Governors across the country have been delivering their state report cards in January — but not in Texas, where the State of the State address is only given during odd-numbered years, when the Legislature is in session. Ben Philpott, reporting on politics for KUT News and the Tribune, asked people from different sectors of the economy to offer their own outlook for Texas in 2010.
Posted in
State Government
Social Studies
Thanks to sites like Facebook and Twitter, we know the elected officials who represent us better than ever — sometimes in weirdly intimate ways. You can find out that Dan Patrick had to put his dog down, that Wayne Christian is a fan of real estate wunderkind and reality TV star Chad Rogers, and that Bill White just finished listening to a book on tape. But woe to the pol who hasn’t updated her status in a year.
