Tx Capitol Report | A view from the Texas state capitol

Happy Turkey Day

I'm headed to Kansas to spend Thanksgiving with the family. I'll be back on Monday, so until then joy your own family and some political downtime. Fireworks are sure to resume soon, if not before your tryptophan-induced nap is over.

House meet-n-greet

Members of the El Paso delegation to the Texas House had their second gathering at the Capitol today.
Their first meeting was the day after Election Day.
Not much in the way of heavy discussion at the meeting today, though, said state Rep. Joe Pickett, D-El Paso. It was just an opportunity, he said, for the delegation with its two new members _ state Reps.-elect Marisa Marquez and Joe Moody _ to get to know one another and chat about the upcoming session.
"It was just, you know, to kind of see if our personalities are going to continue gelling," Pickett said.
He hopes they will, he said.
Marquez said the group also talked about what issues might be on the top-five list of priorities for El Paso when the session starts in January.
As a newcomer to the Texas House, Marquez said, the more seasoned El Paso legislators would be a valuable resource.
"They were very encouraging, and I think since we are freshman we are looking to learn but also to be very productive this session," she said.
Moody said the group talked some about the topic du jour, the race for speaker of the House. But Moody said he hasn't made any decisions just yet on which candidate will get his vote to lead the chamber.
"It's premature to start picking a horse in the race when you don’t know how many horses are in the race," he said.

We knew it was coming

Democrat Bob Romano of (thanks for the note Layla) Irving has asked for a recount in his race against incumbent state Rep. Linda Harper Brown, the Dallas Morning News reported today.
The initial count showed him down by 20 votes in the Dallas-area district.
If the recount changes the outcome, it would mean an evenly divided Texas House with 75 Republicans and 75 Democrats and that could change the calculus for the House Speaker race.
The suspense!!

Dunnam to House Dems: Stay united. Really. Stay. United.

As yet another Republican legislator became a candidate for House Speaker today, state Rep. Jim Dunnam, D-Waco, had a message for Texas House Democrats: Stay united.
He sent out this e-mail today:

As you may have seen today, Rep. Burt Solomons filed for Speaker.  I am getting lots of calls, and I am sure you are as well.  I just wanted to share my thoughts; they are free – so maybe worth that much.

Since election night it has been clear that Tom Craddick cannot return as Speaker next session as long as we remain united.  As time has passed it has become clearer to others – both inside and outside the Capitol - and that is a good thing.  It does not take a rocket scientist to realize that Craddick will try and anoint his own replacement and make a handoff once he recognizes the inevitable.  Since our aim has always been more than simply replacing Craddick, but rather bringing fundamental change to the House, having Craddick select the next Speaker is inconsistent with our goals.

Craddick has proven time and again that if he succeeds in dividing Democrats, then he can prevail. We have not allowed that to happen, and now we can attest that our solidarity works.  However, we cannot allow that to happen in the coming weeks. Our mission is to restore the House’s bipartisanship and collegiality – a House where bills pass on merit and where every member has the ability to reap the rewards of hard work and a good idea, and where party and lobby take a back seat.  The “owner’s box,” its occupants aware their days are numbered in such a House, has to go.

That being said, we now have 5 Republican candidates who have formally filed for Speaker – Craddick, Keffer, Merritt, Jones and Solomons.  No one will be surprised if that number increases.

Our unity exhibited on November 5th laid the groundwork for Republicans who also want change to come forth.  More will surely come forth publicly soon.  Hopefully you recognize that our continued unity is driving this change.

My hope is that we remain united throughout this process.  In doing so, we have the ability to ensure that the next Speaker, regardless of party, shares our goals. With the Irving recount and possible election contest leaving things up in the air, a Democratic Speaker is still a real possibility if the House becomes tied at 75-75.  But even at 76-74, given our large numbers, Democrats should have meaningful input in the process, and we best do that by working in unison.

Members have proposed that we set up another Caucus meeting and invite all Republican candidates to address the Caucus.  This is an interesting and potentially useful proposal.  If you have other thoughts, please share them.  In the end, if we remain cohesive, rather than splitting our bloc of votes into 5 or more groups of Democrats supporting 5 or more Republican candidates, we will be much better off.  No one thinks that Democrats should exclusively select the next Speaker, but united we can provide more meaningful input in the process, reach across the aisle and reach the goal of bringing real, meaningful and lasting change to the Texas House of
Representatives.

Did I forget to say we should stay united?    

--Jim

Follow me

You may have noticed a new little gizmo in the upper right hand area of this blog. That's my Twitter feed. I'm going to post little news updates when they happen so you can get a quick feed of what's going on at the Capitol. So, sign up for Twitter and follow me to keep up with the latest, especially as this place starts hopping when the session starts in January. And use Twitter to keep up with your friends, too. But mostly me.

Pickett buddy becomes speaker candidate

State Rep. Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton, became the latest Texas House speaker candidate this morning.
That brings the list of candidates up to 10, including sitting GOP Speaker Tom Craddick, of Midland.
Solomons and El Paso state Rep. Joe Pickett, a Democrat, are roommates and buddies who both started their legislative careers in 1994.
Pickett said he thinks Solomons would make a good leader for the House and would share power between the two parties now that Republicans have a slim 76-74 majority.
"I don’t know if he’s the one" who Craddick opponents can coalesce behind, Pickett said. "I think it would be a great thing if it was."
He won't be doing any arm-twisting to help his Republican friend, but Pickett said he would encourage the other four El Paso Democrats in the House to support Solomons.
"I hope they would consider supporting him, and I'm going to ask Burt to call them, too, like he needs to talk to all the members, everybody," Pickett said.

Speaker brew

Sorry I've been quiet the last couple of days here. I'm actually in North Carolina right now at a gathering of fellow capitol reporters (a.k.a. political nerd fest).
Anyway, here are a couple of interesting posts to keep you in the mix on the House Speaker race.
Texas Monthly has asked each of the nine Speaker candidates to talk about why they should lead the Texas House. Eight of them responded so far. Check it out here.
Burnt Orange Report did a lot of good research to try to figure out just how many votes GOP House Speaker Tom Craddick might have right now. Take a look here at the numbers.

Republicans still on top, but the counting's not over

Republican state Rep. Linda Harper-Brown just barely came out ahead of her Democratic opponent after all the provisional ballots in the Dallas-area race were counted. According to news reports, she ended up with 20 more votes than challenger Bob Romano.
A recount is expected, though, and the results will determine whether Republicans maintain a tiny 76-74 majority or whether the Texas House ends up evenly split between the two parties, with each having 75 seats in the chamber.
And, of course, that has huge ramifications for the House speaker race.
House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, has said as long as there's a Republican majority, he thinks he can win the leadership post.
Democrats have said if there's a tie they plan to put forward their own candidate to take on Craddick. Right now, there are nine speaker candidates, including Craddick.

Moody pledges to be like two Republicans

Here's the last campaign e-mail from state Rep.-elect Joe Moody. The newly elected Democrat thanked his supporters and said he'll try to follow in the footsteps of his Republican predecessors:

At the start of our campaign, I asked for your help in this historic campaign. There weren’t many people who gave us a chance early on, but you stuck by me through thick and thin. I want to thank all of you that made Tuesday’s victory possible. From the moms and dads who sacrificed time with their children to help the campaign phone bank and block walk, to the students who believed in this campaign and gave up their time to help spread our message.

As I block walked across House District 78 the one thing that was made clear to me was you wanted someone to listen to your needs. Someone to hear your voice. And because of all of your hard work, I will join our delegation on January 13, 2009 at the State Capitol and bring your voices to the table.

But now that the campaign is over, the real work begins. There are new challenges ahead of us: fixing how we finance our public schools, restoring and increasing the number of children CHIP can help, freezing college tuition for our universities and colleges, insuring Fort Bliss and the Texas Tech Medical School continue to grow, supporting the Tiguas and Speaking Rock Casino, and protecting our Franklin Mountains State Park.

My pledge is to continue to put El Paso first just like Representatives Jack Vowell and Pat Haggerty did before me.

This past Tuesday gave a clear signal to the current leadership in Austin that change is needed. I will continue to ask for your help to bring this change to Texas.

This campaign, and now this office, has never been about "I" or "Me," but about “Us” and "We." I will work hard to continue to have your support, so that, together, we can help build a new way and a new day for El Paso.

Thank You -

One last Margo campaign e-mail

Republican Dee Margo, who lost a hard-fought campaign for the Texas House to Democrat Joe Moody on Tuesday, took a few minutes to chat with me today about what's next for the prominent businessman.
After two failed bids for the Texas Legislature - this one and a loss in 2006 to state Sen. Eliot Shapleigh - would he consider another run at elected office?
"I never thought I'd run for office," he said. "I ran two years ago because I was frustrated.I ran this time because I was encouraged to do so."
Historically, he said, he's been content to work in the background and leave the foreground to his wife Adair Margo.
"Never say never," he said of running again, "but it's not something I'm sitting back thinking about right now."
For now, Margo said he's focused on getting moved into his new house on the West side. It'll be compete in just a few weeks.
As to whether he'll continue roaming the halls of the pink dome in Austin, advocating for El Paso as he has in the past, Margo said he's not sure yet.
"It just depends," he said, adding he won't hesitate to pick up the phone or get on a plane when it comes to something he feels is near and dear to El Paso.
Here's the final campaign e-mail message Margo sent out to his supporters:

I’d like to thank all the people who worked so hard for my campaign. We all have much to be proud of. I am very grateful to everyone who volunteered and all of you who went out of your way to say a kind word to me throughout this campaign.
I believe our campaign brought to light some of the most important issues facing El Paso and Texas, and I will work to keep those issues at the forefront of the ongoing debate.
While I am disappointed with the outcome of this election, El Paso is my home and I believe our best days are ahead. I will continue to work to make El Paso strong, and I will still work with every statewide Republican official to ensure El Paso is not left behind and that our voices are heard in Austin.
I will continue to work on behalf of my city, El Paso, and hope to hear from you in the near future.

Sincerely,
Dee Margo