Tx Capitol Report | A view from the Texas state capitol

State Rep. Marisa Marquez has potential challenger on her "radar"

State Rep. Marisa Marquez has just been reelected but she is already bracing for a potential challenger in two years.

And she says her possible opponent may be too close for comfort. 

Robert Grijalva, the chief of staff for state Rep. Chente Quintanilla, said he has been considering a bid for state office for the past six years. Grijalva would not confirm that he was contemplating a bid for Marquez’s seat in 2012 but he also would not dismiss claims that he may seek the office.

“I will look at the landscape after the session,” Grijalva said. “I’ve told the people that asked me that we will talk seriously then and I will let them know whether it seems like a viable option for me or not. That’s the first step.”

Grijalva said he has not started any type of process to run for office. He said his aspirations are no different this year than they have been in the past but that does not mean he will choose to challenge Marquez in two years.

He said several factors would determine whether he seeks public office. In fact, he said the redistricting session may place he and Marquez in different districts.

But Marquez said Grijalva has not denied that he is considering a run for the office in her private conversations with him and she is already being asked about his potential candidacy both in El Paso and Austin.

“In our conversations he pretty much said he is considering it,” Marquez said.

Marquez said she is focused on the budget, redistricting and passing legislation to benefit El Paso in the session that starts in January but she added that she will also keep Grijalva on her radar during that time.

“There is going to be privileged conversations, emails, correspondence between our delegation and certainly a candidate should not be in those circles,” she said. “I think it really sets a bad precedent to have somebody within those privileged circles later announce candidacy.”

She acknowledged that there may be tension in the delegation even if Grijalva decides not to seek state office.

“It’s certainly a possibility that he doesn’t do it but its been made public and it's going to put members in a difficult position,” she said. “It may put lobbyists in a difficult position.”

Grijalva said he hopes to avoid any tension.

“Having this rumor pop up at this time was the worst thing that could happen because I don’t want to be at the center of the kind of divisiveness in the session amongst the members,” Grijalva said.

 

Bill wants campaign finance reports for school board candidates online

State Rep. Marisa Marquez, D-El Paso, has filed a bill that would require school districts to post the campaign finance reports of school board candidates on their websites.

Marquez said she filed House Bill 336 because El Paso voters should have easy access to such reports. She said elected officials must work to develop a comprehensive approach to open, transparent and responsible government. Currently, most school districts make campaign finance reports available through open records requests.

Marquez said the results of the FBI public corruption investigation make the need for better accessibility to public documents even more crucial.

"In light of recent events, and I'm talking about the past two years in El Paso, I think it's important that our trustees, our city representatives, our county commissioners and our state officials be as open and transparent as they can with our community to restore the trust," Marquez said. "This is an important building block."

Perry on U.S. military troops entering Mexico to fight the drug war

Gov. Rick Perry said Thursday that everything should be on the table to fight drug cartel violence in Mexico, including the use of U.S. military force in Mexico.

Perry, the new chairman of the Republican Governor's Association, continuously says that he is not running for president in 2012. The governor, though, has been touring the country promoting his anti-Washington book "Fed Up!" and is ready to dole out plenty of criticism of the federal government.

On Thursday, Perry appeared on MSNBC and was asked “Would you advocate military involvement in Mexico on the Mexico side of the border to help Mexico in this drug war?”

He responded: "I think we have to use every aspect of law enforcement that we have, including the military," Perry said. "I think you have the same situation as you had in Colombia."

"Obviously, Mexico has to approve any type of assistance that we can give them. But the fact of the matter is these are people who are highly motivated with money, they are vicious, they are armed to the teeth. And I want to see them defeated. And any means we can to run these people off our border and to save Americans' lives, we need to be engaged in."

Student bill opposing in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants fails at Texas A&M

A student bill that took a stance against allowing undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition failed to capture enough votes to override a veto Wednesday night at Texas A&M University.

The Student Senate at the university had passed a bill earlier in the month that opposed in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants "regardless of revenue generated from taxes by illegal immigrants." If approved, the bill would not have any binding impact on tuition at the university but rather would take a position on behalf of the student body. That bill was vetoed by student body president Jacob Robinson.

On Wednesday, the student senate failed to capture the two-thirds majority vote to override the veto, according the university's student activities center.

Gov. Rick Perry signed legislation into law that allows undocumented immigrant students, who meet certain criteria, to attend Texas colleges and universities at in-state tuition rates. Such criteria include living in the state for a certain amount of time before graduating from a local high school.

 

Rick Perry to lead Republican governors

Gov. Rick Perry's strong anti-Washington message may not be an attempt at the presidency afterall, according to an article published today by Politico.

Perry is expected to be named the chairman of the Republican Governors Association during a meeting next week in San Diego, said the story by Politico, which also mentioned that "it would be nearly impossible to raise money for the committee and help direct the gubernatorial contests in Louisiana, Mississippi and Kentucky while running for president."

Check out the full Politico story here.

Updated: House Speaker politics continue to heat up

State Rep. Bryan Hughes, R-Minneola, withdrew his support Wednesday for House Speaker Joe Straus, suggesting that he had a change of heart after someone from the speaker's team told him that members who were not on board would be punished in the redistricting process.

Hughes said many of his constituents had requested that he withdraw his support for Straus to continue as speaker of the House. He said his final decision came after a member of Straus' leadership team told him that members who did not back Straus would suffer in the redistricting process and that he had nothing to worry about as long as he remained a supporter.

 "This conversation first saddened and then disgusted me," he said in a release. "Using the redistricting process for retribution reminds us of all that is wrong with politics. The Speaker's race should be decided not based on threats of punishment and not on promises of power, but on principle."

Straus, a moderate Republican who is being challenged by those who want a more conservative speaker, refuted the claims and called on Hughes to name the person.

“These allegations are outrageous and I have a call into Rep. Hughes to insist that he name the individual with whom he had this alleged conversation," Straus said in a release. "I did not and would never authorize, allow, or condone linking redistricting in any way with the Speaker’s race, and anyone who knows me knows better than to give that assertion any credence. When Rep. Hughes called me earlier today to discuss his pledge, he never offered this as an explanation. He did say that revoking his pledge to me was more difficult than revoking his pledge in previous Speaker's races."

El Paso's delegation, including the latest representative to be elected, has pledged to support Straus. They say Straus has been fair to both Democrats and Republicans in the State House.

Below is a statement from incoming Republican State Rep. Dee Margo that was released by Straus' office:

"Joe Straus is a longtime friend and a strong conservative leader, and I am eager to join him in Austin to address the challenges facing our state. Joe's respectful, collaborative style and fiscally conservative principles will be increasingly important as we face a difficult legislative session, and I'm confident he's the right man to lead our expanded Republican majority in the 82nd legislature."

Update: Hughes said Thursday morning that he emailed the name of the person involved to Straus.

Yesterday I issued a statement on the Speaker’s race.  In it I carefully recounted very troubling statements made to me by a member of the Speaker’s leadership team.
My purpose was to strongly and unequivocally condemn these actions and to protect other members from these harmful tactics.
The Speaker has called on me to name the individual. 
I tried to reach the Speaker this morning and could not.  I left a message on his cell phone and sent him a text message, requesting a brief telephone conversation.
Today is an important holiday, and it is understandable that he couldn’t be reached.
Since I was unable to reach the Speaker by phone, I sent him an email with the name of the member involved.

 

Gov. Rick Perry on the Daily Show

Gov. Rick Perry was on the Daily Show last night to promote his anti-Washington book "Fed Up!"

Perry and Jon Stewart had an interesting exchange about what happens to politicians when they go to Washington.

Stewart: "Let me ask you a question because the Governor of your state was George Bush, before you, and when he was governor of Texas, I'm assuming that you believed he was a very thoughtful, and I can't remember the other word you used, individual. When he went to Washington, did he lose his mind? ...If you were the governor of Texas, and you consider yourself a smart and thoughtful man, when you go to Washington, do they calcify your brain?"

Perry: "I've actually said that from time to time. When people, and I'm not just talking about President Bush, but I'm taking about a lot of people, when they cross the Potomac River something happens from time to time. There’s like a virus. Maybe they spew it out, I don’t know what happens."

Stewart: "So you believe Washington is the home of let's say a type of Ebola. It gets into the bloodstream …"

Perry: "I can’t prove that. But it is. I think they get absorbed with the Washington culture."

For the full interview between Perry and Stewart go here. The extended footage that was not aired is below.

 

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Exclusive - Rick Perry Extended Interview
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Rally to Restore Sanity

More money in House District 78

Money continues to flow into the rematch for House District 78 between Democratic State Rep. Joe Moody and his Republican challenger Dee Margo.

The last official report for the race was released a week ago but candidates have to file telegrams that offer updates before the election. A more complete list of donations and expenditures will not be available until January.

During the eight day reports filed las Monday, Margo reported that he had $217,295 in the bank, while Moody had $43,997.

Since then, Moody has collected about $52,000. About $35,000 in television advertising came from the House Democratic Campaign Committee, $5,000 in polling services was provided by Texans for Insurance Reform, and the Jose Rodriguez campaign gave $4,000.  

Margo brought in $16,100 since the eight day report. He received $2,500 from the Doctors Company political action committee, $2,000 from Joyce E. Waller of Dallas and $1,500 from Independent Insurance Agents of Texas.