Tag Archives: Tom Craddick

Chisum running for Speaker

Posted on October 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We may have ourselves another Speaker’s race this January. State Rep. Warren Chisum is delivering a letter to colleagues today saying he will run for House speaker next year, challenging Speaker Joe Straus, his fellow Republican. He says the speaker … Continue reading →

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Interview with State Rep. Armando Walle

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

State Rep. Armando Walle is finishing his first term representing HD140 in northeast Harris County. Walle won a contested primary in 2008 against Craddick D Kevin Bailey, which helped contribute to the downfall of the former Speaker. At 32 years … Continue reading →

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Interview with State Rep. Jessica Farrar

Posted on August 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

State Rep. Jessica Farrar has represented me in the Lege since I moved into the Heights in 1997; she was first elected in 1994, and is now the longest-serving Latina in the House. I have always admired her progressive values … Continue reading →

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Interview with State Rep. Sylvester Turner

Posted on August 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

State Rep. Sylvester Turner is one of the senior members of the Houston-area delegation, having served HD139 since he was first elected in 1988. He doesn’t have a campaign webpage, so let me refer you to his Texas Tribune biography … Continue reading →

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Let’s call it what it is

Posted on July 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I do not understand the resistance to renaming the Texas Railroad Commission to reflect what it actually does. The Railroad Commission is the state’s chief regulator of oil and gas production. The agency no longer deals with railroads yet still … Continue reading →

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Berman to challenge Straus

Posted on June 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I can’t say I’ve been thrilled with Joe Straus as Speaker of the House. He’s worlds better than Tom Craddick was, which still isn’t saying that much, but he hasn’t been all that friendly to his largely Democratic group of … Continue reading →

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An early look at redistricting

Posted on June 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The House Redistricting Committee is holding some hearings around the state in advance of the 2011 Census reports, and if there’s one thing we know already, it’s that West Texas will be losing influence next year. The state population increased … Continue reading →

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Edwards drops lawsuit to challenge election result in HD146

Posted on May 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Former State Rep. Al Edwards, who had filed a lawsuit challenging his electoral loss in the HD146 primary to Rep.-elect Borris Miles, has now dropped the suit, which should clear Miles’ path to Austin. Miles’ lawyer, Randall “Buck” Wood, of … Continue reading →

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The question to ask

Posted on April 1, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From State Rep. Mike Villarreal’s blog, explaining the benefit of the Affordable Care Act for Texans: Beyond this next year, many of the six million uninsured Texans will have health insurance, improving their health and financial stability, and saving all … Continue reading →

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Fixing school finance, the neverending story

Posted on March 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Work on dealing with the state’s revenue shortfall and what it will mean for the schools is already underway. Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Florence Shapiro, co-chair of the 15-member panel, acknowledged that the funding system is in trouble and needs … Continue reading →

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We’re not likely to have a Speaker’s race

Posted on March 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Jason Embry makes the case that the start of the next legislative session will be much calmer than the previous one, and it’s hard to argue. Republican Joe Straus finished his first session as speaker of the Texas House well-positioned … Continue reading →

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Two Trib primary stories

Posted on February 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib has done a series of good, informative stories on primary battles across the state, which I recommend you read. Two of their most recent are especially worthwhile: First is HD43, in which freshman Dem Rep. Tara Rios Ybarra … Continue reading →

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HD146 overview

Posted on February 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron on the one local Democratic legislative primary, Round Three of Al Edwards versus Borris Miles. Edwards has represented District 146 since 1979 — except for 2006-08, when Miles won the heavily black district. It has some of … Continue reading →

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McCall not running for re-election

Posted on November 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

State Rep. Brian McCall (R, Plano), one of the Republicans that helped oust Tom Craddick as Speaker, will not run for re-election next year. McCall, 51, said he is looking at other opportunities because it is time to try something … Continue reading →

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TPJ files complaint with Ethics Commission against Craddick

Posted on October 6, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Texans for Public Justice has filed a complaint with the Texas Ethics Commission against former Speaker Tom Craddick, alleging that he obfuscated campaign donations made to several Democratic supporters of his prior to the 2008 primaries. From their press release … Continue reading →

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Kino Flores not running for re-election

Posted on September 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The March primary season just got a little more interesting. Embattled state Rep. Ismael “Kino” Flores announced Tuesday that he will not seek re-election to an eighth term in 2010. Citing recent indictments handed down against him, the legislator said … Continue reading →

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Edwards gets a primary challenger in HD146

Posted on August 17, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

For the third straight election cycle, there will be a contested Democratic primary in HD146. Harvey Kronberg reports. Billy Briscoe, who served as Paul Hobby’s travel aide during his campaign for Comptroller in 1998, says that he is running in … Continue reading →

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More legislative primaries

Posted on August 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Freshman State Rep. Tara Rios Ybarra, who knocked off veteran Rep. Juan Escobar in the 2008 Democratic primary, will have a primary opponent of her own. Kingsville businessman J.M. Lozano, aged 29, announced via a video on Facebook and You … Continue reading →

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Berman not running for Governor

Posted on July 6, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

That’s too bad, because it means the Republican primary won’t be as mean, nasty, and bats-in-the-belfry crazy as it could have been. But while Leo Berman won’t be in the race, Bermanism will be. Gov. Rick Perry and Rep. Leo … Continue reading →

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Legislative wrapups

Posted on June 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

With sine die in the rearview mirror, tis the season for legislative wrapups. Here are a couple I’ve come across. – First, from Bike Texas, which had the fairly easy task of just following one bill: The final version of … Continue reading →

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Lon Burnam

Posted on May 29, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Star Telegram has a nice profile of Rep. Lon Burnam of Fort Worth, who we all know was anti-Tom Craddick before it was cool. If he were a baseball or basketball player, you’d say he’s one of those guys … Continue reading →

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Whatever Ricky wants

Posted on May 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

It’s too early to say how much of Rick Perry’s self-proclaimed agenda will get enacted this session, as much of it hinges on the budget reconciliation process as well as on legislation that hasn’t been taken up by one chamber … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Campaign finance bill passes the House

Posted on May 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve had plenty of harsh things to say about House Elections Committee Chair Todd Smith this session, but he’s always been one of the good guys on campaign finance reform. Texas could start regulating how political parties use corporate and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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School finance bill advances

Posted on May 12, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Has there ever been a legislative session that didn’t deal with school finance? This Lege is dealing with it as well, and the good news is they may have made some actual progress. Texas teachers would get an $800-a-year raise … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Happy Ardmore Day

Posted on May 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Rep. Pena remembers the day six years ago when the House Democrats took a stand against the DeLay/Craddick/Perry re-redistricting scheme. Though they were only able to delay the inevitable, the effort marked the beginning of the resurgence of the Texas … Continue reading →

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The Speaker speaks, and a Voter ID update

Posted on April 29, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

So how is Speaker Joe Straus doing? Three months into his first term leading the 150-member chamber, Republican Speaker Joe Straus is emerging as a bipartisan compromise-seeker, rejecting much of the power that his predecessor so coveted. Straus still faces … Continue reading →

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House passes budget, slaps Perry

Posted on April 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

State Rep. Chris Turner, on Twitter: At 3:56 am, the House unanimously passed the budget. Believe it or not, that was earlier than was originally anticipated. The pregame chatter was that the House would have to reconvene today to finish … Continue reading →

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Ethics and finance bills to get their turn

Posted on April 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

One never really expects bills relating to ethics and campaign finance reform to make it through the process, but it’s still a good idea to keep an eye on them. In the last session, for example, at least 105 bills … Continue reading →

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House passes veto override resolution

Posted on April 1, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’m a little surprised that this got taken up so (relatively) quickly, but not at all surprised that it passed. The House today passed a measure that would allow Texas voters to decide whether to allow the Legislature to override … Continue reading →

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Is redistricting reform about to become a reality?

Posted on March 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Patricia Kilday Hart reports that Sen. Jeff Wentworth’s redistricting commission bill has a chance this session, thanks to the change in Speaker. Wentworth, who presented his bill to the Senate State Affairs Committee, tells me he has confirmed pledges from … Continue reading →

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Son of Speaker complaining

Posted on February 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

So yes, even in the post-Craddick era, there are still complaints about the Speaker by Democrats. Some of this is to be expected: You can’t satisfy everyone. Some of it is probably the result of over-inflated expectations. And some of … Continue reading →

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Craddick’s cleanup

Posted on February 6, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’m amused by this. Before the House voted Speaker Tom Craddick out of his powerful job, state officials wiped his computers clean and deleted scores of electronic files, raising concerns that important public records may have been destroyed. Files on … Continue reading →

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House adopts rules

Posted on January 29, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Once again, not much drama in the lower chamber. After an all-day debate, the House approved its rules for the 2009 legislative session in a relaxed atmosphere overseen by new Speaker Joe Straus. The most intense squabble came when the … Continue reading →

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California breathin’

Posted on January 29, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We may get some cleaner air to breathe here in Texas thanks to California and President Obama. Obama ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to review the Bush administration’s refusal to allow California and 13 other states to set the nation’s … Continue reading →

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