Texas Capitol Mockingbird

2006-09-05T14:15:00.000-07:00

Texas Toll Roads

This election cycle you can bet on urban candidates from both sides railing against toll roads, Carol Strayhorn, running for Governor, is making toll roads a centerpiece of her campaign. The fact of the matter is, with the Trans-Texas Corridor already in motion, the nomination of Mary Peters to be Transportation Secretary and toll-roads already being built; being anti-toll is misleading at best.

With the nomination of Peters, the Bush/Perry transportation experiment is a done deal. While it may be true that aspects of the Trans-Texas plan can be influenced in the future, the plan is a 50-year blueprint, to stop tolls or the corridor at this point is not feasible. But the growing anti-toll lobby would have you believe otherwise. The toll-roads issue, which politicians from both sides will be more than willing to rail against, is something they can honestly say at a later date that they had no control over, it deflects from issues where they can be held accountable, so expect many grand statements against tolls. The plan is already underway, just as the plan to privatize benefit delivery at Health and Human Services, it is too late to stop it either at this point. Peters is lock step with Bush and Perry on transportation issues, toll-roads are the answer to dwindling federal funds. Portions of Texas highways and interstates have been under private maintenance for a number of years that will become commonplace across Texas and the nation in years to come.

While Perry this election cycle will tout property tax relief as his shining achievement, the real achievement is the transportation plan he has be able to put in motion. The plan is a marriage of federal, state and private dollars, all to create revenue-generating roads across the state, indeed across the nation.

This may be the trend that pushes people to finally address the growing need for mass transit. Indeed the Trans-Texas Corridor is the perfect field to sow the seeds of mass-transit. It may be decades away, but the funding mechanisms that have been created for roads, can be switched to rail rapidly. Once citizens tire of high gas prices and toll-roads, they may be willing to actually vote for rail. Urban areas are already building rail, and the lines are being utilized, prompting further expansion.

The battle in Texas is shaping up to be one of suburban dwellers versus urban dwellers. If you look at voting patterns with regard to rail bonds, the suburban areas overwhelmingly defeat rail measures, while the urban areas overwhelmingly support the measures. Interestingly these areas are also the base of both parties, suburban GOP, urban Democrat. It will be interesting to watch is how the GOP spins the toll-roads issue; after all, GOP leaders enacted the legislation, which enabled the Trans-Texas Corridor, and the accompanying toll-roads to become a reality in the first place. They cannot blame the Clintons, nor can they blame Democrats, this is the GOP legacy in Texas.

2006-08-21T13:37:00.000-07:00

Texas Legislative Races to Watch

Let me begin by saying that I am not anti-GOP, being a Texan I tend to agree with conservative fiscal policy. I do not see any evidence that the majority of "fiscal conservatives" are in anyway conservative. The Republican party in Texas seems to have been high-jacked by the so called social conservatives. The decisions from the leadership of the party, Perry and Craddick, down to Talton, Wong and Chisum have put Texas in a funding crises of unseen proportions.

The continual cuts across the board have cost Texas taxpayers and municipalities across the state. CHIP alone has seen a $200 million savings, but at the cost of the loss of $530 in federal matching dollars. The impact of the decisions of GOP leaders will impact generations of Texans. In fact the leadership has targeted the fiscal conservatives and defeated them in the primaries. Carter Casteel was a level-headed legislator, who refused to be strong-armed by Craddick, she paid for it with her seat.

The GOP candidates below should not win because of a lack of initiative, or independent thought during previous sessions or because their issue statements or lack thereof don't don't show any reason that if elected they would be able to legislate. I am of the belief that we should elect candidates based upon not only where they stand on the issues, but what solutions they offer to said issues.

I believe that there are a growing number of candidates that see holding public office as an easy way to become a lobbyist, not really the people I want representing me. While the majority of GOP candidates below state that they are against special interest groups running state government, their issue statements sound like they were written by such just groups. Being able to offer innovative solutions requires more than a statement saying "I believe in innovative solutions!", great, now do you have any?

Statewide three Republican house members lost thier primaries, while two Democratic house members and one Democratic Senator lost their re-election bids, that seems awfully low, mirroring voter turn-out, but maybe it can be seen as a start to cleaning up the corporations that are running roughshod over the people of the state. If the social conservatives plan is to make the government look incompetent on all levels, then the plan is working. The legislation enacted of the past several sessions is being written more and more by lobbyists and special interest groups, not by the Texas Legislative Council or the staff of the actual Legislators. I am not naive enough to believe that lobbyists and special interest groups are in any way going to be left out of the process, in fact information should be shared in the drafting process. What seems to be happening though is that hearings are becoming invitation only, which is not in the best interest of the citizens that these legislators are serving.

The fact that lobbyists and special interest groups are at the table is not the problem. The problem is that these two groups are becoming the only people at the table. For a legislator to only listen to one side of the argument is a problem. The legislation of the past several sessions indicates a pattern that you can have a seat at the table only if you support the position of the leadership. This is bad public policy. Failed leadership at the highest level.

It has yet to be seen if the "school finance" plan will be challenged in court. Being that a business tax was levied, I believe there will not be any action on this from the business lobby until Perry is elected again. It is self-interest that will prevent the business lobby from challenging the legislation, both Perry and the lobby stand to benefit from another Perry term, why would the lobby challenge him now? Perry is so wrapped up in the business lobby that one has to wonder how he got the lobby to swallow the "school finance" plan. For more on Perry and the business lobby, see below:

“The more important question raised by Dunnam is why Texas lawmakers ever thought it was necessary to appropriate more than $1 million for lobbyist contracts when the state — at the time of the decision — had a president, two powerful senators, (and) the House Majority Leader…to represent the state's interests in Washington.” Longview News-Journal Editorial, 1/19/06

"Governor Perry should not continue to waste huge sums of taxpayer money to fund the unnecessary lobby contract of [someone] who is directly involved in the unseemly activities of Tom DeLay," State Rep. Jim Dunnam (Chairman, House Democratic Caucus) Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1/19/06

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/special/05/legislature/3328079.html

http://www.tpj.org/reports/austinsoldest06/clients.html

http://www.economist.com/research/backgrounders/displaystory.cfm?story_id=1487487

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/102405_russell02.shtml

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/4126395.html

Perry is even trying to wrestle control of the useless Office of State-Federal Relations (OSFR) under control of the Governor's Office. Could this be the reason the business lobby was silent on the Perry "school finance" plan? Just think, the Governor would be able to hand out taxpayer money by the bucketload.

http://www.governor.state.tx.us/divisions/press/pressreleases/PressRelease.2006-03-24.1543

http://www.offthekuff.com/mt/archives/007780.html

http://www.burntorangereport.com/tag.do?subjectId=45

I am of the belief that we as voters should elect candidates that will serve ALL constituents, not just a portion, such as the business community, which seems to have priority right now. Its time for Texans to stand up and toss these people out of office. More of the same during the 89th session will lead to the same results.

Texas Senate

The only race with a possibility of being close in the Texas Senate is the race for District 19, which has been vacated by the defeat of Senator Frank Madla by Carlos Uresti in the Democratic primary. This heavily Hispanic swing district will be a tough one for GOP candidate Bowen, especially given that Urseti is Hispanic. That being said the district did vote at 80 % for the constitutional amendment on gay marriage. The district is home to 13 districts for the Texas House of Representatives with 10 of those seats are held by Democrats. Kerry also carried the district in the 2004 presidential election. So while there is some hope for Bowen, it's not much.

District 19
Dick Bowen, Republican
Carlos I. Uresti, Democrat
Open seat, leans Democratic.

http://www.burntorangereport.com/archives/2006/01/4040_get_to_kno_6.html http://theredstate.typepad.com/texas/sd_19/index.html

Texas House of Representatives

There are more races for seats in the Texas House of Representatives in play than in the Senate. The current breakdown is 86 Republicans vs. 64 Democrats. If the Democrats were to carry the 10 races that in play the make-up would shift to 76 Republicans vs. 74 Democrats, which would make for an entertaining session to say the least. The more likely scenario is that the Democrats could pick up 3 to 4 seats overall, which will make tough bills even harder to pass in the partisan confines of the Texas House. Expect Craddick to be elected Speaker again, and expect him to strong-arm his pet bills just as he did last session and in subsequent special sessions. And now the races that may be in play.

District 19
Mike "Tuffy" Hamilton, Republican (i)
Paul Clayton, Democrat

District 19 is in play, neither candidate has put up a website, so no positions at this time, which makes me think that both should not be elected, but we will be stuck with one.

District 47
Bill Welch, Republican
Valinda Bolton, Democrat

This is an open contest for the seat being vacated by Terry Keel. Welch is well connected in the Craddick mode and could be expected to tow the Craddick line on a consistent basis. Democratic women have won elections in this swing district, however Valinda Bolton is just such a candidate. The district would be well served by electing Bolton, who has worked in social services and the non-profit sector, she would bring sensible leadership to a seat which has been used for partisan gain the last few legislative sessions.

Bolton on the issues

Education
My top priority will be to enact a fair and equitable school finance plan. Like you, I watched with dismay, as our Legislators were unable to reach an agreement on school funding. I’m prepared to go to the Capitol and take on the misguided leadership that’s failed our school children. When it comes to safeguarding and improving public education, Texas can do better! Teachers are one of our greatest resources and should be compensated as such. Currently, Texas’ average teacher salary is ranked 37th in the nation. That just isn’t good enough. We must be able to offer competitive salaries to our teachers. Texas has the fastest growing population of children in the country and all of our children must be prepared to enter the workforce. We must raise our current graduation rate up from the nations’ lowest to a respectable top 20 ranking. Our states’ future economic prosperity rests in our ability to provide Texas with a well-educated workforce. As a product of Texas public schools, a parent of a child in public school, and as a PTA board member I am fully committed to ensuring that each child receives a quality public education in Texas. The promise of a free and equitable public education drew many of our ancestors to Texas. This was a radical idea at the time. It should not be a radical idea now!

We need a tax structure that is fair and balanced so that we can afford to increase funding for public education.
Currently, middle-income families pay twice as high a share of their income as do the wealthiest families. Tragically, our poorest families pay more than three times as great a share of their earnings in taxes as do the wealthy. Only one in 16 businesses in Texas pays the franchise tax, which is the state’s general business tax. Raising property taxes should not be the only solution to funding education. Educated children benefit all of us in Texas and the costs should be carried equitably.

Health Care
Healthy Texans are good for our economy. When children and adults have access to affordable healthcare they are more productive in school and work. School attendance, grades and test scores improve and graduation rates increase. An educated workforce is vital to our economy, and healthy employees result in greater productivity for businesses. Access to healthcare for all Texans must be improved. With our state’s uninsured rate approaching 25%, it’s vital that we have Legislators that do their homework. When Legislators decided not to fully fund the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), they not only put the health and well-being of 170,000 children at risk, they also failed to leverage $600 million in federal funding! That’s $600 million that Texans paid in federal income tax that should have come back to Texas, but instead went to care for children in other states. I know that Texas can’t afford to make this kind of mistake again! Our seniors need help. Nationally, Texas has one of the lowest Medicaid reimbursement rates for nursing homes and the vast majority of these care facilities fail to meet federal quality of care standards. Further, recent budget cuts have devastated many of the programs providing services to seniors. We must evaluate the needs of our seniors and work to restore funding to legitimate programs. We must ensure that every Texan who needs mental health services is able to receive the necessary care. When it comes to mental health services, Texas ranks 46th in the nation. This may not mean much until you, your child or family member faces a mental health problem. We must make accessing quality, affordable mental healthcare for all who need it a priority.

Open Government
We must begin by electing leaders who show integrity and who are committed to serving all Texans. I’m prepared to go to the Capitol and take on the misguided leadership that failed our school children and left thousands without healthcare. I will stand up for what is right for Texas. We need to establish limits on the amount of money that an individual or PAC (Political Action Committee) can contribute to politicians in Texas. And we must stop the revolving door that allows politicians to leave government and immediately hire on as well-paid lobbyists. Our Representatives should be held accountable to the voters. We can begin with requiring that there be a record of every vote. It shouldn’t require being a techno-savvy sleuth with the time and know-how to cull through pages and pages of online records to know how your Representative voted. For many years Texas had a reputation of being a pillar of bipartisan cooperation. In just a couple of legislative sessions the current leadership has destroyed that spirit of cooperation and ushered in a new era of highly partisan control. I will be a leader in helping to restore a spirit of cooperation and collaboration that benefits all the people of Texas while I stand up for our Democratic values.

Welch on the issues

What Welch says is wrong with the State of Texas regarding the following issues is the product of Republican leadership, so why would electing another Republican help fix these issues? I tend to believe that a candidate should offer some solutions, instead of just highlighting problems. The lack of Welch to identify any solutions shows a lack of thought about the actual problems, which again makes me believe, that this candidate would not offer any solutions if elected. To use the phrasing of Welch, it's wrong, wrong to elect representatives that don't examine the issues before they speak on them. If Welch cannot do the homework to add ideas to his statements on the issues, there is no reason to believe he will add anything of substance to the legislature, but hey, at least his website tells you all about his family vacation in Cape Cod!

Education
Voters in HD 47 pay way too much money for education. A lot of our money leaves our community and goes elsewhere as part of the Robin Hood program. And folks are tired of that. It's wrong. It's not the right way to take care of education. We need a better funding mechanism, a fairer funding mechanism. I think the state needs to take back the constitutional responsibility of providing for education. What they used to provide was 65 percent of the cost of education today it's 35 percent of the cost of education, and now they've allocated the dollars elsewhere to other priorities. Education is the No. 1 priority of Texans. Take care of education first. Let's take care of the other priorities later. Let's put it on the front burner. Make sure it's properly funded. Make sure the state picks up a fair responsibility for that which, in my opinion, is 65 percent of funding, then the local communities won't be strapped with two requirements, one maxing out the tax rate. It will take the burden of providing for education off the backs of the few communities. It's only about 10 percent of the total districts in Texas that contribute. In other words, there's over 1100 school districts around Texas, and there's only 110 that are contributing districts to the Robin Hood program. Well, that's a very unfair distribution of the burden. The problem is that education reform is not just a revenue issue. There's a whole series of reforms that must take place in order to make education successful in Texas. The voters demand more than just a funding plan. In order to meet the mandate of the court there will be a solution without a doubt in this special legislative session that resolves the funding issue for the time being. But let's not fool ourselves into believing that they can come up with a permanent solution after all the special sessions they've failed. The governor's not going to put the full gamut on the table. They're not taking all of education reform, which means when I get elected I'm going to have to deal with it. And I'm ready to do that.

Taxes
I'm not fully sold on the idea that we have a revenue crisis in Texas. I think we have more of a spending crisis. And I think, first, before getting into those plans I would certainly like to be part of the ways and means process to figure out where our dollars are being spent and how they're being spent and can we find efficiencies in expenditures so we can come up with some savings. Once we've identified a more efficient form of providing for the necessary level of government if we are short of dollars in what we need to accomplish, then I would like to go back to the voters and say, we're short, and here's why we're short, and this is what we want to accomplish with it, and in order to get there the following plans are being offered. I don't know which plans are the right ones right now, because I don't really know what the true shortfalls are, so I can't address that. I will tell you this. I don't like taxes that unfairly burden any single sector of a society. I think that's wrong. I certainly pay a lot of my income every year in taxes, a very large part of it. I've seen reports recently indicating we're so fortunate in Texas because we pay much lower percentage [in taxes] than other states. But I don't buy it...They keep looking at the revenue, and they forget about the importance of accountability and efficiency.

Transportation
The Y at Oak Hill has been neglected for 20 years. We've been fighting for better roads there for 20 years. I've been involved in those fights, because I represented many property owners in that area. Now that it's time to put the road in, they the government say, "By the way, you're going to have a toll on your road. You're going to have to pay a bill for building roads elsewhere in Central Texas. And that's the price you're going to have to pay Oak Hill and southern Travis County in order to have efficiency in transportation." It's wrong. It's flat out wrong. It was as wrong to consider putting a toll on the MoPAC bridge, William Cannon and MoPAC. We really need to focus on fairness, and this part of southern Travis County has been neglected for 20 years. The areas where I have a problem with tolls are when there are existing roadways that have been there for a period of time. They're taking advantage of a clear revenue stream to create a bucket of money to use to build roads elsewhere with no intention of ever giving that road back to us, and it's not the cost of that roadway that's being paid for by the tolls. It's the cost of building all roads in Texas. Come on, guys, that's just wrong.

Immigration
Folks want to see something done on illegal immigration. They don't like the idea that folks just come here illegally and set up shop and participate in our society just like those of us who are paying to be here do. It's a great thing to become an American, and we should have a process, but it ought to be a legal process. We need to stop giving Texas drivers' licenses to illegal immigrants. We need to stop giving them in-state tuition at our universities. There's over 10,000 that have attended or are attending our universities paying in tuition when we have legal residents who are paying the price in the form of rapidly escalating tuitions. It's wrong. We need to end this concept of sanctuary cities. Austin is a sanctuary city. Houston, San Antonio are sanctuary cities. The rules are the rules, and we should be enforcing the rules. Those people that are here illegally should be apprehended and turned over to the INS for proper disposition, and in my opinion they should be returned to their country of origin and given an opportunity to apply for legal entry. I would love to see the federal government come up with a quality guest worker program.

District 50
Mark Strama, Democrat (i)
Jeff Fleece, Republican

District 50 was the scene of a bitterly fought campaign last election between Mark Strama and Jack Stick. Strama won the race by less than a percentage point. The incumbent is challenged by Jeff Fleece this time around.

Strama on the issues

Strama has done his homework, he has thought about the issues, he has developed his own ideas and he has written his arguments in a clear manner. Strama's views can even be seen as being somewhat conservative, but you can bet his opponent will paint him as a far left liberal, damn the facts. The fact that Strama's issue statements take up multiple pages, while his opponents could fit on a bar napkin should be a hint on who ought to win this race. How this district will vote however is another matter. If voters pay attention to the actual substance of the candidates the choice is clear, I expect another round of negative campaign ads targeting Strama. I suspect he will be portrayed pro-homosexual, pro-life, pro-tax or pro-toll road or any combination of the four, he might even be a liberal devil.

Ensure the legislature places the public interest above special interests in addressing our critical education, health care, transportation, and economic needs.

Make government more accountable to citizens

Create an independent citizens' commission to handle redistricting Limit political contributions and spending
Keep corporate money out of our political system Protect prosecutors who expose political corruption from retaliation by politicians
Ensure excellence in our schools Make public schools the state's top funding priority
Treat teachers like the professionals they are
Ensure that every Texan can afford to take advantage of our public universities, colleges, and technical schools
Address critical transportation needs
Improve our transportation system so we can spend less time in traffic and more time with our families
Prevent conversion of taxpayer-funded roadways to toll roads
Increase access to health care Restore funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
Encourage "portable" benefits that enable workers to take entrepreneurial risks without jeopardizing their families' access to medical care
Preserve our environment
Protect Central Texas's natural environment and preserve ample open space for generations to come
Address air pollution challenges before the federal government imposes restrictions on business growth
The Political Accountability Act Make government accountable to voters, not special interests Limit political contributions and expenditures
Restrict amount individuals or Political Action Committees (PAC’s) can contribute to legislative and statewide candidates
Place voluntary restrictions on the use of personal funds for political purposes by candidates for legislative and statewide office
Place voluntary restrictions on independent expenditures in legislative and statewide campaigns Place voluntary restrictions on total campaign spending by legislative and statewide candidates Enforce voluntary limits by providing that if a candidate or independent committee exceeds the voluntary limits, then the candidate against whom the voluntary limit is exceeded is released from all limits - including contribution limits
Keep corporate money out of the political system
Create an independent commission for redistricting
Limit redistricting to once a decade following the decennial census
Specify in statute the allowable criteria for the Commission to consider in drawing district boundaries
Protect prosecutors who expose political corruption from retaliation by politicians
Ensure the independence and viability of the Office of Public Integrity in the Texas Constitution Require law firms that employ legislators to disclose the firm’s lobbyists and clients
Enable the public to evaluate possible conflicts of interest between a legislator’s public responsibilities and private employment
Require record votes at all critical stages of the legislative process
Increase the transparency and accountability of the political system – Texas is one of fewer than 10 states that currently do not record all key votes
End the automatic granting of continuances for lawyer/legislators
Enable judicial discretion to prevent abuse of the system by litigants seeking delays and legislators seeking unearned personal income
Prohibit public servants from transferring their responsibilities to private interests
Legislators serving in their official capacities would not be allowed to designate a lobbyist for a special interest to cast their "proxy" votes

Legislature should strive for excellence, not just adequacy, in education November 22, 2005

The Supreme Court has told us something the voters have known for some time: our over-reliance on property taxes to fund public schools has reached the breaking point. The Legislature's failure to pay its share of the cost of educating Texas children has left local communities holding the bag -- and the bill. This has caused most school districts to raise property taxes to the maximum level allowed under the Constitution. The system not only overburdens our property taxpayers, it also denies school districts the flexibility to meet their educational goals. While the court did not rule the current system inadequate, the parents and educators I represent are not satisfied with a merely adequate education system -- they demand an excellent education system. When the Legislature shoulders its fair share of the burden, our school districts and their voters will control locally how much they choose to invest in their public schools. In the knowledge economy of the 21st century, we need to invest in a school system that strives for excellence, not just adequacy.

Statement on Public Education
The Legislature has under-funded education to such an extent that the state's share of public school spending has declined from above 50% to below 40%. The result of this negligence has been to place an ever-increasing share of the burden for funding public education on local property taxpayers. I have been very insistent throughout this campaign that we must increase the state's share of spending on public schools, so that we can reduce the burden on local property taxpayers. Property taxes are an inefficient funding source for a variety of reasons, one of which is that it is a tax on an illiquid asset which does not reflect the taxpayer's ability to pay on a year-to-year basis. Many technology workers have experienced declining incomes for the past few years, but their property taxes and property values keep going up. The state is forcing property taxpayers to shoulder the burden for public school finance because our legislators have not had the political courage to close the loopholes in the corporate franchise tax. This is why the recent grand jury indictments of several big out-of-state companies for laundering corporate donations into my opponent's campaign are so relevant to the school finance issue. Because of these loopholes, 5 of 6 corporations doing business in Texas do not pay the franchise tax. The businesses that do pay it are the small, local businesses that don't have Delaware parent companies and expensive accounting firms. Closing the loopholes in the franchise tax is an important first step, one that should have been taken last year, while our lawmakers were instead chasing their tails on Tom Delay's redistricting plan. But by itself, it will not generate enough revenue to reduce property taxes. We must also take the difficult step of leveling the playing field for business partnerships, which currently don't even fall under the franchise tax. We should treat all businesses equally in Texas, rather than exempting partnerships from the business tax structure. When we take these steps, we can decrease our reliance on property taxes and at the same time meet the educational needs of our schoolchildren. All Texas schoolchildren deserve an opportunity for an excellent education regardless of where they live or how much money their parents have. In the new global economy, an educated, productive workforce is our best competitive advantage, and we must do everything we can to preserve that advantage.

Fleece on the issues

There just isn't much here to go on. While a prosperous economy is what everyone wants, his solution is to remove government rules and regulations, I'm not really even sure what that means. Next he wants additional accountability and choice regarding schools. So I'm trying to figure out how if you remove rules and regulations concerning business and then privatize schools through school choice, how does that increase accountability in schools, because these now unregulated private companies will be running our new publically funded private schools? And the final position is that he supports building more roads to ease congestion, but he is against tolls. Fleece seems to be saying that we can privatize schools and build roads without a tax base, because he would eliminate rules and regulations concerning business, leaving the taxpayer to pay for all of this, of course I'm sure he won't raise your taxes either, businesses will just add on a bunch of fees to anything you buy to pay for all of this.

Fleece states; "Throughout my campaign for the Texas House, I have met countless Texans who have lost faith in their elected officials, believing that many officials have lost touch with the public."

While this may be true, I do believe the reason is because said politicians have made statements such as Fleece and then neglected to follow through with any actual legislation or , because the statements have lost touch with reality. It is also a sign that while Fleece may lead us to believe that he is an independent leader, the fact that someone else wrote his issue statements shows that he is taking cues from someone, either that or he refers to himself in the third-person which is another issue altogether that shouldn't be worked out on the house floor.

Strengthen and Grow Our Economy
Jeff believes that a growing, prosperous economy is vital for the future of Travis County and Texas. Jeff supports removing government rules and regulations to encourage business growth in our community.

Better Schools
Jeff knows we must be innovative and find new solutions to ensure the children of Texas receive the best education possible. He supports additional accountability measures to ensure our children learn. Jeff believes in school choice.

Improve Transportation
Jeff will fight for additional road construction to aid in reducing painful traffic congestion. Jeff does not support converting existing roads into toll roads.

That's it, this is why voters should elect this man?

District 102
Tony Goolsby, Republican (i)
Harriet Miller, Democrat

Goolsby is vunerable, Miller polled at 47% last election without the support of her party, if she turns out the base and pulls some swing voters, she could easily unseat the incumbent. Goolsby was the author of a bill that sought to allow municipalities to employ "peace officers", the catch was that these officers were to be from a private company. Hopefully the voters of this district will wise up and send Goolsby packing, there is no room in the State of Texas for private police.

http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlo/79r/billtext/HB00246I.HTM

Miller on the issues

Public School Finance Reform
For too long now the state has shortchanged our public schools. It has increasingly placed the burden of school funding onto the backs of local property owners. The ratio of state-to-local school funding is 62 percent to 38 percent--the lowest state contribution to public education since World War II. Recently, repeated attempts to address this problem in the Legislature have resulted in misguided tax proposals and empty reforms over multiple special sessions. Yes, significantly more funding is needed for education. Primarily, additional funds are needed to bring Texas' teacher salaries up to the national average, and to restore the cuts that have been made to teacher health insurance and retirement benefits. I support the following plan: 1) Reduce local property taxes by at least 30 percent to 50 percent; 2) Revamp the franchise tax so that all businesses in Texas assume their fair share. The current system allows franchise taxes to go unpaid by 5 out of 6 businesses; 3) Increase cigarette taxes $1.00 per pack. I would oppose a state income tax, as well as increasing the state sales tax, which is already one of the highest in the nation. Education Reform When I served as president of my children's PTA, I benefited from first-hand observation of what happens in the classroom. That experience proved to me that good teachers are the most important ingredient of a first-rate education. We have a serious teacher shortage in Texas. We are unable to keep great teachers in the classroom for long and we are unable to consistently attract the best and brightest in the profession. That is why I think the two most significant improvements we can make in public education are to raise teacher salaries to at least the national average, and to restore their health insurance and retirement benefits which were recently cut by the Legislature. A good teacher is just as important as a good doctor, lawyer, plumber, or mechanic it is time for them to be fairly compensated. Public Integrity I am in favor of holding our elected officials accountable for their actions. That is why I am in favor of requiring record votes. I believe the public has a right to know how their representative is voting on issues important to them. I am in favor of eliminating our current system of perks and sweetheart deals for elected officials.

I favor campaign finance reform
I believe there should be reasonable caps on the amount of money PACs and wealthy individuals can directly contribute to campaigns. Open Government While modern technology has made it easier for the government to spy on its citizens, I believe we should make it easier for citizens to "spy" on their government. While that may sound a bit funny, this is a serious matter. We have the right to know what our legislators are doing on our behalf. I believe that all agencies of the state should be required to make broadcasts of their official meetings available to the public through their individual websites. Furthermore, I believe all public documents should be made available for public review and research via the internet. Transportation While I oppose expanding the sales tax statewide, I do support local communities having the ability to decide for themselves if they want greater funding for mass transit, crime control, economic development, or other municipal projects as long as it is a vote of the people who will be directly impacted.

Environmental and Pollution Protection
Texas is a big state. If there is one thing we have plenty of, it is renewable energy sources like wind, sunshine, and water. With skyrocketing prices for gasoline, natural gas and electricity, we must expand our energy options - not to mention lessening our dependence on foreign oil. Also, we need to focus even more on protecting our precious natural resources. I believe the Renewable Portfolio Standard should be increased, maybe even doubled now. The benchmark the Legislature set was pretty much where the market was going anyway. We are Texans--we can do better than that. Lawmakers didn't "reach" for anything. The nation looks to Texas for its expertise and experience within the energy industry. Texas needs to look to the future and make a definitive decision to take control and lead this nation's renewable energy efforts. UT Austin should partner with the leading energy companies here in Texas to form a Renewable Energy Lab--similar to what they did with high-tech in the late '80s and early '90s - so that Texas can continue to dominate future energy research and development and create good paying jobs. Surely we should be able to do as well as California and set our benchmark at 20 percent by 2017.

Higher Education Tuition
The Legislature, in abdicating its role in determining tuition rates at state colleges and universities, has effectively passed a massive tax increase on middle-class families. The effect has been to make the dream of a college education unaffordable for many. The Texas Tomorrow Fund has been closed to new enrollees because tuition rates have shot up so dramatically. The Legislature needs to resume the responsibility for setting tuition rates and for appropriately funding higher education in a productive collaboration with our universities. But ultimate accountability should rest with elected officials, not academics.

Spiraling Health Care Costs
The Legislature cut hundreds of thousands of eligible low-income children from the Children's Health Insurance program (CHIP). The impact of this denial of adequate healthcare for Texas children is far-reaching. Not only has the health of children been negatively impacted, but hundreds of millions of dollars in federal matching funds have been lost. Taxpayers are seeing increased healthcare costs because these people now have to rely on more expensive emergency room care. Medicaid is and will continue to be one of the most daunting challenges facing Texas. Healthcare costs are rising at an alarming rate, and fewer Texans have or can afford health insurance--including more than one million children. This program, the costs of which are shared between the state and federal governments, consumes more than 20 percent of the states budget? While I believe there are steps we can take to increase and maximize federal matching funds, and further weed out fraud in the system, these initiatives alone will not solve the problem in the long term. Frankly, I am open to all good ideas and to educating myself further on this issue. I would support a long-term solution that would involve a public/private partnership between the state and businesses both large and small to pool their resources and assets for increased health care coverage.

Goolsby on the issues

Who knows, he hasn't bothered to put up a site, all the more reason not to vote for this guy.

District 134
Martha Wong, Republican (i)
Ellen Cohen, Democratic

District 134 is in play. Wong has voted with the social conservatives and that could sink her in this district which encompasses the Montrose area of central Houston. Her stand on gay marriage could come back to haunt her.

Wong on the issues
Not much here, considering the fact that she has alienated a large portion of her district one might think that she might have more to say on the issues, or at least write her own issue statements. The lack of anything of substance on her website highlights the fact that she has consistently ignored a substantial portion of her constituency, and is counting on the conservative base and the Vietnamese community to carry her, while that might happen, she shouldn't be counting on it.

Property Tax Relief
Homeowners are suffering from skyrocketing property taxes in District 134. Martha supports providing homeowners with property tax relief …now! Martha has carried five percent appraisal cap bills in the 78th and 79th sessions and supported bills capping spending. Martha will continue to support providing homeowners with property tax relief.

Reform Texas' Schools
A career educator, principal and professor, Martha Wong believes in the Texas public school system and will fight to ensure Texas public school children receive the best education possible. Texas Public Schools have improved; but we must improve our academic standing in the world-wide competition and eliminate the high drop out rate. Martha will work for more dollars in our classrooms and provide higher salaries for our classroom teachers.

Provide Easy Access to Health Care
While many of our citizens do not have health insurance, the state must take advantage of Medicare, Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance programs for those who truly qualify for the programs. We must be diligent in preventing fraud, yet make access available. Martha supports providing more "federally funded health care clinics" for neighborhoods and to educate the public about use of "emergency rooms" for "non-life threatening" treatments. Martha also supports innovative programs that hospitals are developing for low income families to make insurance affordable.

While "Martha" supports a lot of things, she can't be bothered to write her own issue statement.

Cohen on the issues

Much more substance on the issues on Cohen's site, although solutions are in short supply, at least she wrote her own statements, which means at least she thought about it. Cohen should be able to capitalize on Wong's weakness, not responding to her constituents, and seems to be highlighting that weakness with her issue statement. This race will turn on turnout. The candidate that mobilizes the vote will win.

On Education
It is unacceptable that Texas has a school system in which one-third to one-half of all children drop out. It is the only state that reduced per-pupil education spending last year dropping Texas to 40th in education investment. The average Texas teacher makes $6,000 less than the national average. A bipartisan plan addressing these problems failed in the Texas House because Representatives valued their place in their party more than the people of their district. On Clean Air It is shocking that recent data shows that several Houston communities have levels of chemicals that could increase the risk of contracting cancer. We must work to improve the quality of our air, which will protect the health of our residents and make our city attractive to companies interested in relocating to Houston. We want to live in an environment free of pollutants for the public health of our citizens and the health of our economy.

On CHIP & Fiscal Responsibility
It is unconscionable that Texas is 50th out of 50 in our percentage of children and adults with out health insurance. Since 2003 we have turned back $1 billion in federal money and dropped 180,000 children from health insurance enrollment in order to save about $200 million of state revenue. That $1 billion is now improving the quality of life for people in New York and California. By leaving that $1 billion on the table and not taking advantage of the $2.65 Federal match to Texas’ $1 the legislature shifted the burden from the state level to the local government. I have always been a fiscal conservative. I am privileged to lead a multi million-dollar organization and understand tough financial decisions. What our Legislature did by not investing $200 million for a $ 1 billion return is unacceptable.

On Public Safety
Insuring public safety should be the most non-partisan issue that we, as a community, can and must solve. I have spent the last 15 years witnessing the results of violence and rape. I believe, as do you, that the penalties on the books need to be enforced so that predators and pedophiles stay behind bars and off our streets.

On Personal Life Decisions
In District 134 we understand that Texas families, not the Texas Legislature, should make personal life decisions. When Lyon and I had to make end of life decisions it was our decision to make not the governments. We do not want the government to tell us when life begins or how it should end. We make those decisions with loved ones, physicians, spiritual leaders and from our hearts. We know that every family shares the common value of caring for their loved ones. The recent and courageous vote of District 134 against Proposition 2 shows we do not support hateful measures designed to disenfranchise same-sex partners. And you should not accept a representative unwilling to stand up and be counted on this issue.

On Leadership
I agreed to run for the legislature because like you I am fed up with partisan politics in Austin. We know that Houston, under the leadership of Mayor Bill White, demonstrated to the world that good people, smart people, caring people can put aside partisan politics and do what needs to be done. As your representative I will take that same attitude to Austin, work towards consensus while always maintaining my moral compass. I will bring common sense and reasoned discourse back to the Texas Legislature because as has been said, “you cannot shake hands with a clenched fist”.

2006-08-21T07:40:00.001-07:00

Here is a list of the 2006 canidates for office for the Texas Senate and the Texas House of Representatives.

Here is a PDF file from the Secretary of State of the official canidates of the ballot statewide.
http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/voter/2006gensby.htm

Find out your districts here;
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/fyi/fyi.htm

Senate race summary

District 1
Kevin P. Eltife, Republican (i)
Jason Albers, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 2
Bob Deuell, Republican (i)
Dennis Kaptain, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 3
Robert Nichols, Republican
Uncontested.

District 5
Steve Ogden, Republican (i)
Stephen Wyman, Democrat
Darrell R. Grear, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 7
Dan Patrick, Republican
F. Michael Kubosh, Democrat
Open seat, solid Republican.

District 8
Florence Shapiro, Republican (i)
Cliff Mathews, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 12
Jane Nelson, Republican (i)
Dwight B. Fulllingim, Democrat
Morgan Ware, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 13
Rodney Ellis, Democrat (i)
Unopposed.

District 14
Kirk Watson, Democrat
Robert “Rock” Howard, Libertarian
Solid Democratic.

District 15
John Whitmire, Democrat (i)
Angel DeLaRosa, Republican
Open seat, solid Democratic.

District 17
Kyle Janek, Republican (i)
Phil Kurtz, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 18
Glenn Hegar, Republican
Henry Boehm, Jr., Democrat
Roy O. Wright, II, Libertarian
Open seat, solid Democratic.

District 19
Dick Bowen, Republican
Carlos I. Uresti, Democrat
Open seat, leans Democratic.

District 22
Kip Averitt, Republican (i)
Phil Smart, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 25
Jeff Wentworth, Republican (i)
Kathleen "Kathi" Thomas, Democrat
James R. “Bob” Thompson, Libertarian
Seat drawn to dilute Democratic stronghold of Travis county, concerted effort to unseat Wentworth, will it be enough?

District 29
Eliot Shapleigh, Democrat (i)
Donald R. "Dee" Margo, Republican
Solid Democratic.

House of Representatives

In the Texas House of Representatives, 117 of the 150 seats will be contested in the November 2006 election. Thirty-two races are uncontested after the primary elections on 7 March 2006, while the remaining two were determined in the primary runoffs on 11 April 2006. One previously uncontested race came back into play with the withdrawl of the incumbent, thus allowing a new nomination process by both major parties.

There will be at least 20 new members of the House of Representatives. Two Democratic and five Republican incumbents were defeated in the primaries. These current representatives will not be back:

District 9, Roy Blake Jr., Republican, lost primary; District 16, Ruben Hope Jr., Republican, did not run; District 28, Glenn Hegar, Republican, running for Texas Senate, District 18; Vilma Luna, Democrat, withdrew from race after nomination; District 38, Jim Solis, Democrat, did not run; District 47 Terry Keel, Republican, unsucessful run for Texas Court of Criminal Appeal, Place 8; District 54, Suzanna Gratia Hupp, Republican, did not run; District 63, Mary Denny, Republican, did not run; District 71 Bob Hunter, Republican, did not run; District 72, Scott Campbell, Republican, lost primary; District 73, Carter Casteel, Republican, lost primary; District 85, Pete Laney, Democrat, did not run; District 91, Bob E. Griggs, Republican, did not run; District 94, Kent Grusendorf, Republican, lost primary; District 101, Elvira Reyna, Republican, lost primary; District 110, Jesse W. Jones, Democrat, lost primary; District 118, Charlie Uresti, Democrat, running for Texas Senate, District 19; District 126, Peggy Hamric, Republican, unsuccessful bid for Texas Senate, District 7; District 133, Joe Nixon, Republican, unsuccessful bid for Texas Senate, District 7; District 146, Al Edwards, Democrat, lost primary.

District 1
Stephen J. Frost, Democrat (i)
Tim Eason, Libertarian
Solid Democrat.

District 2
Dan Flynn, Republican (i)
Scott Cornuaud, Democrat
Dawn M. Childs, Libertarian

District 3
Mark S. Homer, Democrat (i)
Kirby Hollingsworth, Republican

District 4
Betty Brown, Republican (i)
K.J. "Bear" Gleason, Democrat
Rick E. Carter, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 5
Bryan Hughes, Republican (i)
Tim Carmichael, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 6
Leo Berman, Republican (i)
Unopposed.

District 7
Tommy Merritt, Republican (i)
Patrick Franklin, Democrat
Jonathan A. Rasco, Libertarian
Soild Republican.

District 8
Byron Cook, Republican (i)
Sharon Cade Davis, Democrat
Solid Republican.

District 9
Wayne Christian, Republican
Christian, one of the Leininger Five defeats incumbent Roy Blake, Jr.
Unopposed, Blake paid the price for voting against the wishes of school-voucher proponent Leiniger with his seat.

District 10
Jim Pitts, Republican (i)
Kerry L. Horn, Democrat
Solid Republican.

District 11
Chuck Hopson, Democrat (i)
Larry K. Durrett , Republican
Paul “Blue” Story, Libertarian
Solid Democratic.

District 12
Jim McReynolds, Democrat (i)
Jody Anderson, Republican
Donald B. Keith, Libertarian
Soild Democratic.

District 13
Lois W. Kolkhorst, Republican (i)
Charles Stigall, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 14
Fred Brown, Republican (i)
Unopposed.

District 15
Rob Eissler, Republican (i)
Sammie Miller, Democrat
Brian J. Drake, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 16
C. Brandon Creighton, Republican
Pat Poland, Democrat
Solid Republican.

District 17
Robby Cook, Democrat (i)
Tim Kleinschmidt, Republican
Roderick “Rod” Gibbs, Libertarian
Solid Democratic.

District 18
John Otto, Republican (i)
Kris Overstreet, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 19
Mike “Tuffy” Hamilton, Republican (i)
Paul Clayton, Democrat
Leans Republican, can Clayton run an effective campaign?

District 20
Dan M. Gattis, Republican (i)
Jim Stauber, Democrat
Solid Republican.

District 21
Allan B. Ritter, Democrat (i)
Unopposed.

District 22
Joe Deshotel, Democrat (i)
Judith Cobbett, Libertarian
Solid Democrat.

District 23
Craig Eiland, Democrat (i)
Raymond Lloyd, Libertarian
Solid Democrat.

District 24
Larry Taylor, Republican (i)
Brady Lee Hutchison, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 25
Dennis Bonnen, Republican (i)
Unopposed.

District 26
Charles F. “Charlie” Howard, Republican (i)
Unopposed.

District 27
Dora Olivo, Democrat (i)
Ken Bryant, Republican
Solid Democratic.

District 28
John Zerwas, Republican
Dorothy Bottos, Democrat
Solid Republican district if GOP base turns out, no incumbent could put district into play, but not likely.

District 29
Glenda Dawson, Republican (i)
Anthony A. Dinovo, Democrat
Solid Republican.

District 30
Geanie W. Morrison, Republican (i)
Unopposed.

District 31
Ryan Guillen, Democrat (i)
Unopposed.

District 32
Gene Seaman, Republican (i)
Juan M. Garcia, Democrat
Lenard L. Nelson, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 33
Solomon P. Ortiz, Jr., Democrat
Joe McComb, Republican
Incumbent Vilma Luna was unopposed in Democratic primary and was to be unopposed in the fall, but she withdrew from the race, allowing the Democratic Party a new nomination process and giving the Republican Party the chance to make its own nomination.

District 34
Abel Herrero, Democrat (i)
Bradley Moore, Libertarian
Solid Democratic.

District 35
Yvonne Gonzalez Toureilles, Democrat (i)
Michael Esparza, Republican
Edward Elmer, Libertarian
Solid Democratic.

District 36
Ismael “Kino” Flores, Democrat (i)
Unopposed.

District 37
Rene O. Oliveira, Democrat (i)
Unopposed.

District 38
Luis Cavazos, Republican
Eddie Lucio III, Democrat
Jim Fuller, Libertarian
Solid Democratic, no incumbent tightens race, but not enough for Cavazos to win.

District 39
Armando "Mando" Martinez, Democrat (i)
Unopposed.

District 40
Aaron Pena, Jr., Democrat (i)
Unopposed.

District 41
Veronica Gonzales, Democrat (i)
Unopposed.

District 42
Richard Raymond, Democrat (i)
Unopposed.

District 43
Juan Manuel Escobar, Democrat (i)
Unopposed.

District 44
Edmund Kuempel, Republican (i)
Unopposed.

District 45
Patrick Rose, Democrat (i)
Jim Neuhaus, Republican
Tom Gleinser, Libertarian
Rose won this bitterly contested seat last election, expect another nasty campaign, Rose however should hold on to his seat by a larger margin this time around.

District 46
Dawnna Dukes, Democrat (i)
Richard Wedeikes, Libertarian
Solid Democratic.

District 47
Bill Welch, Republican
Valinda Bolton, Democrat
Yvonne Schick, Libertarian
Toss-up. Bolton has raised substaintially and is a serious cahllenge to the incumbent in this swing district, if Bolton wins, Travis county will become closer to the Democratic stronghold that it actually is.

District 48
Donna Howard, Democrat (i)
Ben Easton, Libertarian
Ben Bentzin, , withdrew from the race and so will not have a rematch of the February 14, 2006 special election runoff against Howard. As there was an opposing nomination, the Republican Party cannot replace him on the ballot.
Solid Democrat

District 49
Elliott Naishtat, Democrat (i)
Lisa McKay, Libertarian
Solid Democrat.

District 50
Mark Strama, Democrat (i)
Jeff Fleece, Republican
Jerry Chandler, Libertarian
Strama won one of the most contested elections of the last cycle, expect a solid turnout for Strama and a larger margin of victory.

District 51
Eddie Rodriguez, Democrat (i)t
Arthur DiBianca, Libertarian
Solid Democratic.

District 52
Mike Krusee, Republican (i)
Karen Felthauser, Democrat
Lillian Simmons, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 53
Harvey Hilderbran, Republican (i)
B.W. Holk, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 54
Jimmie Don Aycock, Republican
Edward Lindsay, Democrat
Nicolaas Kramer, Libertarian
Leans Republican, lack of incumbent tightens race, depending on effectiveness of Democratic campaign, could move to toss-up.

District 55
Dianne White Delisi, Republican (i)
Bill Smith, Democrat
Solid Republican.

District 56
Charles “Doc” Anderson, Republican (i)
Tom Kilbride, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 57
Jim Dunnam, Democrat (i)
Neill Snider, Libertarian
Solid Democratic, Dunnam proved a formidable legislature last session, expect more of the same.

District 58
Rob Orr, Republican (i)
Greg A. Kauffman, Democrat
Tom Stewart, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 59
Sid Miller, Republican (i)
Ernie Casbeer, Democrat
Solid Republican.

District 60
James L. “Jim” Keffer, Republican (i)
Robert McKelvain, Democrat
Al Barrera, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 61
Phil King, Republican (i)
Richard Forsythe Jr., Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 62
Larry Phillips, Republican (I)
Peter "Pete" Veeck, Democrat
Solid Republican.

District 63
Tan Parker, Republican
Unopposed.

District 64
Myra Crownover, Republican (i)
John McLeod, Democrat
Solid Republican.

District 65
Burt Solomons, Republican (i)
John E. Shuey, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 66
Brian McCall, Republican (i)
Benjamin Westfried, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 67
Jerry Madden, Republican (i)
Unopposed.

District 68
Richard L. ”Rick“ Hardcastle, Republican (i)
Unopposed

District 69
David Farabee, Democrat (i)
Shirley Craft, Republican
Richard Brown, Libertarian
Re-match of last election where Farabee carried 53% of the vote, expect him to increase that margin this election. Solid Democratic.

District 70
Ken Paxton, Republican (i)
Rick Koster, Democrat
Robert R. Virasin, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 71
Susan King, Republican
Mel Hailey, Democrat
Vanessa Nicole Harris, Libertarian
Solid Republican, unless Hailey can mobilize the Democratic base.

District 72
Drew Darby, Republican
Dennis Higgins, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 73
Nathan Macias, Republican
Charles B. Ellis, Libertarian
Macias, a Leininger Five candidate, edges incumbent Carter Casteel by 44 votes. On March 31, 2006 Casteel conceded, the Leininger campaign against her worked, an honorable and effective legilsator will be missed on the floor.

District 74
Pete P. Gallego, Democrat (i)
Unopposed.

District 75
Chente Quintanilla, Democrat (i)
Paul Johnson, Jr., Republican
Solid Democratic.

District 76
Norma Chavez, Democrat (i)
Unopposed.

District 77
Paul C. Moreno, Democrat (i)
Unopposed.

District 78
Patrick B. Haggerty, Republican (i)
Leon Schydlower, Democrat
Election night returns showed that Republican incumbent Haggerty defeated challenger Lorraine O'Donnell by 106 votes. On 13 March 13, 2006, O’Donnell requested a recount, which Haggerty won.

District 79
Joe C. Pickett, Democrat
Unopposed.

District 80
Tracy O. King, Democrat (i)
Unopposed.

District 81
G.E. "Buddy" West, Republican (i)
Billy Grimes, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 82
Tom Craddick, Republican (i)
Current Speaker is running unopposed.

District 83
Delwin Jones, Republican (i)
John E. Miller, Democrat
Jones trounced Miller last election, expect another Jones victory, but by a smaller margin.

District 84
Carl H. Isett, Republican (i)
Pearlie Mayfield, Democrat
Solid Republican.

District 85
Jim Landtroop, Republican
Joe Heflin, Democrat
David K. Schumacher, Libertarian
No incumbent, means solid Democratic district could be in play, but more likely strong Democratic win.

District 86
John Smithee, Republican (i)
Bill Glover, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 87
David Swinford, Republican (i)
Unopposed.

District 88
Warren Chisum, Republican (i)
Timothy Justice, Libertarian
Solid Republican, arguably the most conservative member of the house, wins again in this conservative district.

District 89
Jodie Laubenberg, Republican (i)
Lehman Harris Real, Democrat
Helen Rhine, Libertarian
Re-match of election Laubenberg carried by 75% last election, expect more of the same.

District 90
Lon Burnam, Democrat (i)
Rod Wingo, Libertarian
Solid Democratic, arguably the most liberal member of the house, wins again.

District 91
Kelly Hancock, Republican
Byron Sibbet, Democrat
Garland Franklin, Libertarian
Open seat, leans Republican.

District 92
Todd Smith, Republican (i)
Unopposed.

District 93
Toby Goodman, Republican (i)
Paula Hightower Pierson, Democrat
Max W. Koch III, Libertarian
Race could be a toss-up, although district leans slightly Republican.

District 94
Diane Patrick, Republican
David Pillow, Democrat
Leslie Herman, Libertarian
Leans Republican, another open seat, race could be tight.

District 95
Marc Veasey, Democrat (i)
John Paul Robinson, Libertarian
Solid Democratic.

District 96
Bill Zedler, Republican (i)
Christopher Youngblood, Democrat
Samuel S. Thomas, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 97
Anna Mowery, Republican (i)
Dan Barrett, Democrat
Carlos M. Garcia, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 98
Vicki Truitt, Republican (i)
Jacob Gregory Glatz, Libertarian

District 99
Charlie Geren, Republican (i)
Sheila Ford, Democrat
John C. Waldowski , Libertarian
Solid Republican, moderate Green should have no problems here.

District 100
Terri Hodge, Democrat (i)
Robert M. Pritchett, Libertarian
Solid Democratic.

District 101
Thomas Latham, Republican
Jeffrey S. Joyner, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 102
Tony Goolsby, Republican (i)
Harriet Miller, Democrat
Thomas Hall, Libertarian
Goolsby is vunerable, Miller polled at 47% last election, if she turns out the base, she could unseat the incumbent.

District 103
Rafael Anchia, Democrat (i)
David R. Mason, Libertarian
Solid Democratic.

District 104
Roberto R. Alonzo, Democrat
Cameron McSpadden, Libertarian
Soild Democratic.

District 105
Linda Harper-Brown, Republican (i)
Bob Romano, Democrat
John Turner, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 106
Kirk England, Republican (i)
Katy Hubener, Democrat
Gene Freeman, Libertarian
Re-match of election England won by 4.5 % last election, Hubener could pull an upset here. Leans Republican.

District 107
Bill Keffer, Republican (i)
Allen Vaught, Democrat
Chris Jones, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 108
Dan Branch, Republican (i)
Jack F. Borden, Democrat
T. Evan Fisher, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 109
Helen Giddings, Democrat (i)
Maurice Dubois, Libertarian
Solid Democratic.

District 110
Barbara Mallory Caraway, Democrat
Unopposed.

District 111
Yvonne Davis, Democrat (i)
Cindy Werner, Republican
Solid Democratic.

District 112
Fred Hill, Republican (i)
Matthew G. Moseley, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 113
Joe Driver, Republican (i)
Eric Brandler, Democrat
Justin Winn, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 114
Will Hartnett, Republican (i)
Phillip Shinoda, Democrat
Edward C. Cormack, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 115
Jim Jackson, Republican
Unopposed.

District 116
Trey Martinez Fischer, Democrat (i)
John T. Tennison, Libertarian
Solid Democratic.

District 117
David McQuade Leibowitz, Democrat (i)
Ted Kenyon, Republican
Leibowitz won this seat by 1.27 % points last election, does Kenyon have the campaign to unseat him? Toss-up.

District 118
George Antuna, Republican
Joe Farias, Democrat
James L. Thompson, Libertarian
Open seat, solid Democratic.

District 119
Robert R. Puente, Democrat (i)
Unopposed.

District 120
Ruth Jones McClendon, Democrat (i)
Jo Ann Thabet, Libertarian
Solid Democratic.

District 121
Joe Straus, Republican (i)
Barry L. Allison, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 122
Frank J. Corte, Jr., Republican (i)
Larry Dean Stallings, Democrat
Sally Baynton, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 123
Mike Villarreal, Democrat (i)
Daniel P. Ragsdale, Libertarian
Solid Democratic.

District 124
Jose Menendez, Democrat (i)
Richard W. King, Republican
Solid Democratic.

District 125
Joaquin Castro, Democrat (i)
Nelson Balido, Republican
Jeffrey C. Blunt, Libertarian
Solid Democratic.

District 126
Patricia Harless, Republican
Chad Khan, Democrat
Oscar J. Palma, Jr., Libertarian
Open seat, solid Republican.

District 127
Joe Crabb, Republican (i)
Diane Trautman, Democrat
Veal Johnson, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 128
Wayne Smith, Republican (i)
Unopposed.

District 129
John E. Davis, Republican (i)
Sherrie L. Matula, Democrat
Solid Republican.

District 130
Corbin Van Arsdale, Republican (i)
William B. Gray, Jr., Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 131
Alma A. Allen, Democrat (i)
C. S. Fuller, Libertarian
Soild Democratic.

District 132
Bill Callegari, Republican (i)
Cesar A. De La Canal, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 133
Jim Murphy, Republican
Kristi Thibaut, Democrat
Chris Camero, Libertarian
Open seat, Joe Nixon won with 78 % for the GOP last election, but no Democrat ran, will the GOP hold onto this seat?

District 134
Martha Wong, Republican (i)
Ellen Cohen, Democrat
Mhair S. Dekmezian, Libertarian
Wong is vunerable here. Her district votes with a slight Republican edge, but her insistance on towing the party line may have her in trouble. While the district has typically gone GOP, it has a huge moderate base and Cohen is a moderate and social progressive, should be an interesting race and one to watch to see if urban Republicans pay the price for far right votes.
Leans Republican.

District 135
Gary Elkins, Republican (i)
Unopposed.

District 136
Beverly Woolley, Republican (i)
Scott R. Brann, Democrat
J. W. Stables, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 137
Scott Hochberg, Democrat (i)
Sylvia Spivey, Republican
Solid Democratic.

District 138
Dwayne Bohac, Republican (i)
Mark McDavid, Democrat
Mike Craig, Libertarian
Solid Republican.

District 139
Sylvester Turner, Democrat (i)
Unopposed.

District 140
Kevin Bailey, Democrat (i)
Unopposed.

District 141
Senfronia Thompson, Democrat (i)
Unopposed, strong leader for central Houston is not challenged.

District 142
Harold V. Dutton, Jr., Democrat (i)
Mary Czapla-Fullard, Libertarian
Soild Democratic.

District 143
Ana E. Hernandez, Democrat (i)
Dorothy Olmos, Republican
Joe O. Marcom, Libertarian

District 144
Robert E. Talton, Republican (i)
Janette Padilla Sexton, Democrat
Matthew Kolar, Libertarian
Unltra-conservative will win easily.

District 145
Richard J. “Rick” Noriega, Democrat (i)
Unopposed.

District 146
Borris L. Miles, Democrat
Gerald W. "Jerry" LaFleur, Libertarian
Solid Democratic.

District 147
Garnet F. Coleman, Democrat (i)
Unopposed, Coleman easily defeated two primary challengers, the GOP is not running against this effective legislator from Houston.

District 148
Jessica Cristina Farrar, Democrat (i)
Ray E. Dittmar, Libertarian
Solid Democratic.

District 149
Hubert Vo, Democrat (i)
Talmadge L. Heflin, Republican
Heflin won't go away, the long time Representative from Houston was ousted by Vo during the last election. Despite recounts and an attempt to have the vote voided, thus having himself placed in the seat by the legislature, Heflin had to give up. Vo has a solid base in the Vietnamese community, which makes up a large part of this district.

District 150
Debbie Riddle, Republican, (i)
Dot Nelson-Turnier, Democrat
Solid Republican.

2006-08-15T13:51:00.000-07:00

2006 is a mid-term election year, which means there will be plenty of politics come November.

Significant offices up for election.

GOVERNOR:
Rick Perry (R)*
Chris Bell (D)
Carole Keeton Strayhorn (Independent)
Richard "Kinky" Friedman (Independent)
James Werner (Libertarian)
Larry Camp (Independent)
William Gilbert Jean (Independent)
Marcus Matthew Cherry (Independent)

The race for Governor is a toss-up at this point. Perry and Strayhorn are sinking in recent polls, while Bell and Friedman are rising. The four-way race will be interesting and full of mudslinging.

Will "Independents" Strayhorn and Friedman convince enough voters to vote for them? Will both candidates draw enough voters to attack a vulnerable Perry and allow the Democrat to carry the office? The attack ads will be in full force soon enough. The Perry record is less than stellar. The third special session of the 79th legislature produced a school funding (property tax reduction/business tax hike) plan which Perry had promised since 2003. Will that be enough?

Strayhorn, currently the Comptroller contends that actual tax relief is well below what Perry is stating, which is not surprising, being that Strayhorn has been a consistent critic of Perry in the past. You can bet on Perry ads hammering the property tax reduction numbers home, using the Governor's alledged inflated numbers.

Strayhorn and Friedman are both Republicans in Independent clothing, both filed independent before the 2006 primaries, but both have historically aligned themselves with conservative issues. While Friedman has never held public office the singer/folk icon is expected to draw double digits at least. Recent polls have Friedman tracking upward, with Strayhorn in a nosedive. Of course publicly all candidates internal tracking shows each in good shape, an indication that a campaign knows it is in trouble is attack ads, the sooner they start bashing opponents, the more desperate the campaign is, so we should be see some Perry bashing from Strayhorn soon. It will be interesting to see if all candidates focus on the incumbent, or if they attack each other.

Perry has recently taken to bashing Strayhorn for using her public office to campaign. While this fact cannot be disputed, take a look at what Perry is using his public office for.

http://www.governor.state.tx.us/divisions/press/pressreleases/PressRelease.2006-03-24.1543

http://www.governor.state.tx.us/priorities/education

http://www.governor.state.tx.us/priorities/ecodev

http://www.governor.state.tx.us/priorities/health_safety

http://www.governor.state.tx.us/priorities/transportation

http://www.governor.state.tx.us/priorities/tax_reform

http://www.governor.state.tx.us/priorities/other

Looks as if Perry is the pot calling the kettle black, being as taxpayer dollars are being used to support the Governor's website and the Governor is using the site as his proxy campaign site. While his campaign site goes even further than his official site in the propaganda department.

Some recent polls:

Perry: 38.3% (+0.6 since June/no change since January)Bell: 20.8% (+1.1/+2.9)Kinky: 20.7% (+3.2/+6.3)Strayhorn: 11% (-3.1/-9.5)
WSJ/Zogby July 2006-08-15

Perry: 35% (-5 since July/-3% since June/-5% since April/-5% since February)Bell: 18% (+5%/+4%/+1%/+5%)Kinky: 18% (-1%/-2%/+3%/+9%)Strayhorn: 18% (-2%/-1%/-1%/-13%)
Rasmussen July 2006

United States House of Representatives

District 3:
Sam Johnson (R)*
Dan Dodd (D)
Chris Claytor (Libertarian)
Bob Hise (Independent)
Paul Jenkins (Independent)

Solid Republican.
While this seat may seem safe for the GOP, the Democrat is a Vietnam Veteran and retired USAF, running veterans seems to be a national trend for the Democrats. Will the backlash seen against Lieberman in Conneticut take in Texas?

District 6:
Joe Barton (R)*
David Harris (D)
Carl Nulsen (Libertarian)

Solid Republican.
Again, it would seem to be a safe seat, but the Democrat is an Iraq War Veteran and a reserve officer.

District 10:
Mike McCaul (R)*
Ted Ankrum (D)
Michael Badnarik (Libertarian)

Solid Republican.
GOP incumbent McCaul faces Democrat Vietnam Veteran and ex-EPA official in the GOP friendly district.

District 15:
Open race, new boundaries.
Ruben Hinojosa (D)*
Paul Haring (R)
Alex Bischoff (Libertarian)

Solid Democrat.
This time a Democratic incumbent faces a challenge. Haring ran for this seat in 2004, is an ex-State Representative and Pro-Life activist, will his record help or hurt in this left leaning district.

District 17:
Chet Edwards (D)*
Van Taylor (R)
Guillermo Acosta (Libertarian)

Leans Democrat.
Tom Delay targeted Edwards with his redistricting scheme, but Edwards survived, this time it’s the GOP calling on an Iraq War Veteran, unless Taylor can raise a significant amount of money, Edwards appears safe.

District 21:
Open race, new boundaries.
Lamar Smith (R)*
John Courage (D)
James Arthur Strohm (Libertarian)
Mark Rossano (Independent)

Solid Republican.
Lamar Smith hasn't really accomplished much as a junior Representative in this GOP leaning district, will USAF veteran and 2002 candidate John Courage be able to unseat him, the make-up of the district says no.

District 22:
VACANT - Tom DeLay (R)* - Resigned June 8, 2006.
Nick Lampson (D)
Bob Smither (Libertarian)
Shelley Sekula-Gibbs (R/Write-In)
David Wallace (R/Write-In)

Toss-up.
The GOP lost the court battle, so Lampson should win this seat against two write-ins.

District 23:
Open race, new boundaries.
Henry Bonilla (R)*
Rick Bolanos (D)
Richard Gambitta (D)
Richard Perez (D)
Ciro Rodriguez (D)
Albert Uresti (D)
Cecil Lamb (Libertarian)

Leans Republican.
Bonilla should be able to survive, unless the Democrats can find a consensus or force a run-off. Ex-congressman and ex-state representative Ciro Rodriquez appears to be the Democratic frontrunner hoping to capitalize on the Democratic base that was shifted into Bonilla's district by the federal three-judge panel ruling.

District 25:
Open race, new boundaries.
Lloyd Doggett (D)*
Grant Rostig (R)

Solid Democratic.
Doggett was a major target of the Delay redistricting plan, he ran in the newly created District 25 running from Austin to the border and survived, although the Hispanic base was reduced from 69% to 34%, the Anglo base was reduced as well, which should translate into a win for Doggett.

District 28:
Open race, new boundaries.
Henry Cuellar (D)*
Noe Gonzalez (D)
Linda Yanez (D)
Glenda Moyes (Libertarian)

Solid Democratic.
Cuellar looks safe, he carried the district last election with 59%.

United States Senate

Kay Bailey Hutchison (R)*
Barbara Ann Radnofsky (D)
Scott Jameson (Libertarian)
Robert Belt (Independent)
Arthur Loux (Independent)
Lorenzo Morales (Independent)
Timothy Wade (Independent)

Radnofsky is the only challenge to Hutchison, but just barely.

The State of Texas 80th Legislative Session

2006-08-15T08:03:00.000-07:00

With the 80th Legislative session fast approaching here are some important dates.

Tuesday, November 7, 2006 General election for legislative and other offices is held [Election Code, Sec. 41.002]

Monday, November 13, 2006 Prefiling of legislation for the 80th Legislature begins [House Rule 8, Sec. 7, and Senate Rule 7.04(a)]

Tuesday, January 9, 2007 (1st day) 80th Legislature convenes at noon

What will the new session bring?
Some issues to expect.The Trans-Texas Corridor will be a hot topic, rural opponents will argue the project is taking away thousands of acres of prime farmland, urban opponents will argue that the State is using imminent domain to take prime retail property. Advocates will argue that Texas needs the corridor to address growing transportation issues and NAFTA traffic.

Related will be a continuation of the oft-ignored water rights issue. Access to water is becoming a critical issue as urban areas expand and water needs expand with them; expect lots of backroom arm-twisting and a fight between rural and urban leaders.

Another hot topic will be the state of the Texas Health and Human Service System, and the Bermuda based Accenture contract to overhaul the eligibility system. With sixty legislators signing a letter to terminate the contract, while thirty legislators, plus Perry and Craddick signing on to continue the contract expect some fireworks as Perry and Craddick are challenged by a growing number of legislators from both parties. AccessHR, the Ohio based Human Resource contractor is also on the radar. The apparent failure of both companies to actually adhere to their respective contracts should provide plenty of ammunition for attacks on the leadership of the state concerning Health and Human Services. Immigration, while federal policy sets immigration law, expect resolutions addressing immigration to abound. While Federal policy addresses immigration issues, the issue of Katrina evacuees who have relocated to Texas and are in need of services will be an issue. The Governor has requested additional funding from the Federal government to address this need; the issue will probably be addressed on the floor of both chambers, as the state is feeling a fiscal impact.