With the loss of State Representative Jim Dunnam, the House Democratic Campaign Committee has begun to transition and prepare for the 82nd Legislative session. Tarrant County's own, Lon Burnam, has been added to the HDCC Board and I think that is a great move on the part of Representatives Garnett Coleman and Pete Gallego.
In a note from Rep. Burnam, which includes a message from Coleman and Gallego:
To continue the outstanding record of Member-leadership at the HDCC, we have asked Representative Lon Burnam to join our board. We can tell you that since the HDCC was formed, few Members have matched Lon's willingness to contribute both time and financial support to the organization. Lon has dedicated many days at the HDCC office to donor call-time, and time and again has been willing to share his campaign funds -- and his own campaign contributors -- with the HDCC, so that the organization can better serve Members in tough primary and general election races. We are excited to formalize Lon's role, and look forward to working closely with him.
With Democrats deeper in minority status come January, adding Representative Burnam to the leadership at the HDCC will bring an individual with tremendous knowledge, skills, and deep understanding of the tools that can be utilized by the caucus to limit the GOP from ramming too much bad legislation down the throat of Texans. There's not a whole lot our caucus can do given how deep in the minority they are, but this move helps. Lon is routinely singled out as the legislator who takes new members under his wing and teaches them the ways of the legislature. As recognized by his colleagues above, Lon is also very good at fundraising and very willing to do the hard work necessary to win! He has spine and grit, which we know Democrats need a lot more of these days, not necessarily Texas Democrats, but it doesn't hurt having someone of Lon's capabilities helping us in 2011.
Senator Wendy Davis and Representative Chris Turner won passage of Senate Bill 1468 and House Bill 995, by amendment, which requires utility companies to notify Texas consumers in a timely fashion that their contracts are set to expire. This notification will give consumers plenty of time to shop around for the lowest possible utility rates and avoid rate hikes at unexpected times--particularly during the expensive summer months here in the Lone Star State.
Passage of this legislation are seen as key campaign victories for Davis and Turner, who campaigned rigorously in House District 96 and Senate District 10 respectively throughout Tarrant County articulating the problems and identifying potential solutions for escalating utility costs to Texas consumers.
From Senator Davis:
"It has been an uphill battle with some powerful interests, but we succeeded in passing legislation that will have a very real, very positive impact on Texas families and their pocketbooks," Senator Wendy Davis said. "This is a common-sense measure that will give people an opportunity to shop around and secure the best electricity rates available, taking advantage of the competition among electricity retailers."
From Representative Turner:
"This legislation is a major victory for Texas families. It will provide more transparency for consumers by preventing unexpected, dramatic utility rate hikes," said State Representative Chris Turner. "I applaud Senator Wendy Davis for her hard work in getting these provisions into the bill and for her strong leadership on consumer issues."
Tarrant County is not only proud of Davis and Turner, but Representatives Veasey, Pierson, and Burnam as well. You each represented our county, and your districts, well throughout the 81st legislative session.
Today the board members of the Legislative Study Group (LSG) unanimously reelected Representative Garnet Coleman as Chair. In addition, LSG also unanimously elected Representative Valinda Bolton to the position of Vice Chair.
Rounding out the returning officers are Representative Elliott Naishtat as Treasurer, Representative Lon Burnam as the second Vice Chair, Representative Dora Olivo as Legal Counsel and Representative Rafael Anchía as Secretary. In addition Representative Marisa Marquez was appointed as the freshman Ex-Oficio representative to the board.
The LSG board also consists of Representatives Roberto Alonzo, David Farabee, Pete Gallego, Terri Hodge, Scott Hochberg, Eddie Rodriguez, Mike Villarreal, and Abel Herrero.
Congrats to the board and to both the officers of LSG.
State Representative Lon Burnam, a Democratic legislator from Tarrant County, has filed House Resolution 480 this afternoon which would establish a Special Committee on Impeachment to consider impeaching Criminal Court of Appeals Judge Sharon Keller.
HR 480 charges Keller with:
"gross neglect of duty and conducting her official duties with willful disregard for human life."
You'll recall that Judge Keller has made a career of sparking controversies and most certainly contributing toward the enormous black eye that the Texas Judicial system currently has. The motivation behind Burnam's Bill are the actions that Keller took in late 2007 where she refused to keep her Clerk's office open beyond 5PM in order to receive a final plea from death row inmate Michael Richards.
Burnam's release contained the following pointed quote from the legislator representing House District 90:
"It's one thing for a banker to close shop at five o'clock sharp," Burnam, a Democrat, said in a statement. "But a public official who stands between a human being and the death chamber must be held to a higher standard."
Shortly after the closing of the office, Mr. Richards was executed by lethal injection. This was on the same day that the United States Supreme Court had earlier questioned whether death by lethal injection was indeed constitutional. You can read a BOR outline by Scott Cobb on Keller's actions by clicking here.
Prominent publications across the state, including the Texas Monthly, have called for Keller's impeachment. Burnam has finally taken it one step farther in filing a House Resolution to do just that. Kudos to State Representative Lon Burnam for doing Justice a great service by attempting to right an incredible wrong. Keller deserves nothing less than impeachment from the bench. She is a disgrace to this state, but most certainly to the Texas legal system, and the legal profession itself.
The likely ascendance of San Antonio moderate and two-term Republican, Joe Straus, to the Speakership signals a clear shift in leadership, tone, and overall direction not only in the House, but also the Texas Republican Party. It also signals an opportunity for Democrats to move forward with a moderate progressive agenda that is good for Texas and actually receive a fair hearing in the House.
The Tarrant County Democratic delegation signaled clear support for Straus. Talking with Representative-elect Chris Turner, he came away very impressed with a weekend meeting with Straus:
There are a number of reasons why he will be a good speaker, but the most important to me is his commitment to run the House in a fair and bipartisan manner. If we have a fair process, I am hopeful we can get some meaningful things accomplished for the people of Texas.
Representative Paula Pierson echoed some of the same sentiments on Straus:
He [Straus] is bright but he is fair. He is not a bully. I believe he wants what is best for Texas and not himself.
Representative Marc Veasey added the following in a phone call last night:
Straus is a pragmatic, down to earth, good guy who gets along with Democrats and Republicans. I'm confident the Democratic agenda will be heard, that all sides will be heard, and although we might not always agree that we will find more common ground then we have since I've been in Austin.
The Star-Telegram quoted Representative Burnam as having highly favorable opinions of the new incoming Speaker of the 81st Legislative session as well. For the first time in six years a heavy hand on the gavel will give way to a pragmatic one.
One thing is for certain, a fight for the soul of the Republican Party has boiled into the public domain with the more extreme wing versus the more moderate wing jockeying for leadership of the Texas GOP. It remains to be seen whether Straus has the backbone to withstand a withering fire from the more extreme wing or be forced to do more dealing with moderate Republicans and Democrats in order to pass legislation that is good for Texas. If the latter is the case, the more extreme wing will be boxed into an irrelevant corner. That signals a new day in politics in Texas.
Considering that Representative Straus appears to have majority support amongst the House, he deserves an opportunity to restore bi-partisanship and pragmatism to Texas politics in order to set a more constructive tone to the upcoming legislative session.
The resurgence of the Democratic Party has never been more clear than now. With 8 days until the election, the House Democratic Campaign Committee (HDCC) has spent $1,000,000 since July 1 to support Democrats running for election and re-election to the Texas House.
When the HDCC started in 2004, it had one contract employee, a few thousand dollars in the bank and a 26 seat deficit in numbers. No one imagined taking back the House in 3 election cycles was remotely possible. Because of the numbers and a punitive redistricting map, we thought a 10 year plan was optimistic, and only hopelessly delusional optimists thought about a majority by 2009 (apologies to Lon).
What started initially as a simple idea to form a PAC where House Democrats could help fellow Democratic members has grown to become one of the most trusted, respected and impressive political operations in Texas. You should be proud to be part of that effort.
The truth of the matter is HDCC is one of the biggest reasons why we are on the brink of taking back the Texas House. They have committed to working with newly elected Democrats and guide them through the process. They have had laser focus before and during elections to win swing seats. All the headaches Tom Craddick and Terry Keel have on a daily basis, are because of the HDCC and it's leaders.
While Tom Craddick has lost control of his 26-seat majority in his tenure as Speaker of the House, Jim Dunnam, Pete Gallego, and Garnet Coleman have picked up seats every cycle since creating the HDCC.
One State Republican Executive Committee Member, Mark McCraig said in a recent editorial, "What was once a 26-seat Republican majority in 2003 has dwindled to an eight-seat majority today, and that number will almost certainly shrink again this year."
McCraig goes one step further in his editorial in the Stateman:
An ethical cloud also surrounds Craddick because of his close ties to lobbyists. Last year, Craddick and a prominent lobbyist were sued by a tour company after a dispute over a fishing trip to Brazil that Craddick and the lobbyist had canceled. Financial disclosure forms filed by Craddick also show a business relationship with a lobbyist whose identity he refuses to disclose. In light of recent scandals, grass-roots Republicans must demand that their leaders act in a manner that is beyond reproach.
In nearly 40 years in the Legislature, Craddick helped build the Republican Party and the conservative movement in Texas. Unfortunately, his recent actions have cast a shadow on years of public service, and he must recognize that the best way to promote the Republican Party and the conservative values he claims to represent is to allow a new speaker to serve.
Rather than having a Tom Craddick appointed successor, it is time to have a Democrat lead the House.
As the letter points out:
One million dollars is a heck of a lot of money - particularly in the face of our opposition. It is the tangible result of tireless work done by Texas Democrats who want to restore a sense of balance to the Texas House. You should know that the confidence shown us by donors is really a direct result of our Caucus unity demonstrated session after session in the face of adversity. They saw us fighting the good fight, persevering in the face of overwhelming odds and standing tall for the people of Texas. Our unity of voice and effort has not been in vain.
In a point of personal privilege, I want to thank Rep. Dunnam, Rep. Gallego, Rep. Coleman, and the hard working staff at HDCC for everything y'all have done this year and the harder ones before.
That being said, we have one week left, let's take back the House today!
To read the full letter from Jim Dunnam, Pete Gallego, and Garnet Coleman to the Democratic Caucus, click here (warning it is a pdf).
When we first wrote about the ghost worker attack Craddick launched on House members, we knew it was a story that would only serve to hurt Craddick and his allies.
It appears Craddick's miscalculation has hurt one of his top Lieutenants, Tony Goolsby, and now Rep. Lon Burnam wants to make sure Terry Keel is earning his $140,000 pay check.
In a letter to Chairman Larry Philips, Rep. Lon Burnam requested a full, impartial investigation of the entire house, including, Speaker Craddick, his employees, his Chairpersons, and his allies. In the hopes that the entire House is help to the same standards.
The letter points to Keel as the biggest example.
As you know, the House Parliamentarian, Terry Keel, is a "permanent full-time" employee of the Texas House earning nearly $140,000 a year. If Speaker Craddick is going to use taxpayer dollars to investigate three of his foes for employees earning a few hundred dollars a month, the importance of ensuring taxpayers that a $140,000 a year employee-- a substantially higher cost to the state-- is actually dedicating 40 hours per week tot the Texas House over and above his own criminal defense firm cannot be overstate.
Additionally, I would greatly appreciate assurance that whatever system Speaker Craddick currently uses to track work time of his employees, including those with outside employment and those running for elected office, will be included in your investigation.
We are also going to help Chairman Phillips if we can. While the Chairman is looking into these allegations, please feel free to send us any pictures you have of Terry Keel or any Craddick staffer not doing their job during the hours of 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. (typical work hours).
Pictures can be sent to me directly at Matt@BurntOrangeReport.com and I will notarize and send certified copies of them all to the Chairman and any other appropriate sources. The best picture will win either an iTunes gift card or a box of Tiff's Treats too!
The Austin Chronicle has an interesting piece out today, "Dukes Under Siege".
This is a longer story about Dawnna Dukes and her Democratic challenger Brian Thompson. Let's get some of the disclosure out of the way. I support Brian Thompson and I am not affiliated or paid by the campaign. As long as Craddick D's continue to support Tom Craddick, I will do whatever I can to defeat them in the primary.
Brian Thompson has been endorsed by the Texas Progressive Alliance and we are asking any person motivated to take back the Texas House to donate to the slate or Brian Thompson directly. And there are a lot of reasons why.
In Richard Whittaker's piece, Dukes continues to rationalize her continued support for Craddick by pointing to legislative committee appointments and Craddick's political back scratching. However, to this date, Dukes has not pointed to a single legislative achievement for House District 46 or Austin that she couldn't have achieved with out Craddick. What we do know is she does like the Republican money that has come into her campaigns because of her support for Craddick.
According to KVUE, Dukes has received over $10,000 from assorted Republicans, Craddick loyalists, and Conservative PACs.
Rep. Dukes's "top donor is HillCo PAC, which is in part funded by the largest (Republican) political donor in the nation, homebuilder Bob Perry. Perry gained notoriety for helping pay for the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ads against Democrat John Kerry in the 2004 presidential race. Dukes also counts among her contributions a $1,000 individual donation from Perry himself, as well as $1,000 from Bill Miller, a longtime Craddick friend and consultant.
Maybe this money is the reason Dukes continues to support Tom Craddick. Just today she reaffirms her possible support for Tom Craddick.
Even now, she says, she would not rule out backing Craddick as speaker again next session.
This loyalty and support to Craddick and his money are the reasons a site run entirely by minorities call Dawnna Dukes a Craddick D. This combined with Thompson's vision for a better Austin and strong progressive credentials are the reasons the Texas Progressive Alliance, Lon Burnam, and six democratic clubs in Austin have all endorsed Brian Thompson.
This is in stark contrast to Dawnna Dukes, who rather than embracing her own political party and House Democratic Leadership, she attacks. Colin Strother says:
[Democrats for Reform] spokesman Colin Strother says the group is simply a loose affiliation of 15 House members, committed to pursuing a progressive agenda, who signed off on a 16-point agenda to protect and extend vital services. "This doesn't have anything to do with Craddick and had some pretty ambitious and progressive goals," he said. The list was compiled, he said, because there had been no agenda set by the Democratic leadership.
Rep. Helen Giddings said in their final press conference that, "this is the reason we made the votes we made the very first day of session." A veiled quote on their vote for Tom Craddick. (Because I know it will come up, the reason I have the quote written down is because I worked at the Capitol for House Leader and MALC Chairman Pete P. Gallego during the 80th session).
The Dan Barrett campaign wants your help getting out the vote for Dan.
This weekend and next weekend the campaign will be block walking in the mornings and phone banking in the afternoons and Dan needs your help. Rep. Lon Burnam is coordinating the efforts and said all he wants for the holiday's is your help.
The information of when and where to blockwalk and phonebank is below the fold, but please contact the campaign via e-mail or by phone (817-332-2580).
For those of you that do not want to block walk there will be phone banking going on all day at several locations. In short they can put to work anyone who comes.
We can of course also provide them with ample quantities of food and drink.
