Here in Texas, there's been a major split around the controversial Speaker of the House, Rep. Tom Craddick. These four Democrats (highlighted in red), who supported Speaker Craddick, drew challengers, and whether or not they win or lose -- coupled with other key TX House races we're watching in other threads -- could signal the potential defeat of Speaker Craddick.
To see a full list of how the TX House candidates are doing tonight, follow this link:
In just 15 days, our Too Close to Craddick Political Committee has raised over $30,000 ($30,510 to be exact) to help good Democrats challenge three Craddick Democrats--Democratic state representatives who turned their backs on their Democratic leadership to support Republican autocrat Tom Craddick for Speaker instead.
At this point in the campaign, we're sending funds out to the challengers as fast as we're taking them in. And they're spending it for blockwalkers, phones and television. Following are the challengers and their needs:
Brian Thompson (challenging Craddick D Dawnna Dukes in Austin)
Boost last week of television (Field program covered)
Armando Walle (challenging Craddick D Kevin Bailey in a Houston district that is 2/3 Hispanic)
Bilingual canvassers
Bilingual phoners
Spanish/English doorhanger
Canvassers for African-American areas (10% of district) (TV not affordable in Houston market)
Sandra Rodriguez (challenging Craddick D Kino Flores in McAllen and Pharr)
Spanish-speaking canvassers
Boost last week of television
For the next week, every dollar that we deposit in the morning will be sent out to our three Democratic challengers that afternoon. Let's keep the heat on and the momentum going. Mail your check payable to "Too Close to Craddick" to
Too Close to Craddick
PO Box 5674
Austin, TX 78763-5674
This is one of the best ads I have seen this cycle. Flores has a lot of baggage ranging from votes during his tenure in office (including the fact Flores is too close to Craddick) to ethical questions surrounding the embattled Craddick D.
He is running on his record, he said, but has "everything and anything" he needs to go after Rodriguez's husband, a former three-term state district judge who did not seek re-election. "I haven't accused him of anything," Flores said, "but I have a boxful, ready to go."
Looking at a campaign photograph of Rodriguez and her family, Flores said, "She's got kids. She's got these kids that are at home, that have no blame whatsoever. They don't need to be worrying about what their mother is going to go through, or their father. You know, if she wants to go there, that's her bag."
"There are some people I can bully, and I can beat the dog shit out of, and I can run off - I've gone through two lottery directors that I had squeezed their nuts and fired them".
"Cojones," is his style in Austin. "I'm not afraid to use them."
Rodriguez has been endorsed by Annie's List and community leaders through out HD-36. Make sure Kino Flores doesn't continue to push this great candidate around and restore a Democratic voice to this valley district. Donate to Sandra today!
When Tom Craddick continued his reign of terror as Speaker of the Texas House, it was clear that speaker politics would extend beyond the session and last until November 2008.
Today, Lon Burnam made an announcement few elected officials have the courage to make, he endorsed three Democratic Primary challengers and made a clear statement that a vote for Tom Craddick is not only bad for your district but it is also undemocratic.
"I am proud to publicly endorse Brian Thompson (HD 46 - Austin), Armando Walle (HD 140 - Houston), and Sandra Rodriguez (HD 36 - Hidalgo County)," said State Rep. Lon Burnam, "all of whom have shown remarkable courage by challenging Craddick Democrats. Each of these candidates is extremely viable. I hope to welcome each of them into the State Legislature next year and take three more votes away from the Republican Speaker."
In 2003, Rep. Burnam was the only Representative to vote against Republican Speaker Tom Craddick. At the time, Burnam suggested Craddick was ethically challenged. Many of the Craddick D's share Craddick's ethical lapses.
"Since 2003, the single biggest obstacle to responsible public policy in the state of Texas has been Tom 'absolute power' Craddick," said Burnam. "Unfortunately, some of my colleagues continue to support the Republican Speaker and enable his failed Republican ideology of starving public education, harming the environment, denying children health care, and making a mockery of our ethics laws."
Rep. Burnam put the March 4th primary into simple terms. "Democrats can vote for the status quo and help re-elect Craddick Democrats, or they can vote for change and send a clear message that Tom Craddick and his right-wing cronies are taking our state in the wrong direction."
"I represent the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party, not the Craddick wing of the Democratic Party, and so do the three Democrats I am endorsing today," said Burnam.
[...]
In addition to endorsing these three Democratic challengers today, Rep. Burnam has also committed to help each of them raise the funds they will need to be successful on March 4. Next week, Rep. Burnam will unveil details about a political action committee called "Too Close to Craddick" that he is supporting.
Here is a different perspective on the matchup between Rep. Kino Flores and Annie's List supported candidate Sandra Rodriguez. There hasn't been much talk about this race as of yet but here is an alternative perspective that may not be the one known by folks here in the Capital City. More details here...
The Quorum Report penned that Flores is to close to Speaker Tom Craddick, and that makes him a big target for Democrats looking to oust the Speaker. Those Democrats are putting their faith in Rodriguez, a former trustee for the P-SJ-A school board and a former juvenile probation officer. Rodriguez is the wife of former district judge Fernando Mancias, and, according to her campaign advisor, her father worked closely with late activist Cesar Chavez.
Of course the article couldn't be "fair and balanced" unless it had a snidbit from La Joya Mayor Billy Leo and his criticism on Flores - not being present on the House floor for critical votes this past session on the Voter ID bill and CHIP. But according to one of Flores' advisors, a recent poll showed that "Flores' favorables are ahead of his unfavorables by a greater than seven-to-one margin and that he leads Rodriguez three-to-one on who is more in touch with the community."
This campaign could be one of David versus Goliath, and I'm not sure if Rodriguez's got the weaponry to bring down a behemoth like Flores. Flores is a persistent and hard working politico known for his grassroots style of campaigning. He's only been challenged once over the course of his 10-year reign, and he won that 2000 primary with 76 percent of the vote.
Whether one supports or opposes the actions of the Craddick D's last session, they chose to establish themselves as a separate group in the Texas Legislature. Calling themselves "Democrats for Reform," they laid out an agenda at the start of session. At the end of session, they claimed their agenda was a success, and that the key successes for Democrats this session were the result of the deals they had struck with Speaker Craddick. They also touted the personal victories they won for their district by supporting Craddick, and many were proud to call themselves "Craddick D's."
It should be noted, though, that only a handful of those who attended the first press conference (announcing the Democrats for Reform, at the start of session) attended the second (after the challenge to Craddick at the end of May). More over, the voracity to which "their agenda" can be called a success was called into question.
With the announcement that Chairman Robert Puente will retire, I thought it would be appropriate to see exactly how those "Democrats for Reform" are doing today. This is merely meant as an update -- trying to keep track of our Democrats in the Texas House. I select them out as a group not out of hostility, but because they chose to set themselves apart from the House Democratic Caucus.
Update: To clarify, I designated whether or not any of the following State Representatives would "still vote for Craddick" based on their last known public position -- which I sourced as best as possible in the middle column. Any additional news that any of the Members or anyone else wish to share, please send me an e-mail or post a comment, and I will update the chart appropriately.
The Craddick D's: Where We Are Today - October 22, 2007
Voted "present, not voting" during Rep. Haggerty's roll call speech; Rep. Chavez was quoted in the Houston Chronicle saying she would support new leadership in 2009.
No
Deshotel, Joe
Voted "against" Craddick during Rep. Haggerty's roll call speech.
No
Dukes, Dawnna
Though there were rumors that some in Austin were looking for a primary challenger, none have surfaced. The last known public statement was that Rep. Dukes stands by Craddick - though I'm not certain she'd vote for Craddick again.
Was one of the handful of Democrats proudly trumpeting the "Democrats for Reform" agenda at the end of session. No other public indication of her stance, and no primary news to date.
Yes
Guillen, Ryan
No challenger, no news. Though if the budget committee is still this hard, would he want it?
On the motion to vacate at end of session, was said to be "flip-flopping." No news, though with Rep. Puente's retirement, she is the only Craddick-supporter in San Antonio.
Of the 15, there are definitely 5 fewer supporters for Craddick, two "maybes" (three, if you include Rep. Turner), three Craddick D's facing primary challenges, and maybe a few more who would no longer call themselves Craddick D's.
