It's a sadder day than usual for public school students in Texas, as State Representative Scott Hochberg announced that he's not seeking re-election to the Legislature. Hochberg has been a champion of public school children, and used his arcane knowledge of school finance to fight for equality in school funding. In addition to his tireless work on school finance, he also passed important legislation to enable schools to use digital textbooks.
The Texas Observer has an excellent article about his lingering legacy as the Legislature's resident school funding nerd. In the article, they discuss how Republican leadership in the 83rd Legislature blocked Hochberg from using his considerable talent from helping Texas schoolchildren:
Hochberg was kept out of the closed door meetings on school finance and ultimately had almost no say in the plan the House backed - a plan that cut the same percentage from all school districts, despite vast funding inequalities. He had little say on the Appropriations Committee, where lawmakers ultimately decided to cut $5.4 billion from public schools. Then, adding insult to injury, the Legislature passed redistricting maps that put Hochberg in a district with fellow Democrat Hubert Vo. While those maps have now been redrawn by federal courts, it's hardly shocking to think Hochberg's downtrodden.
Hochberg has been a great public servant and hero to the children of Texas. We wish him all the best in whatever he chooses to pursue next.
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State Representative Mike Villareal released the following statement on Hochberg's retirement:
"Scott's announcement that he won't seek reelection is a major loss to the legislature and the schoolchildren of Texas. His knowledge of school finance and other education issues is unmatched in the legislature. Scott has combined his deep knowledge with a relentless commitment to giving all kids a chance at a good education, making him one of the state's most effective champions for better schools. Whether he was fighting against the Republicans' proposed cuts to public education, or exposing problems with the state's school ratings system, Scott has been a leading voice for Texas schoolchildren. I will miss working alongside him in the legislature. I wish him the best of luck in the next chapter of his life."
I attended the Center for Politics and Governance Forum today (Thurs., Nov. 6th, 08') at UT, Austin. Below are some of my notes from the speakers and panelists, as well as comments from audience members, and some of my own.
I interviewed Houston Mayor Bill White and found him to be refreshing to speak with. Personable, compassionate, genuine, and he wants to make things happen. Bill gave a speech that was down-to-earth just before I spoke with him. He had a great line about true leaders, that leaders "have a responsibility to inspire people to want to get involved in the process and (political) system. To inspire them to want to do the right thing". He talked about education and how's it's everyone's responsiblity while explaining how he and his wife visited highschool drop-outs in their homes to help them get back into school. White also talked about a a very successful 6 week summer education program he and his wife started during the summer to help students stay educated instead of getting in trouble during their summer off.
During my brief intereview with Mayor White, I asked him if he's going to run for state office, and he said "most likely". I than asked Governor or Senator? And he didn't answer that question, but did go into detail about a number of important issues in the state of TX, especially Energy.
I very much enjoyed White's speech and speaking with him one-on-one. No ego, genuine, and it was clear that he means business.
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst: While commenting about Obama's Presidential victory, Dewhurst said "Presidential elections are about reactions to the past and vision for the future"... I agree!
Dewhurst said "greed went rampant" while talking about our Economy, and added that "even Greenspan apologized for not providing enough oversight to the market".
Dewhurst was proud about his role in championing Education and committed to "continue to raise teacher's salaries and end teaching to the TAKS tests". Dewhurst also talked about Health Care, commenting that we spend too much money on Health Care in the US, the 2nd most of any country, adding "but I'm not recommending Universal Health Care".
Dewhurst gave a very safe speech, covering Edu, Health Care, and the Economy.
A number of audience members privately commented to me that it was one of the most boring speeches they've ever heard...one woman said "it's amazing that he can speak for over 20 minutes and say nothing". I wouldn't go that far, but he certainly didn't say anything groundbreaking. And being that it was our "keynote", I would have enjoyed something more captivating.
TX State Rep Sylvester Turner was on a panel and contrast to my comments above on Dewhurst, he was a real crowd-pleaser...Turner said he's running for the Speaker's race and he received a great applause from the audience when he compared the changing political climate in TX to a "cool breeze coming from the North East to TX"...the crowd loved this analogy, explaining how the cool air is mixing with the "hot air of TX" to turn it a cool blue.
TX Sen. Kirk Watson got the crowd laughing with his comment "we had two hurricanes in TX, Ike and Lehman Brothers". Watson also talked about how critical redrawing of the Congressional lines will be in 2010. Watson joked that the agreement before the last TX legislative session was to "stop the diversions", but that the lege still had over $1.6B of diversions, a 15% increase from the previous session! Watson also said Climate Change needs to be an issue, that "TX is the #1 state in the country producing Carbon".
Sen. Florence Shapiro talked about Education alot...and then talked about Education a little more, and then talked about Education some more to wrap it up.
TX State Rep Scott Hochberg, who also said he's running for Speaker, commented on how the Speaker's performance needs to be improved.
One of the panelists said that "70% of unmarried women in TX voted for Obama".
Burka made the comment that "the average age of the Republican Party has gone from age 42 to 56 in recent years".
The panel was asked if Gov Rick Perry is really running for reelection...and most said "he says he is, and I do believe he's honest"...but it was clear that they have their doubts. But they all felt that Kay Bailey Hutchison is running.
TX Monthly's Paul Burka commented on Kay Bailey Hutchison saying that "Kay is typically risk averse. But she did vote for the bailout and for SChip, so it'll be interesting to see how Perry uses that against her if they run head-to-head"...Burka went on to say "this would be a tough, bitter fight. Does Kay have the stomach for a tough/bitter fight? Maybe. Does Rick? Yes".
Bryan Eppstein, TX based Republican consultant and pollster gave a few poll#'s showing that Kay Baily is beating Perry...and commented that "Kay Bailey will win against Perry"...Burka was not so sure.
While talking about state-wide races and "up-and-coming Dems", Kelly Fero throughout Donna Howard's name, and a few folks in the audience immediately clapped.
The big topics were the speaker's race and the Gov's race.
Burka recommended that Mayor Bill White should run for US Senator and not Gov (Kay Bailey's open position, assuming she runs for Gov).
If Phillip's predictions are correct, House Democrats will have the opportunity to unite to elect one of their own as Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives.
While many names have been thrown around, a House Democratic staffer has told me their boss has received calls from five Democrats about the Speaker's race: Scott Hochberg, Alan Ritter, Pete Gallego, Richard Raymond and Senfronia Thompson.
The staffer also dismissed Sylvester Turner's speaker candidacy as a "decoy for Craddick" and said Turner had not been making calls to many other members.
A call to the Texas Ethics Commission confirmed that as of October 24 the only Democrats to have filed for speaker are Thompson and Turner.
I'm off to canvass for Obama here in Colorado. Good luck to everyone GOTVing in Texas.
State Senator Kyle Janek (R- Houston) finally resigned. Not a big story. The question was never a matter of if but when. Now we have that answer so there is a new question, when will Rick Perry call the special election?
There are two options, sometime before November or November 4 during the general
election. As Kuff pontificates the only reason Perry would call a special would be aid his favorite Republican candidate.
Currently the crowd is one man, Republican activist Austen Furse. However there is speculation that Craddick Lieutenant, State Rep. Charlie Howard (R- Sugar Land) may enter the race. On the Democratic side, the two men rumored to be looking at the race are Scott Hochberg (D-Houston) and former Congressman and our Democratic Nominee for Governor Chris Bell.
The one constant in this race is if Rick Perry keeps the election set for November 4th, then both Howard and Hochberg would be forced to resign from their House seats. Both are leaders of their party and a resignation from either would be a boon for their opposition. This realization makes Rick Casey's article on this race particularly interesting.
Casey writes in Tuesday's Chronicle about a poll showing Chris Bell with a huge lead in SD-17.
A recent poll shows Bell at 43% and Furse at 29%.
...a poll of the district a couple of weeks ago which provided some enticing numbers in a race between Bell and Furse, whom the poll identified as a conservative Houston businessman who served as a policy advisor to the first President Bush.
[...]
Furse's dismal showing is partly the result of lack of name recognition, which would be cured by a well-funded campaign. If the trial lawyers generously funded Bell, the business community, including Texans for Lawsuit Reform, could be counted on to be at least as generous for Furse, or for some other Republican on the ballot.
Let's be honest here. These results are hugely important. Harris County is poised to over-perform because of the combination of factors- Rick Noriega is from Houston, the Harris County coordinated campaign, and competitive House races through out the county. Having a candidate with strong name ID creates the possibility of having three Senate Seats in play (Wendy Davis vs. Kim Brimer, Joe Jaworski vs. Toxic Mike Jackson, and the open SD-17 seat). In one cycle we are on the brink of having a 17-14 split in the Senate instead of the current 20-11 Republican advantage.
Now we have to wait and see what political games Rick Perry wants to play with Texas voters.
With Republican state Sen. Kyle Janek's retirement set for June 2, several Republicans along with one notable Democrat are considering the race.
Once Janek retires, Gov. Perry will have the option to either hold the election on November 4 (Election Day) or he can call an emergency and set it for another day.
Recent history has shown that "emergencies" tend to only be called in instances that are politically beneficial to Republicans.
Remember when the late Rep. Joe Moreno's seat was left vacant during special sessions in 2005? That was a 100% politically motivated decision that only served to disenfranchise thousands of Houstonians for months.
In this case, as R.G. Ratcliffe explains, the conventional wisdom goes that the Democratic candidate would benefit from the expected high turnout on November 4.
However, the twist here is the guy who appears to be our best candidate, Rep. Scott Hochberg, will only run if a special election is called since he does not want to risk his spot in the House.
Of course, there may very well be another Democrat besides Hochberg who is willing to run if the election is held on November 4. I just haven't heard any names. Anyone hear anything? There must be a couple good candidates willing to run for an open senate seat in a district that while tough is certainly winnable.
Perry's decision on when to hold the election will be an important one. While it may go against the conventional turnout wisdom, I for one would love to see Scott Hochberg have a shot at a senate seat sometime early this fall. I would take Hochberg's superb record in the House against the likes of the two Republicans (businesmanAustin Furse and former Harris County GOP Chair Gary Polland) who are considering the race. St. Rep. Charlie Howard (R-Sugar Land) is also considering the race but, like Hochberg, will only run if its a special election.
In case you weren't sure that running everywhere is a winning prescription for Democrats, Hochberg cites Michael Skelly's plans to run an aggressive race against Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. John Culberson as one of the reasons that SD17 can be won by a Democrat.
Hochberg is one of the best public education advocates in the state and we could certainly use him in the senate. At this point, however, we can only wait to see what the Governor's office does.
When we are fortunate enough to score a touchdown we usually subscribe to the theory of "act like you've been there", rather than dancing like an idiot. However, I think it's important for us to stop for a second and take inventory regarding just how far the House Democratic Caucus has come since 2003.
In 2003, after Tom DeLay's illegally laundered TRMPAC money financed the Republican takeover of the Texas House and the ascension of Tom Craddick to the absolute pinnacle of power, Democrats were bruised, battered, and paralyzed by a 13-seat deficit in the Texas House. The partisan make-up of the house was 62-D and 88-R. For those who were around, it was an accomplishment for the D's to hold 40 votes on anything.
After the courageous and historic party switch of Kirk England this week, House Democrats have shrunk that deficit from 13 to a mere 5 seats. No one deserves more credit for these significant accomplishments than the Leader of the House Democratic Caucus, Jim Dunnam.
When the Caucus was at the lowest point in its history, Representative Dunnam stepped up to the plate and accepted the challenge. No one, friend or foe, can argue with his results.
After pulling of the impossible (Ardmore), Reps. Dunnam, Gallego, and Coleman formed the House Democratic Campaign Committee (HDCC). During the 2004 elections, House Democrats netted 1 seat in the House by knocking off Craddick's Chair of House Appropriations, Talmadge Heflin. In 2006, House Democrats had unprecedented success by picking up 6 seats; 5 on election-day and 1 during a special election to fill Todd Baxter's old seat.
This past week, after months of persistent and skillful negotiations, Mr. Dunnam and other House Democrats pulled off the impossible by convincing a Republican State Rep. (Kirk England) to switch parties and run as a Democrat.
After years of hard work by many folks, we are now only 6 seats away from electing a Democratic Speaker and moving Texas forward. Every step of the way, no one has shown more skill or courage in taking on Tom Craddick and his corrupt right-wing cronies than our fearless House Democratic leaders; Dunnam, Gallego, Coleman, Hochberg, Thompson, and the other good Democrats in the Texas House.
Since Rep. Dunnam chooses not to dance in the end zone, we thought we'd do it for him. Thanks for all that you've done for Democrats in Texas, and go win us 6 more seats next November!
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said he is investigating whether the athletic departments steered students to lenders in exchange for kickbacks, as well as how team names, mascots and colors may have been used to suggest the company was a school's preferred lender.
At [the University of Houston], the athletic department's Web site features a prominent advertisement for University Financial Services.
With a red and blue border, the ad encourages "Cougars" to consolidate their student loans at a lower monthly payment. The lender identifies itself as "a proud paying sponsor of University of Houston Athletics."
The student loan industry has grown substantially over the past few years, in large part because the skyrocketing cost of tuition. Incidentally, since 2003 when the GOP legislative leadership passed tuition deregulation, the cost of tuition and fees at state-supported universities in Texas has shot up 39%.
The New York Times reports on a "fast spreading, Velco-like aquatic fern" that, in 1950's horror-movie fashion, seems to be taking over Caddo Lake. Any East Texans have any first hand experience they'd like to share in the comments?
The House of Representative passed a reauthorization and expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) yesterday, which since 1997 has provided affordable health insurance for millions of children whose parents can't afford to buy insurance on their own yet make too much money to qualify for Medicaid. Vince at Capitol Annex is all over the House floor debate from yesterday, including some unfortunately predictable shenanigans from Texas Republicans.
Starting this fall, the pledge to the Texas flag will have a little more God in it, thanks to a bill Rep. Debbie "Pit of Hell" Riddle authored and passed this session. This was little reported, but Rep. Scott Hochberg and she had a pretty good exchange during debate on the legislation:
HOCHBERG: Tell me why you picked out, you said last night that you were trying to essentially conform our pledge to the national pledge, and if I'm misstating what you said, please clarify that for me.
RIDDLE: No, that, I think, is what I made very clear, that in our national pledge, we say, "one nation under God." I felt like it was altogether right and appropriate for us to have in our state pledge, that we would say, "one state under God."
HOCHBERG: We also, in the national pledge, if I'm not mistaken, say, "with liberty and justice for all." You didn't include that in your bill, I don't believe. Was there some reason that you didn't include that, but you did include the "under God" part?
RIDDLE: No.
HOCHBERG: No? Would you take a third reading amendment to add, "with liberty and justice for all?"
RIDDLE: No.
The whole exchange (which you can read here) was pretty funny; Riddle seemed stunned by the question, and ended up saying she wanted to mirror the national pledge without explaining why she didn't want "liberty and justice for all." Apparently "liberty and justice for all" doesn't deserve repeating in Texas, but "under God" does. Go figure.
It's not uncommon for Perry to take a little time off when the legislature meets. During the 3rd special, Perry decided the educational crisis was so important that he had to go to Italy.
Now, Perry is out of the state again, and a bipartisan group want Lt Governor David Dewhurst to help during the TYC crisis.
The letter requests Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, in his role as current acting governor, place the Texas Youth Commission (TYC) under Conservatorship immediately.
Under the Texas Constitution, Lt. Gov. Dewhurst currently possesses all the powers and authority of the office of the governor because Governor Perry is out of the state visiting Dubai. As the current acting governor, with full powers, Lt. Gov. Dewhurst has the authority to place TYC under immediate Conservatorship. Conservatorship has been recommended unanimously by the full Senate and the Legislative Audit Committee.
Additionally, the Joint Select Committee on the Operation and Management of the Texas Youth Commission unanimously voted to express their complete lack of confidence in the TYC board. Placing TYC under Conservatorship will suspend the authority of the TYC board and transfer the board's functions to the conservator.
The letter was authored by State Representatives Pat Haggerty, Valinda Bolton, Delwin Jones, Jim Dunnam, Tommy Merritt, Pete Gallego, Robert Talton and Scott Hochberg.
