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The great two-thirds rule debate has begun

Sen. John Whitmire, the dean of the Texas Senate (2008 AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)

Update at 4:00 p.m.: Checked tape, made minor changes to Whitmire’s and Nelson’s quotes.

Original item at 11:29 a.m.: The Texas Senate has begun its expected debate over whether to abandon a rule that for many decades has protected partisan, geographic and racial-ethnic minorities.

At a briefing on taxes for new Senate budget writers Wednesday, the chamber’s longest-serving member, Houston Democrat John Whitmire, launched a wry if somewhat backhanded defense of the “two-thirds rule.”

It can protect from attack things highly valued by rural senators, such as an exemption of agricultural equipment from the sales tax, Whitmire said at a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee.

The rule requires two-thirds of senators to agree before a bill can be taken up on the Senate floor.

Earlier this year, GOP lieutenant governor candidate Dan Patrick promised to reduce the influence of Democratic senators by weakening the rule and reducing the number of committees they chair. Patrick is a Houston senator.

On Wednesday, Whitmire interrupted a presentation by the comptroller’s office to discuss the sales-tax agricultural exemption.

He called it the “largest, broadest exemption we have.” Whitmire said urban tradesmen could view it as unfair, given they pay tax when they buy vehicles and equipment needed in their work. But the ag exemption has worked well, he said.

Then came the caveat.

“To preserve it, we need to make sure our rural members have a place at the table,” Whitmire said.

Senate Finance Committee Chairwoman Jane Nelson (2009 AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)

Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, said the Legislature tightened administration of the ag exemption in recent years. Beneficiaries have to attest they are engaged in food and fiber production, he said.

Whitmire, though, said that in the next revenue crunch, it and all other exemptions could be reviewed. The state may again face “challenges to find sufficient revenue,” putting the ag exemption at risk, he warned.

“The rural members should be mindful that the Senate rules currently allow them to block any consideration of repealing that,” he said.

Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, interjected, “You talking about the two-thirds rule?”

Whitmire replied, “That would probably be the No. 1 thing that would come to my mind.”

A few minutes later, members of the panel began raising questions about the regressive effects of higher sales tax. Democrats mentioned Patrick’s proposal to decrease local school property taxes, perhaps by adding a penny or two to the state’s 6-1/4-cent sales tax.

Finance Committee Chairwoman Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, quickly cut them off, though.

She noted that higher sales tax is just one way to pay for property tax relief.

“Many of us would like to reduce property taxes,” Nelson said. “We’re going to look at a lot of different possibilities.”

Leading Democrats lending support to Darlene Ewing for local party leader

Dallas Democratic Party Chairwoman Darlene Ewing is getting a boost form several prominent elected Democrats for her campaign for re-election.

Ewing has been endorsed by Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, state Sen. Royce West and Dallas County Commissioners Theresa Daniel and John Wiley Price.

Democrat Heath Harris, the first assistant under Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins, is challenging Ewing in the March 4 primary. Harris has been endorsed by Watkins.

Ewing has led the party since 2005. Under her watch, Democrats took firm control of Dallas County politics, winning every countywide race they entered.

But Harris says he can do better and fears the growth of the tea party and other activist conservatives could give Republicans a boost in the November general elections, particularly if Democrats are not prepared for battle.

But Ewing’s supporters say there is no reason to change leaders.

“Let’s continue building our countywide coalition,” an email from Ewing states. “Let’s continue our winning ways with Darlene Ewing.

On Feb. 4 West is a featured speaker at a fundraiser for Ewing at the Wild Salsa Restaurant in Dallas.

Despite the individual endorsements from Ewing by Johnson, West and Price, she didn’t appear on the slate the trio of leaders put together with the Lone Star Project, a Democratic group heavily financed by Dallas lawyer and political donor Lisa Blue Baron.

District Attorney Craig Watkins unveils slate for March primaries

State Senator Royce West, left, prepares to speak during the installation of Reverend Doctor Ronald E. Jones, Mayor of Garland, as the 13th Pastor of New Hope Baptist Church, the first African American Baptist Church in Dallas, Sunday, January 27, 2013. Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins, center, and Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, right, also spoke. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News) ((Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News))

Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins is actively pushing candidates in the March 4 primary.

Over the holiday weekend Watkins and his supporters distributed literature that touted his choices for various judicial posts. Watkins is also backing his top assistant district attorney, Heath Harris, for chairman of the Dallas County Democratic Party.

Watkins is unopposed in the Democratic primary, but will face general election opposition from the winner of the Republican contest between Dallas lawyer Tom Nowak and former criminal court Judge Susan Hawk.

The two-term district attorney told The Associated Press that he wants more good judges on the bench. He has downplayed suggestions that he’s trying to control Dallas County Democratic politics. In a column last year I likened him to an old school political boss.

But Watkins is not the only elected official pushing candidates in the primary. Today Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, state Sen. Royce West and Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price_ in connection with the Lone Star Project_ unveiled their slate of candidates.

Watkins is supporting several prosecutors in primaries against incumbents. In the most watched judicial races, he’s backing Tammy Kemp over Lena Lavario in felony district 204, Amber Givens against Andy Chatham in felony district 282 and Stephanie Mitchell against Susan Anderson in felony district 291. You can see the rest of his endorsements below.

Democrats took control of Dallas County politics in 2006, when it was difficult for the party to get candidates to run for countywide office.

Now, incumbents are being challenged by candidates that see the Democratic primary as the only path to elected office in Dallas County.

Watkins Slate by digitalaccess

Endorsements by digitalaccess

Sen. Royce West and County Commissioner John Wiley Price back Bonnie Lee Goldstein for judge over embattled Carlos Cortez

Update: 5:46 p.m.
State District Judge Carlos Cortez says he “forgives” Sen. Royce West and County Commissioner John Wiley Price for endorsing his opponent, Dallas lawyer Bonnie Lee Goldstein, in the March 4 primary.

“I understand that the endorsement is based on politics and not based on my performance as a judge on the bench,” Cortez said via message. “It’s just politics and I forgive them and wish Sen. West and Commissioner Price well with their own issues.”

Price is under federal investigation. I’m not sure what Cortez was referring to as it relates to West.

The original post is below.

Dallas lawyer Bonnie Lee Goldstein (center photo) has secured endorsements from three powerful elected officials in her bid to oust incumbent Carlos Cortez as a state district judge.

Sen. Royce West and Dallas County Commissioners John Wiley Price and Theresa Daniel have all backed Goldstein. More elected officials are expected to abandoned Cortez (first photo), who is seeking a third term in the 44 district civil court.

Cortez could not be reached for comment.

Cortez, 44, is in legal trouble. On Dec. 28 he was arrested on charges that he assaulted his girlfriend, Maggie Strother. The couple had been drinking and began arguing about the location of Strother’s son’s medication, according to police. Strother told police that Cortez choked her several times and at one point dragged her by her hair to the balcony and leaned her over the edge while choking her.

But Cortez said he was actually trying to save his girlfriend’s life. He said his girlfriend was “extremely intoxicated” after mixing alcohol and prescription drugs and that she attempted to kill herself by jumping from his 20th-floor balcony. He said he tried to pull her away from the balcony, not dangle her over it.

Cortez was not in his court today. On Tuesday a judge will hear his motion to lift a restraining order issued after his arrest on family violence charges.

West said the Cortez’s recent problems and Goldstein’s credentials led to his decision.

“Some of the latest issues involving Cortez are troubling,” West said. “Goldstein has a well-rounded resume.”

Cortez was first elected in 2006. He won re-election in 2010 and remains a formidable candidate. He has a campaign fund of over $300,000. But Goldstein could be propelled by endorsements from elected officials and the legal community, if members move away from Cortez.

If nothing else, the backing from West and Price gives Goldstein credibility with Democratic donors and the party faithful.

The Cortez/Goldstein matchup is one of numerous judicial contests on tap for the March 4 primary.

Stay tuned.

Texas Sen. Royce West backs U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey for re-election

Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth

Last year state Sen. Royce West supported Domingo Garcia for the newly created seat in North Texas’ Congressional District 33.

West, D-Dallas, is now backing U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey for re-election to the district, which includes parts of Tarrant and Dallas counties.

Veasey beat Garcia by 1,100 in last year’s Democratic runoff. The Fort Worth Democrat won on the strength of black voters in Tarrant County, while Garica, with the help of West and others, was strong in Dallas County.

Garcia, a prominent lawyer and a former state representative from Dallas, has not announced whether he will seek a rematch with Veasey in the March primary.

“It’s still an open question,” West said about a Garcia campaign against Veasey. “I’ve told Domingo that I’m supporting Marc. Marc Veasey is the incumbent and he’s done a good job.”

Veasey has also scored the endorsement of Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price.

West and Garcia have been strong allies through the years. They co-sponsor an annual holiday party in December.

Last year West said Garcia was the better choice for the district and North Texas needed Hispanic representation in Congress. West and other Democrats are hopeful the court challenges to the Texas redistricting law will produce a second minority district in North Texas.

On Monday the Veasey re-election campaign just released an updated list of local supporters.

They include:

State Senator Wendy Davis
State Senator Royce West
State Representative Roberto Alonzo
State Representative Rafael Anchia
State Representative Lon Burnam
State Representative Nicole Collier
State Representative Eric Johnson
State Representative Toni Rose
State Representative Chris Turner
Tarrant County Commissioner Roy C. Brooks
Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price
Dallas County Clerk John Warren
Dallas County Constable Beth Villareal
Dallas City Councilwoman, Deputy Mayor Pro-Tem Monica Alonzo
Dallas City Councilman Tennell Atkins
Fort Worth City Councilwoman Gyna Bivens
Fort Worth City Councilman Joel Burns
Fort Worth City Councilwoman Kelly Gray
Dallas City Councilwoman Vonciel Hill
Fort Worth City Councilwoman Ashley Paz
Farmers Branch City Councilwoman Ana Reyes
Dallas Community College Board of Trustee Diana Flores]

Perry laces up budget, making nary a big change

Gov. Rick Perry, at a bill signing ceremony Friday (Ralph Barrera/Austin American-Statesman)

Gov. Rick Perry on Friday gave legislative budget writers an A. He left very few scrawls in the margins of their paper.

Texans trust elected officials to make needed investments to accommodate a state population that’s growing by 1,000 people per day, while “being responsible with hard-earned taxpayer dollars,” he said. “I’m proud to say we’ve done just that.”

With his veto pen, Perry deleted only $27 million – or about one-hundredth of 1 percent of the $202.5 billion of spending in the budget package he signed, which covers not just the next two years but the final months of the current cycle. It ends Aug. 31.

Perry vetoed $5.25 million of university special items, including $1 million of “transitional funding” that Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, secured for the University of North Texas at Dallas and $1.5 million for a department of Mexican American studies at the University of Texas at Austin. Perry has criticized lawmakers’ use of the special items in higher education, saying they fund bloated programs that are never closely scrutinized.

Nearly $300 million in the budget and a related bill will not be spent because it hinged on passage of bills that died. As he’s done before, Perry highlighted the death of such spending, though his deletions are superfluous. They aren’t needed to stop it. Nevertheless, he did block $175 million of debt service payments for college construction from being passed. That’s because he refused to add tuition revenue bonds to the special session’s agenda.

The budget will use $3.9 billion of rainy-day dollars. Of that, $2 billion won’t be spent unless voters this fall approve a constitutional amendment creating a revolving loan fund for water projects. Perry bragged about the “historic water infrastructure legislation,” and also touted how the budget and other bills also provide for better college or career prep for young Texans, a strengthened university for South Texas and $1.4 billion of tax and fee decreases.

Sound like a man who’s through running for office? He’s off to Washington, his campaign aides report, to speak early Saturday to the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s 2013 “Road to Majority” conference.

Texas Senate approves GOP redistricting plan

Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen, looks at maps on display prior to a May 30, 2013, Senate Redistricting Committee hearing.

Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen, looks at maps prior to a May 30 Texas Senate Redistricting Committee hearing. (Eric Gay/The Associated Press)

Texas Senators Friday approved a redistricting plan that would make permanent the electoral boundaries for Congress, the state House and Senate that were used for the 2012 elections.

Democrats criticized the legislation and offered alternatives, but it was clear from the outset the Republicans had the votes to push through the interim electoral boundaries. The Texas House and U.S. Congressional boundaries were passed on a 16-11 party line vote.

Dallas Democrat Royce West, a member of the Senate Redistricting Committee, offered an amendment that would create a new congressional district in North Texas designed to give Hispanic voters the chance to elect their candidate of choice.

There are currently two minority districts in North Texas. The newly created Congressional District 33 is represented by Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth. The Dallas County anchored Congressional District 30 is represented by Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas. Veasey and Johnson are black.

“We have the ability to create a congressional district where Hispanics have the opportunity to elect the candidate of their choice,” West said.

But the author of the bills, Republican Kel Seliger of Amarillo, managed to table the amendment.

Seliger, chairman of the Senate Redistricting Committee, said the court-drawn interim maps meet federal standards.

“I believe this map is fair and legal,” he said of the controversial congressional boundaries.

The Texas House is expected to approve the interim maps next week. And Gov. Rick Perry, who called lawmakers into a special session to approve the current electoral boundaries, is expected to sign the redistricting bills into law.

Court challenges will follow, since activists and Democrats contend the maps, in some instances, violate the voting rights of minority residents.

But Republicans contend the maps are legal. They point out that they were drawn by a federal judicial panel in San Antonio during last year’s redistricting court fight.

County judges, clergy rally in favor of expanding Medicaid

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins (Jim Mahoney/Staff photographer)

Three county judges from populous Texas counties, several pastors and priests and a raft of Democratic lawmakers urged state GOP leaders Wednesday to reverse course and accept $100 billion of additional federal funds over the next decade by agreeing to expand Medicaid.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said business leaders and local elected officials want the Legislature to “find a Texas solution” so Medicaid can be expanded and 1.5 million uninsured Texans can gain coverage over the next four years.

“Do you want to do coverage for these folks the way we’ve been doing it, which is the most expensive, inefficient and unhelpful way — to have them clog our emergency rooms because they have nowhere else to go?” Jenkins said at a rally on the Capitol’s north steps. “Or do you want to do it in the cheapest and most efficient way?”

Jenkins said in an interview that 133,000 of Dallas County’s 673,000 would gain coverage if Texas were to expand Medicaid. In a commentary for the Texas Tribune, he said the expansion would bring $580.5 million a year of new Medicaid funds to Dallas County.

The rally was organized by groups such as Dallas Area Interfaith, which is part of the Industrial Areas Foundation, a national community organizing network established in 1940 by Saul Alinsky. The Texas Network of IAF Organizations has launched a petition drive urging lawmakers and Gov. Rick Perry to embrace the expansion.

Continue reading →

Bum foot doesn’t stop Leticia Van de Putte from being elected Senate president pro tem

On Tuesday Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, was elected president pro tem of the Texas Senate.

With her large family in attendance, Van de Putte received the honor in a wheel chair, the aftermath of hurting her foot last month in Washington.

She had to be picked up and carried to the podium by several senators, including a still hulking, but older Royce West, D-Dallas.

“They had to do some heavy lifting today,” Van de Putte joked, though later West told a reporter it was nothing.

“Look at these guns,” West said as he flexed.

Van de Putte, always with a sense of humor, discussed hurting her foot.

“I fell victim to government failure at the local level_ a pothole,” she said. “No, it wasn’t the fiscal cliff.”

Democrats vow a comeback, for pride, policy and better seats

Texas Democrats arrived in Charlotte, vowing to do more to turn the state blue. Because frankly, coming from a solidly Republican state at the Democratic National Convention is a lot like being the red-headed stepchild.

“I can remember when we came as a blue state,” said Sen. Royce West of Dallas. He said those proud delegates were assigned the best seats in the convention hall, along with the closest and finest hotels.

“They wasn’t sitting to the left, behind the camera [stand],” he told delegates. “We were way up front.”

West was speaking at a luncheon reception for the delegation at a bar and grill called Whiskey River. He was speaking because U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, was scheduled, but didn’t make it.

Such is being blue in a red state.

While the Texas Democrats have made their way into Charlotte, that’s not where they’re staying. They’ve been assigned a hotel in Concord, about a 40- minute bus ride away.

They are sharing their hotel with Montana, a state that has voted for the Republican in nine of the past 10 presidential elections. Ditto for Texas.

“Let this be the last time they put us out in the boonies,” Sen. Jose
Rodriguez told the delegates.

He and West exhorted the delegates, especially the young ones, to do everything they can to work in local elections and help elect U.S. Senate nominee Paul Sadler, keep the large cities Democratic and pick up legislative races. “Social media it, if that’s a word, tweet it, Facebook it,” West said.

They asked delegates to work to regain 10 to 15 Texas House seats — ambitious and probably double what most observers believe they can flip. But still, even with a blaringly optimistic 15-seat gain, it would still leave the House 87-63 in Republican hands.

“It’s no damn fun being in Austin when you’re out-numbered two-to-one,” Rep. Lon Burnam of Fort Worth said.

The greater joy of three-to-two was not quantified.

Burnam pointed out that in 2010, Texas had the worst voter turnout in the nation. That has to change, he said.

Rodriguez agreed. “This is the last time Texas is sitting in the back, out in the boonies. Texas is going to turn blue,” he said.

At least, the delegates intend to talk themselves blue, and hope it spreads.