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August 29, 2008
With Gustav churning, Perry suspends GOP trip
With Texas in the cross hairs of Hurricane Gustav, Gov. Rick Perry has suspended plans to attend next week’s Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn.
Perry’s press secretary Allison Castle said this morning the governor was to host the Texas delegation’s Monday prayer breakfast, and was to address the convention.
“At this point, he’s not going,” Castle said. But if Gustav changes its path or the storm diminishes, she said, Perry could resume his earlier plans.
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August 21, 2008
Miner new Perry communications chief
Mark Miner, former communications director to Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, today got a promotion: the same job with Gov. Rick Perry.
Allison Castle was elevated from Perry’s deputy press secretary to press secretary.
She replaces Robert Black, who is leaving at the end of the month to start a public affairs consulting business. As press secretary, Black had also served as Perry’s communications director.
Miner served as Dewhurst’s director of communications during the 2005 and 2007 legislative sessions. After leaving Dewhurst’s employ, he worked in the private public relations field.
Miner previously worked as communications director for Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore. Before that, he served as director of communications for the Republican National Committee and worked in several campaigns in Virginia and California.
He is a 1987 communications graduate of Michigan State University.
Castle has served as a deputy press secretary for Perry since August 2007. She is a biology graduate of the University of Texas at Austin.
In announcing Miner and Castle, Perry also said that Katherine Cesinger will return to his press office as deputy press secretary to replace Castle. Cesinger has been serving as communications director for the Governor’s Competitiveness Council.
Cesinger will replace Krista Piferrer, who is leaving to become communications director for Baptist Child and Family Services in San Antonio.
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August 13, 2008
Perry adviser says Hutchison won't run for guv
U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison is wrapping up a press tour of Southeast Texas, her spokesman said by e-mail this afternoon. And no one in her realm will comment on a remark by an adviser to Gov. Rick Perry that she won’t challenge Perry for governor in 2010, Hutchison’s Matt Mackowiak said.
Dave Carney, Perry’s longtime political consultant, told me the other day that Perry, who has said he’ll seek a third full term in two years, is focused on raising millions of dollars and crafting a strong plan for a general-election showdown against a Democrat.
“Fundraising is the least of our problems,” Carney said. “I’m anticipating an aggressive general election. I’m not anticipating a problem in the primary.”
Carney said that until Hutchison does something beyond privately telling activists she’s inclined to run for governor, skepticism should reign.
“Until she actually does something real — resigns or runs — people will always be skeptical because we’ve been down this road,” Carney said, a reference to Hutchison’s looks at running for guv in 2002 and 2006.
When I reminded Carney that at least a few Capitol observers doubt Perry will follow through with his declared plans to run again, he replied: “The political chattering class has this inability to believe anybody would say what they believe or what they plan. He absolutely is going to run.”
Hutchison, meanwhile, stopped by a replica of the Governor’s Mansion in Liberty this afternoon.
Maybe she pointed out it’s in better shape than the Austin one, which was attacked by an arsonist in June. (Peek at the replica here.)
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July 23, 2008
UPDATED: Perry names Andrade as secretary of state
As expected around the Capitol, Gov. Rick Perry named Hope Andrade today to succeed Phil Wilson as the Texas secretary of state.
Perry’s office said the new secretary, whose full name is Esperanza “Hope” Andrade of San Antonio, started immediately. As secretary, she’ll serve as the state’s chief elections officer, the governor’s liaison on border and Mexican affairs, and Texas’ chief protocol officer for both state and international matters. The office also serves as the formal repository for official and business records, publishes government rules and regulations, keeps the state seal and attests to the governor’s signature on official documents.
Perry loosed the announcement this afternoon with Hurricane Dolly coming ashore.
UPDATE: His spokeswoman, Allison Castle, said the announcement had been set for more than a week. It followed Andrade’s private swearing-in by Perry this afternoon.
“The bottom line is the wheels of state government don’t stop turning,” Castle said.
She said Perry intends to visit the Rio Grande Valley in the wake of the hurricane Thursday. He is scheduled to start a family vacation next week.
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July 22, 2008
Hope Andrade could be Perry's secretary of state
I hear that Hope Andrade, a former member of the Texas Transportation Commission, is in Gov. Rick Perry’s sights as his choice to succeed the departed Phil Wilson as Texas secretary of state.
“It’s the worst-kept secret in town,” a Republican in the know said today.
That said, I couldn’t confirm the development this morning.
Andrade didn’t immediately return a call for comment. Perry’s office had no comment.
The state senator who would be consulted by Perry if Andrade is his pick insists he doesn’t know where she lives.
Boerne, near San Antonio, a Web search indicates.
Maybe state Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, was joshing with me.
Andrade, an entrepreneur appointed to the commission by Perry in 2003, served as the in-the-crosshair’d panel’s chair from January until her departure April 30. Her position on the five-member body was filled by Deirdre Delisi, Perry’s former chief of staff.
State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, said she’d welcome Andrade if she proves Perry’s choice. “I was hoping that he would tap her for something; she just has so much credibility,” Van de Putte said, adding that Andrade is “savvy about the border,” a factor that could help in the international relations that go into the job.
Andrade could be the second woman and second Hispanic chosen by Perry as secretary of state. The previous Latino was Henry Cuellar, a Democrat who went on to win a U.S. House seat. The previous woman was former state Rep. Gwyn Shea.
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July 17, 2008
Former first families join Mansion push
Two former governors and members of five former First Families are joining First Lady Anita Perry’s private fund-raising push to restore the arson-gutted Texas Governor’s Mansion.
At a Capitol press conference late this morning, former Gov. Dolph Briscoe presented Perry with a $100,000 check for the fund, which was launched on Tuesday. He joked that the amount was just a pittance of former Gov. Bill Clements, a retired billionaire Dallas oilman who succeeded him in office, will probably contribute.
“I wanted to get in early,” he said. “I was hoping Bill Clements would be here, my very, very good friend, because I know he’s going to put in many times what I did.”
Clements was not present.
Clements, a Republican who replaced Democrat Briscoe in 1979, was instrumental in restoring the Mansion during his first term. He served a second term, after Mark White, from 1987-91.
Other governors and first families in attendance said they plan to contribute, as well.
“(Did) you bring the checkbook?” White joked as his wife, former First Lady Linda Gale White, was introduced, after Briscoe made his surprise presentation.
During the brief ceremony, Perry read a letter from First Lady Laura Bush supporting the restoration project.
Perry said all contributions to the special fund — corporate and private — will be disclosed publicly. The fund-raising goal has not been set, pending the completion of a restoration plan by preservation architects and a decision by lawmakers on how much they want to appropriate.
Asked whether the Mansion, once restored, would become a museum with the governor relocated elsewhere, Perry said her feeling is that it should remain the official residence of Texas’ chief executive. It is the oldest executive mansion west of the Mississippi in continuous use “and I think … it should stay that way,” she said.
The 11 a.m. press conference in the ornate Governor’s Reception Room was decorated with a backdrop of large photos of former governors and their families at the Mansion, from that of Gov. Price Daniel in the early 1950s to George W. Bush in the 1990s.
Contributions are being solicited on the Web at www.texasonline.com and by mail at Texas Governor’s Mansion Restoration Fund, PO Box 12878, Austin TX 78711-2978. Those with questions can call a toll-free telephone number: 1-866-751-5829.
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July 16, 2008
Who insured the Governor's Mansion?
Several readers reacted to today’s story on Anita Perry launching a private fund to contribute toward restoring the burned Governor’s Mansion by wondering whether a private insurer also was ponying up.
The understandable assumption: A private company held an insurance policy on the mansion much like firms insure private homes everywhere.
Wrong.
As reported by Statesman staff writer Mike Ward in early June, the mansion was self-insured by the state, basically meaning that if it fell prey to damage, the state would pick up the costs of restoration — no private insurer involved.
Ward wrote: “…because the state is self-insured, the restoration would be paid for by taxpayers and private donors - as have several mansion restoration projects in the past.”
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July 15, 2008
Anita Perry launches private fund-raising for mansion
In the shade of an oak tree hanging over the iron fence bounding the Governor’s Mansion, Anita Perry accepted a $10,000 donation this morning toward a newly created private fund devoted to restoration of the burnt landmark.
“We hope that all Texans will join us,” Perry said, saying too that there’ll be an effort to involve schoolchildren.
Perry introduced Pamela Willeford, former ambassador to Lichtenstein and Switzerland, as a key adviser to the fund-raising effort. Willeford has been a player in previous restorations of the Capitol and mansion.
Perry fielded the check from Julian Read, the Austin public-relations executive and former longtime aide to the late Gov. John Connally. Read is the president-elect of the Heritage Society of Austin, which made out the check.
Perry conceded she otherwise had little information—and Perry and other officials did not speak to any aspect of the search for arsonists believed to have caused the June 8 fire.
Perry said former governors’ families would be enlisted and that Laura Bush has expressed interest.
She said she didn’t know if she and Gov. Rick Perry will make a personal donation, that no one knows the ultimate cost of restoring the mansion, that she doesn’t know if there’ll be a target portion of the restoration to be covered by private dollars, and that she doesn’t know if expenditures from donations will be limited to paying for certain aspects of the restoration or not.
Workers have finished cleaning and shoring up the mansion’s first floor and are focused now on doing the same on the second floor. By the end of August, the building should be readied for removal of its damaged roof to be followed by the construction of a temporary roof that effectively seals the mansion up, enabling the state to maintain the interior humidity and temperature with temporary air conditioning and heating units.
About the same time, look for the State Preservation Board to settle how it wants to proceed with the restoration—including decisions related to how much state revenue to seek from the 2009 Legislature toward the project.
Read, whose daughters include Ellen Read, caretaker of the mansion, showed reporters a handwritten letter from a Georgetown veteran accompanied by $30 cash. Dan Graham wrote that he was “proud of my state and proud of my Governor’s Mansion.” He referred to his contribution as a “small, but from the heart, restoration contribution.” His money, along with $10 sent by another mansion fan, was rolled into the $10,000 check, Read said.
Donations can be made online here.
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July 14, 2008
Black leaving as Perry press aide
Robert Black, Gov. Rick Perry’s press secretary, announced this afternoon he’s departing to form his own consulting firm starting in September.
In a statement, Black said the new firm will specialize in public affairs, political and strategic communications.
“In a profession where decision making is too often determined by the fickle winds of popular opinion or the latest poll, it has been a privilege to work for Gov. Perry, who is willing to make the hard call and believes that leadership is not a popularity contest, but a moral responsibility,” Black said in the statement issued through Perry’s office.
From Perry: “Robert has been an indispensable clear voice and trusted adviser in my administration, and has demonstrated a real talent for effectively communicating my long-term vision for Texas, crafting messages in the daily battle of a campaign and guiding media strategy.”
No replacement was announced.
In addition to serving in Perry’s press office since 2003 — as deputy press secretary, press secretary and communications director — Black directed the governor’s communications efforts during his successful 2006 reelection bid.
He previously served as communications director for Attorney General Greg Abbott’s 2002 campaign, director of public information at the Texas Department of Insurance and communications director for the Republican Party of Texas for more than three years.
He previously worked in Washington for then-Majority Leader Dick Armey, as a press aide to Ari Fleischer at the Committee on Ways and Means, as an aide to two state senators and, in 1990, as a legislative assistant to now-Speaker Tom Craddick.
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July 11, 2008
Fero: Tony Sanchez intended negative '02 run at Perry
Democratic consultant Kelly Fero of Austin walks back through the 2002 Texas elections—including Laredo businessman Tony Sanchez’s sudden rise and big fall—in an interview with Nate Wilcox. Though the interview took place in 2007, it’s just posted online because it plays into a book, “Netroots Rising”.
An excerpt:
…when I was first talking to Tony, very early, still in 2000. Sanchez and I were at the Four Seasons and he told me he wanted to run the most negative campaign ever. It registered with me later, after he ran one of the most negative campaigns in history.
Peek at the interview transcript here.
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Bumpersticker seems to target Perry's re-election
A lobbyist just back from out of town came across a white envelope in his mail with 25 bumperstickers tucked inside—just like the one pictured below. The guess here is that this sticker is directed at GOP Gov. Rick Perry, whose declared intention to run for a third full term in 2010 has previously been encouraged by a bumpersticker that says “Again in ‘10” with Perry’s campaign brand upon it.
I don’t have ordering information. And the lobbyist declined to be identified.
Perry spokesman Robert Black laughed at the sticker, saying: “That’s liberals’ wishful thinking.”
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July 10, 2008
Perry celebrates Texas economy
Gov. Rick Perry flew to Washington on Wednesday to welcome a cable network’s designation of the Texas economy as No. 1 in the nation; the state was No. 2 to Virginia last year.
CNBC said Texas has the best transportation system in the world, though its correspondent said the education system ranks 30th among the states. The network noted the state’s relatively low unemployment rate, its lack of a state personal or corporate income tax and that 58 Fortune 500 companies are based in Texas.
“Quite an honor,” Perry said in his interview segment from a Washington studio.
Asked to illuminate the education system’s ranking, Perry didn’t speak directly to the question. He said things are getting better. He also noted that a “substantial number” of students have parents whose first language isn’t English. Smiling, he said: “We’re seeing it headed in the right direction.”
Perry welcomed the distinction a day before Toyota announced it would temporarily suspend production of its Tundra pickup at a San Antonio plant.
That cloudy development could have a silver lining, though.
As reported by the Associated Press: “Toyota will suspend production of the Tundra pickup at its San Antonio truck plant and the Sequoia sport utility vehicle at its Princeton, Ind., plant for three months starting Aug. 8 because of declining demand. Next spring, it will stop producing Tundras in Princeton and will consolidate all truck production in San Antonio.”
See Perry’s visit with CNBC about the Texas economy here.
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July 2, 2008
Perry taps health expert to lead budget & policy division
Gov. Rick Perry today named Mary Katherine Stout director of his budget, planning and policy division.
Stout will join the governor’s office later this month from the Texas Public Policy Foundation, where she is vice president of policy. She directs the Center for Health Care Policy at the foundation, a think tank that advocates for limited government.
“Mary Katherine Stout brings legislative and policy expertise rooted in sound fiscal conservative principles,” Perry said in a statement. “Her work on a broad spectrum of policy issues at one of the leading conservative think tanks in the country provides her with a depth of knowledge that will be invaluable.”
Stout replaces Mike Morrisey, who was promoted in April to senior adviser, said Allison Castle, a spokeswoman for the governor.
“Texas continues to prove that lower taxes and a competitive economy make our state a great place to live and work,” Stout said in a statement. “Gov. Perry’s commitment to Texans’ freedom and prosperity has made us a leader among the states and I am proud to be a part of his administration.”
Stout came to the foundation in 2005 and before that was a policy analyst at the Texas Workforce Commission.
At the Texas Public Policy Foundation, Kalese Hammonds will be the foundation’s sole health care analyst when Stout leaves, spokesman David Guenthner said; Justin Keener will be the new vice president for policy and communications.
Keener has worked as a public affairs consultant and as an aide to House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, and state Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano. He starts at the foundation Aug. 1.
“I am excited to work with (the foundation’s) policy experts to educate Texans and their elected officials on how free markets and limited government provide the best solutions to our state’s challenges,” Keener said in a statement from the foundation.
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June 23, 2008
CNN asks viewers to question Gov. Perry
Gov. Rick Perry will be on CNN’s “The Situation Room” on Tuesday—and the cable network asks viewers to submit video questions on energy policy.
Want in? Click here.
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Perry: Ask DPS why not more troopers at mansion
Gov. Rick Perry on Monday offered his first public comments since the Texas Public Safety Commission on Thursday confirmed shortcomings in security at the Governor’s Mansion on the Sunday morning it caught fire.
Perry said he doesn’t know if technology missing in action at the time the mansion caught fire has been repaired or turned back on, but his instinct is that the Department of Public Safety has made needed staffing changes ensuring the burnt building’s security.
Referring to Thursday’s revelations by the commission that oversees the DPS—see the Statesman account here—Perry said: “We fairly well knew what the report was going to say from bits and pieces that we had picked up. Obviously we’re disappointed that there was not the response from some of those who realized that there were some lapses there and that the leadership had not accepted those.” It appears Perry was referring to reports of broken cameras and an absence of trooper training on how to turn on an infrared detector when the fire broke out June 8.
“That was my concern, is that there was a good report… of here’s what you need to do, you don’t have enough people there, and that those were disregarded. As the chairman (of the commission, Allan Polunsky) said, it was not the DPS’s finest day,” Perry said.
Elise Hu of Austin’s KVUE TV asked Perry if he’d like the DPS to see more funding so it doesn’t have staffing problems. Perry replied: “I don’t think funding had a thing to do with whether or not they had enough staffing at the Governor’s Mansion.”
What did? Perry said: “I don’t know. You need to ask the leadership over at DPS.”
Perry doesn’t appoint the law officer who runs the DPS. He does appoint the commissioners that oversee the agency — and who choose the day-to-day chief.
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June 19, 2008
Questions left unanswered
Reporters at the governor’s press conference this morning on “Texas Hold ‘Em” — an initiative to impose harsher penalties on truckers who “knowingly smuggle illegal weapons, drugs or humans” across the border — were itching to get to the big question: would Perry push DPS to release information on security lapses at the mansion?
Spokeswoman Krista Piferrer asked reporters to keep their questions related to the border initiative until the go-ahead for other questions came. It never came: Perry walked offstage without taking “off-topic questions” about 20 minutes into the press conference, followed by a mini-platoon of border patrol officers.
Spokeswoman Allison Castle said the governor’s office wasn’t trying to pull a fast one on reporters — the press conference had run longer than expected and Perry needed to rush off to a 11:35 meeting.
What was it?
A meeting with Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones, Castle said.
And what would the governor have hypothetically said about whether DPS should release information on security lapses at the mansion?
“We need to recognize that this is an investigation,” Piferrer later said over the phone. “We don’t want to do anything to compromise that.”
Perry may have also been in a hurry to get to a fundraiser scheduled for high noon that he was headlining for Tim Kleinschmidt, Republican candidate for the Texas House of Representatives.
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June 18, 2008
Fire could help Governor's mansion go green
The Texas Governor’s Mansion may be 152 years old, but its restoration in the aftermath of an arson-set fire nearly two weeks ago will have a 21st Century signature, officials said this afternoon.
Initial plans: To go “green.”
At a press conference at the State Capitol, Tere O’Connell, a preservation architect on the project, said upgrades to the building are under active consideration that would make the Greek Revival icon more energy efficient — much more so than was planned in a $10 million renovation underway when the fire occurred.
“We will be able to do even more of that work now,” she said.
Included will be replacement of the Mansion’s air conditioning and mechanical systems that were destroyed when the basement flooded during firefighting operations, additional insulation in the attic and crawl spaces and other “green” measures now in vogue in the building industry.
None of those changes, O’Connell and others said, will change the outward, historic appearance of the Mansion.
Not on the list of considered “green” changes are double-pane windows, which they said don’t add much to energy efficiency of old buildings like the Mansion.
At a Monday event in Austin, Gov. Rick Perry had remarked that the restoration would include “green” measures, but provided no other information. Today’s remarks provided the first detail.
In addition to the green building possibilities, project officials provided details this afternoon on the cleanup after the fire. They said efforts to shore up the first floor are still underway. After that, workers will move to the more heavily damaged second floor. Contractor John Braun said there is no timetable for removal of the Mansion’s collapsed roof and installation of a temporary roof.
A mold remediation expert has been brought in to begin drying out the water-soaked building and “get ahead of the mold growth now occurring,” according to O’Connell, who reported that the huge, historic mirrors over fireplace mantels on the first floor “are intact, undamaged.”
Despite heavy damage to the front porch, where the fire was started, the six trademark wooden columns can be saved, officials said. O’Connell said they have been carefully strapped to prevent further damage or deterioration as the clean-up continues.
Still no cost estimate or timetable for the restoration, officials said.
mward@statesman.com; 445-1712
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June 12, 2008
Mansion stable, restoration begins
The fire-charred Texas Governor’s Mansion is structurally stable and the first steps toward eventual restoration of the 152-year-old historic icon began late this morning, within minutes after arson investigators lifted their tight cordon on the crime scene.
First priorities: Shore up the thick masonry-and-brick walls, install a temporary roof and begin drying out the water-soaked interior.
Biggest surprise: Many historical details of the first floor are relatively undamaged, from the spiral stairway to parlor doors to original fireplace mantels, officials said an initial inspection showed. That’s because they had all been covered and protected as part of a $10 million restoration project that had been underway when an arsonist set the front porch ablaze early Sunday.
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June 11, 2008
Gov. Perry's remarks on Mansion fire
Text of Gov. Rick Perry’s Remarks Fire at the Governor’s Mansion Austin June 11, 2008
(NOTE: Gov. Perry frequently deviates from prepared text.)
Good morning. I have seen many things in my time as governor, but few sights have left a deeper impression on me than the charred remains of this genuine Texas treasure standing behind me. As I consider what was done to this once-majestic home, my heart aches beyond words.
As a Texan, I am angry that a part of my state’s heritage has been attacked. As a governor, I am saddened that a place that my family has called home has been so badly damaged.
I cannot begin to understand what would motivate someone to do this, but I do know that they will be caught, and they will be prosecuted for what they have done.
This beautiful structure has stood for more than 150 years as a symbol of our state’s commitment to representative government. A home where great Texans like Sam Houston, Lawrence Sullivan Ross, and Bill Clements once lived.
And as the current governor of this great state, I am committed to making sure that this tragedy will be but a small mark on the timeline of our state’s remarkable history. We will restore. We will renew. And we will rebuild this magnificent structure so that future generations may gaze upon its beauty and appreciate its history.
Texans have always rallied to a challenge. Be it a hurricane like Katrina and Rita or a space shuttle falling from the sky, Texas does not shrink from a tragedy. And we will meet this challenge as well.
For more than 150 years, this mansion has been a symbol of power and prestige for the greatest state in the union, and it will be again.
For more than 150 years, this has been a home where children have slid down the banister, chased their pets, and grown to adulthood. A place where families have celebrated holidays and welcomed friends…and it will be again.
For more than 150 years, this building has been the one constant as 40 different governors have passed through its doors, and it will be again.
For more than 150 years, the Texas Governors Mansion has been the home of good people, with grand ideas for a great state, and it will be again.
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May 27, 2008
Perry heading to Mexico to huddle with Calderon
Texas Gov. Rick Perry plans to travel to Mexico on Wednesday, where he’ll join governors from border states in Mexico and the United States for meetings — including a sit-down with Mexico’s president, Felipe Calderon.
The Border Governors Conference, which includes four states in the United States and six on the Mexican side of the border, plan to gather in Mexico City for meetings with Calderon and various Mexican federal secretaries on Thursday, preceded by a dinner Wednesday night.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear said the meeting is a follow-up to a February binational meeting in Washington of most of the governors with members of President Bush’s cabinet.
Perry’s office confirmed that he will join the discussions.
McLear said: “The priorities for the governors on both sides of the border are similar” such as infrastructure enabling legal crossings and stopping the illegal movement of drugs and people. Such joint meetings amount to a “big show of force,” McLear said. He predicted that concrete requests would be made of the federal government in Mexico.
Schwarzenegger’s May newsletter announced his plans to visit with Calderon, adding: “Mexico is California’s number one trade partner and the two leaders will focus on strengthening this relationship - as well as protecting the environment and improving cross-border security.”
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May 25, 2008
Perry with a fourth grader, Dewhurst in France...
My story in Sunday’s newspaper, in our Insight section, draws from hundreds of pages of schedules kept by the state’s seven top elected officials (counting House Speaker Tom Craddick among them).
A surprise to me was Gov. Rick Perry granting an interview to Cole Blue, a fourth-grader from McComb, Mississippi. Blue’s parents drove him the more than eight hours from their home to the Capitol in Austin for the big sit-down. They thought an aide shot a video; when I asked Perry’s office for a copy, a spokeswoman said it had been erased. Still photos are viewable online here.
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst’s office redacted the names of about 70 individuals who he visited in the year’s first quarter, though Dewhurst later named many in an interview.
Dewhurst further volunteered that he’d gone to France for about a week to try to negotiate with the French government on expanding a museum devoted to Utah Beach to better display the role Allied air, army and naval power played on D-Day in World War II. Dewhurst said he learned more about his late father’s role as a pilot in the invasion last year.
Dewhurst said he was promised an answer on his expansion pitch by D-Day, June 6.
“The Legislature gets blamed for sometimes moving slowly,” Dewhurst said. “After spending a week trying to negotiate with the equivalent of an American governor and a United States senator in France, I now believe that the Texas Legislature moves with lightning speed.”
Remember his words when the 2009 session drags—if it ever does, of course.
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May 22, 2008
Clip and save: Texas law on appointing a senator
As mentioned here, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas could touch off a special election to fill her seat if she resigns early. There’s been talk that she might step down to run for governor, though there’s no legal requirement that she quit the post to run.
The relevant section of the Texas Election Code on what would trigger a special election is downright confusing.
Here it is: “If a vacancy occurs during an odd-numbered year or after the 62nd day before general primary election day in an even-numbered year, the remainder of the unexpired term shall be filled by a special election.”
Translation: If Hutchison resigns this year or in 2009, her resignation will trigger a special election involving candidates who wish to serve out her term, which runs through 2012. (The “62nd day” part of the legal verbiage above points to a date that won’t exist in 2010—unless lawmakers shift the state’s primary date to later than the first Tuesday in March.)
A separate chunk of law holds that the governor shall appoint an interim senator if Congress is in session while there’s a Senate vacancy or if Congress is expected to be in session during a vacancy.
So it could be that GOP Gov. Rick Perry, who has said he’s running again in 2010, will be appointing an interim senator who, most likely, would then also be a special-election candidate to serve out Hutchison’s term.
A twist: I didn’t find anything in state law precluding Perry from setting the special-election date on the same day as the general election day of the year in question. If Perry did edge that way, his appointed interim senator would enjoy (or suffer through) a longer pre-election stint as an incumbent.
Feel free to whip out your Web scissors to clip and save.
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How Gov. Perry blurted his plans to run in 2010
Gov. Rick Perry, who succeeded George W. Bush as governor in late 2000, has long left open the possibility he’d seek a third full term in 2010. That prospect, part of my column in Thursday’s newspaper, is vital to a governor staying relevant.
But he went further all of a hurry in April after a curious political reporter snagged him outside an event in Grapevine near Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
According to observers, this is how Perry’s I’m-running moment happened:
Perry and five other Republican governors held a press conference at their gathering (an energy summit) pulled together by the Republican Governors Association, which Perry chairs.
After the press conference, Perry stepped away to field direct questions from local TV reporters. And it was after that that Gromer Jeffers Jr., the local political scribe for The Dallas Morning News, approached.
Jeffers asked Perry if he thought Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, would win another two-year round in the role next year. Perry said yup.
Jeffers, emboldened by Perry leaping to his Craddick query, then asked Perry about the possibility of a 2010 governor’s race featuring three Republicans—U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Perry.
Perry gave a stern look before saying he didn’t know about the other two, but he’s in.
Perry’s press secretary, Robert Black, soon guided Perry behind closed doors, but not without a parting shot. “Damn you, Gromer Jeffers,” Black said.
Black insisted later that he issued the oath with a smile on his face “because I knew my phone was going to go ape.”
He was right about that.
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May 12, 2008
Perry heading to California to help San Diego GOP
Gov. Rick Perry, who made a splash with a let-conservatives-be-conservatives speech to California Republicans in September, is returning to the Golden State on Tuesday to raise money for the San Diego Republican Party, his office announced Monday.
His stop at a noon fundraiser is to be followed by a roundtable discussion featuring a candidate for the California Assembly, Nathan Fletcher. Fletcher may be best known in Texas circles as the husband of Mindy Tucker, former press aide in George W. Bush’s campaign office.
His California swing is set to end with an evening speech at the 2008 San Diego GOP Lincoln / Reagan Day Dinner.
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April 30, 2008
Dolph Briscoe stopping in Austin tonight
Former Texas Gov. Dolph Briscoe is expected in Austin on Wednesday evening for an invitation-only event—with a few invitations still available. Anyone interested should call the Center for American History at the University of Texas at 512-495-4369 or send an e-mail to rsvp.cah@austin.utexas.edu .
Briscoe, who turned 85 a week ago, plans to sign copies of his memoir, “My Life in Texas Ranching and Politics,” in the Connally Ballroom of UT’s Etter-Harbin Alumni Center, 2110 San Jacinto St.
Briscoe was governor from 1973 through 1979—and might have served longer but for losing the 1978 Democratic primary to then-Attorney General John Hill. Hill lost that fall to Bill Clements, the Dallas oilman who became the first Republican governor of Texas since Reconstruction.
Briscoe’s book includes a look back at his first inauguration, which drew former President Johnson to a luncheon at the Governor’s Mansion. Briscoe gave a 10-minute inaugural address, promising no new taxes. Peek here.
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April 26, 2008
Was Perry trying to scoop Hutchison?
On Friday, Gov. Rick Perry called for a reduction in a federal mandate that a certain amount of the country’s fuel supply come from corn-based ethanol, as we reported today.
This morning, Politico’s Mike Allen reported in his must-read Playbook column that Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, Perry’s fellow Republican, will have an op-ed in Monday’s Investor’s Business Daily calling for a freeze in such biofuel mandates, instead of steadily increasing them over the next 14 years.
Let’s quickly review: Hutchison is considering coming home to run for governor in 2010. Perry has that job now and says he wants to seek it again. The two aren’t exactly close. Could the governor have made his annoucement to steal the thunder from the senator?
“Gov. Perry announced the ethanol waiver Friday because it was the right thing to do for Texas, period,” Perry spokeswoman Krista Piferrer told us today.
It’s starting to feel a lot like 2005, the last time these two were nudging each other in anticipation of a primary fight. Perry won that round when Hutchison opted not to run, and he doesn’t seem to have lost much off his game.
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April 17, 2008
Listen to Hutchison's reaction
Shortly after the news broke about Gov. Rick Perry’s comments in Grapevine today, I chased down Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in her Senate office building. Hutchison, of course, is weighing her own run for governor in 2010.
Listen here to our brief interview. That voice in the background is that of Hutchison spokesman Matt Mackowiak.
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Dems take first shot at Perry's 2010 prospects
Gov. Rick Perry might want to hang on to the state’s top elected position for life, the chairman of the Texas Democratic Party says, but he’s in for some brow-beating if he runs for re-election in 2010.
Boyd Richie, reacting to reports that Perry said Thursday he’s in the race in ‘10, issued a statement saying Perry might want to be guv for life, “but in 2006, a 61 percent majority of Texans already said they want someone else, and he’s done nothing to inspire Texans’ confidence since then.” The reference was to what share of the vote Perry’s ‘06 challengers—Chris Bell, Carole Keeton Strayhorn and Kinky Friedman—drew, combined.
“Given the current state of the state after five years of absolute and failed Republican rule, there’s no reason to think Governor Perry’s record would earn him more than the 39 percent he received in 2006,” Richie says.
“Under Perry’s regime, our local children’s schools are facing a budget crisis due to unfunded state mandates and a lack of state resources, scandals have wracked the Texas Youth Commission, soaring college tuitions have amounted to a middle class tax increase that’s pricing many out of college, over a billion dollars in highway funds were ‘lost’ while toll roads are being outsourced to foreign corporations, and over a million Texas kids have no health insurance.”
“That’s the record of Rick Perry and the Republican politicians who masquerade as our leaders while serving the interests of special interest contributors and cronies. Texas Democrats look forward to 2010.”
Don’t mistake this as Richie’s campaign announcement. More likely Democrats in the ‘10 mix would be term-limited Houston Mayor Bill White, Bell and former State Comptroller John Sharp.
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Lobbyist not surprised at Perry's inclination
Lobbyist Cliff Johnson, a longtime pal and former House colleague and apartment-mate to Gov. Rick Perry, wasn’t surprised that Perry said Thursday he’s intending to seek a third full term in 2010.
According to a news report, Perry said Thursday he doesn’t know about the gubernatorial intentions of Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, “but it will be Perry in 2010.”
Another account is here. And this is also a propitious moment to remind everyone of Paul Burka’s post of March 27, viewable here.
Hutchison, by the way, is keeping her gonna-run plans dry.
American-Statesman Washington correspondent Jason Embry found her in her Senate office building soon after the Perry news broke, and just after she had put out a written statement in reaction.
“I am very encouraged by people asking me to come home and run for governor to provide leadership for Texas,” she told Embry. “I just think it’s too early to make a decision like that. I’m working very hard for candidates in this cycle and I don’t want to do something that’s unfair to them. It’s a decision I will make at the appropriate time.”
Asked if Perry’s annoucement would affect her decision, she said, “no.”
Johnson, reacting to the report, said he’s not surprised. He also believes Anita Perry, the governor’s wife, is fully aboard with the prospect of another campaign.
“There’s no way he would have done this unless she totally approved. She’d have to be behind this 100 percent,” Johnson said. “I don’t think it’s as much a surprise to a few. This wasn’t a haphazard deal.”
The plans might not be haphazard—Perry has never lost a race for office. But the GOP governor’s timing of his announcement appears to be unplanned, or at least I’ve found no one close to him who was aware he planned to air his plans Thursday. In fact, an aide in his campaign office learned of Perry’s remark from me.
Political sideshow punch line: Perry’s comment Thursday, during a gathering with Republican governors at a summit near Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, means anything else that happens at the mostly private meeting gets overshadowed.
That won’t make the governors happy—nor can I imagine Michael Williams, the re-election-seeking chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission. Williams moderated a panel on energy topics at the meeting, which Perry organized in his role as chairman of the Republican Governors Association. He’s not going to get much publicity from his commitment.
Update: Williams didn’t attend the gathering after all. He had a family commitment come up, an aide informed me.
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Perry quoted saying he's in the race for 2010
Gov. Rick Perry, attending a gathering of Republican governors in Grapevine near Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, told at least one reporter Thursday he’s intending to run for governor again in 2010. Here’s the snippet sent out by the Dallas Morning News:
“When asked whether the gubernatorial field would include Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and himself, Perry responded, ‘I don’t know about them, but it will be Perry in 2010.’”
If this holds, Perry, who is 58 now, would be seeking his third full four-year term. Nothing in state law or the Texas Constitution restricts governors to any term or time limits.
Read the Morning News report here.
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April 14, 2008
Gala update: Carpeted cement, flowers, gifts
A former state official impressed by Saturday’s gala at the Texas Disposal Systems Exotic Game Ranch and Pavilion in Buda says he’s been told that supporters of the businessman/philanthropist and religious leader they were honoring spent $1 million-plus on the do, which ended with a 15-minute fireworks display.
“It was surreal,” said Geoff Connor, former Texas secretary of state and a business partner with Sada Cumber of Austin, who is among Ismaili Muslims who devoted themselves to preparing for their spiritual leader, His Highness the Aga Khan, a descendant of the prophet Muhammad. The gala marked his 50th year in that role.
Funded by friends of the honoree, the event took place Saturday night after Gov. Rick Perry and the Aga Khan attended the afternoon signing of a five-year exchange agreement between the University of Texas and Aga Khan University in Pakistan, which has campuses in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Read UT’s take on the signing here.
At the gala, Connor said, each table had a seven-foot centerpiece of flowers including sprays of orchids and roses. Silk covered the pavilion’s ceiling. Draperies covered its walls. And white carpet covered every stretch of cement at the facility, with red carpet atop the white carpet. (Word is the visitor’s feet aren’t permitted to touch the ground directly.)
Outside, he said, a bed of red Gerber daisies was planted so thickly he couldn’t see the soil underneath. Trees were wrapped in lights.
Perry presented his guest, who raises race horses where he lives in France, with a bronze horse sculpture (including a jockey), said Robert Black, Perry’s press secretary. Each of more than 200 guests took home a crystal paper weight, including a slot for business cards, commemorating the do. Guests also got a hefty circular paper weight adorned with the Texas state seal surrounded by miniature flags of the United States, Texas and the Aga Khan (green background, red diagonal streak corner to corner), written on its back with: “The state of Texas welcomes Global Humanitarian Leader His Highness the Aga Khan,” with Perry’s signature below.
What did guests eat and drink?
First course: Watercress salad with smoked King Chinook salmon and truffled corn puree.
Second course: Slow-braised beef short ribs, crisp bone marrow, turnip greens and horseradish.
Dessert: Chocolate terrine with chili-orange tapioca and coriander cream.
Connor said attendees were offered organic Chilean wines.
Sighting: U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, spent a few minutes chatting up His Highness.
And this blog closes—sorry to report—my foray into party watching from a distance.
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April 11, 2008
The Aga Khan's roots, gala invite and '06 thoughts
No word yet on what Gov. Rick Perry’s guests will be eating or drinking at the exclusive Saturday gala near Austin honoring the Aga Khan; see our Friday article previewing his visit here.
Likewise, I wonder what gift or gifts some 200 guests will take home. When the Aga Khan visited Austin in 2002, I’m told, dinner guests ended up with small sterling silver boxes adorned with appropriate seals.
Someone did provide me with a copy of the gala invitation. Notable point: It’s non-transferable.
An Austin reader, meanwhile, suggests that nobody dwell on the Aga Khan being a descendant of the prophet Mohammad, though, of course, that’s the key factor in the businessman and philanthropist serving as the Imam of Ismaili Muslims.
Peter Flagg Maxson writes: “The genealogist in me is compelled to point out that the Aga Khan is also a grandson of the John Reginald Lopes Yarde-Buller, 3rd Baron Churston, of Churston Ferrers and Lupton, in the County of Devon. Furthermore, his father, playboy Prince Ali Khan, was the son of Aga Khan III and Cleope Teresa “Ginetta” Magliano, a dancer with the Ballet Opera of Monte Carlo.
“So his Persian ancestry is limited to one grandparent. The mother (of Prince Rahim Khan, the Aga Khan’s eldest son and heir) …was an Englishwoman, Sally, Lady James Crichton-Stewart, so the Middle Eastern connection will be weaker still. The Aga Khan’s stepmother was actress Rita Hayworth and his stepfather Loel Guinness of the brewing family.” (Mr. Guinness was married to the Aga Khan’s mother before her marriage to his father.)
Learn about the Aga Khan’s mother here. For details on his grandmother, try this link.
Finally, this is probably the space to re-kill a rumor that proved strong enough after the Aga Khan visited Gov. Perry in Austin in 2002 to draw attention in London. At the time, the story percolated that the Aga Khan’s son and heir, Prince Rahim, then 31, was engaged to marry the governor’s daughter, then 15. That prospect was rapidly discounted by Nigel Dempster, a Fleet Street columnist.
In The Daily Mail of July 4, 2002, Dempster went on to write that Perry’s “only daughter, Sydney, is still at school, but it could yet prove an intriguing union.”
Nothing was true or came true about the speculation, Perry’s office and members of the Texas Ismaili Muslim community said this week.
Wonder what the Aga Khan thinks lately? National Public Radio caught up to him in September 2006. Chase the interview here.
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April 7, 2008
Obama stalwart on radio, Perry plans TV chats
National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered” quizzed an Austin stalwart for Sen. Barack Obama to record a grass-roots story that aired Monday afternoon.
An excerpt:
“Sen. Barack Obama was still months away from formally launching his presidential campaign when he went to the Texas Book Festival in 2006. That’s where he met a community activist named David Kobierowski, who told the senator he was planning to start a book club to discuss ‘The Audacity of Hope.’ He immediately raised his hand in the air and said, ‘David, that is fantastic. This is the kind of grassroots spirit I want to have all over the country,’” Kobierowski recalled.
Fetch the account here.
Meantime, Gov. Rick Perry is expected to make a couple of appearances on national TV.
On Tuesday, Perry plans to speak to the vigor of the Texas economy on CNBC’s “Kudlow & Company,” which is cablecast at 6 p.m. Central time. On Thursday morning, he’s intending to make a pitch for his book on the Boy Scouts on “The 700 Club” on the Christian Broadcasting Network.
I’ve got no TV plans—except to watch Monday evening’s Kansas-Memphis whiz of a basketball championship.
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April 3, 2008
Hutchison might be tiring of queries on her plans
Just a guess, but I suspect U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison is tiring of inquiries into her intentions to run for governor in 2010.
Todd Gillman of the Dallas Morning News caught up with her on Wednesday to ask if her secret meeting with 100-plus Texas experts on various policy topics last month meant she’s decided to make the race. That gathering at a Dallas hotel was revealed in Postcards this week; see the posting here.
“I think it would help me for anything I do, here or in the future,” Hutchison told Gillman.
The reporter also asked the state’s senior senator what to make of her spokesman, Matt Mackowiak, getting quoted in Sunday’s Corpus Christi Caller-Times saying that she’s planning to vie for the governor’s mansion. Mackowiak has declined comment on the quotation.
“I have not said I am running for governor. What Matt said was Matt, if he said it,” Hutchison replied. “He knows that he isn’t speaking for me on that.”
See Gillman’s report here.
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April 1, 2008
Hutchison held secret summit on state issues
U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, whose spokesman was quoted recently saying she’s running for governor, confirmed Tuesday that she’s asking Texas experts to advise her on what’s best for the state.
Very governor-like, no?
Last month, Hutchison had more than 100 experts in their fields from across Texas to a state issues summit at a hotel near Love Field in Dallas. Individuals at the confidential March 17 gathering were broken into a dozen task forces, with the groups expected to give her policy recommendations by later this year, according to a cross-section of participants who declined to be identified out of deference to the senator.
In an invitation letter, Hutchison said she wanted to solicit ideas on key issues facing Texas in hopes of synthesizing ideas that could influence public policies “for our state in a positive manner for a number of years.”
Hutchison’s office declined to elaborate on the previously undisclosed meeting Tuesday, though Hutchison confirmed her outreach in a statement hinting that whatever emerges will help her as senator.
Hutchison said: “I have asked a wide range of business and community leaders for their best ideas on the most pressing issues facing the state of Texas and our nation so I may better represent my constituents. I have had a wonderful response from these leaders who are knowledgeable on a variety of issue(s) and have volunteered to help.”
The task forces: Agriculture and Property Rights; Border Commerce and Economy; Economic Development; Education; Energy; Health Care; Insurance; Veterans Affairs; Public Safety; State Finance; Telecommunications; and Transportation.
Erle Nye, chairman emeritus of TXU Corp., helped run the meeting. Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, also attended. Hutchison didn’t say she was going to run for governor at the meeting, participants said, focusing instead on getting immersed in issues.
I asked her spokesman if she was also going to solicit ideas from non-expert citizens. He declined to comment.
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March 31, 2008
Hutchison's 'whatever' a novel declaration of war?
It’s not a declaration of war exactly, but U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas may have coined a memorable way to deter GOP Gov. Rick Perry and other Republicans — such as Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Roger Williams, the former secretary of state — from gunning for governor when she’s expected to run in 2010.
“Whatever,” Texas’ senior senator told reporters with a shrug Friday after hearing that Perry might be thinking about seeking an unprecedented third four-year term. “I’m just going to do what I’m going to do.”
As picked up by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (peek here), Hutchison said: “I’m looking at it (a run for governor) and am excited about the possibility. I don’t want to get involved with that (the 2010 campaign until after the 2008 cycle). I don’t think that’s fair. But I’m certainly beginning to look at gearing up.”
“Beginning to look at gearing up” could be read as “aching to run.”
Hutchison’s office had no comment Monday. Likewise, Perry’s spokesman, Robert Black, declined to comment.
Maybe everyone is agog at the Democrats’ presidential race.
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March 27, 2008
Hutchison for gov? Speculation continues
Paul Burka has posted an interesting little anecdote about Kay Bailey Hutchison and the question of whether she will run for governor in 2010.
My favorite part:
“I wrote a blog post about Hutchison’s hesitancy last fall, following a newspaper interview in which she said she might go into private business, parts of which she quoted back to me, NOT approvingly, when I interviewed her in Washington in September. Later in the fall, I saw her at the LBJ Library and she arranged her hands so that the left one was on an invisible Bible and the right was in the swearing-in position, and she said, ‘When I’m doing this, I want you on the front row.’”
He said he’s still skeptical that she’s running. Based on everything I hear, I respectfully disagree.