Welcome to AustinPoliticalReport.com — where you’ll find the best buzz and most reliable rumors in the political capital of Texas and surrounding communities.


Mansion Fire Sparked by Crisis of Leadership

Gov. Rick Perry is expressing “disappointment in lapses” at the Department of Public Safety that allowed an unknown arsonist to torch the Governor’s Mansion earlier this month. But the spark that set the building ablaze in the early hours of June 8 was set in the offices of the state’s top three political leaders, including Perry, who consistently confuse their radical anti-government ideology with their duty to safeguard the public.

Their misplaced priorities save a buck today and cost taxpayers even more tomorrow.

According to news reports, the infrared security system at the Governor’s Mansion may have been broken for two months before the fire. Or maybe the DPS troopers assigned to guard duty had simply been led to believe it was broken, like nearly half of the surveillance cameras were. The troopers complained about the lack of a backup security plan and proposed posting additional guards on the grounds until the surveillance technology could be repaired. Their bosses rejected the idea, citing the cost of overtime pay for the officers.

No one wants to admit this penny-wise policy was handed down from on high by Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, and House Speaker Tom Craddick. But this much is certain — what might have cost taxpayers a few thousand dollars in extra pay for troopers may now cost taxpayers $100 million or more to rebuild the landmark. Not to mention the $1.8 million in taxpayer money that had already been spent on the renovation project that was underway before the fire.

All of which is symptomatic of the rush to deregulate government’s responsibilities in recent years, which has left far more than the Governor’s Mansion vulnerable. Texas families and small businesses are getting squeezed by hands-off policies that:

* pushed public schools to the brink of bankruptcy
* stripped thousands of eligible children of their health insurance while forfeiting federal funds that went instead to other states
* doubled the cost of college tuition, pushing higher education out of the reach of many middle-class families
* led to an infamous veto of community college funding
* sent utility rates soaring an average of 56 percent between 2000 and 2007
* forced Texas homeowners to pay more than twice the national average to protect their homes and settle for less coverage
* unfettered the juvenile justice system from any meaningful oversight

Nearly three years after Hurricane Rita, about one dozen of the many thousands of taxpaying citizens victimized by the storm have received the aid they applied for. But a private firm whose lobbyist used to be the Governor’s chief of staff was given a multi-million-dollar contract to conduct the relief effort — if and when there ever is one.

“Too little, too late” state policies imposed by political leaders in Austin inevitably lead to “even less, even later” results for the taxpayers who foot the bills and expect vital services to be safeguarded.

Like the inability to get aid to the victims of Hurricane Rita nearly three years later. Like underfunding public schools while pushing plan to funnel tax dollars into private-school voucher schemes support by campaign contributors. Like making children’s health care less accessible, not more, and college harder to afford, not easier. Like looking the other way as powerful power companies increase electricity costs while Big Insurance takes state regulators to court to prevent them from stopping unwarranted rate hikes. Like the two years during which political leadership tried to keep the lid on brewing troubles in the Texas Youth Commission until they erupted into violence.

Whoever damaged the Governor’s Mansion should be caught and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. But the crisis of leadership that left a historic building unprotected will only be fixed when taxpaying voters insist that their public officials stop starving public services.

Posted on June 24, 2008 – 11:21 am by APR

Bush Housing Plan: “Pray a lot and hope to heck we’ll win the Lotto”

Iraq. Katrina. Pain at the pump. Unsafe food. Record debt. Real incomes falling for the first time since the Great Depression. A long list of failures trails the Bush administration as it limps through its final days.

But the saddest legacy of the saddest presidency may turn out to be the decline in homeownership, which fell to its lowest point in 20 years even as the White House crowed about “the ownership society”- its initiative to give millions of minority and lower-income families a chance to buy their first home.

According to a New York Times report this weekend, foreclosures and the mortgage crisis have the new renters “struggling to get into decent apartments as vacancies decline, rents rise and other renters increasingly stay put.”

Or as a 68-year-old retiree thinking about her dream home says in the story: ““I pray a lot and hope to heck we’ll win the Lotto.”

At least she doesn’t have to worry about the costs of making her home “visitable!”

Posted on June 23, 2008 – 1:07 am by APR

Maybe Perry Should Reconsider

June 19, 2008:
Asked whether he’s interested in becoming John McCain’s runningmate, Texas
Gov. Rick Perry tells reporters on a conference call: “Not for me. I’m
going to stay right here and keep the Texas economy cranking along.”

June 20, 2008:
The Associated Press reports: “Texas unemployment rate rose to 4.5 percent last month as job growth slowed, mirroring a nationwide weakening in the job market during May, state officials said Friday.”

Posted on June 21, 2008 – 9:53 am by APR

Winners And Losers In Visitability Scuffle

Austin’s City Council approved a watered-down measure whose draconian original version, pushed by a segment of the disabled community, could have dramatically hiked the cost of the city’s dwindling supply of affordable housing. The amended ordinance, sponsored by retiring council member Betty Dunkerley in her last meeting, passed unanimously.

The approved ordinance was more realistic, requiring design modifications to make any first-floor bathroom in a new single-family home or duplex suitable for future conversion to wheelchair use.

Losers in the visitability scuffle may include spokesmen for the most radical flanks of the disabled community, who pushed for mandating all new homebuyers to bear the cost of expensive modifications that would make their properties wheelchair accessible regardless of homebuyers’ needs. The original proposal was seen by some as a test case that could be spread to other cities if successful here.

Winners may turn out to be city council members with future political aspirations who would almost certainly have faced a public backlash against limiting consumer choice and further meddling with private property rights if the original version of the ordinance had passed. Also coming out on top were affordable housing advocates such as Habitat for Humanity, as well as local homebuilders, who offered sober compromises to the original proposal.

Observers said another winner is the idea that important public policies should be openly debated, not rushed through at the last minute without proper input from everyone who could be affected.

Posted on June 19, 2008 – 10:07 am by APR

New Poll Raises More Questions Than Answers

A new poll purports to have predicted the vote in Austin’s Place 4 city council runoff five days before the election even though the firm didn’t release the results until this week, days after the actual voting took place.

Further undermining the pollster’s case is his misstatement of the margin of error in a different survey in a Corpus Christi state House race. That survey’s margin of error should be 4.1 percent for a 560 sample size, not the 4.7 percent claimed on the firm’s website and in a news release.

Texas Poll Watch is run by a political consultant who was embroiled in controversy when he was accused of faking signatures on a Hays County petition. This week, the firm is touting a telephone survey conducted in House District 32 that finds the Democratic incumbent trailing a Republican challenger in a race considered one of the top legislative contests this cycle.

The pollster didn’t disclose what percent of the sample came from each county and how that matches projected turnout, what percent is male or female against projected turnout, what percent is Hispanic or non-Hispanic (particularly important in a race between a Hispanic and an Anglo), and what percent of the respondents identify themselves as Democratic, Republican, or Independent. Such details are critical for the media and voters to determine the legitimacy of polls at a time when low-cost interactive phone technology puts “polling” within reach of almost anyone regardless of their training.

Also suspect, is the newest poll revealing that Bush’s approval rating is higher than both cheese and television.

Posted on June 17, 2008 – 2:55 pm by APR

Council to Revisit Visitability

A proposal by outgoing council member Betty Dunkerley that could force Austin homeowners to make expensive modifications to their houses in order to accommodate the disabled is scheduled to be heard during her last official council meeting tomorrow.

It seems to us, that at the very least the name of the ordinance should be changed. Why is it called “Visitability” when she is asking for thermostats and light switches to be lowered?

Fair Warning: If you change the temperature on my AC you won’t be invited back!

Posted on June 17, 2008 – 1:19 pm by APR

SOS Stepping Through Revolving Door to Join Energy Giant

Phil Wilson, the former Phil Gramm aide appointed Texas Secretary of State by Gov. Rick Perry less than one year ago, will step down as of July 6 to join the new incarnation of energy giant TXU, now known as Energy Futures Holdings Inc.

The StartleGram now has the story…

Posted on June 12, 2008 – 11:53 am by APR

Galindo-Morrison Match Slithers Toward Finish Line

Ten thousand Austinites (plus all those undocumented immigrants who keep flooding the polls) cast their ballots during early vote, and now it’s all over but the smearing of each candidate by the other between now and Saturday’s final round.

Galindo is a Republican — or at least that’s what Morrison claims when she and her team aren’t too busy working for ex-Republican and brand-new Democrat Karen Huber in her race for Travis County Commissioner against incumbent Gerald Daughtery, who really is a Republican.

Morrison is a hypocrite — or at least that’s what Galindo says when he and his team aren’t too busy accusing her of supporting ordinances that may or may not even exist.

Turnout was 2.4 percent during early vote. Apparently, not even illegals are enthusiastic about these two candidates.

Posted on June 11, 2008 – 9:46 am by APR

Craddick Donor Snared In Siberian Bribery Scandal

A Virginia company that books high-dollar hunting expeditions is on trial for violating federal laws by allegedly bribing Russian government on behalf of a group of Texas big gamesman, including one of Texas’s top GOP donors, according to a story in this morning’s Houston Chronicle.

Houston energy czar Dan Duncan has given more than $75,000 just this year to a long list of allies of House Speaker Tom Craddick, from Aaron Peña to Bill Zedler, along with groups that support the Speaker’s favorites. In recent years, Duncan has also given tens of thousands of dollars to Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, and Attorney General Greg Abbott, as well as Craddick.

At issue is a 2002 hunting trip to Siberia. The Justice Department says the Virginia travel agent bribed Russian officials to let Duncan and others shoot moose and sheep from a helicopter, arguing that importing wildlife knowingly bagged in violation of another country’s laws is a no-no here, too. The defense claims the hunters were merely taking advantage of an “economic or humanitarian exemption” that allows for shooting from above “because it’s free meat.”

Posted on June 10, 2008 – 9:29 am by APR

Bell Set To Enter State Senate Race

Several sources report that former congressman and gubernatorial candidate Chris Bell is telling Houston lawmakers that he will run in the special November 4 election to replace retiring state senator Kyle Janek.

Republicans in the SD 17 race are expected to include Austen Furse, a Houston financial services adviser, and Gary Polland, the former chairman of the Harris County Republican Party, who is being promoted by state senator Dan Patrick on his rightwing radio show.

Posted on June 9, 2008 – 8:52 am by APR

What Did Your Daddy Do In The War?

We got more bile in the mail today in the form of negative campaigning by Laura Morrison.  This one even hits Cid Galindo’s dad for giving money to Bush.

We wouldn’t vote for his dad either.  Too bad Cid didn’t hire an opposition researcher to look into Laura’s parents’ past.

The funniest thing about this minor league mailer may be the fact that it doesn’t ask you to vote for anyone.

Voter suppression anyone?

Luckily, this should be the end of this, and we can get back to stashing away those Linens ‘n Things 20% cards till they expire.

Posted on June 7, 2008 – 12:17 pm by APR

Dewhurst Just Can’t Help Himself

Known as the oddest man in state government (emphasis on odd), Lt. Governor David Dewhurst is also frequently the odd man out among the three top Texas leaders. The other two, Gov,. Rick Perry and Speaker Tom Craddick, have been able to dominate the agenda and make the Houston millionaire largely irrelevant.

Dewhursts is also known for embracing dubious public policies that may sound good on the surface but carry unintended consequences. His advocacy last year of a sex offender measure that struck some as especially creepy and his insistence on unanimous 31-0 votes on complex issues has given the Texas Senate a surreal air.

But Dewhurst’s outburst this week surprised even insiders used to his clumsy attempts to elbow his way into the public debate. In the wake of a minor spat between Perry and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison over the state’s new margins tax on businesses, Dewhurst told an Austin Chamber of Commerce group that he wants to expand the state’s old franchise tax to all businesses — a non-starter among lawmakers who oppose anything like a gross receipts tax on real estate and other services.

Posted on June 6, 2008 – 12:13 pm by APR

“Crazy Grandma, Where You Been So Long?”

Will Austin’s first woman mayor try to become Austin’s second woman mayor? Speculation on next year’s candidates has centered on current council members Brewster McCracken, Lee Leffingwell, and, increasingly, Mike Martinez. Some are suggesting the longtime Austin fixture who calls herself Grandma may also be eyeing a bid.

Strayhorn, who will turn 69 this fall, served as Austin mayor from 1977 to 1983. Before that, she was president of the Austin school board and since then has been appointed or elected to just about every imaginable post — except Governor. After losing that race two years ago, she’s been uncharacteristically quiet. But that could change as the potential candidates in 2009’s mayoral sweepstakes start jockeying for position once this month’s Place 4 runoff is behind them.

KVUE’s Elise Hu had more earlier this week…

Posted on June 6, 2008 – 9:40 am by APR

Austin City Council Postpones Public Hearing On Controversial Homeowner Ordinance

The City Council this morning decided to postpone a public hearing, originally scheduled for this evening, on a controversial ordinance pushed by council member Betty Dunkerley that would mandate price hikes on new homes in the city by thousands of dollars.

Word is the public hearing will be rescheduled for June 18, after council members and their staffs receive a recommendation from the city’s Building and Fire Code Board.

The ordinance addresses the issue of visitibility, the term of art used by representatives of the disabled community to describe modifications to standards houses such as wider doors, reinforcements that allow for grab bars in bathrooms, and ramps instead of stairs for some entrances.

Dunkerley, 72, is retiring later this month and has said that this ordinance is a key part of the legacy she hopes to leave behind. The Council had been criticized by affordable housing advocates, homeowners, homebuilders, and some disabled citizens for rushing through the ordinance in an effort to please Dunkerley rather than taking the time to find a solution that doesn’t push home prices even further out of reach of middle- and low-income homebuyers.

Posted on June 5, 2008 – 3:02 pm by APR

Texas AG Abbott Hosts VA Republican Known As “Taliban Bob”

We couldn’t make this stuff up…

Texas Attorney General Gregg Abbott today played host to his Virginia counterpart, Bob McDonnell, during a fundraising reception at the Austin Club, where the two dragged the sack for McDonnell’s long-shot gubernatorial bid.

Lobbyists around town had been receiving phone calls from Abbott’s 20-something chief of staff in recent days, wondering why they were being encouraged to write corporate checks, a no-no in Texas but perfectly legal in the Commonwealth.

Abott’s pal is a graduate of Pat Robertson’s fundamentalist Regent University and known as “Taliban Bob” for his far-right family values crusades, especially public criticism of a popular circuit judge whom he called “unfit for reappointment to the bench” because he suspected her of being a lesbian.

When asked if he himself had ever violated the Commonwealth’s “crimes against nature” law, McDonnell reportedly replied: “Not that I can recall.”

Posted on June 4, 2008 – 1:56 pm by APR