TSCPA Governmental Affairs

Democrats won’t be any better

One of the complaints against Speaker Tom Craddick is that he holds a grudge.  Evidently if the leadership of the Texas House changes to the Dems, retribution will still be the play of the day.

According to an editorial in today's Austin American-Statesman, the Democratic leadership has made it clear the Craddick Ds will have no place in future leadership under a D speaker.  Sounds like it doesn’t matter who's in charge, the worsening partisanship in the House will continue.

Check out the full op-ed.

It wasn’t over last night!

Yesterday's election saw Texas Democrats picking up three seats in the State House of Representatives, leaving the Republicans still in the majority by a single seat. But that slim majority could change depending on the planned recount in Irving's HD 105, where incumbent Republican Linda Harper-Brown kept her seat by 29 votes.

We'll have to wait to see what this means for Speaker Tom Craddick. As long as his opponents cannot unite for one candidate, he can likely remain as Speaker.

Check out more analysis from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and the Austin American-Statesman.

The Speaker’s race: will it be over tonight?

You may remember at the end of the 2007 legislative session, Speaker Tom Craddick was challenged - some even asked for him to step down as Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives. He declined, and the ensuing battle to unseat him was unsuccessful.

Ever since then pundits have speculated about whether the 2009 legislative session would also feature Craddick as House speaker. Although the Speaker election is not held until the first day of the session - January 13, 2009 - and only House members get to vote, some members of the press believe the race may very well be decided today at the polls.

Check out this story in today's Austin American-Statesman.