03/20/2010

Solar panels on public projects stoke payback debate
AUSTIN – When UT Southwestern Medical Center finishes its $2.4 million solar energy project early next year – largely funded with federal economic stimulus dollars – the panels will help provide shaded parking.

SOLAR ENERGY AWARDS

03/19/2010

5 former justices endorse Lehrmann for Texas Supreme Court
AUSTIN – In a hotly contested judicial race where endorsements are important, Republican Debra Lehrmann won the backing of Tom Phillips and four other former justices Thursday in her bid for a spot on the Texas Supreme Court.

03/18/2010

Ex-state senator to run in special election
AUSTIN – Former Sen. David Sibley of Waco, who gave up his seat in 2002, announced Wednesday that he will run in a special election on May 8 in a bid to return to the Senate.

03/11/2010

State Board of Education continues debate over standards for social studies
AUSTIN – State Board of Education members resumed their volatile debate over social studies standards Wednesday as the panel neared its first vote on what Texas students will be taught in U.S. history, government and other classes over the next decade.

Denison man named ombudsman for TYC
AUSTIN – A Denison man with 35 years of law enforcement experience was named ombudsman Wednesday for the Texas Youth Commission, a job vacant for four months after Gov. Rick Perry's previous appointee was indicted.

Candidates in Irving House district battle take aim early on
The candidates for Texas House District 105 aren't wasting any time in weaving together their campaign narratives and taking aim at their opponents in a general election that's more than seven months away.

03/10/2010

Dallas legislator, Iraq vet Vaught ready for big-screen debut in war thriller 'Green Zone'
AUSTIN – Democratic state Rep. Allen Vaught of Dallas, a Purple Heart recipient, will be up on the big screen Friday in the movie Green Zone.

03/09/2010

Health care costs open $1.7 billion hole in Texas budget
AUSTIN – Lawmakers have been thinking ahead to a massive shortfall, topping $10 billion, that's probably coming when they write the next budget in 2011. But state officials told them Monday that they'll have to fix a hole in the current budget, too.

03/08/2010

Wayne Slater: Former Texas GOP chairman Tom Pauken blasts Bush, Rove in new book
"Republican politics is barely recognizable to many of us who were grassroots activists in the early days of the conservative movement – especially after eight years of a Republican administration headed up by George W. Bush, who claimed to be a conservative," Pauken writes in Bringing America Home.

03/06/2010

Online hotel bookers ask Congress to restrict how Texas and its cities collect room taxes
AUSTIN – Online hotel bookers have asked Congress to restrict how Texas cities and the state collect room taxes, a move that already strapped governments call a sneak attack on their wallets.

03/04/2010

Texas primary turnout is highest in 20 years
The high-profile Republican race for governor helped draw the most voters to a Texas primary election in 20 years – and perhaps set a record for a GOP primary.

Primary election results not likely to shift leadership in Texas Legislature
AUSTIN – While voters rejected five House incumbents in Tuesday's primaries, every senator who filed to run for re-election was renominated – even one in Waco who stopped campaigning.

Incumbent Texas Railroad Commission chair blames loss on voter bias
The chairman of the state Railroad Commission is blaming his overwhelming loss to an unknown challenger in Tuesday's Republican primary on GOP voters' bias against his Hispanic surname.

Cornyn calls Perry's label for Hutchison 'unfair'
Texas Sen. John Cornyn issued a tough critique Wednesday of Gov. Rick Perry's effort to tar Kay Bailey Hutchison as a creature of Washington, calling that "unfair."

03/02/2010

Texas Primary 2010: Winners and losers
A look at how the winners won and the losers lost – and what the results mean.

03/01/2010

GOP Sen. Bob Deuell rejects 'liberal' label hurled by primary rival Sharon Russell
AUSTIN – Sen. Bob Deuell, chairman of the chamber's Republican Caucus and one of the more conservative members of the Senate, never expected to be attacked as liberal in his re-election bid this year.

Texas elections issue watch: Voter ID
Where the major candidates for governor stand on whether the state should require voters to show photo identification to cast a ballot:

Hutchison says she can unite Republicans
PLANO – With only two days left to change the course of the Republican primary for governor, Kay Bailey Hutchison argued Sunday that the party's other candidates would fare better with her at the top of the ticket than with Rick Perry leading the way.

02/28/2010

Bill White calls for accuracy in census in Dallas
Democratic candidate for governor Bill White urged a complete census count of Texans on Saturday, using the pitch to take a poke at Gov. Rick Perry.

What caused Washington to be a campaign issue in Texas governor's race?
AUSTIN – Rep. Brandon Creighton had an idea, but he needed help.

DISD educator challenges incumbent in ed board's Dallas-Collin-Rockwall district
Longtime State Board of Education member Geraldine Miller of Dallas faces opposition in the Republican primary from a veteran educator in the Dallas school district.

George W. Bush joins Rick Perry, Kay Bailey Hutchison at church benefit but stays neutral
Gov. Rick Perry courted anti-abortion voters Sunday night at a huge church benefit dinner that featured former President George W. Bush. Perry’s rival, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, attended but did not speak.

Hutchison predicts runoff; Perry talks about 'sensible approach' to gun laws
Kay Bailey Hutchison predicted a runoff in the Republican race for governor, telling voters Saturday that "we're going to start all over" and win.

Republicans vying for Texas governor finish with the familiar in TV ads
AUSTIN – TV viewers will see familiar images, not a fresh infusion of new ads with varying messages, in the final three days of campaigning for the Republican primary for governor.

02/27/2010

Hutchison says she's staying in Senate for now to fight health care overhaul
AUSTIN – Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison said Friday that she is prepared to stay in the Senate for as long as eight more months if Congress is still debating health care reform.

02/25/2010

Keith Olbermann turns down invitation to Saturday's Dallas Tea Party anniversary rally
At least one invited guest will not be coming to Saturday's Dallas Tea Party anniversary rally.

Hutchison, Perry spend more than $14 million in advertising
AUSTIN – Kay Bailey Hutchison and Rick Perry poured more than $14 million into television and radio advertising in the last month as they escalated spending in their GOP primary showdown.

02/24/2010

Perry, Hutchison spar before crowd in Houston

Houston Chronicle

Republican gubernatorial candidates Kay Bailey Hutchison (left), Rick Perry and Debra Medina traded barbs Wednesday night at a Republican Party event in Houston.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison shared a stage with Gov. Rick Perry and made the case that Republicans should think twice before putting him on the ticket again.
Minuteman Project founder endorses Perry
Voter Guide: Compare candidates
Blog: Politics

State District Judge Mark Stoltz faces accusation ahead of primary
State District Judge Mark Stoltz, facing a re-election fight in Tuesday's Democratic primary, was accused of not telling "the whole truth" by another judge while testifying about whether or not he knew the victim of a man on trial for a string of purse snatchings in Stoltz's court.

Texas politics briefs
AUSTIN – Hit with accusations of spreading "cronyism" throughout state government, Gov. Rick Perry is hitting back, arguing that the law firm where Kay Bailey Hutchison used to work with her husband, Ray, was found by a federal civil jury to have defrauded investors in a 1990s-era private prison deal.

Issues Watch: The Border
Where the major candidates for governor stand on placing Texas Guard troops on the border with Mexico:

02/23/2010

Texas House race starting to get ugly in Plano
The GOP campaign to represent West Plano in the Texas House of Representatives is emerging as one of the city's most cantankerous races in years. Candidates are trading barbs over everything from resume discrepancies to charges of tax evasion.

Texans turning out in big numbers for primaries
AUSTIN – Texans are turning out in big numbers in this year's primaries, buoyed by a high-profile race for governor with candidates crisscrossing the state and spending millions on TV.

02/22/2010

Outside money pours into Texas House race in Irving
The race for Texas House District 105 is drawing a lot of green as Republicans fight to keep Irving red and Democrats try to turn it blue.

02/20/2010

Pilot's decision to crash plane reflects despair of many in U.S., Medina says
AUSTIN – Republican Debra Medina said Friday that the decision of a man fighting the IRS to crash his airplane into a building in Austin reflects "the hopelessness many in our society feel."

02/19/2010

Calls still urge voters to support disgraced Rep. Terri Hodge's defunct campaign
Residents of Texas House District 100 have received automated telephone calls this week urging them to vote for disgraced state Rep. Terri Hodge.

02/18/2010

More of Shami's campaign staffers quit, citing 'strategic differences'
AUSTIN – Houston businessman Farouk Shami's bid to be governor saw another day of turmoil Wednesday, with yet another shuffling of campaign staff.

Texas governor Perry won't say if he'd seek 4th term
AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry said Wednesday that he wouldn't address yet whether the four-year term he's seeking would be his last as governor.

02/17/2010

Issues Watch: Gubernatorial candidates on the budget shortfall
Where the major candidates for governor stand on the state budget shortfall:

Texas universities identify possible budget cuts
Texas' public universities and colleges have already taken financial hits from declines in endowments and in private giving. Now, they have been asked to identify cuts that make up 5 percent of the state-funded portion of their budgets. Here are some campuses plans.

Clements throws support to Perry despite sponsoring a Hutchison fundraiser
Former Gov. Bill Clements is backing Gov. Rick Perry in the Republican primary, even though he sponsored a fundraiser for Kay Bailey Hutchison last year.

At A Glance: State agencies' proposed cuts
State agencies offered potential budget cuts of 5 percent Tuesday, at the request of state leaders who are worried about a big budget shortfall when lawmakers convene in January. Here are some highlights:

02/16/2010

Agency budget cuts small in face of Texas' gaping shortfall
Lawmakers and state leaders face a daunting task to close the budget gap, and few have offered substantive ideas for dealing with the state's structural deficit.

02/15/2010

Early voting for March primaries starts today
The early voting period ends on Feb. 26

02/14/2010

Perry leads Democrat White in poll, but not by a lot
AUSTIN – While Gov. Rick Perry is leading in the polls, some potential storm clouds lie ahead in the fall general election if he's the Republican nominee.

Environment, agriculture get larger campaign play
Environmentalists' favorite buzz words – green energy, biofuels, sustainable development – are fast becoming the jargon of agriculture workers and the politicians who support them.

02/13/2010

Shami says whites unwilling to take on jobs in factories
Democratic candidate for governor Farouk Shami said Friday that white people are not willing to work in factories and as a result, Hispanic labor is essential to the Texas economy.

02/11/2010

Debra Medina's 9/11 remark pushes campaign off track
Debra Medina's campaign for Texas governor tumbled, and spent Thursday trying to right itself, after the Republican iconoclast didn't immediately dismiss a fringe theory that the Bush administration played a role in the 9/11 attacks.

Texas health care providers could see Medicaid fees reduced
AUSTIN – Doctors, dentists and hospitals would see their Medicaid fees trimmed by at least 1 percent under possible budget reductions offered Wednesday by state Health and Human Services Commissioner Tom Suehs.

02/10/2010

Hispanic Democratic group endorses Shami for governor
AUSTIN – A leading group of Hispanic Democrats endorsed businessman Farouk Shami for governor Tuesday, saying the Palestinian-American immigrant personifies the American dream.

02/09/2010

Mansfield couple’s fight with powerful homebuilder back in court
The Culls are a retirement-age couple who say Perry Homes built a defective house with a broken foundation and cracked walls, but won’t fix it. The Mansfield couple took their case to arbitration and won an $800,000 award — but Perry refused to pay, saying the couple had waived their legal rights to arbitrate.

02/08/2010

White, Shami bash Perry on education
AUSTIN – The two main Democratic candidates for governor are punching hard.

02/07/2010

Even GOP conservative Ron Paul draws Tea Party opposition
WASHINGTON – Even anti-government icon Ron Paul can't escape the conservative "Tea Party" fervor stretching across the county.

02/06/2010

Shami's allegations of racism cause uproar in Texas governor's race
AUSTIN – Farouk Shami and his campaign have in recent weeks accused his opponent, the media and fellow Democrats of racism, raising not only a slew of denials but questions about whether Shami is overplaying the race card.

Dallas' Caraway endorses Shami for Texas governor
Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway is backing Farouk Shami, the deep-pocketed underdog Democrat, for governor.

Hutchison trying to rally GOP sisterhood
AUSTIN – Kay Bailey Hutchison is counting on female voters to recognize her history of cracking glass ceilings as the first Republican woman in the state Legislature, as state treasurer, as a U.S. senator from Texas and, just maybe, as governor.

HOW THEY VOTED
How Gov. Rick Perry and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison did among male and female voters in the 2006 general election, the last time each was on the ballot – Perry for governor and Hutchison for U.S. senator:

02/03/2010

Texas comptroller: Budget shortfall outlook overblown
Forecasts by some that next session's budget shortfall could be as high as $20 billion are too gloomy, "way out there," Susan Combs said Wednesday morning.

Perry calls Hutchison big spender; she says he's too cozy with lobbyists
Rick Perry and Kay Bailey Hutchison sparred Tuesday over who can best move Texas forward.

Hutchison runner-up for 'Porker of the Year'
WASHINGTON – Lunch at Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's campaign office in Austin was on the tab of rival Rick Perry's campaign Tuesday.

Perry raised more than twice as much as Hutchison in January
AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry outraised Republican rival Kay Bailey Hutchison more than 2- to-1 in January, and each heads into the final month of the primary battle with $10 million in the bank.

02/02/2010

U.S. aid unlikely to fill Texas' expected budget gap
WASHINGTON – Texas could face a $16 billion shortfall in its next two-year budget. The federal spending plan the White House laid out on Monday probably won't make a dent in that – though Texas and other cash-strapped states could get help later this year.

Texas tells lotto watchdog to surrender Web sites to state

First ads from Texas governor candidate Democrat Bill White focus on schools
Here's a look at Democrat Bill White's first television ad in the campaign for governor:

01/30/2010

Hefty surcharges for Texas drivers with violations remain mostly uncollected
Motorists charged with certain driving violations owe the state more than $1 billion, and many of the 1.2 million people on the unpaid list are driving without valid licenses and at risk of arrest.
Link: TXDOT Driver Responsibility Law
Link: See Sen. Eliot Shapleigh’s bill
More politics news
Blog: Politics

Trail Mix: News from statewide races in brief
Farouk Shami, a Democratic candidate for governor, couldn't name the state's comptroller or attorney general or his own representatives during a newspaper editorial board meeting, the Austin American-Statesman reported Friday. And Hank Gilbert, a Democratic contender for agriculture commissioner, has spent $2,192 in campaign funds on clothing, records filed with the state show.

WHAT'S NEXT IN TEXAS GOVERNOR CAMPAIGN

GOP gubernatorial debate in Dallas reinforces positions
A second and final debate did little to change the course of the Republican race for governor, each of the contenders avoided major gaffes, and they didn't land many haymakers.

01/29/2010

Rep. Terri Hodge has big backers but trails in funds
In her fight for re-election, state Rep. Terri Hodge is being backed by a network of Texas Democrats whose mission is to protect incumbents, even from members of their own party. But she's still struggling to keep pace financially with challenger Eric Johnson.

Hutchison trying to balance Senate duties with campaign appearances
WASHINGTON – One day after skipping the State of the Union address to campaign in Dallas, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison jetted back to Washington to oppose the reappointment of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Thursday.

Democratic gubernatorial candidates Bill White, Farouk Shami to debate Feb. 8 in Fort Worth
AUSTIN – Former Houston Mayor Bill White and Houston businessman Farouk Shami have agreed to a debate before their Democratic primary for governor.

01/28/2010

Report says Texas Enterprise Fund not creating jobs promised
AUSTIN – A growing number of companies that received $363 million in public funds to move to Texas or expand are falling short of the number of jobs they promised to create, raising questions about the value of the high-profile deals in a recession-plagued economy.

01/27/2010

Political news briefs: Texas governor's race
Shami accuses White of taking jobs from poor to give to friends

01/26/2010

Kay Bailey Hutchison accepts campaign cash from toll-road builder

AP

Hutchison has railed against the Trans-Texas Corridor, but Zachry Group owner Bartell Zachry is among her biggest contributors.
Medina buys wardrobe with campaign funds
Shami: White took jobs from minorities
Get elections news, resources

Texas agriculture commissioner candidate Hank Gilbert renews driver's license that lapsed in 2008
Agriculture commissioner candidate Hank Gilbert drove for nearly two years without a valid Texas driver's license, the Democrat acknowledged Monday.

01/24/2010

Primary fight for Texas House seat in Plano tilts right
Think back nearly two decades, when the Persian Gulf War was unfolding, the Dallas Cowboys had yet to renew their dynasty and the word "web" meant spiders. That is the last time someone other than Brian McCall has represented West Plano in the Texas House.

01/22/2010

Slater: Does Bush endorsement help Hutchison in the year of tea parties?
In any normal year, the endorsement of a president would be a gold mine in a governor’s race.

George H.W. Bush to endorse Hutchison on Friday
Former President George H.W. Bush will endorse Kay Bailey Hutchison's campaign for governor in an appearance today.

Reading between the typos in Rick Perry's campaign finance report
AUSTIN – Can a typo on a campaign finance report give insight into a campaign's real thoughts?

01/21/2010

Austin millionaire's donation to Republican Rick Perry may actually be meant to help Democrat Bill White
AUSTIN – Like one of those preschool picture books, Rick Perry's latest list of big-money donors invites a question: Which one doesn't belong?

Amid governor's race, Hutchison back in Washington for hearing
WASHINGTON – It's all about multitasking and time management in the Senate. The votes, the floor speeches, the meetings. The campaigning for another job.

01/20/2010

Ex-Secretary of State James Baker endorses Hutchison for Texas governor
HOUSTON – Former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker endorsed U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison on Tuesday in her bid to unseat Gov. Rick Perry.

01/19/2010

Hutchison proposes term limit for governor, other changes
Contending that Gov. Rick Perry has used the state as his personal playground, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison unveiled a government reform plan Monday that includes term limits for Texas governors and restrictions for lobbyists.

01/16/2010

Texas leaders ask agency heads to identify 5% cuts
AUSTIN – State leaders asked agency heads Friday to submit ideas to cut spending by 5 percent this year.

01/15/2010

Texas Board of Education delays vote on social-studies standards
Early efforts by conservatives on the State Board of Education to give more emphasis to religion appeared to have come up short. But then the board surprised everyone by postponing its vote on the standards.

Campaign Trail Mix
White has $5.5 million

Ex-SMU football star Craig James unsure of run for office
AUSTIN – ESPN college football analyst Craig James says he will fight the "welfare state" that Democrats in Washington are promoting, though he's not yet sure if he'll run for office or simply become a highly vocal citizen.

Hutchison's ammo falters in debate
Kay Bailey Hutchison had to convince Republican primary voters of two things in Thursday's debate: why they should boot Rick Perry out of the governor's office and why they should put her in.

01/13/2010

Farouk Shami says he felt God's call to run for Texas governor
AUSTIN – Palestinian-born Houston businessman Farouk Shami, a Democratic candidate for governor, says he felt a religious tug to run for office, though it's hard to put a label on his faith.

Witnesses urge State Board of Education to rewrite Texas social studies standards
AUSTIN – Opposing sides in the debate over new social studies standards for Texas schools are squaring off today before the State Board of Education as it prepares to decide what Texas students should be taught in U.S. history classes. First votes are set for Thursday.

Perry appears well-financed as he, Hutchison prepare campaign reports
AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry raised more than $7 million in the last six months and goes into the final stretch of the GOP primary for governor with $11.6 million in the bank.

01/12/2010

Official: Food-stamp application flubs hurt hungry Texas families
The state's poor performance has prompted a visit from Washington.

Trail mix: Hughes denies budget move was aimed to help Hutchison
Hughes denies budget move was aimed to help Hutchison

01/09/2010

Texas ordered to give first-year elementary school teachers competency tests
AUSTIN – Several thousand first-year elementary school teachers will have to take competency exams as early as this spring, the U.S. Department of Education has ordered after rejecting Texas' appeal to waive the requirement.

Campaign journal: Texas gubernatorial hopeful Farouk Shami presses on in uphill climb
An underdog in the race for governor, Farouk Shami will go anywhere for votes.

Social conservatives' power at issue in Texas education board races
AUSTIN – Social conservatives on the State Board of Education are facing a make-or-break juncture in this year's elections after three years of key victories in their longtime efforts to turn public schools in a vastly different direction.

State insurance chief to consider rule limiting insurers' 'discretionary' clauses
AUSTIN – Insurance Commissioner Mike Geeslin said Friday that he will consider a proposed rule that would eliminate the blanket authority of health and disability insurers to determine what their policies cover and don't cover in Texas.

Sen. Cornyn denies asking Hutchison to drop bid for Texas governorship
AUSTIN – Sen. John Cornyn denied Friday that he had asked fellow Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison to drop her bid to unseat Gov. Rick Perry this year and focus on keeping her Senate seat.

Texas sales tax collections are $1 billion behind
AUSTIN – Four months into its new two-year budget, Texas already is nearly $1 billion behind its expected pace of sales tax collections, according to new figures released Friday.

01/08/2010

Social conservatives' power at issue in Texas education board races

The winners in the board races will help make critical decisions on such things as the new science and history books that will be used in Texas schools in the next decade.
Tests ordered for some first-year teachers
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Blog: Politics

Texas faces a huge funding gap on transportation, agency chief warns
AUSTIN – Texas needs more money – hundreds of billions of dollars more – to maintain its roads and bridges and build the new ones needed to serve the state's growing population, the Texas Department of Transportation's executive director said Thursday.

01/07/2010

Governor can issue posthumous pardon, Texas attorney general rules
The opinion, citing new state laws and U.S. Supreme Court cases, reverses a 1965 ruling. It could lead to a pardon for Timothy Cole, the first person in Texas to have been exonerated by DNA posthumously.

Control of the Texas House in flux, with elections in North Texas significant
AUSTIN – Control of the Texas House is up for grabs and will be decided this fall in a handful of districts, many of them in Dallas County.

01/05/2010

Filing briefs
Hutchison to air ad during alma mater UT's title game

12/30/2009

Austin deli owner Marc Katz joins race for lieutenant governor
Austin businessman Marc Katz says a multimillion-dollar contribution is forthcoming from relatives to aid his Democratic bid for lieutenant governor, which will allow him to buy TV ads and mount a credible race in the March 2 primary.

12/28/2009

Texas lawmaker says vehicle registration for pickups should cost more
State Rep. Joe Pickett, D-El Paso, wants to overhaul the schedule of registration fees that charges truck owners about $4 less than car owners.