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Democratic candidate for governor Hank Gilbert rolled out his transportation platform Thursday afternoon outside a Fort Worth Mexican restaurant.
Gilbert proposed funding new highway construction via an 8 cent gas tax hike followed by future hikes of up to 4 percent a year based on increases in highway construction costs. He also proposed banning all future toll roads in the state unless voters approve a toll road in their area.
Gilbert’s proposal may sound similar to the local-option-funding package North Texas officials tried to pass through the Legislature earlier this year. It would have allowed voters in urban counties to consider tax and fee increases, including a gas tax hike, to pay for better mobility.
Gilbert said he opposed that measure because he prefers a statewide gas tax increase and feels that any funding mechanism should tax drivers passing through the area, not just those that live there.
Gilbert also wants to create a 14-member elected Transportation Commission, headed by a statewide-elected chair. The Texas House passed a measure that would do just that earlier this year but it died in the Senate.
“TxDOT has become an agency that the people of this state can not trust,” Gilbert said.
Tom Schieffer of Fort Worth, another candidate in the Democratic primary, does not have a transportation platform on his campaign web site but released a statement Thursday criticizing Gilbert’s gas tax proposal as bad for middle and lower income families and small businesses.
“The legislature and the next governor should first look for waste and inefficiencies in the system before they start talking about an increase in the gas tax,” Schieffer said.
Gilbert guessed a gas tax would cost a driver between $1.20 and $1.60 more every time they fill up, less than the cost of using many toll roads.
"I don't consider that to be something that's going to terribly impair someone," Gilbert said.
Gilbert's full transportation plan is on his campaign web site.
-Aman Batheja Garland therapist Mark Thompson has put his campaign for governor on hold and may drop out of the race. He plans to announce his decision next week, he said.
Thompson said the race for the Democratic nomination is getting too crowded.
"If there are four, five, six people, I just get lost in that shuffle," he said.
Thompson said he had hoped to run in a three-way race for the Democratic nomination, possibly against former ambassador Tom Schieffer and humorist Kinky Friedman.
"Right now I’m just re-evaluating because in a three way race, I think I’d have a very good chance," Thompson said. "Schieffer has problems being a Republican and Kinky Friedman has problems being Kinky Friedman."
East Texas rancher Hank Gilbert and Fort Worth teacher Felix Alvarado are also running for the Democratic nomination. Houston Hair-care magnate Farouk Shami and former Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle have said they may join the race as well.
Thompson said he's concerned that in next year's primary, he and Gilbert could split the middle class, anti-toll road vote. Friedman, meanwhile, would garner "the cannabis and the freak vote," he said.
Thompson said one of the Democratic candidates asked him to drop his bid for governor but he declined to say who it was.
In 2008, Thompson ran unsuccessfully for Railroad Commissioner. He got 44 percent of the vote against Republican Michael Williams and Libertarian David Floyd.
Thompson's campaign blog is down today and he has not posted to his Twitter feed since August. In July, he reported no contributions but had spent $1,019.26.
-Aman Batheja
“Every single day I was honored to be your president by bringing honor and dignity to the office,” Bush said in his first foray into motivational speaking at the day-long Get Motivated seminar.
Bush spoke in a relaxed tone about a few lessons he'd learned in his life including sticking to your principles and living each day to its fullest.
“It’s so simple in life to chase popularity but popularity is fleeting," Bush said. "It’s not real."
The former president also emphasized the importance of generosity, noting how many people were surprised when he promised billions in aid to Africa to fight the AIDS epidemic.
“Apparently Republicans aren’t supposed to be compassionate so it was a shock," Bush said.
Bush also spoke about his faith, promising everyone in the audience that those people who prayed for him and his wife while they lived in the Oval Office made the first couple's lives better.
“From a personal perspective, I don’t see how you can be president without relying upon an almighty," Bush said.
Bush’s speech sounded briefly like a Republican Party stump speech when he spoke about his economic outlook.
"Another principle I believe in is that you can spend your money better than the government can,” Bush said to huge applause. He added later, “The marketplace works. It is fair. It is equitable. It is a fair form of democracy.”
At the end of his speech, Bush received a standing ovation.
-Aman Batheja
Two hours in, we've heard four speakers, all of whom are giving personal anecdotes to deliver similar lessons: be a leader, stay positive, don't give up.
A couple of speakers have veered briefly into politics.
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell told a funny story about having trouble getting through airport security. He then praised President Bush's policies related to terrorism and foreign policy.
"We are safer than we were before 9/11 because of President Bush," Powell said to applause.
John Walsh, of America's Most Wanted, spent most of his speech describing his journey from his son being murdered to helping catch criminals on his long-running TV show.
Near the end, Walsh praised Bush for creating the National Sex Offender Registry and then sharply criticized President Obama for not funding the Adam Walsh Act, named after his son.
He also complained that federal leaders will let NASA spend millions to find "ice crystals on the moon" but won't put more into beefing up protections against sexual offenders.
Mentioning the different companies the Obama adminsitration bailed out, Walsh said, "They’ve bailed out out all these creeps but they haven’t funded the Adam Walsh Act.”
Walsh urged the crowd to lobby their members of Congress.
"Send them that letter, 'I'll never vote for you again. I'll never send you five bucks unless you get the Adam Walsh Act funded," Walsh said.
-Aman Batheja
