Politex

Virtual and actual meetings this week for Weems and Porter

The two candidates for Texas Railroad Commissioner met twice this week in very different settings.

Republican David Porter and Democrat Jeff Weems both came to Fort Worth Thursday for a candidate forum in front of 50 energy executives organized by the TCU Energy Institute and the Texas Prosperity Project.

They also both participated in a virtual debate put out by the Texas Tribune.

The two men are vying to replace Commission Victor Carrillo who lost to Porter in the Republican primary.

Star-Telegram reporter Mike Lee was at the Fort Worth forum. From his report:

Porter said he decided to run in hopes of heading off federal regulations that might hurt the industry -- a cap-and-trade plan to regulate carbon dioxide and tighter rules for air pollution. He acknowledged that the Railroad Commission could do more to allay people's concerns about the potential health effects of urban drilling.

"The Obama administration has basically declared war on oil and gas in Texas," he said. "If we do a good job of regulating oil and gas here in Texas -- taking into account the environment and health -- I think we can make a case we're doing the job here in Texas."

Weems, a Houston attorney who has worked on offshore rigs and as a landman, said the commission hurt itself by not responding fast enough when drilling began to move into Fort Worth.

"What we've had is a failure of oversight," he said. "We ended up scaring residents in this area, and then you get reactionary policies. ... Everyone ends up getting hurt in the long run."

He proposed rewriting some statewide drilling rules, automating much of the staff's work and using the savings to pay for more inspectors.

Both candidates agreed that the commission needs to take charge of regulating air pollution from oil and gas facilities.

Both oppose federal legislation that would force operators to disclose the chemicals they use for hydraulic fracturing. Instead, they would have operators submit a list of the chemicals to the commission.

For the Fort Worth event, both Weems and Porter filled out questionnaires explaining their views on major oil and gas issues. We've posted both questionnaires on our Barnett Shale blog.

-Aman Batheja

In tense exchange, Glass refuses to back secession

In the backroom of a restaurant in downtown Fort Worth Thursday night, tempers rose between a current candidate for governor and a former one over the issue of secession.

Kathie Glass, a Libertarian vying for the governor’s mansion, was the keynote speaker at a meeting of Tarrant County Libertarians meeting at Billy Miner’s restaurant. She spoke to the crowd of about 30 people about the key planks of her campaign: nullification, protecting the border and protecting property rights.

After her speech, the first question to Glass was about whether she supported Texas seceding from the U.S.

“Yeah! Whoo! Come on!” cheered Mansfield secessionist Larry Kilgore seated two tables over. Kilgore ran for governor in 2006 and got nearly 8 percent of the vote in a four-way Republican primary. He eagerly leaned forward as Glass began her response.

“Let me emphasize that when I talk about sovereignty, I’m not talking about secession,” explained Glass, a Houston lawyer. “I’m talking about our tenth amendment sovereignty.”

“You’re not for me!” Kilgore shouted.

The two argued back and forth. Glass tried to discourage Kilgore from being a one-issue voter.

“That’s the only issue!” he said. “Why would you want to stay with the United States government and let them kick you in the head? Why? What reason?”

“There is no reason,” a man sitting nearby said.

“Oh yeah, there’s a reason,” Glass chimed in. “I was born in America and I intend to die here. And I’m not leaving her in her hour of need. I’m not turning my back. She’s not going to fall. Not on my watch.”

Glass tried to keep speaking but Kilgore hollered over her.

“Will you sit down and shut up for a minute?” Glass finally yelled.

“No ma’am,” Kilgore shot back and walked out.

“Well then I’m going to talk behind your back because you’re too much of a coward to stay here and listen!”

After a further explanation of why she would never support secession, Glass was ready to move on.

“All right. That was the warm up question. I’m ready for hardball. Come on!”

The crowd at Billy Miner's cheered with approval.

-Aman Batheja

Obama adds discussion of economy to Texas trip

AUSTIN - President Obama's trip to Texas early next month has broadened beyond plans for two private fund-raisers to include a public event in Austin to discuss the economy, according to a White House official.

A public discussion on economic issues would presumably give the Democratic president a forum to defend his record amid sharp criticism from Texas Republican leaders.  The White House official, who asked not to be identified because the plans are still evolving, said specifics about the Aug. 9 event will be unveiled later.

During his Austin stop, Obama will also headline a fundraiser sponsored by the Democratic National Committee to raise money for Democratic candidates in the Nov. 2 mid-term elections. State Democratic Chairman Boyd Richie said the DNC has promised to give the Texas Democratic Party at least a quarter-million dollars from the Austin fund-raiser.  

''This is money from Texans, raised in Texas, that will remain here to help us return responsible leadership to state government," Richie said.

Another fund-raiser in  Dallas is being organized by the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee to raise money for Senate campaigns outside the state. Texas isn't scheduled for a contested Senate race until 2012.   

-- Dave Montgomery

Obama coming to Dallas next month

From Star-Telegram Reporter Dave Montgomery:

President Barack Obama is expected to be in Dallas in early August to raise money for Democratic candidates, sources said Wednesday.

The Dallas fundraiser, at a private residence, has apparently replaced plans for a presidential visit to either Houston or San Antonio. Obama is also scheduled to be in Austin on Aug. 9 for a fundraiser sponsored by the Democratic National Committee.

Three Democratic sources confirmed the Dallas leg of Obama's trip, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the details have not been officially released. The Dallas event will be sponsored by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the sources said.

The Texas swing, tentatively scheduled for Aug. 8-9, will be Obama's third trip to the Lone Star State since he took office in January 2009. Republican Gov. Rick Perry has asked for a meeting with him after he arrives in Texas to discuss concerns over border security and the administration's planned deployment of 250 National Guard troops to the border, far fewer than the 1,000 Perry requested.

More details here.

Republicans vying for Lehrmann's old seat

Local precinct chairs have had their hands full this summer picking judicial candidates for the November ballot. For different reasons, vacancies popped up on three local courts after the March primary.

The only race still undefined is the 360th District Court, which needs a new judge after Gov. Rick Perry appointed Debra Lehrmann to the Texas Supreme Court.

Democrats recently nominated Teri Estes, an attorney in Grand Prairie.

Republican precinct chairs will make their pick this Saturday. Interested candidates are doing some old-fashioned campaigning to sway the 300 or so chairs including sending out mailers and launching campaign websites.

Potential nominees, according to various sources, include Associate Judge Mike Sinha, and private-practice attorneys Barbara Armstrong, Jon Michael Franks and John White .

-Aman Batheja

Firing away in governor's race

FORT WORTH -- Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White received an unusual gift Tuesday morning while speaking to a standing-room only gathering of Country Club Friends at Colonial Country Club.

There, he received a Mossberg 20-gauge shotgun, courtesy of Fort Worth's Ben Boothe, an economic, environmental and valuation consultant.

On it was a note that it was a gift "for coyotes and other pests," referring to the incident of GOP Gov. Rick Perry shooting a coyote while out on a jog one day.

"You've got a bigger gun," Boothe said. "Good hunting, Bill White."

Afterward, White said he doesn't keep gifts of significant value that are given to him during his political campaigns and "will have to find something appropriate to do with it."

Boothe said he understands if White doesn't keep the gift. "It's OK," he said. "It makes me respect him if that's what he has to do."

-- Anna M. Tinsley

Perry, White trade criticisms at sheriffs meeting

FORT WORTH -- Texas’ gubernatorial candidates on Monday criticized what is being done to protect Texas’ border, and each took a few swipes at the other, as they spoke to about 500 Texas law enforcers.

Both Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White and GOP Gov. Rick Perry told the Sheriffs Association of Texas of the need for more border security, even though President Obama is sending 1,200 National Guard troops to border states starting Sunday. Of those, 250 will come to Texas.

“We’ve got 64 percent of the border and we are getting 20 percent of the troops,” Perry said during the meeting at the Fort Worth Convention Center. “Even my Aggie math can figure that out. We’re getting shorted.”

He said he’s asked Obama to sit down with him when the president visits Austin for an Aug. 9 fundraiser. “We can show him how to secure the border of Texas with Mexico,” Perry said.

But White, the former mayor of Houston, said: “For 9 1/2 years, Rick Perry has had an opportunity to come through with more police and sheriffs. He has not been effective in delivering what we need to secure the border.”

White also criticized Perry for questions around a property deal in 2007 that turned Perry into a millionaire, saying that “if there was a sheriff (tied to the same land deal), there would be federal investigators over all that.” A report by The Dallas Morning News raised questions about whether Perry “benefited from favoritism, backroom dealing and influence-buying” regarding a piece of land in Horseshoe Bay.

“It raises questions about someone becoming a millionaire when they’ve been a state employee for 25 years,” White said.

Perry said the land deal was “open and honest” and that anyone involved in land deals in that part of the state between 2000-2007 likely showed a profit.

And he again questioned White’s past involvement in Mayors Against Illegal Guns, from which White quit his membership last year. “Why would you join a group that is an anti-Second Amendment group?”

White, who said he supports the Second Amendment, said he joined to try to help counter the problem of stolen weapons.

Perry said that even better than his releasing ethics advisories regarding the Horseshoe Bay land deal would be for White to “release his income tax records from when he served on Bill Clinton’s cabine.”

“He refuses to let people see how he was making money when he was working for the American people.”

Both candidates released lists of sheriffs supporting their candidacies.

-- Anna M. Tinsley

Barton and Burgess among Texans to join Tea Party Caucus

It seems like every city has its own tea party group. Why not Congress?

The first meeting of the Tea Party Caucus was held in Washington, D.C. Wednesday, followed by a press conference.

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., organized the caucus "to bring Members’ attention to the cries of everyday Americans who are calling for fiscal responsibility, adherence to the Constitution, and limited government," according to a statement.

Bachmann told reporters that the caucus is not meant to speak for the Tea Party but rather serve as a "listening ear," according to Bloomberg.

Along with Bachmann, 32 other Republican House members are the first members of the caucus.

Six Texans, including locals Joe Barton of Arlington and Michael Burgess of Lewisville, make up the largest delegation in the caucus. The other Texas members are John Carter of Round Rock, John Culberson of Houston, Louie Gohmert of Tyler, Pete Sessions of Dallas, and Lamar Smith of San Antonio.

Sessions heads the Republicans' campaign committee for the House.

Here's the full list of inaugural Tea Party Caucus members:

Dewhurst to swear in Birdwell on Thursday

State Sen. Brian Birdwell will be sworn in to his position by Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst tomorrow.

Birdwell, a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel, won a special election last month to replace state Sen. Kip Averitt, who announced in January he was resigning due to health problems.

Birdwell was already sworn in by Gov. Rick Perry in Austin earlier this month. The purpose of this second ceremony is to have a swearing-in within Senate District 22 and open to the public, according to Birdwell's office.

The event is scheduled for Thursday, 7 p.m., at the Vara Martin Daniel Performing Arts Center on the campus of Hill College in Hillsboro.

Senate District 22 covers 10 counties including Ellis, Hood and Johnson counties just south of the Metroplex.

-Aman Batheja

Democrats field judicial candidate but Secretary of State says they can't

The Tarrant County Democratic Party picked three new judicial candidates to appear on the November ballot Monday night, though one may turn out to be ineligible.

In an unusual set of circumstances, three Tarrant County judicial seats need replacements, each for different reasons. One judge took a new job in Dallas. Another was appointed to the Texas Supreme Court. The only judicial candidate running for a third seat died in a tragic boating accident.

Nearly 200 Democratic precinct chairs met to nominate replacement candidates for the 342nd, 360th, and 420th district courts.

The meeting followed a Republican meeting last month where about 275 precinct chairs picked candidates for the 342nd and 420th courts. Republicans plan to meet again on July 31 to nominate a replacement candidate for the 360th district court, Tarrant County Republican Party Chair Stephanie Klick said.

Here's where things stand for each court:

432nd Court: Republican Tom Zachry won the GOP nomination for the seat in March but later died in a boating accident.

Democrats nominated Fort Worth lawyer Candace Taylor to represent the party on the ballot.

The Texas Secretary of State has said Republicans can replace Zachry on the ballot. Democrats had their chance to field a candidate in the primary, according to an agency spokesperson.

Tarrant County Democratic Party Chair Steve Maxwell said he has not heard directly from the Secretary of State that the party can’t field a candidate for the seat.

“If the Secretary of State says, ‘No, you can’t’ and backs it up, then we won’t have a candidate,” Maxwell said.

If she makes it on the ballot, Taylor will run against Republican Ruben Gonzalez, who was appointed to the new court last year and lost to Zachry in the March primary.

342nd Court: This seat opened up earlier this year when Judge Bob McGrath resigned to become a legal adviser in Dallas.

Randy Turner, a Fort Worth lawyer who unsuccessfully ran for the 17th District judge seat in 2008, was nominated as the Democratic candidate.

Turner will run against the GOP pick, Wade Birdwell, a Mansfield civil appeals and medical malpractice defense attorney and brother of newly elected state Senator Brian Birdwell. On Monday, Gov. Perry appointed Wade Birdwell to the court seat allowing him to run as an incumbent.

360th Court: This family court seat was vacated by Debra Lehrmann after Perry appointed her to the Texas Supreme Court. Democrats nominated Teri Estes, an attorney in Grand Prairie. Republicans will pick a candidate later this month.

-Aman Batheja