Politex

Perry guesses budget deficit at $10-11 billion

KERA has posted video of an interview News Director Shelley Koffler conducted did with Gov. Rick Perry this week focused on the state's looming budget woes.

At recent events, when asked about the size of the state's budget gap, Perry has said the answer won't be know until Comptroller Susan Combs provides her report in January. When Koffler asked Perry for his best guess, he looked to state Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan.

"I will use Sen. Ogden who I happen to think is one of the brightest, most capable, knowledgable people and he said somewhere around $10-11 billion is what the workable shortfall" [is], Perry said.

The state's Legislative Budget Board has esimated the budget gap at $18 billion.

In the ten-minute video, Perry also twice said that Democrat Bill White's focus on the budget forecast shows he's running for the wrong job.

"If he wants to be the budget forecaster for the state of Texas, that's a different job," Perry said. "It's called the comptroller. He obviously ran for the wrong job. He needs to run for comptroller, not governor."

The full video is here.

In a statement from Bill White's campaign emailed this morning, spokeswoman Katy Bacon, said, "Rick Perry's in denial. He refuses to tell the truth about the budget hole he helped create. The whole rationale for his reelection campaign has been that Texas is on firm financial footing, and now that's crumbling right before his eyes."

-Aman Batheja

Perry makes coyote jokes while declaring Texas’ “enlightened” on gun rights [Updated]

Coyote jokes were perhaps inevitable at a gun shop in Dallas Thursday where Gov. Rick Perry accepted endorsements from two pro-gun groups.

“Everyone knows Rick Perry is pro-gun,”  said Chris Cox, chairman of the National Rifle Association’s Political Victory Fund. “The coyote population certainly knows you’re pro-gun.”

Later on, Perry quipped:  “I’m fond of the second amendment so I can take care of my family pets.”

Earlier this year, Perry told a reporter that he shot a coyote in February while jogging that was threatening him and his daughter's Labrador retriever. The story made national headlines.

Leaders from the NRA and the Texas State Rifle Association said Thursday at the McClelland Gun Shop that deciding who to endorse for governor of Texas was easy. Perry has an A+ NRA rating. Democrat Bill White has a B rating, they said.

"I happen to believe that our state’s enlightened approach to gun rights is not only an essential part of our state’s safety, it is an ongoing display of our commitment to freedom,” Perry said.

Cox criticized White’s involvement in Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a group started by New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg. White has said he resigned from the group after finding its positions too restrictive but Cox said he had urged White to leave the group two years earlier.

Update: In response, White campaign spokeswoman Katy Bacon said, “Bill White, a gun owner, is a strong supporter of the bedrock constitutional right of gun ownership and he opposes new restrictions on it.”

She also noted that a “B” rating from the NRA designates "a generally pro-gun candidate.” 

-Aman Batheja

Perry: Debate window is closed

Gov. Rick Perry stopped at the McClelland Gun Shop in Dallas to accept the endorsement of the National Rifle Association and the Texas State Rifle Association Thursday.

During the event, a reporter asked whether Perry is standing firm on not debating Democrat Bill White. 

“Last night was deadline. Midnight,” Perry said. 

Perry had set a deadline of Sept. 15 for White to release tax returns from when he was deputy energy secretary in the Clinton administration and his time as chairman of the Texas Democratic Party.

“We gave him until midnight last night or we said we wouldn’t debate him. I’m going to hold myself to what I said,” Perry said.

-Aman Batheja

Doctor probe flap draws attention to Turner/Zedler race [Updated]

Former state Rep. Bill Zedler's efforts on behalf of a handful doctors under investigation by the Texas Medical Board are the focus of a story today from the Texas Tribune.

Zedler, an Arlington medical equipment salesman, used his legislative authority to obtain a series of confidential records related to five doctors, at least two of whom were campaign contributors. He told the Tribune he believed the doctors were unfairly targeted by rival physicians who were “in the pocket” of insurance companies.

Zedler said he used the records to find out who was filing complaints against certain doctors and succeeded in getting the board to drop at least one case, according to the Tribune. He told the Tribune that he believed the Medical Board is "corrupt."

Zedler, a Republican, is hoping to get his seat back from state Rep. Chris Turner, D-Burleson, who unseated Zedler in 2008. The race is expected to be one of the most contentious in the county this election season.

Turner said this morning he was stunned to read the Tribune's story.

"I’ve reread the story a number of times and it’s breathtaking what he did," Turner said. "I had heard from colleagues over time that Zedler had taken an unusual interest in certain doctors’ cases but never anything like this."

Lawmakers have the power to obtain and review private patient and physician records. It's a misdemeanor under Texas law to use confidential medical board information for non-legislative purposes.

"Lawmakers should not have access to these records and I’m not aware of legislators using their ability to get these records except for this case of my opponent," Turner said.

Turner said Zedler's actions in this incident would definitely be a campaign issue.

"The first thing any candidate for public office has to do is demonstrate they have the public trust," Turner said. "By his admissions in today’s story he has admitted that he has violated the public trust in his prior term in office."

Update:  In an emailed statement, Zedler said he has been working to stop abuses of power and irregularities in the Texas Medical Board.

"There is no doubt that this article, filled full of inaccuracies, is a direct retaliation from those who don’t like me investigating those irregularities," Zedler said. "I am not surprised that Chris Turner, who was involved in the filibuster, wants to talk about this. I [am] sure he wants to talk about anything and everything other than his liberal voting record."

-Aman Batheja

 

Bush: "Remember the guy who threw the shoe?"

Former President George W. Bush addressed about 700 people at a fundraiser for scholarships for the Tarrant County College Foundation Tuesday in downtown Fort Worth.

Here are some excerpts from Star-Telegram reporter Alex Branch's report and Bud Kennedy's column on the speech:

On avoiding talking about Obama's policies: "I don't think it's befitting the office of the presidency to go out and be criticizing my successor," he said. "I didn't like it when some of my predecessors -- a predecessor -- criticized me."

On a strange moment in Iraq: "Remember the guy who threw the shoe? It was the weirdest moment of my presidency. It was like Ted Williams, who said he could see the stitches on the baseball. It was coming at me in slow motion."

On choking on a pretzel: "I woke up and a few minutes later, the crawl across the TV screen says, 'Bush Passes Out Eating Pretzel -- Appears OK.' Hey, when Roosevelt was president, the nation didn't know he used a wheelchair. I couldn't even eat a pretzel."

On being able to walk his dog, Barney, again: "There I was, former President George W. Bush, with a plastic bag in my hand, picking up that which I had been dodging for eight solid years."

Responding to a question about what the U.S. accomplished in Iraq and Afghanistan: "The world is better off without Saddam Hussein in power...The definition of success is no terrorist attacks on our country."

Recognizing two members of Congress in the crowd: "Thanks to Kay Granger and Michael Burgess for everything you do in Washington," Bush said.

Then he paused for a second.

"You can have it!"

-Aman Batheja

Glass pushing for debate invite

 Libertarian candidate for governor Kathie Glass said Saturday night she deserves to be included in a gubernatorial debate planned by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and four other Texas newspapers. Only candidates that poll 10 percent or higher in a poll conducted by the newspapers this month will be invited to attend.

“I don’t know what the other two guys are afraid of but they need to get on stage with me and answer some questions,” Glass said.

During a speech at a Fort Worth event called Nullify Now!, Glass encouraged attendees, even those unsure if they would vote for her, to tell any pollster that called that they support her so she could get in the debate and get a full chance to win them over.

Debra Medina, who ran as a Republican for governor in this year’s primary and was also a speaker at the event, said she doesn’t expect to endorse a candidate.

“I think what people are really looking for is to draw votes from my supporters and I really want people thinking independently on their own feet,” Medina said.

Glass, who backed Medina in the primary, said she hasn’t talked to Medina about an endorsement.

Medina said voters need to stop "holding their noses" while casting a ballot. Instead, she said she might not cast a ballot for governor.

“What I’m saying is we need to start skipping races,” Medina said. “When Republicans and conservatives understand that they have to earn our vote, then their behavior will change.”

-Aman Batheja

Report: Texas more reliant on property and sales tax than most states

State and local governments in Texas are more reliant on property taxes for revenue than all but five states, according to a report out this week from the Washington, D.C.-based Tax Foundation. Texas gets 38.8 percent of its tax revenue from property taxes.

That's nothing compared to New Hampshire, which relies on property tax for 61.6 percent of its revenue. According to the report, New Hampshire is an "outlier" as it's the only state with neither a wage tax nor a state or local general sales tax.

Though property taxes sometimes seems to get more attention from lawmakers, Texas gets more of its tax revenue from general and selective sales tax -- about 47 percent. That puts it at near the top ten among states, according to the report.

Texas is also more reliant on license revenue and other taxes -- 14.3 percent -- than nearly every other state, in part because of the state's oil reserves. Most of the states in the top ten of this category have special revenue sources that other states don't have.

Of course, Texas tied for last with a few other states on how much of its tax revenue from income taxes. That would be 0 percent.

The full report is here.

-Aman Batheja

An election rap from Rick Perry's "son"

Music has played an unusual role in this year's gubernatorial race. Who could forget "Farouk is on Fire," the rap song released by Democratic candidate Farouk Shami's campaign the week of the March primary? The campaigns of Gov. Rick Perry and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison also employed an assortment of songs from different genres for several web-only campaign videos.

The latest addition to this election season's eclectic soundtrack? An unusual remix of the song "Stuntin' Like My Daddy" by rappers Birdman and Lil Wayne from a rapper named Ted James.

The clip is described as "A fictional hip hop depiction." The rapper repeatedly describes Rick Perry as "my daddy." The song's multiple political references include Perry's run-in with a coyote, Perry and Democrat Bill White's arguments over debating, and the privatization of the Texas lottery.

 

-Aman Batheja

Miller wary of drilling in Dallas

Former Dallas Mayor Laura Miller is not so keen on natural gas drilling coming to her city, even though she was a supporter of drilling at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport.

Miller told the Texas Tribune that she now has questions on the safety of natural gas drilling after reports of earthquakes in the Barnett Shale.

"I was gung-ho as member of the DFW Airport Board [about bringing drilling out there], because it was a great income stream, and both Dallas and Fort Worth got a piece of that. But as soon as I started reading about minor earthquakes in Tarrant County [because of Barnett Shale drilling], I thought, uh oh, this sounds like a problem. They’ve made the connection now between that and fracking. If I were back on the city council, I would be cautious and [would] want to know a lot more from the people doing the investigative work on what is happening in Tarrant County."

Researchers have argued that there may be a connection between recent small earthquakes that have been recorded in the region and natural gas drilling. Earlier this year, a team of researchers said an injection well used to get rid of wastewater from natural gas drilling was a "plausible cause" of a series of small  earthquakes at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport.

-Aman Batheja