crownover votes for radioactive waste dump

West Texas is a beautiful place, but it's certainly lacking something. What could we add? What could make it better? According to Myra Crownover, it needs a radioactive waste dump.

Back during the 78th Texas Legislature in 2003 (the first one where the Texas House was under GOP control), the Texas Legislature passed House Bill 1567 which allowed for the disposal of “low-level” radioactive waste from other states right here in Texas. A slew of Republicans in hotly contested races this year including Betty Brown (R-Terrell), John Davis (R-Houston), Dwayne Bohac (R-Houston), Myra Crownover (R-Denton), and Linda Harper Brown (R-Irving) voted to make Texas a glowing, leaking, radioactive waste dump. [CSHB 1567: Record Vote 316, Day 53, Texas House Journal, 78th Texas Legislature, p. 1713-17-14].

The real kicker to the whole story is that these folks not only voted for the radioactive waste dumping bill, but took buckets of money from Harold Simmons, the corporate raider who purchased Waste Control–a company that has seen a lot of benefit from HB 1567. (Oh, did we forget to mention that House Speaker Tom Craddick (R-Midland) has taken at least $50,000 from Simmons for his campaign account?)

Sounds fishy to me.

Take a look at her opponent, John McClelland. We asked him what he thought about this, and here's what he had to say:

The proposed radioactive dump is just another item on the laundry list of what Republicans are doing wrong in Texas. The GOP and Myra Crownover apparently do not care for the well being of the people or the environment of West Texas. They only appear to care about the donations they receive from special interests in oil & gas, and in this case radioactive waste disposal.

Let's dump the waste elected to the Legislature. As your next state rep, John McClelland would make health and the environment a priority in House District 64 and all of Texas.

Make a contribution to John today and help send Myra packing in November!

Thanks to WhosPlayin for the photo above.

Where is Myra?

After winning the primary, Democrat John McClelland is ready to take on Rep. Myra Crownover, the Republican who represents much of Denton County (House District 64) in the state legislature. Check out his first campaign ad, "Where is Myra?," below.

Drama Over Craddick Continues

If you haven't been following the attempted ouster of Speaker Tom Craddick from the Texas Legislature, you're missing the most excitement since some Democrats went missing a few years ago during the redistricting saga.

The mechanics are a bit complicated, but Craddick (dubbed Auto-Craddick by his detractors for his dictatorial style) is facing a bipartisan movement to elect a new speaker before the end of the session.

The Burnt Orange Report has all the juicy details, including speculation that Lt. Gov. Dewhurst, never a Craddick fan, is lending some behind the scenes support.

Craddick's future hinges on some arcane parliamentarian rules regarding a "motion to vacate." As Speaker, Craddick has prevented the attempted coup by using his role as speaker to block any motion that would lead to his removal. Members argue this is in violation of House rules. (Read his defense and the arguments against.)

In the meantime, some local representatives have signaled their support for Craddick.

Euless Republican Todd Smith called the speakers position an "abuse of power," while supporter Myra Crownover, a Republican from Denton, called Mr. Smith and the other critics "anarchists."

Diane Patrick, R-Arlington, is seen lending a sympathetic ear to the embattled speaker.

The drama overshadows last minute attempts to move some bills in the legislature, which is sure to make for some interesting political football down the road. Speculation hints that the showdown may leave the budget bill unfinished, mandating a special session later this summer.

bor: focus on north texas

Lately, we've seen an influx of posts on Burnt Orange Report that don't focus on Austin or the state as a whole, but on North Texas. We've decided to profile some of these front-page blogs.

Earlier we reported that BOR front-paged John McClelland's blog about Amy Manuel. Soon after, McClelland blogged about Strayhorn's waffling on Denton toll roads. Now, you can find a blog about Gary Page and the race for the U.S. House seat in District 24.

Also, Katie Naranjo is reporting that John McLeod, Democratic candidate for Texas House District 64, has fundraised "past his competition." That's right, McLeod has raised more money than the Republican incumbent, Myra Crownover.

Either well-connected Austin bloggers think that North Texas Democrats have a chance in November or, at the very least, have begun to take notice of our active blogosphere and party politics in Dallas, Tarrant, Denton, and Collin counties. Either way, we're happy about it.