grandma returns (strayhorn to run for austin mayor)

Remember One Tough Grandma?

Carole Keeton Strayhorn, former State Comptroller and Austin mayor, is ready to jump back into the political scene after a failed bid for governor in 2006.

Burnt Orange Report says that Strayhorn has appointed a treasurer and filed necessary paperwork to run for mayor of Austin.

This should be interesting!

Strayhorn served as Austin's mayor for three terms, from 1977 to 1983. Her resume also includes several other notable accomplishments:

She is the first woman elected as mayor of Austin and the first Austin mayor elected to three consecutive terms. She was the first woman elected to the Texas Railroad Commission and the first woman elected as comptroller. She also was the first woman to serve as president of the Austin school board and as president of the Austin Community College board.

Throughout Strayhorn's lengthy career in Texas politics, she has been a Democrat, a Republican, and most recently an independent. We hear that the mayor position in Austin is supposed to be non-partisan, but we still wonder what she'll be this time!

media endorsements: governor's race

It's that time again: major news outlets are offering up their endorsements in the Texas gubernatorial election. Some are not surprising... after all, The Dallas Morning News is infamous for its ultra-conservative editorial board. The Austin American-Statesman apparently has more of a moderate editorial board that wanted to endorse Chris Bell, but was overridden by a conservative publisher.

Many were surprised when The Houston Chronicle came out in favor of independent candidate Carole Keeton Strayhorn. Another surprise came with national men's magazine Esquire taking a sudden interest in Texas politics and endorsing Chris Bell for governor.

Here is a list of news outlets that have endorsed the race. If you know of a newspaper not on the list that has offered an endorsement in this race, please say as much in the comments section and we'll add it to the list.

Gov. Rick Perry - (Republican)
Austin American-Statesman
Dallas Morning News
San Antonio Express-News
Beaumont Enterprise
Midland Reporter-Telegram
Tyler Morning Telegraph
El Paso Times
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

Chris Bell - (Democrat)
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Austin Chronicle
Corpus Christi Caller-Times
Abilene Reporter-News
Esquire

Carole Keeton Strayhorn - (Independent)
Houston Chronicle
Waco Tribune-Herald
Abilene Reporter-News
Victoria Advocate
Wichita Falls Times Record News

Kinky Friedman - (Independent)
Galveston County Daily News
Round Top Register
Amarillo Independent

Note: The Abilene Reporter-News recommended that readers vote for either Strayhorn or Bell.

watch the gubernatorial debate tonight

Tonight, Republican Governor Rick Perry will face three of his challengers in a debate. State Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, Democrat Chris Bell, and comedian Kinky Friedman will all take on the Governor of Texas tonight at the live forum. Libertarian James Werner was not asked to participate because he has consistently polled with less than 6%.

The debate will be broadcast live from the WFAA television studios in Dallas. North Texas viewers can tune in to WFAA (Channel 8) to see the action as it takes place. The debate will also be shown on TXCN and other networks around the state. The forum will take place tonight (Oct. 6) at 7 p.m and is expected to last for approximately one hour.

democrats, independents oppose toll road SH 121

Letter from Amy Manuel, Democrat for Denton County Commissioner [Precinct 2]. Hwy 121 stretches across Collin and Denton Counties.

The west bound lanes of Hwy 121 were dedicated Tuesday with Republican Gov. Rick Perry, all four Republican county commissioners and my opponent, Republican Justice of the Peace, Ron Marchant.

Toll roads burden our family finances even further. With rising gas prices and declining wages, why put more financial drain on our families. The tolls will be 14.5 cents a mile, one of the most expensive toll roads in America with increases planned every two years. We already pay city, county, state and federal taxes for our roads. Why do the Republicans feel we need to be charged again?

As the Democratic candidate for County Commissioner, I tried to attend this event, which was held at a public middle school and was announced as a public event. I was barred at the door. Apparently citizens with different views are not welcome, especially those who stand up and challenge our leadership when it comes to their anti-family policies.

This November, you have a choice. You have a choice to put a citizen in office who believes we should not be taxed yet again to drive on our roads. You have a choice to put a citizen in office who will not allow our hard earned dollars to be spent on more toll roads built by Perry donors and their overseas subcontractors. You have a choice to just say no to abuse of power. That choice in November is me, Democrat Amy Manuel.

Amy Manuel, Democratic candidate for Denton County Commissioner pct 2.

Thanks to John McClelland at Burnt Orange Report for making us aware of Amy's press release.

Supporters of independent candidate Carole Keeton Strayhorn say that their gubernatorial nominee is also opposed to the toll road (and all new toll roads statewide, for that matter). Strayhorn, currently the State Comptroller, will host a press conference tomorrow (August 31) at 2 p.m. in Lewisville opposing the toll road SH 121. The event will be held in front of the Vista Point Business park at 405 SH 121 (aka SH 121 Bypass, SH 121 Toll) in Lewisville. The business park is just west of MacArthur Blvd on the 'south' bound service road of SH 121.

Democratic candidate Chris Bell has vowed to fight the Trans Texas Corridor, a Perry-backed plan to create a Texas super highway funded by tolls. Independent candidate Kinky Friedman is also opposed to the construction of new toll roads.

The North Texas Tollway Authority will begin tolling SH 121 drivers on Friday, September 1.

sore loserman and crazy cynthia

With nearly all precincts reporting and with Ned Lamont the apparent victor with nearly 52% of the vote, Senator Joe Lieberman conceded the Democratic primary race in Connecticut. Shunned by his Democratic constituents, he has vowed to make a run for his old Senate seat as an independent candidate. Lamont had accused Lieberman of being too close to the Republicans and cited his outspoken views in favor of the Iraq war. In the final throes of the primary battle, Lieberman's campaign site imploded. The campaign blamed Lamont supporters. Burnt Orange Report is drawing comparisons between Lieberman's independent bid and Carole Keeton Strayhorn's independent campaign in the gubernatorial race here in Texas.

Down in Georgia, it appears that Rep. Cynthia McKinney, "Bush's worst enemy," lost the Democratic primary runoff by a little less than 20% of the vote and won't be returning to Washington next year. Her opponent, Hank Johnson, accused McKinney of being an embarrassment to Georgia's 4th District and encouraged voters to pick a more moderate candidate. In March, McKinney had a scuffle with U.S. Capitol security when she wasn't wearing a pin that signified her as a congresswoman and the officer refused to let her enter the building. She cited racism, but the officer claimed not to recognize her. McKinney blamed losing the original primary on Republicans turning out to vote for Johnson. After briefly being unseated in 2002, she gave the same reason. Johnson's catch-phrase was "Anybody But Cynthia," and he promises to be a less divisive congressional figure. His detractors call him a Republican-funded Democrat. MSNBC analysis says that in the heavily-Democratic 4th District, the victorious Johnson is likely to win the seat in November.

Perry Blasted on Cuts for State Parks

Jobsanger has a post up about the latest turn in the funding crisis for state parks. Governor Perry is pushing for another ten percent across the board cut in agency budgets for the coming year. Officials in the Dept. of Texas Parks and Wildlife have stated that that can only be achieved with additional layoffs and closure of as many as 18 parks. Now his gubernatorial challengers are firing back.

Kinky, Bell, and Grandma have all called for the $35 million cap to be removed, and an extra $50 million be given to the parks from the fund.

Of course, Strayhorn has been a little inconsistent on this issue, as one of our readers pointed out.

And kudos to the journalist R.A. Dyer and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's coverage of this issue. Barely a day goes by without another article or editorial in the paper highlighting the disgraceful state of our state parks. It appears that this issue has finally gotten the public's attention. But promises are cheap. Let's hope the pressure doesn't let up until a resolution is in place.

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.

are republicans feeling threatened by strayhorn?

Secretary of State Roger Williams, a Perry-appointed Republican, has ruled that Richard "Kinky" Friedman can use his nickname on the November ballot, but "One Tough Grandma" Carole Strayhorn must be called "Carole Keeton Strayhorn." Williams insisted that "Grandma" is a slogan, while "Kinky" is a nickname. As reported at Capitol Annex, Strayhorn is going to challenge this decision in court. In the process, the Republicans will say that she is wasting time and money on a petty issue. She's probably worried about voter recognition because she was previously elected as "Carole Keeton Rylander." Vince hypothesizes that she will lose support over this move.

This is yet another attempt by the Republicans in power to undermine Carole Keeton Strayhorn. I think it's telling that the Republicans are against any real competition and debate among conservatives.

Governor Perry won the March primary with about 85% of the vote. Strayhorn, currently the State Comptroller, left the Republican Party to challenge Perry as an independent candidate. In early May, Secretary Williams tried to keep Strayhorn off of the ballot (or at least delay her candidacy) by refusing to use a statistical sample of her petition signatures and insisting on counting each of the required 45,540 one at a time.

Are the Republicans perhaps scared that Strayhorn will be a serious threat to Perry's re-election effort? With Kinky Friedman gaining popularity among teachers and college-age voters and Chris Bell likely taking the general 40% of voters that choose Democrats for statewide offices, Team Perry is probably starting to look at November without the rose-colored glasses. They sense that it's time to step up the offense and they aren't afraid to use and abuse their positions in the government to help Perry get re-elected. What's sad is that they find Carole Keeton Strayhorn more of a threat than Chris Bell.

Starve the Beasts - The Dire Straits of the Texas Parks System

An editorial in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Sunday highlighted the chronic underfunding of the Department of Texas Parks and Wildlife.

There's nothing to celebrate about a parks system that is so pathetically underfunded and neglected.....

The system, part of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, has eliminated dozens of positions from an already skeletal staff. It has shut down portions of parks and scaled back programs for children.....

How does Texas rate nationally in support of its parks?

Texas ranks 49th among the 50 states in funding for state parks. With Texas' population pushing 23 million, the state parks annual operating budget is a puny $54.4 million, or roughly $2.37 per Texan - about what you might pay for a small cheeseburger.

At a time when the Texas state government enjoys a surplus of eight billion dollars, support for the park system has gone from bad to worse.

Dabney, the parks director, said operations at 50 parks had to be cut in December and 73 staff positions were eliminated. "We came close to closing one-third of the system," he said.

Now, in addition to its other problems, the park system may have to eat the costs of repairs due to Hurricane Rita.

The reason? According to [Director of the Infrastructure Division] Whiston, FEMA officials cite the state agency's lack of flood insurance, which FEMA requires as a condition for reimbursement.

"We are trying to work with them to see if we could be exempted from that," Whiston said. "We are -- as is typical for a state agency -- self-insured in most cases. And flood insurance on coastal properties is impossible. We're unable to get it."

Since the 1990s, Texas state parks have been funded by a portion of the sporting goods sales tax. But the portion dedicated to the park system was capped, and for the last several years the parks' operating budget has been stagnant. Amid the current funding debate are renewed rumors of privatization.

Last summer, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department commissioners contemplated selling off 46,000 acres of Big Bend Ranch State Park, the largest state park in Texas, to John Poindexter, the Houston businessman who owns the nearby Cibolo Creek Ranch luxury resort. The proposed sale, endorsed by TPWD staff, was pretty
such business as usual for the department, where selling parkland, transferring state parks to counties and cities, and downgrading state parks to “wildlife management areas” are all in a day’s work. But when news leaked out that a chunk of the 299,000-acre state ranch on the Rio Grande was up for grabs, a sudden public outcry led the parks commissioners to reject the proposal–unanimously.

Gubernatorial candidate Carole Keeton Strayhorn blasted Governor Perry over the proposal to sell Big Bend, but her record on this issue isn't stellar, either.

Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn recently proposed to privatize the Texas State Railroad in her e-Texas publication. Senate Bill 1260, which was filed today in the Senate, would require that Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to contract with a private company. The section of the bill states "the department may not operate the Texas State Railroad."

The proposal was ultimately shelved, but funding for the railroad was never resolved, and talks of retiring the train are back on the agenda.

A Texas State Parks Advisory Committee is set to look into the funding issue. A likely recommendation is to raise or eliminate the cap on the amount of money parks can get from the sporting goods tax. The advisory committee has vowed to take their fight to the 2007 legislature, and perhaps they'll find a sympathetic ear. As the FWST editorial noted:

The anorexic parks budget should be greatly increased by the Legislature in its regular biennial session in 2007. This would enable the parks system to add employees, pay for desperately needed capital and maintenance projects, reinstate curtailed programs and buy additional parkland that would prove to be a vital asset in coming decades as Texas' population increases by 50 percent or more.

The problem is straight forward, and the cure is fairly simple, but does this mean we're likely to see a solution next year? To paraphrase the FWST editorial board, we'll believe it when we see it.

the rick and carole show

With the news that Carole Keeton Strayhorn and Kinky Friedman will join the other candidates (challenging Democrat Chris Bell, incumbent Republican Rick Perry, and potential Libertarian James Werner) on the ballot, it looks like 2006 will be an interesting election year. (According to the Secretary of State, Green Party candidate Jerry Larson has not obtained access to the ballot but he may choose to run as an independent backed by the Green Party.) Five people vying for the same gubernatorial position... four of them traditionally conservative? This can only mean good things for Democrat Chris Bell. Right?

Chris Bell has called for an end to "the Rick and Carole show." We all understand what he means... the antics are getting a little old. The fact that Strayhorn and Friedman are even challenging Rick Perry show that there is some discontentment within the Republican establishment. Instead of wasting time on the independents, though, voters really need to focus on researching their Democratic candidate. The only way to really affect change in Texas would be to elect a Democrat. In the end, voting for one of the independents in this race would be a vote for the status quo. Friedman and Strayhorn are still conservative: Friedman's just a different kind of conservative and Strayhorn feels Perry's not conservative enough.

Something Bell really needs to court is the college vote. Unfortunately for the Democrats, Friedman has fired up young people in Texas. Friedman's MySpace account has been "friended" by nearly 15,000 MySpace users and boasts that Kinky Friedman is different from the establishment Republicans and Democrats. He has collected signatures for his ballot petition at college campuses across the state. To add to the confusion, the Dixie Chicks, a country music group from Texas that has spoken out against President Bush and Iraq, endorsed Friedman for governor. Of course, the diehard college-age Democrats will vote for Chris Bell, but as it stands many young voters have been duped by the Friedman campaign. Bell needs to work like mad to win them back.

Bell also needs to continue his constant criticism of Governor Perry. Currently, those voters that have become disenfranchised with a governor they likely voted for will be won over by the fiery Strayhorn. As PinkDome reported a while back, Bell's remarks go unnoticed when they are coupled with the same criticisms from Strayhorn. Bell needs to distance himself from both Perry and Strayhorn while maintaining a stream of attacks against the sitting governor that inform the public of the wrongdoings of the Perry administration.

Three conservative candidates (two reformed Republicans and a Libertarian) should spell success for Bell's campaign if he plays his cards right; however, he cannot sit back and hope that the conservative vote is split in three parts. He must actively campaign and court all Texas voters or we'll end up with another four years of "the Rick and Carole show."

strayhorn ready to join bell, perry on ballot

The Dallas Morning News is reporting that Carole Keeton Strayhorn has turned in 115,000 signatures by stacking twenty-one boxes of completed petitions in a courthouse, well over the required 45,540 signatures required to be placed on the ballot. Strayhorn's attorney, Randall "Buck" Wood, is saying that over 30,000 more signatures are in waiting at campaign headquarters, with over 600 more being signed every single day.

Strayhorn is currently the State Comptroller and is seeking to jump into the gubernatorial race in November. Strayhorn is leaving the Republican Party and hoping to be added to the ballot as an independent candidate. If she is verified by the Secretary of State, she will join Republican Rick Perry, the incumbent governor, and Democratic challenger Chris Bell on the ballot.

But [Wood] said Secretary of State Roger Williams, a Perry appointee, is hurting her campaign by refusing to accept signatures as they are gathered and by certifying every signature rather than following the past practice of using a statistical sample.

Until the petitions are certified, Mr. Wood said, "My client cannot credibly report to the media, people, contributors and volunteers that she is going to be on the ballot."

Mrs. Strayhorn is hoping that U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel will force the Secretary of State to use a statistical sample, which would certify her candidacy much sooner. There is no word yet on how many signatures Kinky Friedman has gathered and whether or not he will meet the May 11 deadline. Strayhorn's attorney compared the campaigns by suggesting that Strayhorn was "soliciting signatures among teachers" with Mr. Friedman "soliciting signatures in bars and dance halls." Mr. Friedman quickly responded: "Whether the signature comes from the country club or the homeless shelter should count exactly the same."

texas dems propose gas tax holiday

With gas prices sitting around $3 in the Dallas area, North Texans are really feeling their pocketbooks empty directly into their gas tanks. Now, Texas Democrats in the Lege down in Austin are proposing a gas tax holiday, which would alleviate the state tax on gasoline for a ninety-day period. Combined with a similar measure circulating the U.S. Congress, Texans could see a decrease in gas prices of about thirty-eight cents for a period of at least two months.

As BOR reports, Governor Perry's team of spokespeople are calling the Democrats hypocritical for supporting this measure:

"With regards to this specific issue, I would have to question whether the Democrats are talking out of both ends of their mouths," Perry spokeswoman Kathy Walt said.

"Democrats say they want to better education, but this would take away from it. Twenty-five percent of gas tax is dedicated to education every year, and that could amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars."

In actuality, it's Ms. Walt that's "talking out of both sides of [her mouth]." Did she forget Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn's surprise announcement of an $8.2 billion dollar surplus? If Perry's camp had taken the time to read HB 120 they would have noticed that the bill accounts for lost revenue.

The plan may have its flaws, but it's definitely better than anything the Republicans are coming up with. Unfortunately for the neo-cons, we can't drill our way out of this problem. The gas tax holiday is yet another instance of Democrats providing a clear alternative to the status quo of Republican-led government and attempting to help Texans at a level they can truly appreciate. No offense to supporters of the prayer plan, but something tells me that the Democrats' proposal is more likely to help consumers at the pump.

special sessions can be fun

Yesterday, the two houses of the Texas State Legislature kicked off one of their famous thirty-day special sessions. Since the Texas Constitution only requires our lawmakers to meet once every two years, the governor has to call special sessions to get things done. Unfortunately, because this is Texas, the Lege still can't get anything done. Ever. As Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst called the Senate to order, his gavel broke. He remarked, "I hope that's not a reflection on the session." Inevitably, it will be.

Besides Governor Rick Perry's "tax relief" proposals, some of the interesting bills and resolutions introduced so far include:

• A pay raise for school employees by up to $2,000, and more funding for high schools to promote graduation rates; introduced by Sen. Florence Shapiro, a Republican from Plano.
• A law that would make it a misdemeanor to disrupt funerals, in response to the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas (operated by evangelist/freak Fred Phelps) and their vociferous anti-gay protests at funerals of fallen soldiers; introduced by Sen. Robert Duncan, a Republican from Lubbock.
• A resolution to honor Karl Rove "as an expression of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives" for his supposed service to Texas and the country; introduced by Rep. Tony Goolsby, a Republican from Dallas.
• Resolutions to replace Rep. Carl Isett, a Lubbock Republican, and Rep. Frank Corte Jr., a San Antonio Republican, with their wives, as they are both serving currently in Iraq; introduced by Rep. Harvey Hildebran, a Republican from Kerrville, and Rep. Delwin Jones, a Republican from Lubbock.
  

In other interesting news, Sen. Royce West, a Democrat from Dallas, was sworn in as President Pro-Tempore of the Senate, making him second in line for gubernatorial succession. If both Perry and Dewhurst are out of the state, West will act as governor. Also, gubernatorial hopeful and State Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn made an unexpected announcement of more than double the expected budget surplus: $8.2 billion. Strayhorn's suprise announcement leads us nicely into a short discussion of Perry's tax plan. The "tax relief" legislation has been broken down into five pieces of legislation introduced by several different Republicans in the Lege.

1. Rep. Warren Chisum of Pampa, Rep. Rob Eissler of the Woodlands, and Rep. Dan Branch of Dallas introduced HB 1, a bill considering tax relief by reducing school district property tax rates by seventeen cents.
   
2. Rep. Jim Pitts of Waxahachie introduced HB 2, a bill that would send revenue from the five separate tax bills to help buy down property taxes.
   
3. Rep. Jim Keffer of Eastland, Rep. John Otto of Dayton, and Rep. Vilma Luna of Corpus Christi introduced HB 3, a bill that would revise (read: increase) franchise tax provisions.
   
4. Rep. David Swinford of Amarillo introduced HB 4, a bill that would modify (read: increase) tax on the use and sale of motor vehicles.
   
5. Rep. Peggy Hamric of Houston introduced HB 5, a bill that would modify (read: increase) taxes on tobacco products such as cigarettes.

Perry has called the special session primarily to pass his tax intiatives because of a recent Texas Supreme Court ruling that made the current school finance system (Robin Hood) illegal by holding it unconstitutional. The Lege has a deadline of June 1 to pass school finance reform. Perry's plan would trade higher taxes on smokers and business-owners for lower property taxes. It was partially devised by former Comptroller John Sharp, a Democrat.

Strayhorn's "extraordinary" announcement of a surplus of $8.2 billion dollars may prove an impediment to Perry's tax legislation getting passed. As noted by Lt. Governor Dewhurst, the Republicans want "to return as much of the surplus to the taxpayers [as possible] because it's taxpayers' money." Dewhurst has commented on the heavy support of Perry's plan but has stopped short of formally endorsing it. Speculators say that many House members would prefer not to vote on a major tax bill this year, instead taking a temporary approach to fulfilling the Supreme Court's mandate.

Rep. Jim Dunnam, a Waco Democrat and the leader of the House Democratic Caucus, urged careful spending of the projected surplus. "We can do both, have meaningful property tax relief and provide more money for schools," he said.

Stay tuned. It looks as if this special session, which must adjourn by May 16, could get interesting. Who says special sessions aren't fun?

Candidates for Governor on Reproductive Rights

The Dallas Morning News has an article outlining the major candidates for governor (Bell, Friedman, Gammage, Perry and Strayhorn) and their views on reproductive rights. Read it here. It begins:

Both sides on the abortion issue have looked to the future and agree on a scenario: Individual states will probably decide its legality.

Chris Bell's campaign has been critical of Bob Gammage over his votes in the 1970's to restrict public funding of abortion, including his 1977 vote in favor of the Hyde amendment. Gammage has since stated he feels those votes were a mistake. In their responses to questions posed by the Dallas Morning News, however, there were no significant differences in their stated views on reproductive rights issues. The most interesting responses came from Carole Strayhorn. A sample:

Should Roe vs. Wade be overturned?
Bell: No. We need to reduce the number of abortions in Texas by reducing unwanted pregnancies. Gov. Rick Perry's policies have failed to reduce abortions, which have increased under his administration.
Friedman: No....I'm running for governor, not God.
Gammage: Absolutely not. A woman's right to choose is a fundamental and core right that should and must be maintained.
Perry: The final disposition of Roe vs. Wade is up to Congress or the courts.
Strayhorn: I believe in the sanctity of life.
[snip]

Should pharmacists be allowed to refuse to dispense the "morning-after" pill?
Bell: No. The morning-after pill is birth control. Doctors and patients should make health care decisions, not insurance companies, pharmacists and cynical politicians.
Friedman: No. They should follow the laws.
Gammage: No. They are licensed by the state and have a duty to provide services to those who possess a prescription and are legally entitled.
Perry: Yes, if it violates their conscience, they should not be forced to dispense such a pill.
Strayhorn: Declined to answer.

Should schools limit discussion of pregnancy prevention to abstinence-only?
Bell: Obviously, abstinence should play a prominent role in sex education. But we need to give our kids the age-appropriate, medically accurate information they need to keep from getting pregnant in the first place.
Friedman: No. The more education, the better. Lack of education is a big part of the problem.
Gammage: No. We should provide genuine education and engage in dialogue that informs our children of the facts, the dangers, the morality and the responsibility that comes with growing up.
Perry: Abstinence is the surest way of preventing unintended pregnancies and should be taught as such.
Strayhorn: Declined to answer.

Hmm, when faced with difficult questions on sensitive issues, Ms. Strayhorn sticks to her talking points or declines to answer. Now we know where Scottie gets it.