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.

Texas Progressive Alliance Files Brief on Speaker Authority

North Texas Liberal is extremely proud to join our fellow members of the Texas Progressive Alliance in filing an opinion with the Attorney General regarding actions taken by Speaker Tom Craddick during the 80th Texas Legislature. From the press release...

The Texas Progressive Alliance, a confederation of more than 50 Texas bloggers and Internet activists representing many of Texas' most prominent blogs, this morning filed a brief with the Texas Attorney General's office in relation to Request for Opinion No. RQ-0589-GA, pertaining to the authority of the Office of Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives.

The initial request for the opinion relating to the power of the Speaker was made June 18, 2007 by Texas State Representatives Jim Keffer and Byron Cook following the close of the 80th Texas Legislature which ended with House Speaker Tom Craddick (R-Midland) refusing to recognize House members for a Motion to Vacate the Chair claiming his office was above the precedents and rules of the House and was instead only subject to impeachment pursuant to the Texas Constitution.

Initially, the Attorney General's office invited only 29 individuals and organizations to submit briefs in connection with the Opinion Request. However, the process was later opened to all interested parties.

"Once the door was opened, we felt we would be remiss in not submitting a brief," said Vince Leibowitz of CapitolAnnex.com, Chair of the Texas Progressive Alliance. "As bloggers and citizen journalists, we all covered this process. We all examined the rules, the Texas Constitution, and case law and offered our opinions on this on our websites. We offered our opinions and shared with our world our collective shock at Speaker Craddick's actions, and felt this was a prime opportunity to interject some of our ideas on this process," Leibowitz continued.

The Alliance's brief addressed each of the four questions posed in Reps. Keffer's and Cook's opinion request, and brought to the attention of the OAG's opinion committee other information as well.

A key issue in the debate over the speaker's power concerns whether or not the Speaker of the House of Representatives is a legislative officer or a "statewide" officer, subject only to impeachment. Though precedent (including the removal of a speaker over a century ago) clearly show the Speaker is a legislative officer, Speaker Craddick's attorneys and others contend that he is, in fact, a statewide officer subject to impeachment provisions in the state constitution.

Vince Liebowitz at Capitol Annex has the rest.

Rep. Lon Burnam's Resolution

In the waning days of the 80th legislative session, lawmakers passed hundreds of resolutions honoring fellow Texans. Most of these were hardly newsworthy, but Rep. Lon Burnam's (D-Fort Worth) resolution commending House Parliamentarian Denise Davis and Deputy Parliamentarian Christopher Griesel was an exception.

The two had become the center of attention three days earlier by resigning in protest over House Speaker Tom Craddick's contradictory interpretation of House rules. Their resignations sparked a raucous weekend in the House that some political observers say has permanently weakened Craddick.

In case you didn't follow that story, the parliamentarians resigned when Craddick asserted absolute authority as speaker to block a motion allowing a vote to vacate, which likely would have ended his reign as speaker.

Rep. Burnam has never been much of a fan of Speaker Craddick, long known for using his power to reward loyalists and punish foes. To really appreciate the context of Burnam's resolution, however, you also have to understand something of the history of their relationship. Although opposition to Craddick's leadership reached a tipping point in this legislative session, Burnam's criticism of the Speaker has been longstanding, and he paid a political price. In 2005, Burnam was one of only four Democrats who cast ballots against Craddick's appointment, which landed him on a committee most would not regard as a plum assignment.

..... two of the four Democrats who voted against Craddick ended up on the Agriculture and Livestock Committee – a reappointment for Rep. Lon Burnam of Fort Worth (who landed here after casting the only dissenting vote against Craddick in 2003) [emphasis added] .....

But Burnam is capable of getting in a few licks of his own. Earlier this year, Burnam called for a criminal investigation into charges that Craddick had an improper financial dealings with a state contractor.

Burnam's resolution honoring the the parliamentarians was blocked from coming to the floor. 'Tis a pity. Here is the deleted text of Burnam's resolution.

WHEREAS, Denise Davis and Chris Griesel stood up to autocratic control of a democratic institution by resigning their posts as parliamentarians; and

WHEREAS, Ms. Davis and Mr. Griesel could have given in to dictatorial pressure but instead stood firm and did what they knew was right, even though it cost them their jobs; and

WHEREAS, democratic institutions depend on respect for rules and precedents, Ms. Davis and Mr. Griesel took a stand for democracy on May 25, 2007, otherwise known as the Friday Night Massacre of the House Rules; and

WHEREAS, by resigning to protest a decision that threatened the integrity of the House, Ms. Davis and Mr. Griesel showed great respect for the Rules of the House, the Constitution of the State of Texas, and the institution of the Texas House of Representatives…..

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.

See also previous post: Drama Over Craddick Continues.

craddick victorious in texas speaker race

Rep. Tom Craddick, R-Midland, was re-elected today to the speakership of the Texas House of Representatives in a 121-27 vote.

While initially challenged by Rep. Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, who claimed to have enough support to defeat the speaker, Craddick sailed to victory after Pitts withdrew from the race. Pitts presumably took his name out of the hat after realizing that, even after hours of fruitless debate, a blind vote would not take place.

"I do not want the members who are for me to have to put in a public record how they voted," said Mr. Pitts, R-Waxahachie. He added: "It's time to heal. It's time to go on with Texas' business. That's what Texans expected." ....

Mr. Pitts, upon withdrawing, warned that change was necessary for the House to heal. "Members, we cannot continue what we have had," he said.

Capitol Annex predicts that Craddick's victory today signals a resounding victory in 2008 for Texas Democrats, because of Craddick's corruption.

The Craddicat will not be able to change his stripes, and will rule as he always has. And, instead of the House flipping in 2010, it will flip in 2008. And, in that flip, more seats will flip than would under a Pitts speakership. Craddick remains a poison even unto his own party. His victory will cost his party 10-12 seats in 2008.

Annatopia at TexasKaos shares the shocking news that Reps. Aaron Pena and Patrick Rose, both Democrats, not only voted for Craddick but seconded his nomination. Rose even went as far as to state that Democrats should have worked better with Craddick. She demands that they, along with the other turncoat Democrats, face primary challenges.

Our final thought: In the end, our representatives were only given the choice of two Republicans. Despite what's being played out on the national stage, the Republicans still hold the majority in the Texas Lege, and this was their leadership race. Could Democrats have possibly stuck together and made a difference in the vote, causing new blood (albeit another Republican) to assume leadership? No one knew as a matter of positivity who would emerge victorious. This scared some, who would rather have seen him gone, into voting for Craddick. Because a blind vote was rejected, Craddick would know exactly who voted against him and punish them accordingly. Does that excuse the Democrats who forsook their own party to openly endorse and praise Craddick? No. But we're just glad it's all over.