Remember in the comics how — whenever they ran out of ideas — they'd throw Superman or some other hero into an alternate parallel universe? That memory came instantly to mind when we saw the results of two polls done for the Texas Credit Union League. They hired a Republican pollster to talk to primary voters of the red persuasion and a Democratic pollster to talk to the blues. They found two distinctly different parallel worlds. 

But first, the news: Republican voters, asked how they'd vote in a primary held today, picked Rick Perry 61 percent of the time, and Carole Keeton Strayhorn 26 percent of the time. Asked how they feel about the two, 79 percent had a somewhat favorable or very favorable impression of Perry, and 50 percent had very or somewhat favorable impressions of Strayhorn. The negatives on Perry's ledger add up to 18 percent with GOP primary voters; Strayhorn's total 25 percent. Put another way, Perry's chum-to-chump ratio is 4-to-1; Strayhorn's is 2-to-1.

Democratic voters, asked how they'd vote in a primary held today, picked Chris Bell 28 percent of the time and Felix Alvarado 15 percent of the time. Most — 57 percent — told the pollsters they're undecided. Democrats aren't fond of the governor or of President George W. Bush — not surprising, since those are Republicans — but they give another prominent Republican, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, good marks, with 53 percent saying they have a favorable impression of her and 43 percent saying their impression is unfavorable.

The Republican firm of Voter/Consumer Research talked to 400 Texas GOP primary voters October 24-26 and say their margin of error is +/- 4.9 percent. The Democratic pollsters, Hamilton Beattie & Staff, did the same thing: 403 voters, same dates, same margin of error.

The sponsors let us post the polls on the website. Download them from our Files section, or click on these links to get to them:

• TCUL Democratic Primary poll
• TCUL Republican Primary poll

They didn't ask about general election horse races, but the pollsters found big differences between each party's voters. Lookit:

• Ask Republicans about the direction of the state and 58 percent say it's going in the right direction; 27 percent disagree. Their top issues at the moment, starting at the top of the list: illegal immigration, moral values, education, taxes, health care, the budget deficit, abortion, jobs, political scandals, and growth & congestion. There's a notable drop in interest on the items in that list below taxes. Ask the GOP voters about their top priorities for the Guv and the Legislature and you get this: stopping illegal immigration, improving our schools, reducing property taxes, strengthening families and improving moral values, cutting government spending, and campaign finance reform.

• 64 percent of Texas Democrats — out of power in every branch of state government and in their federal congressional delegation to boot — think the state's going the wrong way; 23 percent disagree. Their issues, starting with the highest ranked: education, health care and prescription drug costs, taxes, the budget deficit, illegal immigration, crime and drugs, jobs, the environment, and growth & congestion. The drop in interest in this group was after drug costs.

• Republicans have a marginally good impression of the Legislature: 54 percent have very or somewhat favorable impressions of the people in the statehouse. Those numbers improve if you ask how the Republicans in the Lege are doing instead of just talking generically about the Legislature. Slightly more than half (51%) think their own lawmakers deserve reelection and a third want to give someone else a chance. Democrats do the same thing, giving good numbers to Democrats in the statehouse and lower numbers to the opposition. 42 percent say they'd vote for their incumbent and 27 percent say they'd vote for a challenger.

• Democratic voters told the pollsters they're more interested in results than fights. Only 15 percent listed fighting with the Republican leadership in Austin as one of their top priorities. That ranked behind getting things done, working on public education problems, restoring ethics in government and being bipartisan and getting along with Republicans.

• Ask GOP primary voters about public education and 54 percent say they aren't willing to pay higher taxes for improvements. Another 39 percent say they would be willing. But if they could "do only one of the following," 53 percent said they'd prevent deep cuts in education and 40 percent say they'd want a lawmaker to prevent all tax increases. Half the Democrats — 49 percent — say education funding should come from closing loopholes in corporate taxes. After that, 16 percent say wasteful spending should be cut, 13 percent say some form of gambling should be considered, and one in ten say the state should have an income tax. Income taxes finished at 10 percent — ahead of the 8 percent who said higher sales taxes should be in the mix. Almost three in five Democrats say the state should spend more on public schools; 39 percent say the spending levels are right and that schools should be more accountable about what they spend.

• State funding for protecting borders against terrorism (actually a federal chore) is too low, according to 72 percent of Republican voters. Almost half — 48 percent — say funding for public education is too low, but only 16 percent say the state is spending too little on higher education. Two-thirds are happy with current spending on roads and public transportation and 43 percent thing spending on state health care programs is about right. One in five thinks the state is spending too much on colleges and universities, 17 percent think health care spending is too high, and one in ten wants to cut back on public education spending.

• Who do Republicans trust for news? Cable TV, followed by talk radio, broadcast TV, local newspapers, friends and family and the Internet, in that order. Pollster Jan van Lohuizen says the respondents mean Fox News when they say "cable TV" and said that, with only 11 percent saying they trust their local papers, the ink-stained wretches of the world should shiver. Who do the Democrats rely on for news about politics? In order: broadcast news, cable news, and local newspapers. 

Seven Up 

Voters approved seven of the nine constitutional amendments on the ballot, giving overwhelming support to two in particular: one that would allow courts to deny bail for some accused criminals, and one that would outlaw marriage between same-sex couples. 

The results, including the language voters were looking at when they voted:

• Prop. 1: "The constitutional amendment creating the Texas rail relocation and improvement fund and authorizing grants of money and issuance of obligations for financing the relocation, rehabilitation, and expansion of rail facilities."

• Prop. 2: "The constitutional amendment providing that marriage in this state consists only of the union of one man and one woman and prohibiting this state or a political subdivision of this state from creating or recognizing any legal status identical or similar to marriage." As a ballot measure, same-sex marriage, civil union and anything that looks like marriage between anything but a woman and a man is dead until two-thirds of the Legislature and a majority of voters say otherwise. The gay marriage amendment was approved by 1,712,823 voters, or 76.2 percent. The issue, which appears headed for the courts, drew the most voters of anything on the ballot; 2,248,076 people voted — 119,597 more than voted on any of the other amendments.

A telling statistic: By the time early voting was over, 505,429 people had already voted to add Proposition 2, the gay marriage amendment, to the Texas Constitution. That was only 29,917 votes short of what was ultimately needed for approval — 535,345 people voted against the amendment in early and Election Day voting. The winners needed just under 30,000 of the 1.2 million votes they brought out on Tuesday.

• Prop. 3: "The constitutional amendment clarifying that certain economic development programs do not constitute a debt." This one had the smallest winning margin, at 51.8 percent.

• Prop. 4: "The constitutional amendment authorizing the denial of bail to a criminal defendant who violates a condition of the defendant's release pending trial." The most popular measure on the ballot, both in raw numbers (1,805,343 votes) and percentage approval (84.8 percent).

• Prop. 6: "The constitutional amendment to include one additional public member and a constitutional county court judge in the membership of the State Commission on Judicial Conduct." This finished with 62.6 percent approval.

• Prop. 7: "The constitutional amendment authorizing line-of-credit advances under a reverse mortgage." 59.8 percent of the voters approved.

• Prop. 8: "The constitutional amendment providing for the clearing of land titles by relinquishing and releasing any state claim to sovereign ownership or title to interest in certain land in Upshur County and in Smith County." Passed, with 61 percent. It also drew the lowest number of votes of any amendment — 373,511 fewer than for the top vote getter, Prop. 2.

Voters rejected two amendments to the constitution that would have uncapped interest rates on commercial loans and extended board members at regional mobility authorities:

• Prop. 5: "The constitutional amendment allowing the legislature to define rates of interest for commercial loans." Got 43.4 percent approval, according to uncertified returns.

• Prop. 9: "The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for a six-year term for a board member of a regional mobility authority." Got only 46.6 percent of the vote. 

And Then There Were Two 

A runoff election will decide one of two open seats in the Texas House: Ana Hernandez and Laura Salinas finished first and second in a six-person pack to replace the late Joe Moreno, D-Houston. Turnout was skimpy, with 6,170 voters turning out. Hernandez got 2,624, or 42.5 percent, in the full but unofficial count. Salinas got 1,590 votes, or 25.7 percent. The runoff date won't be set until after the votes are canvassed, according to the Texas Secretary of State. Fresh proof that special elections don't draw crowds like regular elections do: Moreno won office last November with 93 percent of the 14,307 votes cast.

The other empty seat wasn't on the ballot. November 1 was the first day out of office for Rep. Todd Baxter, R-Austin, who resigned to pursue unspecified opportunities elsewhere. Gov. Rick Perry hasn't called a special election for that post; the next non-emergency election date available for that contest is in May. 

No Deposit, No Return 

Add Ray Allen, R-Grand Prairie, to the list of House members not coming back. That total is, at this writing, up to 13 and a maybe, and candidates don't have to finally commit until the first days of the New Year. Allen, who heads the House Committee on County Affairs and used to chair the Corrections Committee, was one of several Republican chairs targeted by Democrats in the 2004 elections. He was also one of the survivors, beating Democrat Katy Hubener by 1,841 votes. He was likely to be on the hit list again but decided not to run for reelection in HD-106. He's finishing his seventh term in the House.

So you don't have to look it up, here's the current list of members who won't be here for the next regular session, starting with Republicans: Allen, Todd Baxter of Austin, Bob Griggs of North Richland Hills, Peggy Hamric of Houston, Ruben Hope Jr. of Conroe, Bob Hunter of Abilene, Suzanna Gratia Hupp of Lampasas, Terry Keel of Austin, Joe Nixon of Houston. The Democrats: the late Joe Moreno of Houston, Richard Raymond of Laredo, Jim Solis of Harlingen. Count Carlos Uresti of San Antonio, who has said he's considering either a bid for Senate or for reelection, as a maybe. 

Leaving, For the Time Being 

Charles Soechting says he won't seek another term as chairman of the Texas Democratic Party. In a note to members of the State Democratic Executive Committee and an interview, he said he wants to spend more time practicing law and raising kids. 

He also said "you could make book" on him seeking elective office in the future. Soechting, a Hays County lawyer, was chairman of the county party before he followed Molly Beth Malcolm into the state chairmanship. He said he'll have served three years when his term ends and that he doesn't want to do two more years when that time comes. The election is in June, and two names are floating around at the moment as possible candidates: Boyd Richie, an attorney in Graham, in North Texas, and Dennis Teal, a chiropractor from Livingston, in East Texas. Soechting says he doesn't intend to back a particular candidate, but doesn't completely rule it out.

The party got a reboot this fall when a small group that includes Dallas lawyer Fred Baron and consultant Matt Angle unveiled a reorganization plan for the Democrats tied to a badly needed infusion of cash. Soechting says his departure wasn't a condition of that, but says it gave him a higher comfort level about leaving next year.

Yes and No 

Texans contributed $144,250 to No on 77, a group opposing California's redistricting efforts. That measure, pushed by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, was opposed by Democrats, and 59.5 percent of the Golden State's voters were against it on Election Day. Texans gave $2,767 to Reform Ohio Now, a liberal group that was pushing for a similar change in that state. Though the measures were slightly different, their intentions were similar, and voters in Ohio, like their counterparts in the Pacific Time Zone, rejected the change. In Ohio, 70 percent said No.

We were peeking at those propositions because they were inspired by the mid-decade redistricting that made Texas politics so much fun during 2003 and 2004. If you just tuned in, the Lone Star state has become the poster child for redistricting reformers from both parties. The mid-decade plans drawn before the 2004 elections caught the attention of political cartographers across the U.S. In the Texas episode, Republicans first won the majority of seats in the Legislature and then used that majority to reopen congressional redistricting. Long story short: They flipped the color of the state's congressional delegation from blue to red. The case is pending before the U.S. Supreme Court (which is deciding whether to hear arguments).

The opposition to the California proposition ran one ad featuring a group of judges cutting and pasting their state into new political lines. At the end of the TV commercial, they unveil their work: A map of Texas that says "California" across it.

In both states, the effort to depoliticize redistricting was driven by one set of partisans and opposed by the other. And both efforts were expensive, though the California libs spent more, at about $15 million, than the Ohio libs, who spent around $1.7 million.

One interesting factlet from California was the number of Democrats from the Texas congressional delegation who contributed $1,000: U.S. Reps. Al Green, Gene Green, and Sheila Jackson Lee, all from Houston; Eddie Bernice Johnson of Dallas; Solomon Ortiz of Corpus Christi; Silvestre Reyes of El Paso; and Ruben Hinojosa of McAllen. None of the 88 Texas contributors to the Ohio group gave more than $100, and none are members of Congress. 

Just Folks 

Gov. Rick Perry's tax committee — chaired by Democrat John Sharp — is taking some hits from Democrats who say some regular folks should have been sprinkled in among the CEOs and other high-flyers. Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, and Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, both say the governor should have included some homeowners along with all the business folk. 

More quietly, some business lobbyists have noted the absence of some big taxpayers among the industries represented on the panel. Car dealers, at odds with Perry, are out. Manufacturing, commercial real estate, the Internet end of the technology business, and utilities will all be relying on allies instead of their own guys.

Shapleigh, who's been all over Texas evangelizing for a personal income tax to support state services, says Perry and Sharp — by taking that tax out of consideration — killed chances for significant reform. He's predicting the Sharp panel will produce more of what lawmakers have already seen: new business taxes and higher taxes on consumption.

The panel is in a hurry; they'll have their first meeting on Monday, November 21, in the bowels of the Pink Building (the appropriations room). That first deal will likely be a dog-and-pony show, but by most accounts, they're getting to work quickly. They'll need to have recommendations ready for a possible special session sometime after the March primaries.

Follow-up: The list of tax task force members we ran last week was unofficial and as we said at the time, incomplete. Add these names to those: Prentice Gary, managing partner of Carleton Residential Properties in Dallas; and Victor Leal of Canyon, owner of a chain of four family restaurants in the Panhandle.

And make one amendment to last week's list: Howard Wolf is no longer an attorney from Houston, though that was once true. He retired from Fulbright and Jaworski and now has a solo practice in Austin. He also serves on a couple of boards: Stewart & Stevenson Services, and Simmons & Co. International. 

Robert Howden, a former aide to Gov. Rick Perry who has done freelance lobbying, worked for the Texas Association of Automobile Dealers and the Texas office of the National Federation of Independent Business, will be the staff director for what's been officially dubbed the "Texas Tax Reform Commission." Howden's unhappy parting with the car dealers is a part of the saga that explains why they don't have any members on the task force; another factor was their support for Sharp over Perry in the 1998 race for lieutenant governor.

The policy chops on the task force will be provided by Karey Barton and James LeBas, two former comptroller employees brought in for their subject matter expertise. LeBas, now the CFO for the Texas Water Development Board, was chief revenue estimator for Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn. Barton, most recently a tax consultant, was director of state tax policy for Strayhorn and for two of her predecessors, Sharp and the late Bob Bullock.  

Coda 

The state's top civil jurist refused to recuse himself from picking a judge for Tom DeLay's trial today, saying there's nobody else to do the job and saying the proper target of a recusal motion is a trial judge and not the guy who picks him. 

In a letter to the lawyers in that case, Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson said his selection of San Antonio senior Judge Pat Priest will stand. Jefferson said he can't find anything in the law that requires him to step aside, and wrote that "I have a duty to ensure that the judicial process is not paralyzed any time a recusal motion challenges a judicial officer who is performing a purely administrative function."

If they lawyers don't like Priest, they can challenge him, Jefferson wrote: "The recourse is to challenge not the power to assign, but the assignment itself." 

Priest's first hearing is set for November 22; he'll likely be hearing DeLay's request for a change of venue. The congressman's lawyers say Travis County has heard too much poisonous stuff about the case and that the people in the state's capital city are too liberal. They want the trial moved to DeLay's home county: Fort Bend.

One more note: State district Judge Bob Perkins, removed from DeLay's case, voluntary recused himself from the trials of DeLay's co-defendants, John Colyandro and Jim Ellis.

Political People and Their Moves

Hardeman County Commissioner Johnny Akers pleaded guilty to short-stopping ballots in the 2004 primary and general elections in which he was elected. He told some voters there he'd help them out by picking up their ballots and delivering them to the proper folks. That's illegal.

Ed Strayhorn, husband of Texas Comptroller and gubernatorial candidate Carole Keeton Strayhorn, had some kind of "incident" or seizure while on a hunting trip with friends in South Texas and was taken to Valley Baptist Hospital in Harlingen. He's now at home and a spokesman said he's fine and that the doctors are still poking and prodding to find out what happened.

Quotes of the Week

Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, talking to the Houston Chronicle about the success of a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage: "That's where the victory was won, from the pulpits of the state of Texas."

Rev. Ryan Rush, senior pastor of Bannockburn Baptist Church in Austin, talking to the Associated Press after that vote: "If that becomes a trend, the evangelical community becomes the largest political voice not only in the state of Texas, but America. I think that's a positive thing because evangelical Christians stand for what's right."

Kelly Shackelford of the Free Market Foundation, quoted in The Dallas Morning News on the push for a national version: "This is a pretty strong message to Congress and the Senate before they vote on a marriage-protection amendment. Most politicians are not going to want to stand up for the duty of standing in front of a steamroller."

Rice University political scientist Bob Stein, talking to the Houston Chronicle about evangelicals and the marriage vote: "What Perry did with the evangelicals was an organizational effort. Liberals tend to view those people as rabid dogs. They're not. They're sophisticated. They're organized. Church is just another organization."

Republican political consultant Royal Masset, quoted in the Austin American-Statesman on the vitriol in some political handouts on proposition 2, the gay marriage amendment: "When candidates are running against each other, about 50 percent of the time they come to believe that their opponents are evil, lying crooks. But we consultants force them to smile and be positive. With proposition campaigns, you have no consultants who can control this display of bitterness."

Houston Mayor Bill White, telling the Houston Chronicle he won't run for governor in 2006: "The honorable thing to do is to do the job you've been hired for. Being mayor of this city is a full-time job. We have big plans for the next two years."

Frank Parker of Big Spring, a Democrat and labor official, telling the Midland Reporter-Telegram that people in politics have been swapping corporate for non-corporate contributions for years, but that Tom DeLay appears to have done it with bigger amounts of money: "That's why nobody stays in power for too long. Power corrupts, but it also makes you stupid."

Austin attorney Roy Minton, in that same story, on Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle: "He is a loyal liberal Democrat like me, but he doesn't think like most lawyers. He thinks more like a social studies professor."

Pat Yezak, elected to the Bremond school board after helping uncover problems that led to three indictments, telling The Dallas Morning News that supporters were quiet in that split community: "One little lady told us, 'I'm going to vote for you, but don't come to my house.'"

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Texas Weekly: Volume 22, Issue 22, 14 November 2005. Ross Ramsey, Editor. George Phenix, Publisher. Copyright 2005 by Printing Production Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher is prohibited. One-year online subscription: $250. For information about your subscription, call (800) 611-4980 or email info@texasweekly.com. For news, email ramsey@texasweekly.com, or call (512) 288-6598.

U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay's lawyers want a quick trial, if there's to be any trial at all, according to court papers. DeLay's indictment on campaign finance-related charges cost him his post as House Majority Leader, at least temporarily, and his lawyers say the best way to get back into leadership is to get the charges thrown out or to win exoneration in a speedy trial. Judge Pat Priest will get his first crack at the case next week, when he hears two requests from DeLay. One, they want the charges dropped or, barring that, a December trial setting. And two, if there's to be a trial, they want it held outside of Travis County, home field to District Attorney Ronnie Earle and a place where voters (and presumably, jurors) are, on average, Democrats. They'd like to have it in Fort Bend County, the decidedly Republican locale that's partly represented in Congress by DeLay. In papers filed with the court, DeLay's lawyers say the indictment fails to specify what law he's accused of breaking. They say the charges are vague and involve provisions of state law that weren't in effect when his alleged crimes took place. Their argument is that conspiracy and election code violations aren't linked in the law (or weren't, at that time) and that they are linked in the indictment. For that reason, they contend the indictment ought to be tossed. They also want to see internal papers from the district attorney's investigation of DeLay and have asked for any evidence of dissent within Earle's office about the charges against DeLay. The hearing is set for Tuesday, November 22. 

Not long after the Texas Supreme Court rules on the school finance case, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Tom Craddick will fire up a 14-member committee of legislators to come up with new plans for school finance and property tax relief. You'll notice some overlap there with the 24-member group of non legislators corralled by Gov. Rick Perry to look at state tax policy. Perry's panel, headed by former Comptroller John Sharp, doesn't have any lawmakers on it. And school finance isn't part of its charter. Dewhurst and Craddick want lawmakers to do a quick autopsy on the court opinion to figure out what needs fixing and what can be left alone. They haven't released the names of the members yet, but they've tentatively pulled together a list of seven senators and seven representatives who'll try to come up with something that the Legislature can pass and that the courts will approve. The idea is to see if the people who'll actually vote on any changes in state law can get together on some fixes. They'd be able to include -- or exclude -- whatever work comes out of Perry's task force in preparation for a special session on education and/or taxes. When might that special session take place? Nobody in a position to know is emitting information about it. But politics point to sometime after the party primaries in March. And experience -- some new and some old -- would suggest sometime before the school year is over. When schools are out, teachers and administrators are freer to come to Austin to lobby lawmakers. That was a well-known bit of folklore in the mid- to late-1980s, after sweeping school reforms were pushed through the Legislature. It was lost to some over time, but after two failed special sessions this past summer recharged the lore, it's part of the calculation again. 

Efforts to pull horse racing, lottery, slot machine and casino interests together into a "Texans for Tourism" group have hit what looks like a cement wall.  Ricky Knox, who was in the middle of earlier fights for pari-mutuel gambling and the lottery, got 100+ people into a hotel conference room in September to pitch the idea. But Knox, who didn't return calls, sent out an angry letter to interested parties saying track owners and potential track owners had blown up the cooperation racket because it worked against their own interests. In the emails, he said he'd met with Sam Phelps and Scott Phelps of Alabama -- they're principals in the Gulf Greyhound track near Houston -- and that they'd told him they don't want to pursue efforts to legalize video lottery machines until 2011. Our calls to Alabama, like those to Knox, went unreturned. Knox was trying to unify the state's gambling interests in advance of the 2007 regular session of the Legislature. Among other things, that would mean getting track owners running in the same direction; his emails on the subject indicate they're not ready to do that. "... We were gaining momentum on a daily basis, in fact, it was amazing how many positive things were happening -- but, we all knew at any moment, 'Mr. Greed' would surface and kill the effort. Today -- 'Mr. Greed' won," Knox wrote. Efforts to legalize casinos are still underway, but quiet. The "Let The Voters Decide" group still wants lawmakers to put casinos on the ballot to see whether voters would go along with the idea. And it's too early to start carving the tombstone for VLTs. Promoters of various forms of gambling will be watching to see what the Texas Supreme Court says on school finance, and then on what Gov. Rick Perry's tax task force does in response. If more money is required, or if business taxpayers strongly resist efforts to lessen homeowners' burdens at business expense, gambling could move up on the popularity charts. Racing and the lottery grew out of finance problems in the 1980s and 1990s. Texas lawmakers aren't always crazy about gambling, but there are any number of taxes they love even less. And they've always covered their bets, leaving the final say to voters in the form of constitutional amendments. Groups that oppose gambling expansion in Texas -- the Texas Eagle Forum, for instance -- are paying close attention. They sent an alert to members after Knox's missive made the rounds, urging their folks to contact members of the Legislature to try to get expanded gambling off the list of tax relief options. 

What once looked like a frolic for a political junkie in Texas -- a year with contested statewide races all up and down the ballot with stars running for governor and U.S. Senate and on and on -- now looks more like a quiet night at home.  The Guv's race will be noisy in March and probably again in November, but all else is pretty quiet in the top spots on the ballot. Redistricting has taken the juice out of all but a handful of congressional and state Senate elections. Only the Texas House -- which still has a few swing districts and where primaries could be roiled by messy school finance and tax issues -- appears to offer much for the politically minded observer. And in many instances, that's more subtle than the usual R v. D set-up. Texas is in a period when the most interesting competition of ideas and candidates comes in the March primaries -- particularly on the Republican side. Only two members of the Texas congressional delegation won with less than 55 percent of the general election vote in 2004: Chet Edwards, D-Waco, who got 51.2 percent, and Pete Sessions, R-Dallas, who came in at 54.3 percent. Edwards, in CD-17, is on most lists of incumbents on thin ice in 2006; at least two Republicans are battling for the nomination to take him on, and there'll be national money on both sides in that contest. One resident of the district, when he's not in the White House, is George W. Bush. Several members of Congress got there after tough primaries. For the most part, those were creatures of redistricting rather than continuing competitive districts. But Democrat Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, has both a rematch opponent and a newcomer in former U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, D-San Antonio, and state Rep. Richard Raymond, D-Laredo. It went to a recount in 2004, and it's a real contest next year. The closest race for the Texas Senate two years ago had a 17-point spread between the Republican and the Democrat, and the only close race was in a Democratic primary won by the incumbent, Mario Gallegos, D-Houston, with 53.9 percent. None of those districts is likely to flip from one party to the other. But senators serve four-year terms. You have to look at the 2002 elections to see what's going on in districts held by senators up in 2006. If you're looking for fights, that's not much more encouraging. In 2002, three senators got less than 55 percent of the vote in the general election: Bob Deuell, R-Greenville, who was knocking off an incumbent Democrat, David Cain of Dallas; Gonzalo Barrientos, D-Austin, fending off a well-financed Republican challenger who got some mileage out of a DWI charge against the incumbent; and Ken Armbrister, D-Victoria, who got 53.3 percent of the vote in a district that votes for Republicans in most other races on the ballot. Barrientos isn't seeking reelection next year, and Democrat Kirk Watson, a former Austin mayor and current Chamber of Commerce honcho, is the preemptive favorite to replace him right now. Armbrister hasn't said for sure whether he'll run for reelection next year. There's been a new rumor every week about it -- that he'll run, that he'll quit and lobby, that he'll go work for Gov. Rick Perry as liaison to the Lege -- and his aides give cloudy answers when asked about his future. Their boss has scheduled a fundraiser for next month but has been slow to send out invitations. And they say he'll make his announcement one way or the other in his own time, probably when filing for office begins next month. Republicans, meanwhile, are lining up to see if they can do better against him than Lester Phipps, who got 45 percent in 2002. In the 2002 primaries, Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen, went through a tight primary and then a runoff to get to his first term in the upper chamber. And Republican Tommy Williams also survived with less than 55 percent in the GOP primary. Those races probably contain no omens, though; both men were House members running for Senate seats that had been redrawn in redistricting, and neither faced an incumbent (though Williams' opponent was Michael Galloway, a former state senator). In the 2002 primaries the only senator who had a real race had a real race: Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, staved off a challenge from Rep. John Shields. Wentworth kept the seat in a relatively easy general election, but escaped the primary with a 1,216 vote margin, out of 51,246 votes cast. Boil that down to present tense: There are, at this juncture, three tough race in the Texas congressional delegation, and one in the Texas Senate. Edwards occupies a target area for both national parties. He'll be alone in March while at least two Republicans battle for their nomination, but it'll be an important contest in November. Cuellar's CD-28 has to be considered an open race, at least in March. Another race depends on how the ball bounces. U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, got just over 55 percent in 2004; he'll face former U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson in the general election, but that race has more to do with national politics and courthouse troubles than with district lines; it's Republican turf under most circumstances. In the state Senate, Armbrister generally votes with the GOP, but some in that party want to put a Republican in office in SD-18. If he runs, he'll have a race. And the Republicans will have a contest in March, either way. To the extent there's much action on the ballot next year, it will be in House races. And because of redistricting and its tendency to give comfort to incumbents of both parties, much of the fun stuff will happen in March rather than in November. Four Democrats in the House got there after primary runoffs in 2004. Three -- Yvonne Gonzalez Toureilles of Alice Veronica Gonzales of McAllen and Abel Herrero of Corpus Christi -- beat incumbents (Herrero in the first round, the others in the runoff). David McQuade Leibowitz of San Antonio won his runoff after surviving a crowded primary election, and beat the incumbent Republican in the general election. None of the four got less than 55 percent in their runoff. Rob Orr, R-Burleson, won a runoff against an imploding opponent (Sam Walls led the first round, but his campaign died when pictures of him in women's clothing went public). Orr was the only Republican House member who got there by way of a runoff in 2004. Several members got into the House with less than comfortable margins and could be potential targets next year. Charles "Doc" Anderson, R-Waco, got 50.4 percent in the GOP primary and then got 53.2 percent in the general election. He'll have a primary opponent, and the Democrats see a chance in that district. No other Republican got less than 55 percent in the primary. Armando "Mando" Martinez, D-Weslaco, beat an incumbent in the primary, getting 53 percent of the vote. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, beat an incumbent, with 54.2 percent. Alma Allen, D-Houston, beat an incumbent with 55.4 percent. In the general election, Stephen Frost, D-Atlanta, got in with 52.8 percent. Mark Homer, D-Paris, got 50.2 percent. Chuck Hopson, D-Jacksonville, got 52.7 percent. Jim McReynolds, D-Lufkin, got 51 percent. Robby Cook, D-Eagle Lake, decided to run for reelection after announcing he wouldn't and considering a party change; he ended up with 53.66 percent. John Otto, R-Dayton, had 54.5 percent. Mike "Tuffy" Hamilton, R-Mauriceville, had 55.4 percent. Herrero, after that primary runoff, got 55 percent in the general. Gonzalez Toureilles got out of the general with 50.9 percent. Patrick Rose, D-Dripping Springs, had 54.5 percent. Todd Baxter, R-Austin (he resigned his seat to become a cable lobbyist and won't be on the ballot next year) had 50.1 percent. Anderson's general election win was 53.2 percent. David Farabee, D-Wichita Falls, got 53 percent. Tony Goolsby, R-Dallas, got 53.1 percent. Ray Allen, R-Grand Prairie, got out with 52.5 percent; he's not running for reelection next year. Leibowitz won his general election with 50.6 percent of the vote. Martha Wong, R-Houston, had 53.5 percent. And Hubert Vo, D-Houston, got 50 percent and won by less than three dozen votes. If you were trying to put together a map of next year's races, there are two ways to look at those past results. If a name has a D next to it and a narrow margin in 2004, put that on the target list for Republicans. Flip the letter and the party affiliation, and that's the Democrats' first list. Now, look at it from the perspective of the party leaders on either side. If one of your reps didn't look so hot in 2004 and if you really need the seat, find them a primary opponent or talk them off the ballot. And if one of the reps on your side voted with your enemies, add them to the target list. One more factor -- education -- will make ten to twenty races interesting next year. School superintendents and current and former school board members are signing up in a bunch of races. Some of that's normal -- the pool of new low-level state candidates comes from school boards, city councils, county commissions and the like -- but part of it is a reaction to the proposed solutions to school finance in the regular and special sessions earlier this year. Educators and other community leader types are also popping up in districts where the school finance votes that made sense in Austin don't look as good at home. Some rural members, for instance, are getting questioned about voting against bigger homestead exemptions that would have benefited the folks back home. And some members are getting peppered at home for not going along with state leaders who were trying to find a solution. If all that amounts to anything, it could have a real influence on school finance. The Legislature that survives these elections could take up the issue in the next regular session, in January 2007. And if there's a special session on school finance next spring, the results of the primary elections will be fresh on everyone's minds. 

The Legislative Budget Board (LBB), a ten-member panel made up of Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, Speaker of the House Tom Craddick, and seven members of the Texas House and Senate, should soon convene to decide whether to fund various projects not addressed in the current biennial budget. Among proposals to be considered are school textbook funding and more money for nursing homes. I offer one other item for the LBB to address: the full restoration of the roughly $77 million in trauma care funding left in limbo in the current state budget. This is a matter where, speaking plainly, lives hang in the balance. At issue are dedicated funds collected through a system of fees and driver's license surcharges on bad drivers -- which I created in 2003 as part of House Bill 3588 -- that help keep Texas' trauma care network viable. The dilemma is that the lion's share of trauma care funds collected over the next two years will remain unspent. About $63 million in trauma funds were appropriated over the biennium, while it is expected that available revenues will be $77 million more. Texas' trauma care system was at a point of crisis prior to the creation of the current funding method. Trauma centers were closing and others were frequently in a state of diversion as they became overwhelmed. Patients needing emergency trauma care were literally dying while trying to find an open bed. Whether the patient had insurance or not made no difference in their survival odds. Worse, the erosion of trauma care had a domino effect on all other emergency services. Trauma centers create a pool of talent that is capable of responding to other tough cases on a 24/7 basis. A trauma facility that permanently closes creates a hole in the care network that risks unraveling for more than just trauma cases. Shifting care to the trauma facilities that remain open creates additional strains and care disruptions for the other emergency cases that come through the doors. The trauma system -- and the emergency room system to which it was attached -- was stressed to the point of breakdown under normal loads. We were left with little capacity to respond to a catastrophic event, such as a hurricane, terrorist attack, major industrial accident, or pandemic disease outbreak. The creation of a stable source of trauma care funding in 2003 was a major turning point in resolving this crisis. What it did was partially close the revenue gap for hospitals that volunteered to operate trauma facilities. This targeted funding was sufficient to stabilize the trauma network and even encourage its expansion. In the immediate aftermath of the bill, a sizable number of applications were received to either acquire or upgrade trauma care certifications. Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston even agreed to add 40 additional trauma care beds. All of this was done on the reasonable assumption that all of the funds dedicated to trauma care under HB 3588 would actually end up going to trauma care. However, this isn't what happened. As mentioned earlier, the new biennial budget left the majority of trauma funds unappropriated. The response has been both swift and negative. Two facilities in Houston are dropping their trauma certifications. Other hospitals around the state are waiting to see what happens with the LBB before deciding whether they too will shut their trauma care doors. Texas now risks setting back the progress made at a time when it needs its trauma system more than ever. If this situation is not addressed, it could have negative consequences for far longer than this current budget cycle. Trauma care is not provided in isolation. It requires a seamless system that covers the entire state. A car wreck victim in rural Texas must be evaluated, stabilized, routed to appropriate care, and then receive treatment. It is a web of relationships that must function. Strain on one segment is felt in the entire web. If enough links fail, the web may collapse and people die. Stable trauma care funding has already produced tremendous benefits for our state; using all of the money in the fund for the purposes for which it was collected will compound this benefit. On the other hand, not following through will inevitably lead to the erosion of the trauma care network. It might not erode quite as fast, but it will still wear away. It will be far more difficult and expensive to persuade trauma facilities to come back once they have closed. The prudent course, both financially and for public safety, is to prevent those closures by restoring the trauma funds as soon as possible. Delisi, R-Temple, chairs the Texas House Committee on Public Health

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Texas Weekly's Soapbox is a venue for opinions, spins, alternate takes, and other interesting stuff sent in by readers and others. We moderate submissions to keep crazy people out, and anonymous commentary is ineligible. Readers can respond (through the moderator) to things posted here. Got something to submit? We're interested in everything from full-blown opinion pieces to short bits to observations or tidbits that have escaped us and the mass media. One rule: Your name goes on your words. Call or send an email: Ross Ramsey, Editor, Texas Weekly, 512/288-6598, ramsey@texasweekly.com. 

The Texas Lottery Commission has a new applicant for executive director: former House Appropriations Committee Chairman Talmadge Heflin, who served 22 years as a state representative from Houston. Heflin said a couple of weeks ago that he would be on next year's ballot, seeking to win back the spot he lost in 2004 to Democrat Hubert Vo. And a few days ago, the Austin-based Texas Public Policy Foundation announced he was taking a part-time job with them to work on budget cutting recommendations for the next Legislature. Officials with the lottery say Heflin's application came in late -- after the brass hats there were down to four candidates for the job. But they haven't made their final decision yet, and they've said all along they'd consider all comers. 

Former legislator and judge Bob Gammage is talking to friends around the state to see whether he's got the support to run in the Democratic primary for governor. Gammage was on the Texas Supreme Court and the 3rd Court of Appeals, and served in Congress and in the Texas House and Senate. He sent an email around to test the waters, suggesting there that Democrats need more options next year. • Democrat Chris Bell, the best known of the two Democrats who have already decided to run (the other is Felix Alvarado, a Fort Worth educator), got an endorsement for his gubernatorial campaign from state Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen. • Gov. Rick Perry picked up a couple of new endorsements, adding the Texas Alliance for Life political action committee, the Texas Optometric Association, and U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin. • Kinky Friedman's latest bit is a $29.95 action figure with a cigar and a button on the back that, when pushed, triggers wisecracks and such from the doll. It comes complete with black hat and cigar, but it won't be ready for the holidays, apparently. The independent gubernatorial candidate's campaign will send you a certificate to put in the gift wrap. The purchase price will get listed as a campaign contribution. • Officially, now: Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst will seek reelection next year. So far, his only known opponent is Democrat María Luisa Alvarado, a military vet who lives in Austin and whose brother, Felix, is running for governor. • Dallas County District Attorney Bill Hill won't seek reelection, putting another high position in that transitional county into play, potentially, in November. For years, Republicans had a lock on countywide offices in Dallas; that's no longer true, and the absence of an incumbent in the DA's race opens the possibility of a competitive race. • Former pro golfer Terry Dill is tapping the network of men who don't wear suits to work: His next report will note a $10,000 contribution from Jack Nicklaus and another $5,000 from U.S. relatives of South African Gary Player. Dill is one of at least five Republicans running to replace Rep. Terry Keel, R-Austin, in HD-47. He's got a fundraiser coming up after Thanksgiving that will feature golf lessons for contributors from a group that includes Ben Crenshaw and Jack "Jackie" Burke Jr. Dill, a lawyer, developer and financial consultant, is making his first run for office. He's got a website: www.dillforstaterep.com. • Democrat Katy Hubener, who lost to Rep. Ray Allen, R-Grand Prairie, in last year's elections, says she'll be on the ballot next year. Allen won't. He announced last week that the current term will be his last. • Steve Brown moves from talk to action -- he'll be on the ballot next year in HD-27, challenging Rep. Doro Olivo, D-Rosenberg. He has been a lobbyist for the American Heart Association in Texas and for the Texas Medical Association and before that, worked for a number of Houston officeholders at city hall, in Washington and then in Austin. • Ouch: The El Paso Times ran a front-page story about a Republican challenge to GOP Rep. Pat Haggerty that's funded by local allies of Gov. Rick Perry. In small type, the headline read "EP'S BIG GOP DONORS BACK GOP CHALLENGER TO" and in really big type, occupying a space that was wide enough for the little words: "UNSEAT HAGGERTY." 

Todd Baxter, who quit the Texas House a couple of weeks ago, is the new lobbyist for the Texas Cable TV Association. Baxter, an Austin Republican, dropped out of a competitive race for reelection last month, saying he wanted to concentrate on work and familiy. He recently left an Austin law firm and is signing on as TCTA's general counsel and vice president for government affairs. Gov. Rick Perry hasn't picked a date for the special election to replace Baxter. He can wait until the next available election date for these things -- that's in May -- or declare it an emergency and call an election for almost any date he chooses (it can't coincide with the primary elections or the primary election runoffs). Republican Ben Bentzin is, so far, the only Republican seeking the seat. Four Democrats are talking about it: Andy Brown, Donna Howard, Kathy Rider, and Kelly White. 

John Hill's appearance as a witness for U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, bugged the Democratic Party so much that it's asking reporters to stop identifying their former standard bearer as a Democrat. Hill, a former Texas Supreme Court Justice, secretary of state, attorney general, and Democratic candidate for governor (he lost to Bill Clements in 1978), was brought in by DeLay's lawyers to talk about his view that state district Judge Bob Perkins should be removed from DeLay's case. Perkins contributed to Democrats and to some national organizations that, in one case, took some shots at DeLay. DeLay's lawyers squawked. Testimony, including Hill's, was heard. Perkins got the boot. And in the stories about it, Hill was referred to as a Democrat. The State Democratic Executive Committee answered that by passing a resolution that says Hill hasn't voted in one of the party's primaries since 1994 and that that's the only way someone declares allegiance to a political party in this state. The resolution from the SDEC "respectfully asks members of the Texas press to stop referring to Mr. Hill as a Democrat when he testifies for and supports high profile Republicans in controversial matters such as the Tom DeLay-TRMPAC criminal case." They ended it with a plea to Democrats who "supported a Republican or two in the past" to come vote in their primary in March. Hill said he didn't care to comment. 

Former state Rep. Talmadge Heflin, R-Houston, is going on the payroll for the Texas Public Policy Foundation. He'll be working on state budget issues, which suits him because of his years on appropriations, including a session as chairman. He and others at the think tank will be trying to figure out how state spending plans inflated by 18.7 percent earlier this year and how spending can be cut next time the Lege meets. Heflin said a few weeks ago he'll run for office next year, trying to take back the seat he lost by a handful of votes in 2004 to Rep. Hubert Vo, D-Houston. A spokesman for TPPF says there's no prenuptial agreement in Heflin's hiring: His bid for office won't affect his job unless some conflict of interest appears. His official title at TPPF is Visiting Research Fellow. 

The four candidates wiped out in the first round of a special election in HD-143 are all endorsing the second-place finisher, Laura Salinas, over the first-round winner, Ana Hernandez.  Al Flores, Rick Molina, Charles George, and Dorothy Olmos, who finished 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th, respectively, each signed on with Salinas. Hernandez got 43 percent on Election Day. Salinas got 26 percent. The votes of the other four, pooled, would have put a candidate in second place with 32 percent. If all those people were to vote and if all of them were to follow their candidates into Salinas' camp, she'd win a runoff with 57 percent. And if wishes were horses, we'd need more hay around here. The money in the race continues to be interesting. When we looked at the 30-day reports last month, Salinas' biggest contribution had come from Texans for Lawsuit Reform, a Republican-leaning political action committee that had given her $15,000. The biggest check to Hernandez was from Houston builder Bob Perry, the biggest single contributor to Texas Republican candidates in 2004 (and a big contributor to TLR, having donated more than $600,000 to their efforts since 2000). As the election drew closer, TLR gave Salinas another $50,000 and she borrowed a total of $55,200 to finance the effort. The loans are guaranteed by former Rep. Roman Martinez, D-Houston. He's married to former Rep. Diana Davila, Salinas' aunt. The Texas Trial Lawyers Association -- the Hatfields to TLR's McCoys -- gave $29,250 to Hernandez in the last month. She got help from several officeholders and from the family of the late Rep. Joe Moreno, whose death prompted the special election. She also got financial help from some officeholders, including $5,000 from Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, $1,142.23 from Harris County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia, and $2,100.21 from Constable Gary Freeman's campaign. The runoff election isn't official yet, but the campaigns are aiming at Saturday, December 10. 

As expected, the committee at the top of the Dallas County GOP named former Rep. Kenn George to chair the party. He replaces Nate Crain, who bowed out a few weeks ago. George will run for a full term next year. Judy Lynn Warne, an attorney in Spring and an adjunct professor at South Texas College of Law, is Gov. Rick Perry's pick to be judge of the 257th Judicial District Court. Linda Motheral resigned from that court last summer. Perry named Lyn Bracewell Phillips of Bastrop and A.W. "Whit" Riter III of Tyler to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Phillips is a former academician (and the spouse of former Texas Supreme Court Justice Tom Phillips). Riter, a businessman, is being reappointed to the THECB. Adam Jones, an associate commissioner at the Texas Education Agency, is taking over state funding and school financial audits there, a move prompted by recent retirements of Joe Wisnoski and Tom Canby. Wisnoski is a top school finance wonk and Canby headed the financial audits operation. Jones is giving up human resources and other agency business in the trade; that'll go to Associate Commissioner Ernest Zamora. Perry named a new deputy press secretary: Rachael Novier, who had been working in the homeland security unit in the Guv's office. The American Cancer Society's Texas branch has a new government relations director: James Gray replaces Kelly Headrick, who moves up to oversee government relations in Texas and four other states.