Former House Speaker Pete Laney, D-Hale Center, surprised the political villagers by announcing he won't run again, but most of the pre-election news so far has come from people who are running for office after all.

For instance, Rep. Fred Hill, R-Richardson, says he'll run for reelection next year instead of seeking a local office. Some of his fellow Republicans in Dallas have been encouraging him to run for Dallas County Judge, but he's decided to stay put. The incumbent in that county gig, Margaret Keliher, has been getting mixed reviews in her own party, and some in the GOP are nervous about steady Democratic gains in election results there. Hill, first elected to the House in 1992, is chairman of the Local Government Ways & Means Committee. Had he decided to chase the county job, he would have been the eighth chairman to opt out of reelection.

And Beverly Woolley, R-Houston, filed for reelection after months of rumors — her staff was busily denying them — that she might give up show biz. Woolley chairs the Calendars Committee, which sets the lower chamber's agenda and is an important legislative gatekeeper.

Another powerful House member, Vilma Luna, D-Corpus Christi, says she's been telling anyone who called that she'd seek reelection. Not enough people called, maybe: Her name was at the top of the list when Nueces County Judge Terry Shamsie announced he won't seek reelection next year. She'd be a strong candidate, but she has filed for reelection, paid her fees and signaled gossips to talk to the hand. She's the House's ranking Democrat, if you're using committee assignments as the measure — she's on Appropriations, Calendars, and Ways & Means.

Candidates whose districts cross county lines file with their state party offices. Those whose districts stay inside the lines can file with county party officials. To watch the state stuff, link to the state parties, at: www.texasgop.org and www.txdemocrats.org.

Time to Put Up or Shut Up

Independent candidates don't have to file with their political parties, but do have to file papers with the Texas Secretary of State stating their intent to run. And they have the same deadlines — filing between now and the close of business on January 2. That's why Richard Friedman — better known as Kinky — made an appearance at the state Capitol. There's also that side benefit of TV cameras and people with pens and skinny notebooks who showed up to scribble about it.

Friedman will apparently be the first Texas gubernatorial candidate on television. His campaign plans to uncork three spots next week and to have them up and running two weeks before Christmas. At our deadlines, the content wasn't available, but his aides have said they'll be pushing holiday sales of the Kinky action figure loaded with 25 of the candidates comments and slogans. It's one of the few dolls we know of that comes with a toy cigar.

We're not sure it amounts to anything at this point, but pollsters working for an unidentified candidate have been asking respondents whether they would support Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn in a bid for governor as a Republican, or as an independent candidate.

In the first case, she'd be up against Gov. Rick Perry in a primary with hard-core GOP voters who've shown a decided lean to the incumbent. In the second, assuming she could quickly build an organization to get her the signatures to get on the ballot, she'd probably be in a four-way race with Perry, Friedman, and the winner of an increasingly populated Democratic primary. More candidates, but also a completely different set of voters. Because of those deadlines cited above, you'll know by the first week of 2006 what she's up to: Her filings will tell the story.

Texas Democrats might be at ebb tide, but they'll have candidates in at least four of the contests for statewide office and their gubernatorial primary might grow.

Houston lawyer Barbara Ann Radnofsky filed papers to run for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate. She hopes to knock off U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison next year, and plans to do it with issues. You can look at the whole enchilada on her website, at www.radnofsky.com. Click on "Ten Proposals and Positions". We'd have pointed out this next bit even if she hadn't pointed it out to us: It's got more footnotes than the organ at church.

The Democratic primary for governor could have three people in it. Former legislator and judge Bob Gammage, who now lives in Llano, appears closer to running for that office. Former U.S. Rep. Chris Bell of Houston planned to sign up during the first week of filing, and educator Felix Alvarado of Fort Worth, who lost three-to-one in 2004 to U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, has said he'll run for the top state job.

Alvarado's sister, Maria Luisa Alvarado, is running for lieutenant governor. And David Van Os, a San Antonio lawyer and populist Democrat who's been on the ballot for statewide judicial office in the past, is running this time for attorney general. He had some words for a group of political reporters: "We Democrats all support each other, we all love each other... and we've all got big surprises for your cynical editors next November."

Three Republicans have possible cakewalks ahead, although talking about it too early is like breaking a mirror or chasing a black cat under a ladder. Susan Combs, Todd Staples and Jerry Patterson do not, at the moment, have Democratic opponents for comptroller, agriculture commissioner and land commissioner.

Early Christmas for DeLay... But There's Coal in the Stocking

State District Judge Pat Priest dismissed conspiracy charges against U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay and two political aides, but they could still face trial on charges of money laundering (all three men) and illegal use of corporate money in campaigns (DeLay's associates). A copy of Priest's order is available in our Files section or by clicking here.

The judge struck conspiracy charges against Colyandro and Ellis, but they still face charges of money laundering and making illegal political contributions. He dismissed a conspiracy charge against all three men, but left in place charges alleging money laundering against them.

Priest said defendants' questions about prosecutorial misconduct might require a hearing; if the defense lawyers prevail there, it could result dismissal of the remaining charges against the three men. DeLay's lawyers, joined by lawyers for Jim Ellis and John Colyandro, two political aides to the Sugar Land Republican, have raised questions about how prosecutors worked with three separate grand juries in less than a week to produce the latest indictments.

Also pending are defense motions to move the trial out of Travis County; they contend their chances of a fair trial have been poisoned by coverage of the investigation and by the anti-Republican political leanings of the county's residents. Priest, in an email to reporters, said the prosecutors have until December 20 to appeal his ruling if they wish to do so. In a written statement, prosecutors said they haven't decided on their next step.

Lawyers for the defendants attacked the conspiracy charges early on, saying prosecutors were accusing their clients of breaking laws that weren't in effect at the time. Priest agreed with them and tossed those charges. But while he said there couldn't be charges of conspiracy to illegally use corporate money in an election, there were laws at the time restricting the use of corporate money in campaigns. Those charges, he left in place. And he laid out the charges much more plainly than the prosecutors have ever managed to do.

"The Election Code by its express terms prohibits the giving or receiving of corporate funds for the purpose of financing a candidate’s election effort..." he wrote. "A person may not knowingly make or accept a political contribution in violation of Chapter 253... Therefore, a contribution intended by the corporation to be used for financing a candidate is unlawful. Likewise, if one solicits corporate contributions with an unlawful intent to divert the funds to a candidate a violation by the diverter occurs when the funds are actually so diverted, without regard to the intention of the corporate giver. Finally, if corporate contributions are received for a lawful purpose but subsequently diverted to an unlawful purpose, a violation of the election code occurs when the funds are so diverted and actually distributed to an individual candidate."

Priest cautioned he's not yet in a position to judge the facts in this case, but is just laying out the substance of the charges. Prosecutors still have to prove any of that stuff happened.

DeLay's lawyers contended that money moved around by Texans for a Republican Majority PAC was in the form of checks. The laws refer to funds, and they said there was a difference. Priest disagreed, and laid out what the prosecutors have to do to prove money-laundering charges:

"If the State can prove that funds were obtained from corporate contributors by these defendants with the express intent of converting those funds to the use of individual candidates, or if the state can prove that these defendants entered into an agreement to convert the monies already on hand, though originally received for lawful purposes, to that use by sending the money to the Republican National State Elections Committee with an agreement that funds of the same amount would then be made available by that committee to individual candidates for Texas political office, and can prove that funds in the same amount were in fact contributed to individual candidates by the Republican National State Elections Committee, then they will have established that money was laundered. The money would have become “dirty money” at the point that it began to be held with the prohibited intent. Of course, if the state cannot establish that beyond a reasonable doubt, then the defendants will be entitled to be acquitted."

Priest then went through an array of cases that spell out just what is and is not money laundering. In one, he flagged an argument that's been made in defense of what TRMPAC and the RNSEC did in 2002: "Incidentally, the court [in one of the cases cited] also held that the fact that dirty money is commingled with other, non-dirty money does not prohibit a finding of money laundering." One defense offered in this case is that transactions mentioned in the indictments were only a part of the business between the state and national political organizations.

In the indictments, the men are accused of accepting $190,000 in corporate contributions which they then sent to the RNSEC, which then contributed the same amount — in non-corporate money — to seven candidates for the Texas House of Representatives.

Faster!

DeLay's lawyers are asking the judge to hit the gas — they want quick resolutions to his legal troubles and want the judge to set hearings right away.

They're also asking him to separate the indictments against DeLay, a move that would allow Priest to move immediately on money-laundering charges against the Texas congressman while he waits on the state for its reaction to rulings on other charges. The judge has said he'll wait a couple of weeks to give prosecutors time to decide whether they want to appeal his ruling dismissing part of their indictments against DeLay and two co-defendants.

Still pending are DeLay's requests for a change of venue and his challenge that prosecutors illegally manipulated grand jury proceedings to indict him. In a letter and a motion, DeLay lawyer Dick DeGuerin asked the judge to call a venue hearing for next week and to set a tentative trial date for early January. That would allow things to keep moving on remaining charges even while Priest waits to see what the prosecutors decide about the dismissed indictment.

In his letter, DeGuerin nodded to politics, saying DeLay's legal predicament is messing with his client's day job: "As I have stressed before, disposition of these charges as soon as possible is our urgent request. Congressman DeLay was required to temporarily step down from his leadership position in Congress because of the return of the first indictment, which charged a non-existent crime. The continued pendency of these charges adversely affects the business of the 22nd Congressional District and the United States Congress."

A Little Math Problem

U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay's troubles are more political than legal at the moment; others in Congress covet his title and position, and voters in his district say they'd prefer an unnamed Democrat to the Sugar Land Republican.

First, he needs a relatively quick ending to his legal tangles in Austin if he's to regain the leadership job he lost because of the indictments. Even if he wins dismissal of the charges or is acquitted, he can lose the political game. The folks keeping his seat warm will eventually want it for themselves if he takes too long to free himself of the prosecutors in Travis County.

And his travails in Texas and in Washington are starting to erode his support at home. A Gallup Poll done for USA Today and CNN shows an unnamed Democrat would beat him 49-36 with registered voters in his district, and 47-34 with all residents (registered and not) there.

Those sorts of results generally tighten up when the unnamed candidate gets a name.

In this case, former U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson, who moved from Beaumont to run against DeLay, has the advantage of being relatively unknown. If you read that to mean that voters don't have much to hold against him, you can make the argument that their dislike for the incumbent could carry the day. DeLay's argument is more likely to be that voters won't like Lampson when they know him better, and there's almost a year left for that educational process. When asked about the Democrat, 28 percent of registered voters had favorable impressions of him, 11 percent had unfavorable impressions, and 37 percent had never heard of him. Asked about DeLay, 37 percent had favorable impressions, 52 percent were unfavorable, and 1 percent had never heard of him. (In both cases, the balance of the voters registered no opinion.)

DeLay's lawyers have talked about trying to move his trial — if there is one — from Travis to Fort Bend County. They might want to do some research first: Gallup found that 55 percent of adults in his district think the charges against him are "definitely" or "probably" true; 31 percent think the campaign finance charges are "probably not" or "definitely not" true. They were split pretty evenly (45-43 percent) when asked whether prosecutors were fairly enforcing the law or trying to hurt DeLay politically. The survey was based on phone interviews with 803 adults in the congressional district; the margin of error was +/- 4 percentage points.

The State's Top Democrat Steps Aside

Former House Speaker Pete Laney, D-Hale Center, won't seek reelection next year. Laney, first elected to the Texas House in 1972, was elected Speaker in 1993 and served for five terms. He was knocked off in 2003, after Republicans won a majority of seats in the House in the 2002 elections and raised Rep. Tom Craddick, R-Midland, into the top office.

Laney has been a thorn in Craddick's side and a daily reminder to veteran legislators of the differences between the current administration and the old one (which administration they preferred varies by member). He's also served as the focal point for conspiracy theorists on the Republican side, who credit him for many of the trip-ups engineered by House Democrats.

Other Democrats, meanwhile, have been stuck in Laney's shadow. Because he's still in office and because the Republicans presume he wants his old job back, a lot of partisan activity by Democrats has been dismissed as an effort to resurrect Laney. His departure also changes the game for moderates in the GOP, some of whom have grown accustomed to being labeled as Laney supporters. With him out of the House, their quiet conversations about Craddick successors can focus on new blood instead of revenge.

Laney took over the House after one of its periodic forays into legal trouble, and he was the first House Speaker in years to serve more than a term or two without scandal. He was elected with the class of Texas politicos who rode the Sharpstown Scandal into office in 1972, an episode that brought down then-Speaker Gus Mutscher and others. Billy Clayton was acquitted on charges of taking a bribe in 1980; he survived another term but gave way to Gib Lewis. And Lewis survived ethics misdemeanor fines early in his tenure only to have another round of ethics troubles sink him in the early 1990s. Laney followed him into office pushing ethics reforms and open access to what had become a very secretive legislative process, and served five terms (only he and Lewis have lasted that long in the high chair) before Craddick upended him in 2003.

Laney changed the legislative process by rearranging the House's session calendar to wind business down in the last six weeks rather than let everything go to midnight on the last day. That change forced the Senate to change its approach and remade the legislative process.

And he was the last in a string of Democrats at the top of state government who — because of circumstances or personalities — had to work with Republicans to get their work done. Laney and then-Gov. George W. Bush and then-Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock had a famous working relationship, partly because they actually got along, and partly because none could get anything done without the help of the other two.

Only two members — Craddick and Paul Moreno, D-El Paso — have been in the House longer than Laney. And only one other member of the huge reform class of '73 — Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston — is still in the House.

Laney's HD-85 might be the most Republican landscape in the state still in the hands of a Democratic incumbent. Laney, who remains popular there, got 59 percent of the vote in last year's general election while every other non-local Democrat on the ballot was getting creamed. Bush got 76 percent of the vote, and the average Democrat running statewide got just 41 percent of the vote there. Only one Republican has filed for the seat — insurance agent Jim Landtroop of Plainview — but with Laney out, more will join. In his retirement announcement, Laney encouraged potential candidates to run, adding, "the people of this district have an expectation of bipartisanship."

DOJ Split Over Texas Redistricting

Staff lawyers at the U.S. Department of Justice thought the congressional redistricting plan approved by Texas lawmakers in 2003 was unconstitutional, but were overruled by their bosses. And keeping their memo under wraps until now (The Washington Post broke the story) probably saved Republicans from defending themselves against the objections raised by those staff lawyers.

The U.S. Supreme Court is still considering whether to hear the challenge to the plans which, after being approved by DOJ, were approved by a panel of three federal judges. It might be too late, but lawyers for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund publicly asked the Supremes to look at the memo before deciding whether to hold a full hearing.

In a long memo (available in the Files section on our website or by clicking here) which was never seen by the three judges who decided the case, staff attorneys in the agency's voting rights section said the Texas plan dilutes minority voting strength. Those lawyers unanimously recommended that it be rejected. Their superiors overruled them and that position — that the maps were legal after all — has so far held up in court. Republicans dispute the minority claim, noting that the number of Blacks in the Texas delegation increased from two to three. Democrats acknowledge that, but say the number of districts where minorities have significant voting strength was cut. Voters in two of the old minority districts elected Anglos to Congress, according to that argument.

Those maps were also used in the 2004 election in which Republicans overtook Democrats in the Texas delegation to Congress for the first time since Reconstruction. The Texas maps produced a gain of five Republican seats in the delegation and swung the partisan balance of the Texas crew in Washington to the GOP. Those five seats gained in Texas were the only five seats the GOP gained in Congress in the 2004 elections.

Political Notes

Houston voters pick a state representative this weekend, settling the runoff contest between Democrats Ana Hernandez and Laura Salinas in HD-143 to replace the late Joe Moreno.

• The next special election on the plate will replace Rep. Todd Baxter, R-Austin, in HD-48. Ben Bentzin is the only Republican who's signed up. He'll face at least two Democrats: Donna Howard and Kathy Rider, both of whom have school board credentials on their resumes. Kelly White, who lost to Baxter in 2004, apparently won't run with all those Democrats in the hunt. And Andy Brown hasn't signed up for the special amidst questions of whether he's lived in the district long enough to be eligible for the January election (he is eligible for the regular election). Filing in that race is open through December 19.

• Dan Patrick, the radio talker who's running for state Senate in Houston, touts a poll that shows him ahead of the other candidates — Mark Ellis, Peggy Hamric, and Joe Nixon — in a four-way race. He's at 38 percent, according to his survey, followed by Hamric at 13.3, Nixon at 8.5 percent and Ellis at 7.8 percent (the margin is +/- 4.9 percent). It also contends he's got higher favorable ratings than the others, by far, and that his unfavorables are lower than Ellis', while higher than the two state representatives. The battle there is well underway; Nixon has launched his second round of television spots. These focus on immigration policy, mainly a federal concern, but an issue that apparently polls well with GOP primary voters (in Houston and elsewhere).

• San Antonio City Councilman Richard Perez told the Express-News he won't run for the HD-118 seat opened by Rep. Carlos Uresti's decision to challenge Sen. Frank Madla, D-San Antonio Only one candidate — Republican Steve Salyer — is in that House race at the moment. Salyer lost in 2004 to Uresti, by a 15-point margin.

• A couple of incumbent Republicans have obstacles between them and reelection bids. Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, drew Chris Hatley, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, in the primary. Rep. Delwin Jones, R-Lubbock, will face Lubbock businessman Van Wilson in March.

• When he quit the chairmanship of the Dallas County GOP, Nate Crain said he might run for chairman of the Republican Party of Texas. He's not saying it's a go, but in an email to members of the State Republican Executive Committee, he raises a bunch of questions about the current condition of the RPT. That email says the party has less money on hand than any of its big-state counterparts and questions whether the Texas GOP has an "active major donor program," and no finance director or finance committee. He also questions the party's decision to "rush into an agreement with the Travis County Attorney to limit the RPT  Get Out the Vote effort in 2006, when a more aggressive approach would have been appropriate." He's trying to light a firecracker: The SREC meets over the weekend.

• Blood from Turnips Department: Attorney General Greg Abbott says his office got $8.3 million in back taxes out of the bankruptcy estate of Enron, the dead Houston energy company.

Friends in High Places

Alex Castano, running in a crowded Republican field to replace Rep. Terry Keel, R-Austin, in HD-47, picked up an endorsement from Texas Railroad Commissioner Victor Carrillo. Carrillo, the first statewide official to endorse in that contest, lives in the district. Castano also added a new line to his campaign literature, saying he's the only candidate in the race with kids in public schools and thus has a vested interest in education reform and school finance. That's true now, but until this year, he and his wife schooled them at home.

• Shane Sklar, a Democrat from Edna who is challenging U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Surfside, got the endorsement of the Texas Farm Bureau's political action committee (it's called AGFUND). Sklar, a rancher, is the executive director of the Independent Cattlemen's Association of Texas.

• Rep. Joe Strauss, R-San Antonio, won a special election to get that job and now wants a full term. And he starts with an out-of-district endorsement from Rudy Giuliani of New York. Think about this: He didn't use Giuliani to attract supporters, but surprised them at a fundraiser. The guy from New York must have been interested in seeing some of San Antonio's money folk.

Political People and Their Moves

William Powers Jr., officially now, is the president of the University of Texas at Austin. The former dean of the university's law school, Powers was the only finalist for the job. He's replacing Larry Faulkner, who's stepping down after holding the post since 1998.

For the fourth time in a row, the Texas Farm Bureau elected Kenneth Dierschke as its president. He beat Bob Read, a rice farmer and former TFB district director. Dierschke lives in San Angelo and raises cotton, milo, and wheat.

Norman Darwin of Weatherford will be the state's first Injured Employee Public Counsel, advocating for employees in the state's worker compensation system. Darwin, chosen by Gov. Rick Perry, is an attorney with offices in Fort Worth.

Donna Kay McKinney is leaving Sen. Jeff Wentworth's district staff to work for Bexar County Tax Assessor-Collector (and former state Rep.) Sylvia Romo. She's worked for the San Antonio Republican for nine years.

The new spokesperson for the Texas Democratic Party is Amber Moon, a Texan whose most recent gig was in Washington, working for U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Missouri.

Deaths: Former U.S. District Judge Eldon Mahon of Fort Worth, or heart failure. He was 87.

Quotes of the Week

Kinky Friedman, telling Bookslut.com why he's running as an independent: "The Republicans and the Democrats let us all down. The only time they get off their asses is to attack each other."

Dick DeGuerin, reacting to a gibe from his Democratic daughter for representing Tom DeLay, a Republican, in the San Antonio Express-News: "Sweetie, I don't have to be a Branch Davidian to represent David Koresh."

Jason Stanford, a political consultant working for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris Bell, quoted in the Houston Chronicle on the incumbent's popularity: "Rick Perry's poll numbers are kind of like a Panhandle winter weather forecast, continued low- to mid-40s with a possibility of hell freezing over."

Democrat Barbara Ann Radnofsky, who's running against U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison: "I'm not a fool and I don't pursue things in a foolhardy manner. This can be done. All it takes is real hard work, intelligent analysis and going to talk to people. It is quite doable."

Texas Tech football coach Mike Leach, talking about the Aggie Corps in The New York Times Magazine: "How come they get to pretend they are soldiers? The thing is, they aren't even in the military. I ought to have Mike's Pirate School. The freshmen, all they get is the bandanna. When you're a senior, you get the sword and skull and crossbones. For homework, we'll work pirate maneuvers and stuff like that."

---

Texas Weekly: Volume 22, Issue 26, 12 December 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.

The United States Supreme Court will hear an appeal of the Texas congressional redistricting case. The maps were redrawn in mid-decade after Republicans took control of the state Legislature; after approval from the Bush Administration and by a three-judge federal panel, they were used to elect a congressional delegation that, for the first time in modern history, features a Republican majority.This particular plan has provided Texas politics with a steady diet of drama. The Legislature couldn't agree on congressional maps in 2001 and so a panel of federal judges drew one. It gave Republicans only 15 of the 32 seats in the delegation. In 2002, Republicans took over a majority of seats in the Texas House and used that new advantage to elect Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, and then to draw new congressional maps that, when finally in place, put Republicans in 21 of the 32 Texas seats. On the way, the Legislature was blocked once when most House Democrats left the state for Ardmore, Oklahoma, to deny the House a quorum, and blocked again when 11 Senate Democrats spent a month in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to halt consideration in the upper chamber. Neither effort affected the final result: Republican legislators got a late and critical assist from U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay of Sugar Land and drew the map that's now in place. Staff lawyers for the U.S. Department of Justice unanimously rejected the map, but were overruled by their bosses. A three-judge federal panel ratified that decision, and the 2004 elections gave the Republicans five more seats in the Texas delegation. Those five seats were the only net gains in the entire U.S. House that year. The groups that sued to overturn the case (all of the cases have been rolled into one) argue, variously, that the new plan illegal dilutes the voting power of minorities, that the new maps were drawn for no reason other than partisan gerrymandering, and that the drawers of new maps should have been forced to use new census data to account for growth in the state since the 2000 Census was completed. One argument was that the growth was disproportionately in minority populations who, because they weren't recounted, were cheated of their electoral clout. Both sides reacted as you might expect, with Republican officials like Rick Perry, Greg Abbott and Tom Craddick saying they're certain the court will find the current plans constitutional, and Democrats and others -- like the plaintiffs -- saying they expect the court to overturn what Texas lawmakers did back in 2003. The Supremes will hear arguments on March 1 of next year -- about a week before the Democratic and Republican primaries. And they'll probably rule -- if things follow the normal course -- before the July 4 break. Should they rule the maps illegal, as the court did in 1997, they could toss out the results of the primaries and order new congressional elections.

Gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman launched a television campaign designed to attract attention and to sell some of the $29.95 action figures he's peddling to finance his campaign. The first three spots are viewable at his website www.kinkyfriedman.com.

The Texas Tax Reform Commission now has its own website, where you can get meeting times, materials, contact numbers and all that jazz: www.ttrc.state.tx.us.That panel, appointed by Gov. Rick Perry and headed by former comptroller John Sharp, will hit the road hard next month, with public hearings set for Austin (1/9), El Paso (1/11), Laredo (1/26), Lubbock (1/23), Temple (1/18), the Valley (1/27), and Waco (1/18). You can get the times and locations off their website, along with downloads of the printed materials they're working from. The group doesn't have a deadline for making tax recommendations to the governor and to lawmakers, but the Texas Supreme Court gave lawmakers a June 1 deadline for bringing the school finance system in line with the state constitution.

Report cards, a self-ordered investigation, and a new trade groupTexas Lawmakers are getting higher marks, on average, from a business group and an environmental one. The latest legislative report card from the Texas Association of Business is online at www.txbiz.org; the new ratings from the Texas League of Conservation Voters is at www.tlcv.org. In both cases, the groups scored lawmakers on issues and votes that were important to the groups. One note on the TAB ratings: House members weren't graded on any of their tax votes during two special sessions on school finance last summer, though they were examined for votes during the regular session. • Dallas political consultant Bill Ceverha, a member of the board at the Employee Retirement System of Texas, asked the ERS to look into complaints about his work as a lobbyist, which he says was completed prior to his time on the board. Democratic legislators have been complaining that his personal bankruptcy and his role as a lobbyist conflict with his position at ERS. Ceverha was the treasurer for Texans for a Republican Majority PAC, and filed for personal bankruptcy after losing a civil suit related to his role in the 2002 elections. The ERS board will be back for sessions in January and in February, and could take up the issue at either of those meetings. • We told you a while back about the Texas Manufacturers Association; at the time, it was just an idea, and now it's getting organized. Some of the so-called "heavy metal" and other capital intensive industries want a group that can lobby on tax and other issues. Existing associations, like the Texas Association of Business, have broader memberships and can't always lobby on a particular issue because of conflicts among members. TAM doesn't have a director yet and is still assembling its board, but it'll probably be in place in time for a spring special session on school finance and taxes.

Gammage is in, Grusendorf draws a challenger with a resume, Heflin gambles on reelection and other tales from the trail...Bob Gammage, who resigned from the Texas Supreme Court and left state government in the mid-1990s, will seek the Democratic Party's nomination for governor. He filed his papers with a blast at Gov. Rick Perry and little to say to others already in the contest: Felix Alvarado and Chris Bell. Gammage said he's running against corruption in politics and that he'll be proposing reforms (and the rest of his agenda) in a formal announcement later on. Gammage's resume includes two years in the Texas House, four in the Texas Senate, two in the U.S. House, eight on the state's 3rd Court of Appeals, and four on the Texas Supreme Court. There's a website with more info: www.gammageforgovernor.com. • Rep. Kent Grusendorf, the Arlington Republican who chairs the House Public Education Committee, will face a former Arlington ISD president and member of the State Board of Education in the March GOP primary. Diane Patrick's announcement spanked Grusendorf for failing to pull together a school finance plan. Patrick is an education professor at UT Arlington. This might be the first time two former members of the State Board of Education have run against each other for a seat in the Texas House. • Former Appropriations Chairman Talmadge Heflin prefers a rematch to a chance at running the state's lottery games. The Houston Republican withdrew his name from contention for chief executive of the Texas Lottery Commissions and said he'll run for the Texas House. He lost his spot in the Legislature earlier this year when House members decided an election recount in favor of Hubert Vo, D-Houston. Heflin says he will take another crack at Vo, this time with the mantle of incumbency on the other side. • We left Vicki Truitt, R-Southlake, off of last week's list of Republicans who'll face challengers in their own primaries. Put William Langdon Skinner on the list for HD-98. • Rep. Dora Olivo, D-Rosenberg, filed for reelection and will face Steve Brown -- until recently an Austin-based lobbyist -- in the Democratic primary. • Move Tan Parker of Flower Mound from explorer to candidate. He's running in the GOP primary for the position now held by Rep. Mary Denny, R-Aubrey. Also in the hunt: Ricky Grunden, a Krum businessman, and Anne Lakusta, a former school board member who's in the real estate business. • Rep. Mark Strama, D-Austin, can stop whistling; he's got a Republican opponent in HD-50, and two more who haven't signed up yet. Jeff Fleece, a West Point grad and former staffer to George W. Bush's presidential campaign will be in that contest. Strama beat Rep. Jack Stick, R-Austin, in a squeaker last year; the Democrat got 48.6 percent of the vote and won because 3.7 percent went to Greg Knowles, a Libertarian. • Rep. Joe Nixon, R-Houston, wants to kill the Senate rule that allows one-third of the senators to block consideration of legislation. He calls that an "objectionable obstacle to progress" and says the upper chamber ought to get rid of it. Nixon is one of four candidates after Jon Lindsay's spot in the Senate; Lindsay isn't seeking another term. That rule is a Senate and lobby favorite because it makes it easier to block a piece of legislation. • Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson doesn't have an opponent yet and apparently never has been advised to be careful what he asks for. He sent reporters a proposed personal ad, to wit: "REPUBLICAN SEEKING DEMOCRAT/MWM, 59, Republican Land Commissioner seeks Democrat opponent for 11-month relationship. Must be willing to visit 100's of Texas counties, enjoy walks on eroding Texas beaches, and enjoy swapping stories (occasionally true) with Texas veterans. Interest in the Oil & Gas business a plus. Should be emotionally prepared for defeat. Millionaires need not apply (been there, done that!) If interested visit www.votepatterson.com."

A doll with a smart mouth, or a lump of coal?The Kinky Friedman doll talks when you push the button on its back. It says 25 things, according to Friedman's campaign, including some that would probably get you kicked out of the house during the holidays. The list: I can't screw things up any worse than they already are... I'll sign anything except bad legislation!... How hard could it be?... If you elect me the first Jewish governor of Texas, I'll reduce the speed limits to $54.95... If you don't love Jesus, go to hell... I'm not pro-life, I'm not pro-choice, I'm pro-football!... I don't know how many supporters I have, but they all carry guns... My heroes have always been teachers, firefighters, cops and cowboys... I'm gonna de-wussify Texas if I gotta do it one wuss at a time... Read my lips, I don't know... I'm not anti-death penalty, I'm anti-the-wrong-guy-getting executed... I'm running for Governor, not God... Trust me -- I'm a Jew, I'll hire good people... Hell, yes, it's a Cuban cigar. But I'm not supporting their economy. I'm burning their fields... I support gay marriage. They have every right to be just as miserable as the rest of us... The only two good balls I ever hit was when I stepped on the garden rake... I've got a head of hair better than Rick Perry's -- it's just not in a place I can show you... Money may buy you a fine dog, but only love can make him wag his tail... I'll keep us out of war with Oklahoma... Texas has a Capitol that was built for giants but it's inhabited by midgets... Why the hell not?... Friedman's just another word for nothing left to lose... Never reelect anybody... May the God of your choice bless you... and finally, Thank you very much! You're welcome, Kinky! • Click your way over to www.twolumpsofcoal.com, a site run by an Austin middle-schooler with entrepreneurial tendencies (no, we're not related, and this isn't a paid ad, either). Their slogan: "Who Doesn't Deserve Some?"

Only 3,512 Houstonians turned up for a special election to fill Joe Moreno's shoes in HD-143. The winner, with 61 percent of the vote, was Ana Hernandez, a former aide to Moreno who was backed by most of Houston's Democrats in the state Legislature.Laura Salinas got 1,365 votes to Hernandez' 2,147 -- a margin of 782 votes. More people -- 6,174 -- voted in the first round, which had six candidates in it. Hernandez got more raw votes, with 2,625, but only mustered 42.5 percent in the November election. All four of the losers endorsed Salinas, to no avail. One more thing: Next year's elections (mainly the Democratic primary) will determine who gets a full term starting in January 2007.

Andy Brown, an Austin attorney who wants a spot in the Texas House, isn't eligible to run in the HD-48 special election to replace Rep. Todd Baxter, R-Austin.That's a January 17 election, and since he won't have lived in the district for a full year at that point, the Texas Secretary of State won't accept his application. Brown is still eligible for the regular election run -- March primary, November general. Three candidate are lined up for the special election: Democrats Donna Howard and Kathy Rider, both of whom have been school trustees and school board presidents, and Republican Ben Bentzin, who has never held political office. Filing is open until next week (12/20 12/19).

Katy Hubener is alone in the Democratic primary in HD-106; Iraq war veteran Christopher Combest, who was going to run, has dropped out.Hubener wants to replace Rep. Ray Allen, R-Grand Prairie. She came close last year in a challenge race, pulling in 47.4 percent against the incumbent in a year when George W. Bush's presence on the ballot added some momentum to Republican campaigns in Texas. Allen says his current term will be his last and Hubener is after the open seat. Combest, an Army lieutenant, hoped to be out of active duty in time for the primary, but told supporters this week that he won't finish in time and won't make the race. He says via email that he'll be back in mid-March, that he hopes to get involved in Democratic politics when he's in the Army Reserve, and that he wishes Hubener the best in the race. On the Republican side, Kirk England, the son of Grand Prairie Mayor Charles England, is vying for Allen's spot. England is an insurance agent and a recent convert to the GOP. He voted in Republican primaries in 2004, and with the Democrats in 1994 and 1996; he didn't vote in either party's primaries in the years in-between, according to Dallas County records.

Saying that you're a Republican, and that you're a candidate for governor, or even that you're a Republican candidate for governor, is not the same as saying you'll seek the GOP's nomination for that office in 2006. And that's why the state's scribbling scrum of political reporters won't close the door on speculation that Carole Keeton Strayhorn will run as an independent next year.Strayhorn, the state's comptroller, has been a leading Republican vote-getter in past general elections. But her results in contested statewide primaries are mixed, and facing incumbent Gov. Rick Perry in a GOP primary dominated by the social conservatives who put him in office is daunting. Things change rapidly in politics, but every poll we've seen shows Perry smothering the comptroller if the primary were held now. Even if she hasn't raised a dime in the current six-month period -- an unlikely prospect -- Strayhorn will enter 2006 with at least $5 million in her campaign chest. The primary elections are on March 7, or nine weeks after the first of the year. Anyone who can spend at the rate of roughly $500,000 per week has to be considered a threat, no matter what the polls say now. If she has more money than that, she'll be a heckuva pest whether she's running in a primary or not. But Strayhorn's political strength has always been in the general election, where swing voters and crossover Democrats dilute the hard-core Republican voters who control the outcomes in GOP primaries in March. Strayhorn has until January 2 to make her intentions known. That's the deadline for filing, either as a Republican, a Democrat, or an independent. • She'd have to put a petition-signing network together. The whole reason for parties is to maintain such networks, but independents like Kinky Friedman have to build their own organizations. Friedman's campaign is deeply into that process and has organized 50 or 60 of the larger counties in Texas. The One Tough Grandma Party would have to start from scratch, relying in part on disenchanted Republicans who might form the nucleus of a statewide organization for her independent candidacy. One hurdle is Friedman, who has already been harvesting anti-Perry and anti-Party voters. He's the bigger celebrity, is more organized (at this point), and is in a position to tag her as a "me, too" independent. • The Legislature is coming back in April or May to try to hammer the state's school finance system into constitutional form. Strayhorn, as comptroller, will deliver the official numbers on their tax and revenue proposals. That provides her an opportunity for political mischief, and how it's received will depend on whether she's politically dead or alive. If, by spring, she's a GOP primary loser and a former candidate for governor, she'll be easier to ignore. If, on the other hand, she's a gubernatorial candidate in the middle of a petition drive to get on the ballot in November, she'll get more attention. • Low talk among some Austin Republicans over the last several months has focused on whether Strayhorn would switch parties and run as a Democrat. She was a Democrat in the first place, but jumped to the GOP in the 1980s to mount an ill-fated challenge to then-U.S. Rep. J.J. "Jake" Pickle, D-Austin. You can still find Democrats in Central Texas who are still angry about that. One of her sons is the spokesman for the nation's top Republican, George W. Bush. And she's not pro-choice like most Democrats are. A switch from the elephants to donkeys would be a tough row to hoe. Besides, she's consistently said she's a Republican and intends to remain one. Isn't it possible that she's telling the truth? • An independent Strayhorn could be really bad news for Democrats like Felix Alvarado, Chris Bell, and Bob Gammage. Some of the financiers who are typically with Democrats are with Strayhorn this time. If she's out of the race in March, some of those contributors might be interested in the Democratic nominee. If she's still in the race, they'll still be with her, and the Democrats will still be looking for funding from a shrunken donor base.

State Rep. Richard Raymond, D-Laredo, is giving up his bid for Congress and has filed with the Webb County elections office to run for reelection to the Texas House.He's been working on a challenge to U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo. Former U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, D-San Antonio, was knocked off by Cuellar last year in a very tight race that changed outcomes several times before the courts ended recount fights in Cuellar's failure. Rodriguez is also challenging Cuellar this year. The district stretches from Zapata County on the south to Hays County on the north, or from the state's border with Mexico almost to the Texas Capital. Raymond held a financial lead over the other two Democrats in that race at the end of September, but it was largely due to $300,000 in loans guaranteed by Raymond himself. He collected $199,225 from individuals during the first nine months of the year, according to FEC data compiled by Political Moneyline (www.fecinfo.com), and he spent $76,996 during that same period. As of September 30, he had $430,397 in the campaign till. Cuellar raised more, $486,491; spent more, $193,604; borrowed none; and had less on hand when the period ended, $279,645. Rodriguez raised $104,251, spent $44,777, didn't borrow anything, and ended up with $70,596 at September 30. In a written statement, Raymond referred to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to hear the Texas redistricting case, and the possibility that the court will change the lines in Texas as a result. He didn't say this: Redrawing, if it happens, could knock some candidates out of their chance to win a spot in Congress by forcing new elections under a new map. Since the court isn't hearing that case until March, Raymond and others in similar situations have to decide whether to risk running for election in a district that might not exist in eight months, or to stay put and run for offices they know won't change during the 2006 elections. Raymond's move from one race to the other and then back -- while it looks like the safer move -- could easily backfire. While he was out of the race for reelection in HD-42, former Webb County Judge Mercurio Martinez, also a Democrat, got in. Now that Raymond's back, Martinez called him a friend, but said he'll stay in the race. He said he hopes Raymond "will now support the congressional candidate who will make sure our community continues to have a voice in Washington" -- that'd be a plug for Cuellar. And while he didn't say anything negative about the incumbent, he said this about his own self: "I am a man of my word. My community knows where I stand. I do not switch from side to side."

Former judge and legislator Bob Gammage, who's been "exploring" the idea for several weeks, plans to file for a spot in the Democratic gubernatorial primary on Thursday.Gammage is a former Texas Supreme Court Justice who also served in the Texas House and Senate, on the state's Court of Appeals, and in Congress. He'll face former U.S. Rep. Chris Bell, D-Houston, and Fort Worth educator Felix Alvarado in the Democratic primary in March.

Teel Bivins -- the U.S. Ambassador to Sweden -- is stepping down for health reasons. The Amarillo Republican, who was a state senator for 15 years before George W. Bush appointed him to the current spot, will stay on the job until the end of January. Word got back to the states via his Christmas card that said goodbye to Stockholm; it was picked up by the Amarillo Globe-News. Gov. Rick Perry appointed Lewis Benavides of Oak Point (it's in Denton County) to the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation, and named Gina Parker of Waco the presiding officer of that panel. Benavides works in human resources at Texas Woman's University. Parker is an attorney and businesswoman in Waco, and also a past and probably future candidate for chair of the Texas Republican Party. Perry named Yvonne Batts and Frank "Skip" Landis to the Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corp. Batts is an exec and co-owner of Batts Communications in Abilene. Landis is director of the Biomedical Science Program at Texas A&M University. Carolyn Vogel leaves the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department at the end of the year and in February will become the executive director of the Texas Land Trust Council -- an affiliate of TPW that offers support for land trusts around the state. The Trust for Public Land hired Nan McRaven to be its Texas State Director. she was with Freescale Semiconductor in Austin and with its progenitor, Motorola, before that. Marc Hamlin, district clerk in Brazos County, is the new president of the Texas Association of Counties. The new president-elect is Tarrant County Commissioner J.D. Johnson, and Carol Autry -- the tax assessor-collector in Randall County -- is the new vice president. The new chairman of ERCOT is Mark Armentrout. The board of that outfit -- the Energy Reliability Council of Texas -- elected him to replace Michael Greene, who held the job for a total of six years. Armentrout, who lives in McKinney, is an exec with MBNA Technology. Kevin Thompson, chief of staff to Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, is leaving for the private sector and a gig with Vantage Learning, and Candice Shapiro -- until recently the legislative director for Todd Baxter, R-Austin -- is Branch's new L.D. Deaths: Former Texas Attorney General, state Supreme Court Justice, and Dallas County District Attorney Will Wilson Sr., best known for cleaning up gambling and prostitution in Galveston in the early 1960s. He was 93... Former Rep. Garfield Thompson, D-Fort Worth, who served for ten years ending in 1995. He was 89... James McCrory Sr., a retired political writer and columnist for the San Antonio Express-News, and before that, for the San Antonio Light. He was 82.