In which we follow the election filings...These include candidates who've filed and who've announced their filings in announcements to the press. If you see an incumbent with nothing in the space under "Returning?", don't freak out. They just haven't filed yet. The sources for all this are the state parties, and where we could get information, the county parties. State legislative candidates file with the state if their districts cross one or more county lines. Otherwise they file locally. One last thing: We'll change these as we get new information, and the date at the top of each chart will tell you the last time it was updated. Filing continues through January 2.

Tom Craddick was right all along, according to Attorney General Greg Abbott: "A court would likely conclude that the Speaker of the House is a state officer." And Abbott said impeachment isn't the only way to remove a speaker and that the Constitution doesn't prevent or require the House from replacing a deposed speaker in mid-session.

That agrees with Craddick's position on those issues. Abbott didn't get into the Speaker's authority to recognize or not recognize members for motions and questions from the floor, saying that's a matter of House rules and that, as a member of the executive branch, he's got no legal business playing there.

Speakers can be impeached, with Senate approval, or expelled by two-thirds of the members of the House (there's a question in that: can you expel a speaker who won't recognize a motion for expulsion?), or booted for bribery convictions, or cast out if they lose an election contest that undoes their right to be in the House in the first place. But in the absence of a House rule making it possible, they apparently can't be ousted by a motion to vacate the chair.

The full opinion is available here, and here's the text of Abbott's summary:

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SUMMARY (from text of opinion)

The Texas Constitution and state statutes are silent as to whether the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House are "officers of this State" for purposes of removal from office under article XV, section 7 of the Texas Constitution.  Thus, any interpretation of this question must be governed by court decisions.  The Texas Supreme Court has issued one opinion and adopted one opinion concerning article XV, section 7 removal—the Dorenfield and Knox cases.  Although neither decision is a model of clarity, they are the best authority available.

In both Dorenfield and Knox, the courts found the officers in question—the San Antonio State Hospital Superintendent and a member of the Texas Review Commission—to be state officers.  Although not purporting to lay out an exhaustive list of potential factors, the two decisions examined, inter alia, whether the officials’ offices were created by law, whether the officers performed sovereign or governmental functions that affect the public as a whole and are continuing in their nature, whether they served terms fixed by law, and whether they took constitutional oaths of office.

Applying this analysis, we believe a court would likely conclude that the President Pro Tempore of the Senate is not a state officer.  Although the President Pro Tempore’s office is created by law and requires a constitutional oath, the office’s relevant duties are primarily provisional in nature, having effect only in the absence of the Lieutenant Governor, and the term of office is not fixed by law.

Applying the same analysis, however, a court would likely conclude that the Speaker of the House is a state officer.  The Speaker’s office is created by the Texas Constitution.  The Speaker performs numerous sovereign and governmental functions that affect the general public, including the substantial and ongoing statutory responsibility of serving as Joint Chair of the Legislative Budget Board.  The Speaker most likely serves for a fixed term:  his tenure explicitly begins when the House first assembles and temporarily organizes, and, due to his ongoing duties imposed by law, must continue until the next session commences.  Finally, the Speaker takes the constitutional oath of office in addition to his oath as a House member.

The Texas Supreme Court has concluded that a Texas Review Commission member and the Superintendent of the San Antonio State Hospital are state officers.  Given those holdings, we believe a court would likely conclude that the Speaker’s substantial sovereign and governmental functions affecting the general public as a whole exceed those exercised by the Texas Review Commission member and the Superintendent of the San Antonio State Hospital and, as such, the Speaker is an officer of the state.

As a state officer, the Speaker is subject to impeachment under article XV, section 7 of the Texas Constitution.  But the fact that the Speaker can be impeached under article XV, section 7 does not mean that impeachment is the only means of removing a Speaker.

At a minimum, both the Speaker and the President Pro Tempore are subject to expulsion under article III, section 11 of the Texas Constitution or exclusion under article XVI, section 2 of the Texas Constitution.  Indeed, section 665.007 of the Government Code expressly provides that “the remedy of impeachment as provided in this chapter is cumulative of all other remedies regarding the impeachment or removal of public officers.”  Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. § 665.007 (Vernon 2004) (emphasis added).  Accordingly, impeachment is not the only way to remove a Speaker.

If the Speaker were impeached, the Texas Constitution allows the impeachment judgment to extend to, but need not include, removal from office or disqualification from holding office.  And if the Speaker were legally removed from office, article III, section 9(b) of the Texas Constitution—on its face—neither requires nor precludes the election of a new Speaker by the House.

Finally, this office will adhere to the Texas Constitution’s separation of powers doctrine and longstanding precedent in declining to answer questions requiring an interpretation of Senate and House Rules or questions regarding legislative parliamentary decisions.

---

The ruling is an answer to questions lawmakers posed after the legislative session. Craddick asserted "absolute power" over recognizing members, saying there's nothing in House rules that forces him to entertain questions or motions, including motions designed to remove him from the presiding officer's chair.

It was a definitive moment in his speakership. Members — some, anyway — wanted to move to "vacate the chair" and never found out whether they had the votes to do that or not. Why? Because before you can have a vote, the official question has to be posed to the full House, and Craddick's ruling was that only he can determine which questions get posed.

The ruling held for the remaining days of the session, but the war continues, both in the elections and in the questions sent to Abbott in the weeks after the end of the legislative session.

Legislators filed piles of briefs arguing the fine legal points, but the questions, really, boil down to: Does the speaker have the powers he claimed? Can speakers be removed in mid-session? If they are removed, can they be replaced right away?

And the positions basically fell into variations on these questions. Does the AG or anyone in the executive branch or the judicial branch have the constitutional power to tell the House how to conduct business? Is the speaker a creature of the state constitution or a creature of House rules (that goes to the question of who regulates him, if anyone)? Does anything in the constitution protect the speaker and his powers from the will of the House in the middle of a session? Is there a way to remove and/or replace a speaker in mid-session, or is that something that happens only as the House convenes at the beginning of each two-year cycle?

Abbott's decision to collect briefs and take his time with this surprised some observers, especially those who thought he was playing — unnecessarily — with the nasty political virus that rages on both sides of the aisle in the Texas House. He had an easy out, lawyers said: He could say the House gets to make it's own rules, and then that the constitutional questions are best left to the courts.

And since the opinions of Texas attorneys general have no legal weight, a firm ruling wouldn't bind the players in the political fight, and could only splash Abbott with those House germs. Put it this way: It's been difficult to find someone to say Abbott would extract a plum sticking his thumb in this particular pie.

This week, bloggers are adding to the legend of House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland. They're also bestowing awards, talking Oval Office politics and chatting about state races, too. And there's a very short list of extra items.

* * * * *

Moby Tom

Attorney General Greg Abbott didn't attempt to interpret House rules in his opinion on the House Speaker's authority because he knew the rules would conflict with his own opinion, claims Half-Empty. [ed's. note: The AG said the constitution lets the House make its own rules and run its own business and that the executive branch — that's the AG, among others — had no legal business there.]

Off the Kuff says the conclusion that it takes Senate action to remove the House Speaker is "Utterly ridiculous." Here's a sneak peek of Annex's judgment: "incredible misinterpretation of the state constitution... totally emasculates... astonishing conclusion... A true travesty." Annex has head House Democrat Jim Dunnam's reaction here.

PinkDome thinks the AG's opinion says absolutely nothing, while Texas Blue calls it "The Non-Opinion." Texas Observer Blog reminds everyone that many of the same people donate to both Craddick and Abbott. "Abbott agrees with Craddick," reports Trail Blazers, the Dallas Morning News' blog, who did not appreciate the last-minute release of the opinion by Abbott's office Friday night.

KVUE's Political Junkie confirms that Craddick is indeed seeking another term. The official statement, via Texas Politics, the Houston Chronicle's blog.

WilcoWise says an anonymous little birdie told them that a Craddick-engineered push poll took incumbent Mike Krusee out of the HD-52 race. Meanwhile, BurkaBlog reports that the ubiquitous Craddick has found a Republican challenger, one Dee Margo, for El Paso Rep. Pat Haggerty. Rumors abound on the Internets that have Haggerty jumping ship to the Ds. If the rumors are wrong and Haggerty stays put, Burka says, then expect a Democratic candidate to surface in the district.

* * * * *

Prez-ing Matters

Ron Paul's people say the libertarian Lake Jackson congressman is not planning a 20th anniversary comeback tour as the Libertarian Party's nominee for President, according to Trail Blazers, the Dallas Morning News' blog.

Gov. Rick Perry remains pithy regarding Paul, reports Political Junkie. Video from Texas Politics here. Muckraker has a Pauline video here and one of Perry here. The same sequence of Perry from a different angle here, courtesy of Texas Politics.

Democrats hold steady, but former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee takes the lead among Texas Republicans after a recent round of presidential primary polling, says Burnt Orange Report. Here's Texas Politics' take.

Burnt Orange publicizes an online Democratic presidential poll here. PinkDome circulates an anti-Huckabee video and sort of comes to term with the possibility of Perry becoming Vice-President. And Texas Politics reminisces about a bad parking job.

Grits for Breakfast pens an open letter to Perry asking him to return from Iowa to take care of Texas Youth Commission business.

* * * * *

Winners' Circle

The Texas Progressive Alliance, a bunch of blue blogs in the state, recognizes its Texans of The Year for 2007, Reps. Dunnam, Garnet Coleman and Pete Gallego. This year's "Gold Stars" are  Sen. Mario Gallegos, former House Parliamentarian Denise Davis, U.S. Senate nominee Rick and Houston City Councilwoman Melissa Noriega, and writer Molly Ivins, who died earlier this year. Right of Texas is "amazed that [Rick] Noriegawho often mentions his military credentials would choose to accept an award that is only given to the family members of fallen soldiers."

PinkDome dubs  Sen. Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler, a "young Dustin Hoffman" and files him under "cute republicans." San Antonio's WOAI Radio names toll critic Terri Hall San Antonian of 2007, according to Move It!, the San Antonio Express-News' traffic blog.

* * * * *

Campaign Commentary

Off the Kuff stumps for Rep. Jessica Farrar, D-Houston. Burnt Orange is canvassing the Net for Democrats to run for the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals. More and more Texas Hispanics are turning Democrat, says Burnt Orange.

Chronic, the Austin Chronicle's blog, comments on the possible HD-46 challenge by Democrat Brian Thompson. McBlogger bashes House District 52 GOP candidate John Gordon, but is a little easier on Congressional District 10 GOP challenger Charles James. And Trail Blazers speculates about HD-144 aspirations by Amber Moon, currently the communications director for the Texas Democratic.

Texas Blue profiles CD-10 Democratic candidates Larry Joe Doherty and Dan Grant, while Political Junkie relates a case of mistaken identity by Doherty.

Kuff has some things on Harris County races up and down the ballot. Texas Politics has video of John Cornyn's reelection bid announcement, and Texas Blue has an audio interview with HD-101 candidate Robert Miklos.

* * * * *

Etc.

A list of the top Internet searches for 2007, via Half-Empty.

An interview with TDP deputy communications director Hector Nieto, from Texas Politics.

The South Texas Republicans newsletter is out, via Walker Report.

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This edition of Out There was compiled and written by Patrick Brendel, who hails from Victoria and finds Austin's climate pleasantly arid. We cherry-pick the state's political blogs each week, looking for news, info, gossip, and new jokes. The opinions here belong (mostly) to the bloggers, and we're including their links so you can hunt them down if you wish. Our blogroll — the list of Texas blogs we watch — is on our links page, and if you know of a Texas political blog that ought to be on it, just shoot us a note. Please send comments, suggestions, gripes or retorts to Texas Weekly editor Ross Ramsey.

Don't believe anyone who says they called this shot unless you heard them call it: Democrat Dan Barrett beat Republican Mark Shelton in a special election runoff in Fort Worth's HD-97.The numbers — final, but unofficial — from the Texas Secretary of State: Early votes Barrett... 2,053... 54.14% Shelton... 1,670... 44.85% Total votes Barrett... 5,365... 52.19% Shelton... 4,913... 47.80% A total of 10,278 people voted in this round as against 17,680 in Round One last month.

This was Republican Anna Mowery's seat, and six Republicans were in the hunt in last month's special election. Filing for a full two-year term is still open, and only Shelton has filed for the GOP primary. But he's already lost to the Democrat. You've got to believe all the other Republicans — particularly Bob Leonard and Craig Goldman, who finished second and third in that contest — will be thinking about running in the primary. On paper, they see a Republican district and the folks on their side of the ledger will be trying to win this thing back in November.

Meanwhile, you now have a Democratic incumbent in what's supposed to be a Republican district in the most Republican of the state's large counties (A quick way to put it: Every Republican on the statewide ballot last year won election, and every single one of them did better in HD-97 than they did, on average, statewide). Low turnouts in red territory in red counties a week before the biggest holiday of the year are supposed to favor the people in the red jerseys. It's a big moment for both parties, demoralizing to the Republicans and invigorating to the Democrats. The folks on the blue side of the ledger will be trying to hold this beach head and to win some other races next year, too.

This puts the House's partisan mix at 79-71. More significant for now, it's a win for opponents of Speaker Tom Craddick. Shelton was for him. Barrett's against him.

One of Craddick's rivals for the speakership, Rep. Jim Keffer, R-Eastland, issued a statement blaming Craddick for the loss: "Tonight's outcome in the HD-97 special election proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick is a sinking ship for the Republican Party of Texas. Republicans have now lost 11 districts under Craddick's leadership, and he needs to resign before he sinks the entire Republican majority in the Texas House. Craddick's absolute authority is an abuse of democracy, and the outcome in the HD-97 race is proof enough that Texans won't tolerate his dictatorial disregard of House rules any more."

An opponent for the Speaker now, another possible for next year, and some random news...

• Tom Craddick has his first election opponent in years. City Councilman Bill Dingus is the candidate, and he'll be running as a "conservative Democrat". Craddick, first elected in 1968, last had an opponent in 2000, when he beat Democrat Gilberto Garcia 78.3 percent to 21.7 percent.

• El Paso Rep. Pat Haggerty will run again, and as a Republican (in spite of rumors that he might switch parties), and he threw in a curve ball: He'll be a candidate for speaker of the House. Whether that holds is anyone's guess, but it puts his Republican challenger, Dee Margo, in a spot. Haggerty's the only candidate in the race talking about having a Speaker from El Paso (the last one was in the 1920s). And it lets Haggerty rag on Speaker Tom Craddick without saying he's for a Democrat or for a Republican whose campaign is backed by Democrats.

• James Shepherd, a former Richardson city councilman and school board member, won endorsements from Sen. John Carona, Rep. Fred Hill (who has the seat now and isn't seeking another term) and from County Commissioner Mike Cantrell of Garland. Carona and Hill will do an Austin funder for Shepherd. That's a three-way primary; Angie Button and Randy Dunning are both from Garland.

• Mike Pearce, one of the Republicans running for Dianne White Delisi's spot in HD-55, wins endorsements from two members of the State Board of Education: Ken Mercer and Gail Lowe both say they'll support the former public school teacher.

Just after our last issue came out, the attorney general issued a long-awaited ruling on Texas House antics, the top prosecutor in the state capital called an end to his love-hate relationship with political rascals, scalawags, dopes, saints, losers, and avid practitioners of the Seven Deadly Sins, and a Democrat won an impossible election in Fort Worth.

Other than that, it was pretty quiet.

We covered all this in detail between issues in Texas Weekly's Notebook, so we'll do this in digest form here:

• The House makes and interprets its own rules and isn't subject to executive or judicial branch kibitzing, according to AG Greg Abbott. Legal translation: House Speaker Tom Craddick's ruling that he can't be unseated or challenged to recognize members is up to the House. They set their rules and conduct their own business. Political translation: If House members don't like the rules and/or want limits on the powers of the speaker, that's up to them. Expect rules to become a talking point in the elections where this comes up (if it does) and in the contest for speaker a year from now.

Secondly, Abbott says the courts would probably decide the speaker is a state official for legal purposes, but he hedged his bet and, anyhow, opinions rendered by Texas attorneys general have no power beyond persuasion. But if it's so, one way to remove a speaker is through impeachment (generally the House indicts and the Senate convicts or acquits); another is for two-thirds of the House to vote to toss him (or her). That last bit would require the speaker to recognize the insurrectionists; see the riff about House Rules in the previous paragraph.

Abbott's opinion doesn't change much. But it should end the conversation from What Happened Last May to the subject of new House rules and what the next speaker — Craddick or not — has the power to do. More detail on the Speaker's Power is at these links: Abbott's Opinion; The Questions; The Arguments; and Reactions.

• Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle announced he won't seek reelection. That's of statewide importance because the chief prosecutor in Austin has jurisdiction over crimes committed in the course of Texas politics, the Capitol, and all that. Earle prosecuted former House Speaker Gib Lewis, D-Fort Worth, and is currently involved in a legal melee with former U.S. Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land. He's gone after others and missed, including U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, former Attorney General Jim Mattox, then-Comptroller Bob Bullock, and former Land Commissioner Garry Mauro.

Everybody in the race to replace Earle is a Democrat who currently works for him. That bunch includes Gary Cobb, Rosemary Lehmberg, Mindy Montford, and Rick Reed.

• The newest state representative is a Democratic attorney from Fort Worth named Dan Barrett, who won a holiday runoff against Republican Mark Shelton in what most everyone assumed was a Republican district (the Texas Weekly Index in that district goes 23.6 points to the right, meaning the average statewide Democrat has lost to the average statewide Republican by that many points in the last two elections). Barrett won the low-turnout runoff with 52.2 percent. He's alone on the Democratic side for a full term. Three Republicans, including Shelton, are vying for a crack at him in the general election in November.

• Texas, with two sites among the finalists for the FutureGen project, lost to Illinois. Jewett and Odessa were among the contenders for that clean coal project, but the U.S. Department of Energy gave the nod to Mattoon, Illinois.

• The virtual moat around the Texas Capitol will become permanent, with a new "perimeter security" plan. They'll install retractable bollards — big, thick posts that can stop traffic or be lowered to let it through. They'll admit traffic at only one gate, and they'll move a major bus stop. They hope to replace the four 24-hour guard posts that now control traffic at each of the entrances to the Capitol grounds. The estimated tab: $3.3 million.

Leave out the presidential contest and only a handful of the 173 statewide and legislative races on the Texas ballot are without incumbents. And they're all in the Texas House.

Every race on the statewide ballot has an incumbent Republican in it, but only one — Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Cathy Cochran — is running unopposed. And three of the incumbents drew opponents from their own parties. That group includes U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and two of Cochran's court colleagues, Tom Price and Paul Womack.

• Texas has 32 members of Congress, and each of them is running for reelection. There are six lucky ducks who drew no major party opposition. Two more have primary opponents but no major party opposition in November. Most — 22 — have no primary opponents but will face the other major party's candidate in November. That leaves two, from North Texas, who have opposition in their primaries and in the general election (assuming they survive March): U.S. Reps. Sam Johnson, R-Plano, and Ralph Hall, R-Rockwall. Also of note: There are 10 Republicans in the CD-22 primary battling for a chance to face U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson, D-Stafford, in November. Ten. Really. And Ciro Rodriguez, D-San Antonio, has serious opposition in what's proven to be a competitive district. Bexar County Commissioner Lyle Larsen and businessman Francisco "Quico" Canseco are in the GOP primary.

• All 15 senators on the ballot this year are seeking reelection. We count seven lucky ducks, two with primaries and no generals, five with general elections and no primaries, and one with opposition in March and November. (Our counts here and elsewhere are based on unofficial ballots; the parties have another ten days to pull their ballots together, and there could be adds and drops, candidates we don't know about, and challenges that knock people out of the running.) Three incumbents on the early watch list: Sens. Kim Brimer, R-Fort Worth, Mike Jackson, R-La Porte, and Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo.

• The 2008 ballots have four former House members running for spots in that chamber, including a former Republican running as a Democrat, and a former Democrat running as a Republican. Only one of these matches is in a party primary: Democrat Al Edwards of Houston wants his HD-146 seat back and will run against Rep. Borris Miles, who unseated him. In November, four-termer Todd Hunter will try to unseat freshman Rep. Juan Garcia, D-Corpus Christi, in HD-32. Hunter, serving as a Democrat, didn't seek reelection in 1998. Now he's running as a Republican. In HD-98, former Rep. Nancy Moffat of Southlake wants a rematch with Vicki Truitt, who knocked her out of office. But Moffat, a former Republican, will run this time as a Democrat. And in HD-107 in Dallas, former Rep. Bill Keffer, a Republican, wants to unseat Allen Vaught, the Democrat who beat him in 2006.

• Only nine of the people who were in the House last time it met are volunteering not to come back, and both major parties have candidates in all but one of those races (we're including the HD-97 seat filled by Democrat Dan Barrett in a special election just before Christmas). Roland Gutierrez, late of the San Antonio City Council, is the only candidate who filed for the spot currently held by Democratic Rep. Robert Puente.

• Nearly half of the state's representatives — 64 — won't see major party opposition this year. Another 17 have primaries but nothing waiting in November. Party doesn't seem to have much to do with that. The House Chapter of the Lucky Duck Club includes 29 Democrats and 35 Republicans. Put another way, 44 seats now held by Republicans will be contested this year, as against 42 seats now held by Democrats.

Two House candidates are also state employees, or were until this week.

Republican Donna Keel and Democrat Diana Maldonado both work for Comptroller Susan Combs, who has decided there are too many conflicts of interest running in contested House elections while working in an agency whose budget and some policies are controlled by the Legislature. The rule, we're told, is that employees who run can go on leave if they're in contested primaries — they could be available to work again if things don't go well in March — but have to leave the agency to run in November elections. Keel, who's challenging Rep. Valinda Bolton, D-Austin, in HD-47, is outta there. So is Maldonado, who's running for an open seat in Round Rock, where Republican Rep. Mike Krusee decided not to seek reelection. Neither woman has a primary opponent.

• Sen. Mike Jackson, R-La Porte, has enemies off the ballot as well as on it. The Texas League of Conservation Voters launched a "Toxic Mike Jackson" website trash-talking the incumbent on clean air and environmental issues. He'll face a Democrat to be named later in November, after a two-man Democratic primary in March.

• The SD-21 race started with a little spice from the incumbent. Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, welcomed Democrat Rene Barrientos to the race by sending reporters a photo she took of the gate to his ranch. It's got a political sign posted for Republican candidate Louis Bruni, who'll face the winner of the Democratic primary. The money quote: "Guests at my November reception in La Salle County were surprised to see Bruni's campaign sign by the gate of Barrientos' La Golondrina ranch, indicating that he sees the handwriting on the wall and expects to lose. My Democratic opponent apparently is supporting my Republican opponent, and my Republican opponent doesn't understand that this is a Democratic district."

• Susan Criss might've pulled the trigger too early. Her camp said before the filing deadline that Democratic opponent Linda Yañez didn't have the right number of signatures to run against her for a spot on the Texas Supreme Court. But Yañez got busy collecting signatures and says now that she cured the problem before the deadline. The winner of that primary will face Republican Justice Phil Johnson in November.

• Former Frisco Mayor Kathy Seei joined the CD-4 race — U.S. Rep. Ralph Hall, R-Rockwall, is the incumbent — with signatures rather than with a fee.

• Jim McGrody, a Republican who entered and then exited the CD-23 race in San Antonio, says he'll support Bexar County Commissioner Lyle Larson in the GOP primary. The winner in that March contest will face U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, D-San Antonio, in November.

• The difference between a goof and a spoof isn't always clear. In a press release announcing his HD-129 candidacy against Rep. John Davis, R-Houston, Republican Jon Keeney of Taylor Lake Village says Republicans have to clean their own house or the Democrats will do it for them. "... it seems the incumbents in Austin have been consumed by the same problems as Congress..." he says in the press release. But that sentence has a phrase crossed out. The earlier version: "... it seems the incumbents in Austin have been drinking the same kool aid consumed by Congress..." It turned out to be a goof; they went with the first version in a later press release.

• Texas Railroad Commission candidate Dale Henry starts with an endorsement from state Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, who called him the "most progressive candidate in the race." Henry, running as a Democrat, ran previously as a Republican. If he wins the primary (his two opponents are Art Hall of San Antonio and Mark Thompson of Hamilton), he'll face Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams and will at the very least grab a footnote: He'll apparently be the first person to run against every single member of a sitting Railroad Commission. Henry already lost to Republican Elizabeth Ames Jones in the 2006 general election and to Victor Carrillo in the 2004 GOP primary.

The two major parties are taking applications and money from candidates who want to be on the 2008 ballot. And they're updating their lists of people who've signed up, at the state and local levels. Here are the links to those lists: Republican Party of Texas candidate filings
Texas Democratic Party candidate filings Filing continues through January 2, and then the parties turn things over to the Texas Secretary of State, who runs the March 4 elections. Other parties — Libertarians and Greens — select their candidates later in the year without primary elections, and they'll be added to the general election ballot once they've got their lists together. And then there are the counties. Candidates filing for state office in districts that don't cross county lines don't file with the state parties, but with their own counties Democrats and Republicans. Some of their websites have candidate filing lists, and some don't. Here's a partial list of the county party sites (not all have them, and many appear to be dormant) where House or Senate candidates file locally:

Dallas Republicans
Dallas Democrats

Harris Republicans
Harris Democrats

Bexar Republicans
Bexar Democrats

El Paso Republicans
El Paso Democrats

Tarrant Republicans
Tarrant Democrats

Travis Republicans
Travis Democrats

Bell Republicans
Bell Democrats

Brazoria Republicans
Brazoria Democrats

Brazos Republicans
Brazos Democrats

Collin Republicans
Collin Democrats

Denton Republicans
Denton Democrats

Fort Bend Republicans
Fort Bend Democrats

Galveston Republicans
Galveston Democrats

Hidalgo Republicans
Hidalgo Democrats

Jefferson Republicans
Jefferson Democrats

Lubbock Republicans
Lubbock Democrats

McLennan Republicans
McLennan Democrats

Montgomery Republicans
Montgomery Democrats

Nueces Republicans
Nueces Democrats

Smith Democrats

Williamson Republicans
Williamson Democrats

From Reps. Jim Keffer, R-Eastland, and Byron Cook, R-Corsicana, who asked for Abbott's opinion last June:

"In football terms, the Attorney General's advisory opinion has punted this issue to the courts and has fumbled in its attempted summary. Craddick is elected from his Midland district which is only 1/150th of the people of Texas.

"Based on this, we strongly disagree with the unprecedented contention that the office of Speaker is a statewide officer. Furthermore, it is unprecedented to contend that the House Speaker is subject to removal by a vote of the Texas Senate. Sadly, the Attorney General's advisory opinion only reaffirms the adage: 'Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.' Tom Craddick's declaration of 'absolute authority' is an abuse of power and undermines the basic premise of democracy in Texas government.

"We firmly believe Craddick's application of 'absolute authority' has violated constitutional rights of members of the legislature and the constituents they serve. We firmly believe our state constitution did not create the Texas House Speaker post as a dictatorial position. It is our understanding of the state constitution that the Speaker is a legislative post constructed to serve the members of the Texas House of Representatives as a presiding officer over its operation.

"Because of the Attorney General's own admission of a lack of clarity by past Court cases, it now appears that the integrity of Texas Government is still at a critical crossroads. Enough is enough. The people of Texas need to let their local representatives know that they've had enough of Tom Craddick's one-man dictatorship."

From Alexis DeLee, spokeswoman for House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland:

"The speaker welcomes the attorney general's opinion and his acknowledgement that the rules of the House, as well as the interpretation of those rules, are matters to be determined solely by the members of the House. The attorney general's opinion affirms the speaker's position on all issues, including that the speaker is an officer of the state, who serves a two-year term of office.

"Now that the attorney general has rendered his opinion, the speaker looks forward to continuing to work with legislators on the important business of the state."

From Rep. Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie: "I am glad to see the Attorney General agrees that there is no clear statutory or constitutional prohibition against removing a Speaker by means other than impeachment, and that the Speaker's authority to recognize a member is not absolute. Rather, this is a matter to be appropriately decided by the members of the House of Representatives. "I respect the Attorney General's decision to leave the business of interpreting legislative rules of procedure to the Legislative branch, and in this case, the House of Representatives. Many of the issues raised last session remain valid. It is up to the members of the Texas House to decide how the election and removal of a Speaker should be handled, and I feel confident we will find a consensus on these issues next session." From Rep. Jim Dunnam, D-Waco, head of the House Democratic Caucus:: "No one should be surprised by Greg Abbott's ruling. From the start, many other Texans and I expressed concern that the financial ties between Abbott and Craddick raise serious doubts about the fairness and independence of the opinion process. They are wed at the hip by the same donors, and the public record makes that clear (according to the Ethics Commission, they have taken more than $13.6 million in combined contributions from sources that gave $2,500 or more to each man). Unfortunately, Texas’ current Republican leadership puts allegiance to one another over the fundamentals of democracy. The result is what anyone would expect from the legacy of Tom DeLay politics. "Beneath the tortured legal reasoning is this fundamental fact: Greg Abbott threw a lifeline to his ally Tom Craddick. Craddick's lawyers concocted the notion that the Speaker serves a fixed two-year term and the Speaker that House members elect cannot be removed without Senate permission—what a joke. Now, his political partner Greg Abbott has backed up that ridiculous claim. They hope this AG Opinion will prevent any honest debate of the dictatorial and undemocratic methods we have come to expect. In that hope, they are wrong. "No person with a common sense understanding of the fundamentals in our country, much less a trained lawyer, can condone Abbott’s opinion that Craddick should have the absolute power of a Tito, Mussolini or Stalin. If Greg Abbott really believes that, then we need a new Attorney General. "Tom Craddick’s refusal to let members vote on his removal was the ultimate in political cowardice. Abbott's silence regarding Craddick's refusal to recognize members for that debate shows an equal lack of spine. As many work to ensure the rights of free men and women are available around the world, and as Texans are fighting and dying in Iraq and Afghanistan right now for those rights, it is regrettable that those same rights are absent in the Texas House, and that Greg Abbott condones that. "The ruling means one thing: Texans must vote for representatives who will elect new leadership for the Texas House in January 2009." From Republican Reps. Geanie Morrison of Victoria, Dan Flynn of Van, Phil King of Weatherford, Jim Murphy of Houston, Diane Patrick of Arlington, David Swinford of Dumas, and John Zerwas of Houston: "The attorney general's opinion is a strong confirmation that the speaker respected the constitution and the rules, and that a speaker's contest should end, not begin, on the first day of session. During the 140 days legislators are in Austin, the focus must be on addressing the business of the people and not political agendas. While we support a member's right to inquire about the rules and the democratic process spelled out in the constitution, with this opinion now issued we hope our most vigorous debates will be focused on the matters that most directly impact Texans, such as border security, property rights, education reform and fiscal discipline."

Heather Paffe is leaving her lobbying post at Planned Parenthood after almost six years there to run the Gulf Coast Oceans Program for Environmental Defense. She'll be based in Austin.

Former Deputy Texas Comptroller Jesse Ancira moves this month to DeCharme, McMillen & Associates, where he'll do business development, some tax work, and some lobbying.

Courtney Read Hoffman is hanging out her own shingle after four years with Eric Wright and Associates. Some of her clients came along to the new shop: CRH Capitol Communications.

Tom Harrison, the former executive director of the Texas Ethics Commission, is now its chairman. The board elected him last month, and named Ross Fischer vice chairman.

Mike McMullen becomes a lobbyist with the Texas Chemical Council, leaving Sen. Kyle Janek, R-Houston, where he had a number of postings. Janek's replacing him with a veteran of the Pink Building: Kelly Young will be the new director of the Subcommittee on Emerging Technologies and Economic Development.

Cory Pomeroy moves from staff attorney for the Senate State Affairs Committee to General Council for Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock. And Jennifer Fagan becomes director of that committee, as well as its general counsel. Two more changes there: Sarah Hamm, who's been working for an Austin law firm, joins Duncan as a natural resources wiz (Brandon Lipps left to return to Texas Tech law school), and Pam Dutton is leaving Duncan's San Angelo office after four years later this month.

Gov. Rick Perry ended 2007 with a slew of appointments, naming:

• Larry Kellner of Houston and Sandy Kress of Austin to the Select Committee on Public School Accountability, where they'll wait for the speaker and the lieutenant governor to fill out the panel. Kellner is chairman and CEO of Continental Airlines. Kress is a lawyer with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer and Feld with a history of involvement in education issues.

• Richard Nedelkoff as the new conservator of the Texas Youth Commission. Nedelkoff was most recently the COO for a Florida non-profit running residential and community programs for at-risk kids in ten states.

• Don Ballard of Austin to head the Office of Public Utility Counsel, which represents consumers in state and federal utility cases. He's general counsel to the Texas Workforce Commission now, and he'll replace Suzi Ray McClellan, who was first named to the job in 1995 by then-Gov. George W. Bush.

• Patricia Kerrigan of Houston to the 190th Judicial District Court, where she'll replace Judge Jennifer Elrod, who is now on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Kerrigan has been a partner at Werner and Kerrigan. She's running for the rest of the term, and will face two others in the GOP primary.

• William Boyce and Jeffrey Brown of Houston to the state's 14th Court of Appeals. Boyce was a partner with Fulbright & Jaworski. Brown has been judge of the 55th District Court in Harris County. Both will be on the ballot; neither drew a primary opponent. Jeffrey Shadwick, an attorney with Andrews Myers Coulter and Cohen, was Perry's pick for the 55th District Court post. He's got two primary opponents in March.

• Don Minton as judge of the El Paso Criminal Judicial Court No. 1. Minton is a child support judge for El Paso, Hudspeth, and Culberson counties.

Recovering: Texas Eagle Forum chief Cathie Adams, after cracking a rib and her back in a holiday automobile accident.

Deaths: Ric Williamson, the obstreperous, smart, innovative former legislator who led Gov. Rick Perry's effort to rework the state's transportation infrastructure, apparently from a heart attack. He was 55. Williamson, who served in the Texas House for 14 years, was most recently the head of the Texas Transportation Commission, single-mindedly and aggressively pushing a massive expansion and rehabilitation of the state's roads. He was both controversial and effective, and was entering his final months as chairman of the commission. Williamson, who specialized in the state budget when he was a legislator, earned the nickname "Nitro" when he was in the House, a perfect description of a guy who was both useful and volatile.

Craig Foster, a leading advocate for equal funding of public schools around the state and the founder of The Equity Center, an organization of low-wealth school districts that has been pursuing that notion for years, from cancer. Foster was executive director there for 18 years, then an advisor for another six. He was 69.

Candidates don't officially report their finances until mid-month, but U.S. Senate candidate Rick Noriega, a Democrat, says he raised about $968,000 during the fourth quarter of last year. Details will follow later in the month. Noriega's one of four Democrats seeking to challenge U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-San Antonio.

• Larry Joe Doherty, an Austin Democrat seeking the CD-10 nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, says he raised more than $150,000 during the fourth quarter of the year, enough to put his total so far at about $380,000.

• Brian Thompson, who's challenging state Rep. Dawnna Dukes, D-Austin, in HD-46, says he raised $10,145 online since announcing last month. State candidates' reports are also due in mid-January, but they'll cover the last six months of the year instead of the last three.