Check out this YouTube video, in which the governor of this fair state corresponds with a TV comic about honorary citizenship...
Check out this YouTube video, in which the governor of this fair state corresponds with a TV comic about honorary citizenship...
U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Tony Garza won't be on the Texas ballot in 2010, and you could read his statement to say he won't get back into politics at all.
He's been mentioned in speculation here and elsewhere as a possible candidate for governor or U.S. Senate. He's even fueled some of it. But he's not running this time.
Garza, a former Cameron County Judge, Texas Secretary of State and Railroad Commissioner, could self-finance a race this time out. He married a billionaire heiress to a beer fortune — María Asunción Arambúruzabála — and the two have made coy references about his seeking office when his gig as ambassador is over.
His decision not to run, he said in a statement, was spurred by another round of stories about the possibility. "Why this statement now?" he said. "I have read the stories and known for some time that seeking the nomination in 2010 was not something I was going to do. I would prefer not to have that sort of speculation detracting in any way from the important work that is still to be done here in Mexico."
And he hinted that he'd like to get involved in public service again, but maybe not in politics: "Over the course of the past 20 years, I have seen many people whose names have never appeared on a ballot — and yet, they have served our state and their communities with a decency and quiet dignity that I admire. This is what I would like to do when my tenure as Ambassador is complete: be one of those Texans who stand outside the political arena but who continue to serve and make a positive difference in people’s lives."
It's hard to run for governor if you're not standing in the political arena.
His statement to the press:Former state Sen. Drew Nixon, R-Carthage, was indicted on misdemeanor official oppression charges by a grand jury that said he illegally worked to keep two candidates for a water board off the ballot.
The Panola County grand jury's indictment says Nixon, working as the elections administrator for the Panola County Freshwater Supply District #1, refused to accept ballot applications from Dickie Jacks and Jon Kunkel, two former members of the water board who wanted to seek election.
Nixon, reached by phone, said the two wanted to run for positions that weren't on the ballot. The current board, he said, had changed its at-large elections to single-member district elections and the two men were seeking positions that weren't on the ballot in the 2006 election cycle. "I got caught in between two boards," he said. I support the single-member districts, though... we got a minority on the board for the first time after those came in."
Nixon went to the local sheriff's office to "surrender" after the indictments were issued; by afternoon, however, he was back in his office. He characterized the indictments as the result of a dispute over the change in the election process, and said he never thought of himself as the elections administrator: "We have served as their accounting firm."
There's another version. Attorney General Greg Abbott announced the two-count indictment, saying it began with an investigation by his office (Panola County District Attorney Danny Buck Davidson said his office "didn't have anything to do with it" and said Will Tatum, an attorney with the state, took the case to the grand jury). In the AG's telling of it, Nixon initially refused to take the ballot applications even though he was advised to take them by the Texas Secretary of State. Nixon and the AG agree that Nixon told the candidates they lived in the wrong precincts to be on the ballot. But the AG's office says Nixon ran out the clock on the two candidates, essentially protecting the board members he worked for by blocking their challengers attempts to get on the ballot.
Nixon also says the election issue has gone to federal court and said the court has issued a bench decision in favor of the single member districts. State lawyers say that doesn't affect their case against the former senator.
He's charged with Class A misdemeanors, which carry penalties of up to a year in jail and up to $4,000 in fines. And he said he'll enter an innocent plea at the proper time.
Nixon gave up the seat in the 2000 elections, deciding not to run after a self-inflicted scandal: He propositioned a hooker who turned out to be a police officer and served his jail time on weekends when he wasn't working in the Senate. Awkward. He decided not to make the next election — Todd Staples, now the state's agriculture commissioner, replaced him — and he's been out of the state limelight since.
Texas Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, will be one of the three co-chairs for next year's national Democratic Party convention in Denver.
She's the top official of the National Conference of State Legislatures and the chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus, and will join two other state-level politicos in that convention co-chair position. This is Title Purgatory. There's a permanent chair, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, and then there are co-chairs, including Van de Putte, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, and Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. Franklin chairs the National Conference of Democratic Mayors, and Sebelius heads the Democratic Governors Association.
Those are actually nominations at this point, though you shouldn't hold your breath waiting for the outcome. Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean announced he'll nominate the four officials at the convention next summer.
Troy Berman says he gets more questions about the hyphen than anything else right now. His boss is Shelley Sekula Gibbs, the former and would-be U.S. Rep. from CD-22. She's dropped the hyphen, since it wasn't on the voting machines when she lost a write-in campaign for Congress last year. We chased it after someone pointed out the change, and you'll find her both hyphenated and not hyphenated on her own website. Officially, it's out.
With that out of the way, Berman goes on to talk about the contest. His candidate is the only Republican officially in — several others are looking at it — and she's locked up some big-time support.
Her list: Bob Perry, President, Perry Homes; Don Jordan, CEO, Jordan Capital Management, Past Chairman, Reliant Energy; John Hamilton, Founder & CEO, Option 1 Realty; John O’Neill, Partner, Howrey LLP and author of Unfit for Command; Mike Richards, Former Texas Senator; Partner, Richards-Odem & Company; James "Jim" Baker, Chairman and President of Baker Communications and Sales Training America, Inc.; Clymer Wright, Founder, Citizens for Term Limits, Texas Finance Chairman, Ronald Reagan for President; Dan Wallrath, Founder, Wallrath Custom Homes; Trini Mendenhall Sosa, Co-Founder, Fiesta Mart; Michael C. Barrett, Partner, Barrett Burke Wilson Castle Daffin & Frappier, L.L.P., CEO, NDEx Entities; Erle Nye, Chairman Emeritus, TXU Corp; Jim Dannenbaum, President and CEO, Dannenbaum Engineering Corporation; Thomas Parr, Orthopedic Surgeon; Jack Calvin, President, Navasota Builders; and Wayne McDonnell, Director, Post Oak Bank.
Gene Christensen's website says he "may" run for Congress, but his campaign manager says that's out of date and that his guy will be in the contest even if the incumbent — U.S. Rep. Ralph Hall, R-Rockwall — runs for reelection.
Christensen is president of a NASCAR truck team — Green Light Racing — and lives in Celina, in Collin County.
He's the second Republican to show interest in a challenge. Former Frisco Mayor Kathi Seei said in April that she's in, Hall or no Hall.
The rap against the incumbent isn't his voting record; there's some prospective grave-dancing at work. Hall's been in the U.S. House since 1980 (he also did ten years in the Texas Senate) and turned 84 earlier this year. Hall was a Democrat for years but switched after redistricting and won his last two elections as a Republican. He got 64.4 percent in November with both a Democrat and a Libertarian in the hunt. More to the point, two Republicans challenged him in the 2006 primary, and Hall got 77.2 percent of the vote. He went on to get 68.2 percent in the general election, with opponents from both the Libertarian and Democratic parties.
And he told The Dallas Morning News several weeks ago that he's healthy and raring to go: "I ran a mile and a half at 5:45 this morning. I run almost every morning. I do about 45 to 50 sit-ups every night."
Terry Keel isn't a temp anymore.
The former state rep, who filled in as House Parliamentarian during the turbulent final days of the legislative session, now has that title and job fulltime. He replaced Denise Davis, who resigned the post in a dispute over Speaker Tom Craddick's ruling that he didn't have to recognize a motion challenging his position and didn't have to honor an appeal of that ruling. As an advisor to Craddick, the new state employee was one of the authors of that ruling.
Keel, a former prosecutor and Travis County Sheriff, served five terms in the House before an unsuccessful bid for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
He's been practicing law since the election; Craddick aides say he'll be allowed to do some outside legal work, and when we asked, said Keel won't have to tell Craddick or anyone else who he's representing outside while he's got the state job (That's pretty normal for lawyers, and pretty weird for parliamentarians and other state workers, who need to avoid conflicts and appearances of conflicts).
Kate Huddleston, who started as a press aide to Craddick and became a policy analyst, has been appointed assistant parliamentarian, replacing Chris Griesel, who quit when Davis did.
Bryan Collier is the new number two guy at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. He'll replace Ed Owens, who's now the conservator at the Texas Youth Commission. Collier has been with the prison system since 1985 and was most recently the director of the parole division.
Justin Furnace is the new chief of staff and legal counsel to Railroad Commissioner Victor Carrillo, replacing Kay Molina, who'll be the new general counsel at the state's Building and Procurement Commission. Furnace was most recently with the Abilene law firm of McCreary, Veselka, Bragg & Allen, and was once took an undergraduate course at Hardin-Simmons University from his new boss.
Appointments: Gov. Rick Perry named and renamed some regents to the Texas Tech University System. El Paso banker Rick Francis and Amarillo surgeon-turned-cowman Bob Stafford will remain on that panel. The new guys are John Field Scovell of Dallas and Jerry Turner of Blanco. Scovell, once a football star at Tech, is president and CEO of Woodbine Development Corp. Turner is a partner with Houston-based Vinson & Elkins. All four men are Tech alums.
The Guv named three regents for his alma mater, Texas A&M University System, including the father of a regent to the University of Texas System. J.L. Huffines, chairman of Huffines Auto Group in Dallas, is the father of James Huffines, who chairs the board of regents at UT. The elder Huffines is an A&M grad. Morris Foster of Houston, an executive with Exxon Mobil, and James Wilson of Sugar Land, chairman and CEO of an investment firm, round out Perry's list. Like Huffines, both men got their sheepskins in College Station.
Perry named Peter Holt of San Antonio — who's already on the board at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission — to be the chairman. Holt is CEO of a Caterpillar tractor dealership and one of the owners of the San Antonio Spurs.
Ooops: We put Cecilia May Moreno in Lubbock in an item last week and she's not from there. She's from Laredo. Sorry, sorry, sorry.
Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn won't get a cakewalk in 2008, but neither will the Democrat who faces him a year from November.
State Rep. Rick Noriega, D-Houston, will file papers starting his candidacy next week (they're calling this "exploratory," but don't follow the "maybe he will" with a "maybe he won't").
Noriega will be the second Democrat in the race and the poorest one. San Antonio lawyer Mikal Watts jumped into the race by looking at Cornyn's accounts, seeing $3.8 million there, and writing a personal check to match it.
Noriega can't self-finance, but he's betting on support from fellow legislators, on his military record in an election environment dominated by the war in Iraq, and on the strength of an Hispanic surname in a Democratic primary.
Promoted heavily by Texas bloggers for the last several weeks, Noriega is touting a letter signed by 49 fellow Democrats in the Texas House urging him to run and pledging their support for his campaign. His story includes a stint in Afghanistan — his wife subbed for him in the House while he was gone — that he hopes will capture voters' attention. He'll start his fundraising after he files next week and has hired political consultant James Aldrete and fundraiser Yaël Ouzillo to get things going. (Christian Archer is running Watts' campaign.)
He says he'll talk a lot about what he sees as a failure of leadership at the state and national level, "a difference between those that have walked the walk vs. people who read things and form opinions." He says it'll be a year-long job review on Cornyn and a job interview for him.
He has to get out of the primary first, though. The sharpest distinction so far between the primary opponents is on abortion; Watts opposes it except in cases of rape, incest and when the life of the mother is in danger. Noriega says he wants to reduce the number of teen and unwanted pregnancies, but adds, "I don't believe it's in the government's lane to tell women what they can and can't do, when it comes to their health."
He calls Cornyn "a rubber stamp for this administration," and says, "the only time he's disagreed with them is when they've tried to work in a bipartisan way, like on immigration."
Former Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice, Attorney General and Texas Secretary of State John Hill died Monday morning.See stories in: Houston Chronicle Austin American-Statesman The Dallas Morning News And his biography can be found here: Texas Politics (University of Texas) And the official family obituary follows:
John L. Hill Jr. was born October 9, 1923 in Breckenridge, Texas.
His childhood was spent in Kilgore, Texas, where he received his early education.
He was National Debate Champion while at Kilgore University.
He attended the University of Texas as an undergraduate, where he was active in campus politics, Sigma Alpha Epsilon social fraternity, and was a member of the Texas Cowboys honorary service organization, where he served as Foreman (the president of that group.) He was also elected to the Friar Society, the oldest honorary society at the University of Texas.
He served in the United States Navy during World War II, serving in the Pacific. His rank was First Lieutenant.
After the War, he returned to the University Of Texas School Of Law, where he graduated in 1947. He received many awards during law school.
Judge Hill practiced law for over 60 years. He was an associate with the firm Helm and Jones, and then was a founding partner of Hill Brown Kronzer and Abraham, where he practiced for approximately 15 years. He was then a solo practitioner for several years.
Always active in politics, he was appointed Secretary of State of the State of Texas by Governor John Connally. He served in that office from March 12, 1966 until January 1968. While in that office, he instituted many reforms, including installing the Uniform Commercial Code and the many recording and informational policies and procedures which accompanied that code in its day to day application and use by lenders, borrowers, and others.
He returned to the private practice of law from 1968 until the end of 1972. In November of 1972 he was elected Attorney General of Texas, taking office on January 1, 1973. He served thereafter until January 1979. He revolutionized that office, particularly with the institutionalization of the opinion process, open records, and open meetings law.
He organized the environmental protections division, the consumer protection division, and was the first Attorney General to open regional offices around the state so that the office was more accessible to the public.
He then joined a firm titled Hughes and Hill, with offices in Dallas and Austin.
He was a leading trial lawyer for the firm, with many interesting cases including assisting EDS with international issues concerning personnel and assets in Iran during times of international crises involving that country
In 1984, he was elected Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas, ably serving in that office until January 1988. He resigned to campaign for changes in the manner of electing or selecting judges to sit in the state judicial system.
He then practiced at the law firm which became Locke Liddell & Sapp. He retired from that firm in 2005. He then became a shareholder in the law firm known as Winstead, serving as a senior member of the Appellate Section.
Considered one of the best trial lawyers in the country, he was a member of the fellows of
The American College of Trial Lawyers, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, the International Society of Barristers, and the American Board of Trial Advocates. He was a member of the American Judicature Society, serving as president of the Texas Chapter.
He was a member of the Order of the Coif Legal Society. He served as President of Texans for Judicial Excellence.
He received many awards throughout his distinguished legal career, including the Leon Green Award for Outstanding Service to the Legal Profession, the America Judicature Society Herbert Hawley Award, the Freedom of the Press Award, the Marc Gold Award for Outstanding Service to the Mentally Retarded, the Karen H. Susman Jurisprudence Award, and the Lola Wright Foundation Award for Legal Ethics.
In 1991, Judge Hill was being named Distinguished Alumnus of the University of Texas. In 1997 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the University Of Texas School Of Law.
Along with family and friends, he established the John L. Hill Trial Advocacy Center at the University of Texas School of Law. Dedicated on April 2, 2004, the Center oversees the practical training of UT Law students in trial and appellate advocacy. The Center houses the John L. Hill Teaching Courtroom, as well as three additional teaching courtrooms named in honor of other distinguished UT Law Alumni.
With his friend Ernest Stromberger, he recently completed a book about his service as Attorney General of Texas. That book is slated for publication in the fall of this year.
John Hill had many interests, including golf, hunting, and fishing. He was a great friend, who worked hard at being a friend. The stories and humorous things he has done through the years remain a source of delight to those who knew him.
He loved spending time with family and friends at the Double LL Ranch in Dripping Springs, Texas. He particularly enjoyed driving visitors around the ranch, pointing out interesting trees, creeks, hill-top views, animals, and other things he observed. His entertaining and pithy comments were legendary.
Judge Hill was a very active member of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Houston. He served in many capacities, including service on the Board of Stewards and the St. Luke’s United Methodist Church Foundation.
John L. Hill and Elizabeth Graham were married in Olney, Texas on April 4, 1946. They recently celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary. Their loving devotion to each other was beautiful to behold and experience.
Judge Hill was preceded in death by his parents, John L Hill Sr. and Jessie Hoover Hill. He was also preceded in death by his sister, Laverne Collum.
He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Graham Hill of Houston. He is also survived by his children and their spouses, Melinda Hill Perrin and husband Michael W. Perrin, J. Graham Hill and wife Lindy M. Hill, Judge Martha Hill Jamison and her husband Bruce K. Jamison, all of Houston.
He is survived by one niece, Chris Collum Burkett and husband Harold of Grapevine, Texas.
He is survived by grandchildren, Elizabeth Perrin Eades and husband Jonathan, Carter Perrin and wife Elizabeth, Hunter Perrin and wife Mary Bonner, John Graham Hill, Jr. and fiancée Maria Alsen, Anne Taylor Hill, Peter Charles Hill, Randolph Bolton Hill, Matthew Thomas Clark, Meredith Virginia Clark, Samuel Luke Jamison. He is also survived by four great-grandchildren, Gracelin May Perrin, Eliza Eve Perrin, Oliver Michael Eades, and Elizabeth Graham Eades.
Pallbearers will be his grandchildren
Mikal Watts threw a bunch of his own money into his Senate bid, but his fundraising brought in $1.1 million from other people's bank accounts.
The San Antonio Democrat says he raised that much in the first 30 days after forming his Senate committee, and said the campaign reached the end of June with $4.9 million on hand (the rest came from the candidate himself. His campaign said $400,000 of the money came from online contributions.
The Republican incumbent, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, hasn't released his mid-year financial report, and aides aren't saying much about what'll be in that document. But a spokesman, David Beckwith, said his boss will be in the lead: "If [Watts] wants to keep up with us, he's gonna have to write another check."
Separately, Watts has started staffing up, adding Jason Stanford of Austin to the juggernaut to do research and also some speechwriting, and Kim Devlin, who'll handle communications. Sherry Boyles, a one-time Democratic candidate for Texas Railroad Commissioner and former head of Annie's List, is handling some of Watts' fundraising.
Texan John Weaver still has a favorite in the GOP race for president, but not a job...Weaver — who's been on the John McCain bandwagon as long as anyone, most recently as the presidential candidate's chief strategist — resigned from the campaign, along with Terry Nelson, McCain's campaign manager. Both men said nice things on the way out the door. Weaver's a longtime political op from Texas who worked for former U.S. Rep. Tom Loeffler of San Antonio and former U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm of College Station, among others. In recent years, he's done work for some Democrats, too, as well as the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Americal Trial Lawyers Association.
The former First Lady died at home of natural causes Wednesday afternoon, surrounded by her family and friends. She was 94.The popular Texan — she was christened Claudia Alta Taylor — lived for more than three decades after the death of her husband, President Lyndon Baines Johnson in 1973. She was noted for her conservation and highway beautification efforts, a legacy Texans enjoy every day. She is survived by her daughters, Lynda Bird Robb (Charles), and Luci Baines Johnson (Ian Turpin), and by seven grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. Johnson will be buried on Sunday in Stonewall at the Johnson family cemetery. Her body will lie in repose for the public at the LBJ Library and Museum in Austin from 1:15 pm Friday until 11 am Saturday, followed by a private funeral service. A ceremonial funeral cortege will take her from Austin to Stonewall, where a private graveside service will follow. Several newspapers published detailed obituaries: The New York Times Washington Post Austin American-Statesman The Dallas Morning News Fort Worth Star-Telegram Houston Chronicle San Antonio Express-News or see a long list of articles here. And the family issued an official obituary:
Wife, mother, grandmother, conservationist, businesswoman, philanthropist, First Lady.
Lady Bird Johnson, who held claim to all of those titles and more, died at her home in Austin at 4:18 p.m. Central Daylight Time on July 11, 2007. She was 94. She was preceded in death by her husband, President Lyndon Baines Johnson, who died in 1973.
All her life, Mrs. Johnson brought beauty to her sprawling family, to the Texas Hill Country she loved, and to the nation that loved her.
She inspired the passage of the Beautification Act of 1965 — a bill her husband called a "gift" to his wife — which cemented environmentalism as a top priority in the United States. Married for four decades to one of the most powerful men in the world, Mrs. Johnson juggled extraordinarily demanding jobs as her husband's closest advisor as he rose from Congressman to Senator to Vice President to President and as mother to daughters Lynda Bird and Luci Baines. After her husband's death, she spent the next three and a half decades solidifying all that she had laid in place during their marriage.
Today, Lady Bird Johnson's legacy lives on in the millions of blooms planted in the nation's capital, in the sweeping banks of wildflowers lining U.S. highways, in the charm of Austin's revitalized Town Lake. An equally lasting legacy is her extraordinary family — Lynda Johnson Robb and her husband Charles; Luci Baines Johnson and her husband Ian Turpin; six granddaughters and one grandson; and 10 great-grandchildren (with an 11th great-grandchild expected in August, 2007).
Mrs. Johnson was born Claudia Alta Taylor in the East Texas town of Karnack on December 22, 1912. Her father, Thomas Jefferson Taylor, was owner of a general store. Her mother, Minnie Pattillo Taylor, died when Claudia was five years old, leaving the little girl and her two older brothers, Tommy and Tony, in the care of their father and their Aunt Effie. Legend has it that a nursemaid said Claudia was "as purty as a lady bird"; the sweet nickname suited her and stuck for life.
Mrs. Johnson graduated from Marshall High School in 1928 and attended Saint Mary's Episcopal School for Girls in Dallas from 1928 to 1930. She then entered The University of Texas at Austin, graduating in 1933 with a Bachelor of Arts in History and with honors in 1934, with a Bachelor of Journalism.
She met the tall, ambitious man whom she would marry when he was a Congressional secretary visiting Austin on official business. Lyndon Baines Johnson courted Lady Bird Taylor with all the single-minded energy he would later bring to elected office. They were engaged just seven weeks after their first date and married in November 1934. Mrs. Johnson recalled that "sometimes Lyndon simply [took] your breath away." Her life with Lyndon Johnson was one of such achievement in politics, business and philanthropy it left those around them breathless, too.
Mrs. Johnson was independently a successful businesswoman. In 1943, Mrs. Johnson bought a failing low-power daytime-only Austin radio station with an inheritance from her mother. Armed with her journalism degree and a tireless work ethic, she took a hands-on ownership role, selling advertising, hiring staff, and even cleaning floors. Over time, her Austin broadcasting company grew to include an AM and FM radio station and a television station, all bearing the same call letters: KTBC. The family later expanded the LBJ holdings to stations in Waco and Corpus Christi and a cable television system. After selling the television station in 1972 and the cable system in the early '90s, the family grew their radio interests in Austin to include six stations. Mrs. Johnson stayed actively involved in the LBJ Holding Company well into her eighties.
Lady Bird Johnson is probably best known for her support of her husband's career. When Lyndon Johnson volunteered for the U.S. Navy in World War II, Mrs. Johnson ran his Congressional office, serving constituents' needs in every way except voting. Her support for her husband's political career continued throughout his years in government. She campaigned actively for his race for the Congress, Senate, vice presidency and presidency. In 1960, she covered 35,000 miles for the Kennedy/Johnson ticket, and in 1964, she campaigned independently on a whistle-stop train throughout the South for the Johnson/Humphrey ticket. President Johnson paid her the highest of compliments, saying he thought that the voters "would happily have supported her over me."
Lady Bird Johnson stood by her husband on the fateful November day in 1963 when Lyndon Johnson became the 36th President of the United States after the assassination of John Kennedy. Her official White House biography notes that her gracious personality and Texas hospitality did much to heal the pain of those dark days. She created a First Lady's Committee for a More Beautiful Capital and then expanded her program to include the entire nation. She was also highly involved in the President's War on Poverty, focusing in particular on Project Head Start for preschool children.
While President Johnson was still in office, Mrs. Johnson played a key role in the plans to build the LBJ Library and Museum and the LBJ School of Public Affairs in Austin, Texas. The Library is in the process of building the Lady Bird Johnson Center, consisting of educational classrooms and outdoor landscaping. After the Johnsons' White House years ended in 1969, Mrs. Johnson authored A White House Diary, a memoir that drew on her considerable skills as a writer and historian. "I was keenly aware that I had a unique opportunity, a front row seat, on an unfolding story and nobody else was going to see it from quite the vantage point that I saw it." She also co-authored Wildflowers Across America with Carlton Lees.
In December 1972, President and Mrs. Johnson gave the LBJ Ranch house and surrounding property to the people of the United States as a national historic site.
On her 70th birthday in 1982, Mrs. Johnson founded the National Wildflower Research Center, a nonprofit environmental organization dedicated to the preservation and re-establishment of native plants in natural and planned landscapes. She donated funding and 60 acres of land in Austin to establish the organization. In December 1997, the property was renamed the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in honor of Mrs. Johnson's 85th birthday. In 2006, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center became a part of The University of Texas at Austin, guaranteeing its permanent place in the national landscape — and ensuring that Lady Bird Johnson's name will live on in the hearts of Americans.Who's in, who's out, and some timing issues...
Rep. Rick Noriega, D-Houston, was all set to announce his bid for U.S. Senate, but will delay that event until Monday out of respect for Lady Bird Johnson (and, he didn't say, for the simple fact that all of the political press will be busy this weekend with that funeral). He'll jump into the Democratic primary against San Antonio lawyer Mikal Watts next week. The winner of that primary — next March — will likely face the incumbent, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a San Antonio Republican.
• Debra Coffey, a Fort Worth Republican, got the drop on everyone in HD-97, filing papers designating a treasurer and saying she'll be a candidate in the race to succeed Rep. Anna Mowery, R-Fort Worth, who's decided not to seek another term. Her husband is Tarrant County Criminal Court Judge Daryl Coffey. And the two have a funny distinction on their resumes: They were named Kentucky Tree Farmers of the Year in 2003 for their 2,100-acre tree farm there. Former Rep. Bob Leonard Jr. is looking hard at a return to the Texas House. If he jumps, and if he's successful, he'd be succeeding his successor. A Leonard confederate tells us that Mowery — then a Republican activist — was one of the people who got Leonard to run in the first place, back in 1978. He served ten years and decided to bow out; Mowery has been in that spot since 1988. That district is full of tire-kickers and the ballots are far from settled. City Councilman Chuck Silcox has also been mentioned as a candidate.
• The other state rep (only two so far) widely expected not to run — Buddy West, R-Odessa — is now making noises about coming back. He ended the session telling members that this might have been his last rodeo. But he told the Odessa American that his health has improved and he might just give it another go. Meanwhile, Randy Rives, an Ector County ISD board member, is looking (and raising money for a run). Democrat John Wilkins, a former head football coach at Permian High School, is looking. Another possible candidate, if West doesn't run, is Shirley West. That's the incumbent's wife.
• Take Jesse Ancira off the list of candidates who'll challenge Rep. Mike Krusee, R-Round Rock, in HD-52. Ancira, a former deputy state comptroller and former FBI agent, says he'll keep the door open for future contests, but won't play this time out. He hasn't decided who he'll support and says he's heard of five or six Democrats who are considering the race.Rick Dunham, who ditched Texas state politics to cover national politics two decades ago, will be the new Washington bureau chief of the Houston Chronicle. Dunham is currently with Business Week's Washington bureau and served as president of the National Press Club. Before that, he worked for the late Dallas Times Herald (where he mentored our editor). We're biased: Good hire.
President George W. Bush nominated Diane Rath of San Antonio to be assistant secretary of health and human services, proposing to move her to Washington, D.C., from the spot on the board of the Texas Workforce Commission that he gave her when he was governor. Bush named her to the Texas post in 1996 and made her the chairman two years later. Gov. Rick Perry reappointed her to the spot in 2001.
Maverick County Judge Jose Aranda Jr. of Eagle Pass joins the Stat Community Development Review Committee as a Gov. Rick Perry appointee. That panel reviews federal block grants for cities and counties.
Chris Cronn is taking a leave from the governor's legislative operation to work for Texans to Cure Cancer, the temporary outfit that'll try to persuade voters to approve $3 billion in bonds to support ten years of intensive cancer research in Texas. He hopes to return after the elections in November.
Mark Epstein joins the Austin offices of MGT of America, a public sector management and policy consulting firm. he was at Maximus Inc. until now and is a "revenue enhancement" and program management expert.
Bruce Anthony Toler was shot in the leg and then charged with aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon after allegedly trying to steal copper wire from the unfinished home of state Rep. Borris Miles, D-Houston. Miles told police he interrupted Toler and other man, dodged a knife thrown by Toler and shot him in the leg. The other thief ran away.