Gov. Rick Perry gave three of his most coveted appointments — commissioner posts at the Texas Parks & Wildlife Commission — to Dr. Antonio Falcon of Rio Grande City, Karen Hixon of San Antonio, and Margaret Martin of Boerne.

Falcon is medical director of the Family Health Center. He's replacing Joseph Fitzsimons of San Antonio. Hixon, whose husband, Tim Hixon, is a former commissioner, is on the board of TPW's foundation and used to serve on the boards of Environmental Defense and the Texas Nature Conservancy. She's replacing Ned Holmes of Houston. And Martin is the owner and operator of a Webb County ranch and is starting up a tea brokerage and export business. Her spot was occupied by Donato Ramos of Laredo.

You can follow presidential candidate giving in Texas down to the zip code on the Federal Election Commission's map pages. Texans gave $8.2 million through mid-year, ranking the state third behind California, at $13.9 million, and New York, at $12.4 million.Click here or on the picture below to go to the FEC's website. By their reckoning, Rudy Giuliani is the most popular candidate among Texans who contributed through the end of June. And Republicans extracted more Texas money than the Democrats. There's also a link to the federal map if you want to see what's going on elsewhere. The website's interactive, so you can see how each candidate did in each state and even in specific locales, like Houston or Corpus Christi.

U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison has her mind on her money and her money on her mind.

The state's senior senator recently told the Houston Chronicle that she's needs "financial stability" before she retires.

"I certainly would like to make money. I think I've given up a lot of earning potential being in public service," Hutchison told the paper.

According to her publicly filed personal financial disclosure records, the senator and her husband, Ray Hutchison, shared a net worth of between $2.7 million to $7.3 million in 2006.

Hutchison's Senate salary last year was $165,200. She also received a $41,666 advance from publisher Harper Collins, according to those filings.

Senators don't have to report the values of their residences. Hutchison's personal disclosure reports do not include her $2.1 million home the senator shares with her husband — a senior partner at the Vinson and Elkins law firm — in Dallas. They also don't include the home the Hutchisons own in suburban Washington, D.C. Through a spokesman, Hutchison declined to put a value on that property, or to comment on her financial standing. In 2005, the Center for Responsive Politics ranked her 28th in net worth among the 100 senators.

The state's senior senator is also eligible for a federal pension, which would amount to about $107,000 a year if she were to retire today. The yearly stipend would presumably be higher if the 64-year-old decided to serve all of her third term and retire in 2012.

Her latest campaign disclosures with the Federal Election Commission show Hutchison has about $7.7 million in political cash at her disposal, which she could convert to a state account for a run at the governor's office if she chooses to do that.

Copies of Hutchison's personal disclosure forms can be found at the Senate's office of public records (in-person only, at the Hart Building, Room 232), or online at the OpenSecrets.org website run by the Center for Responsive Politics (while you're there, be sure and check out who the richest and poorest politicians were in 2005).

—by Alan Suderman

Rep. Charles "Doc" Anderson, R-Waco, will have a Republican primary opponent. It's a Sibley, but not the same one who threatened to run two years ago.

Jonathan Sibley, a lawyer and the son of former Sen. David Sibley, R-Waco, will run against Anderson next year. His older brother Adam talked about it two years ago and decided against a race. The candidate practices administrative law and is a registered lobbyists; he'll open a Waco office of Thompson Coe, the Austin firm where he works. He says he's not challenging Anderson because of any problem with the incumbent, but because he wants the job. He's got Waco roots, growing up and going to college and law school there. And his pop was the mayor before winning a spot in the Legislature.

The younger Sibley ducks when you ask about the race for speaker. "I don't think this is going to be about the speaker's race," he said, no matter how we phrased the question. Anderson was first elected in 2004, and has so far stuck with Speaker Tom Craddick in the leadership wars.

We've seen no official announcement yet, but former House Parliamentarian Denise Davis is apparently headed for the Austin offices of the Baker Botts law firm. She and her assistant, Chris Griesel, famously quit their jobs in the last days of the session as the speaker and the members warred over House rules.

Joe Beal is leaving the Lower Colorado River Authority early next year after serving as general manager since 1999. He's been at the agency since 1995. Early speculation has former Sen. Ken Armbrister, now a legislative aide to the governor, on the list of potential replacements.

Gov. Rick Perry moved Buddy Garcia, his most recent appointee at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, into the middle chair. Garcia, a former aide to the governor, will chair that three-member panel. He's been there since January; before that, he was assistant Texas Secretary of State.

Teresa Clingman of Midland will replace her boss, District Attorney Al Schorre, who retired earlier this summer. The Guv named Clingman to the job and she's telling locals she'll seek a full term when the post is on the ballot next year.

Perry named Thomas Whaylen of Wichita Falls to the Texas Military Preparedness Commission. Whaylen, an Air Force vet, is president and CEO of the Sheppard Military Affairs Committee.

Gilbert Amezquita of Harris County got a pardon from the governor on the recommendation of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. He was convicted of aggravated assault in 1998 and sentenced to 15 years in prison, but it turns out that someone else committed the crime.

Diane Black Smith is the new deputy for administration at the Attorney General's office. AG Greg Abbott also promoted John Poole, making him the agency's new human resources director. Angela Hale, who left a TV news career to become the agency's communications director, moves into a new job as senior advisor to Abbott, and Jerry Strickland, her deputy, is moving into her old post.

House Speaker Tom Craddick joins the board of directors of the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC. He was elected secretary at this summer's meeting. And Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson has been named president of the Western States Land Commissioners Association, which includes his counterparts from 22 other states.

Lulu Flores of Austin is the new president of the National Women's Political Caucus. She's the second Texan to hold that post in the 34 years the NWPC has been going; the first was Frances "Sissy" Farenthold.