It may be a bit early yet for your average Joe Six-Pack to be paying attention to campaigns, but bloggers are captivated by U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's gubernatorial announcement tour. Texas Democrats are making noise, too; town hall meetings on health care reform keep rolling on; and, Tom DeLay performs a grand jeté. Bringing up the rear, the latest legal news out of Freedom County and other items.

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I Do Declare

Lone Star Times has photos and audio from Hutchison's big debut in La Marque. Pondering Penguin was on hand for Hutchison's second stop in Houston. The blogger is officially backing Hutchison for governor, by the way. And here's the view from the Texas Observer's new Purple Texas blogger (who explains his raison d'être over here.)

Texas Politics, the Houston Chronicle's blog, has a video digest of Hutchison's announcement tour. The blogger also got his mitts on Hutchison's 1993 commercial on term limits (she's been saying Gov. Rick Perry is overstaying his welcome, see, while serving the third term she said she would never seek). Meanwhile, BurkaBlog really sticks it to the Hutchison campaign, saying it reminds him of a book about the 1962 New York Mets and that "The biggest thing she has going for her right now is that people aren't paying attention." (To be fair, he also says of Perry, " He is what he is: an ineffectual governor who is more interested in power than in policy.") But the Texas Observer's Contrarian has a more positive prediction for Hutchison, saying, "A Kay comeback lies ahead of us in the coming months."

KUT's Notes from the Lege compares the voting records of Texas' two U.S. Senators, placing Hutchison just a smidge to the left of John Cornyn. Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams tells the Dallas Morning News' Trail Blazers that he is actively seeking the U.S. Senate seat Hutchison hasn't given up yet. And Texas Watchdog spotlights a 28-year-old fundraiser for Gov. Rick Perry who's making big bucks this year.

It hasn't hit MTV yet, but Blue Dot Blues has a video of a supporter rapping about GOP gubernatorial candidate Debra Medina. It starts, "I was looking 'round Texas for political solutions, a candidate that would understand constitutional solutions... " and goes on from there.

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Out of the Blue

Democratic gubernatorial Tom Schieffer courted liberal bloggers over lunch. Brains and Eggs can't get past the whole Dubya thing. Greg's Opinion thinks Schieffer's biggest hurdle is money, but says, "I think there's room for me to like the guy." Off the Kuff points out that the group went Dutch and says he'll be happy to support Schieffer as the Democratic nominee, if he wins.

Burnt Orange Report reports that the Netroots Nation convention in Pittsburgh was simply fabulous. Burnt Orange also thinks it was terrific of Houston mayor Bill White to make the trip out there to boost his U.S. Senate campaign.

Texas Watchdog takes on Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, for not disclosing information on his law firm's business with local governments (until after they asked him for it). They're also going after Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, for the same sort of thing.

Dos Centavos is pumped after listening to Rep. Scott Hochberg, D-Houston, talk to a group of Democratic women about politics and education. Hochberg stresses the importance of keeping Rep. Kristi Thibaut, D-Houston, in office. He also says Democrats are gunning for the seats currently held by Rep. Dwayne Bohac, R-Houston, and Rep. Linda Harper-Brown, R-Irving.

Former Rep. Bill Zedler, R-Arlington, is considering a rematch with current Rep. Chris Turner, D-Burleson, who defeated him 51-47 in 2008, according to the Dallas Morning News' Trail Blazers. And Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, posts photos of his trip to the White House on his Poli-Tex blog.

Here's something odd from Out West. A little birdie told Refuse the Juice that Rep. Marisa Marquez, D-El Paso, and her boyfriend beat up local politico Carlos Aguilar. Turns out that little birdie was wrong, wrong, wrong. Marquez and Aguilar just had a conversation: "That's it," says NewspaperTree.com Blog.

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Town Halls

Lone Star Times attended a couple of U.S. Rep. Gene Green's health care town hall meetings. The blogger watched a teenager confront a protestor and a larger, older man leaning on a cane get angry at Green. Looking back at a 2001 article about Green, the blogger says the congressman is being hypocritical by forcing attendees to show photo identification. And Houston Press's Hair Balls talks to Green about the meetings. "When I got there I was thinking 'This is theater,'" Green says.

Half Empty attended a less eventful health care town hall meeting in Sugar Land by U.S. Rep. Pete Olson, while Ellis County Observer has video of U.S. Rep. Joe Barton's forum.

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En Pointe

Lots of bloggers are having fun with the news that DeLay will appear on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" television show. "I'm not a huge fan of the show but you can bet your drunk ass that I'll be watching this time," says In the Pink, who's got more to say here.

Burka posts songs he thinks DeLay would want to dance to. Leading off the list, "If I Had a Hammer," by Pete Seeger. The Houston Chronicle's Texas on the Potomac has the dish on DeLay's dancing partner and his doubts about Pres. Barack Obama's country of origin. And Letters from Texas and Pink Dome let Photoshop do the talking, here and here.

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Freedom Ain't Free

Last week we relayed a post by Ellis County Observer about another attempt by U.S. Rep. Ron Paul supporters to establish a place of their own, called Freedom County. Apparently the landowner hasn't sold the land to anyone yet, and he's threatening to sue the blogger for copy-and-pasting the Freedom County advertisement.

KVUE's Political Junkie bids her readers goodbye as she heads for the Texas Tribune, but she promises the next Junkie blogger is going to be "awesome." In other Tribune-related news, In the Pink says adieu to the man who hired her, and he has his own farewell post here.

Tex Parte Blog spent the week listening in on arguments in the hearing regarding Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Sharon Keller, here, here, here, here, here, here and here. Or check out the Austin American-Statesman's Focal Point blog, who was there, too.

Solicitor General Ted Cruz has received the support of Republican women leaders, notes Pondering Penguin. Meanwhile, the Statesman's First Reading sits down with fellow reporter Ken Herman and makes a podcast of their conversation. Texas Freedom Network turns 14 on Oct. 22 at Austin Music Hall, and there's going to be a party, according to TFN Insider.

Texas schools are receiving more than $10 billion in federal stimulus funds, Potomac says. And Ellis County Observer jumpstarts the completely unsubstantiated rumor mill on the retirement of Rep. Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, and begins speculation on who might replace him. (The short list includes "A female candidate of some sort.")

After a month-long hiatus from the blogosphere, North Texas Conservative returns to throw in his two cents on health care and the race for governor. And Grits for Breakfast's petition to institute an indigency program for the Department of Public Safety's Driver Responsibility surcharge program was denied, but he finds victory in defeat.

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This edition of Out There was compiled and written by Patrick Brendel, who hails from Victoria but is semi-settled in Austin. 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.

Latino lawmakers want the next set of Texas political maps to reflect the full strength of the state's growing Hispanic population.

The state demographer's office estimates Texas' Hispanic count will swell from its 2000 figure of 31.9 percent of the state's population to anywhere from 35 to 44 percent in 2010, setting up a battle some lawmakers believe is already destined for the courts. The 2010 numbers — based on the Census to be conducted next year — will form the basis for redrawing state political districts in 2011. Those districts, in turn, will form the new political map in the 2012 elections.

Those with a stake in the game are already drawing up plans.

"From what I can see there is only one political party in state of Texas that seems to have trouble with Latinos, and that's not the party that I am in," said Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, a San Antonio Democrat. "I can't speak for what they are doing but I can tell you this, the growth is undeniable. Everybody recognizes that Texas is poised to gain seats as a result of the explosion in our population."

Martinez Fischer, chair of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, believes that barring some near-miracle the issue will again go before the courts. Past lessons learned, he added, means there will be a watchful eye over the process "to make sure that all of these maps reflect our demographic changes and reflect the fact that Texas is a growing and diverse state."

He expects the higher courts — if redistricting plans come before them — to uphold the federal Voting Rights Act in a way that reflects the impact the Hispanic population has on the new political map. The law requires legislative and congressional seats to be reapportioned based on population following the decennial census, and that redrawn maps be submitted to the Department of Justice for review.

"Every redistricting scenario that I've seen where there has been widespread litigation has always come down to the way Latinos specifically were treated," he says. "I think that we have demonstrated in the last several decades that when it comes to the Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act And Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act that those words have meaning."

Time to engage in dialogue remains, he said, but so does the obvious alternative. "They can listen to us and invite us in and accept our input or they can be instructed by the Supreme Court," he said.

Rep. Aaron Peña, D-Edinburg, sits on the House Committee on Redistricting and hinted that having a committee focused on redistricting is positive, but may be only for show.

"It's quite different because there is what a textbook would tell you to do and what really goes on," he said. He assumes "what really" will go on following the 2010 census will be legislative gridlock and a new map instead drawn by the ex officio-comprised Legislative Redistricting Board after a partisan stalemate in the Texas Legislature.

"I would imagine that the Republicans would want to push this through to the (Legislative) Redistricting Board," he said, predicting a strong GOP resistance to any map that dilutes the party's strength.

Then, he said, it will be off to the courthouse they go, led by whoever feels slighted by the maps drawn by Texas officials.

But the rift is not just between parties, Peña reminded, as Democrats tend to muddy their own waters through territorial battles. Groups like LULAC and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) promote the creation of more districts and in turn more Latino representation. They tangle with party members who want to maximize their political strength within existing boundaries, he said.

"People have to decide what they want. Sometimes an Anglo Democrat can be a better representative than Hispanic Democrat," he said. "You have to say to yourself, 'Are we just looking at last names?'"

Nina Perales, MALDEF's regional counsel in San Antonio, said Latino incumbents might also prefer the status quo and fight to keep it that way, which throws another wrench into the gears.

"Latino civil rights advocates might say 'We are underrepresented in the state of Texas,' and they might look at increasing Latino population in the state as an opportunity and a mandate to draw more Latino-opportunity districts," she said. "That goal sometimes comes into conflict with Latino incumbents. If you are pulling Latino population out of an existing Latino-opportunity district to make another one adjacent, the incumbent in the district that is losing Latino population might be uncomfortable with that."

Perales has successfully argued against proposed redistricting maps this decade, including in 2001 in a case that successfully restored Rep. Mike Villarreal's district after it was dissolved during redistricting that same year. The resulting rulings allowed the San Antonio Democrat a successful bid at reelection in 2003.

Villarreal is the current vice-chair of the House Committee on Redistricting and said it's too soon to tell how the numbers will play out, but believes his committee can be put to good use until then.

"I think that there are opportunities to have honest conversations now, early during this interim," said Villarreal. "Not (necessarily) making any decisions but just coming to terms with the demographic changes of our state and having legislators come to a consensus on a regional level."

Villarreal, whose district borders that of Republican House Speaker Joe Straus, did align himself with what Peña characterized as the "MALDEF" approach to redistricting that maximizes the number of Latino-opportunity districts instead of packing Hispanic voters into a smaller number of districts.

"I believe it's a disservice to pack any demographic group in to a single district," said Villarreal. "I think there is more effective representation when a representative has to represent a diverse group of people and that could be diversity, not just ethnically, but also by (income) class."

In North Texas, the 2010 census and the subsequent map it produces have some hopeful the region will have another Latino representative at the state and federal levels.

"There is already a lot of talk in North Texas about the need for a Hispanic majority congressional seat and a state senate seat. Right now there are no Hispanic state senators north of San Antonio," said Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas. "(Former Sen.) Gonzalo Barrientos used to hold the seat in Austin but now he is no longer there and it really impacts the Hispanic communities' political clout in North Texas."

Anchia, a three-term House member, declined making a prediction on how Hispanics would fare, but said the process would likely end up being less than neat.

"It would be nice if there was a transparent and rational process but redistricting is anything but that. I am a very practical person and I understand that there are many competing constituencies," he said.

Anchia said he was also increasing his efforts to dispel the census myths that could lead Texas to once again record one of the lowest voter turnouts in the nation, specifically as it pertains to Latinos.

Anchia conceded that in the current political climate surrounding voter ID, immigration and border security, the census for Latinos could be seen as a political "cucuy," the mythical Mexican "boogeyman" that plays on the irrational fears of the timid or superstitious. Even honest answers could draw fears from documented, undocumented and Hispanic U.S. citizens whose full faith in the U.S. government is not realized, Anchia agreed. As chair of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials Education Fund he is helping spearhead a campaign called Hagase Contar (Make Yourself Count), in order to ensure an accurate count next year.

MALDEF is also embarked on a similar campaign, as are county and city governments across the state that realize maximizing participation is the obvious first step toward reflecting the demographic changes of Texas. The stakes are high for Latino politicians hoping the Census translates into long-awaited political strength and maximum representation. For others, it could mean a fierce battle to maintain the status quo and in turn, their political futures.

—by Julian Aguilar

Texas Republicans are waiting to see what Kay will do. Everybody's been talking about it for months and months.

Texas Democrats are waiting to see if they'll have a full and serious statewide ticket in 2010. That's only now starting to get attention.

It's only the beginning of the political season and there are already seven people running for governor — four of them Democrats, three of them Republicans.

On the other hand, the rest of the executive branch offices feature incumbents holding tight or incumbents waiting to see what other incumbents do before they decide what's next. Only one of those Republican-held seats has attracted a candidate — publicly, at least — from the folks in the other party.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Attorney General Greg Abbott and two out of three Railroad Commissioners are in the waiting group. If U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison resigns to challenge Gov. Rick Perry and opens her spot, Dewhurst and RRCs Michael Williams and Elizabeth Ames Jones are all interested in taking her place. If Dewhurst leaves, Abbott has his eyes on that, and if he leaves, former Solicitor General Ted Cruz and Rep. Dan Branch have their eyes on that. Democrat Barbara Ann Radnofsky plans to run whether he stays or goes. And oil and gas attorney Jeff Weems of Houston is considering a run at the RRC's Victor Carrillo.

Everybody else — Comptroller Susan Combs, Commissioner Jerry Patterson, Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples, Land and Railroad Commissioner Carrillo — all appear to want to keep the jobs they've got now.

Republicans have incumbents or wannabes lined up for every spot on the ballot.

The race for governor now includes Perry, Hutchison, and Debra Medina on the Republican side. The Democrats in that event are Tom Schieffer of Fort Worth, Hank Gilbert of Whitehouse, Mark Thompson of Garland, and Kinky Friedman of Medina. Thompson ran for Railroad Commission in 2008 but now wants the top job. So does Gilbert, who ran for agriculture commission in 2006 and was, until a couple of weeks ago, planning to do that again.

Outside of the governor's race, the Democrats have so far produced only one sure contender and one possible one. With the exceptions of Radnofsky and Weems, they're not raising money in a serious statewide candidate kind of way, and they haven't started calling around to form the sorts of networks needed for anyone hoping to win a statewide office (put down an exception for people who luck into the job because they catch the prevailing political winds).

Democrats say they've got plenty of time to produce candidates and say the uncertainty over what Hutchison will do has their candidates — like many Republicans — on hold.

And candidates who don't have primaries in front of them do, in fact, have more than a year to go before they'll face voters in a contested election. But it's a critical year for both parties to vie for the statewide posts. In 2010, the federal government will do a census and the Legislature will follow in 2011 by drawing new political maps. If the Legislature gets locked up over that — a high probability outcome — a panel called the Legislative Redistricting Board will take over and draw the maps. That panel includes the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the House, the attorney general, the comptroller, and the land commissioner. All but the speaker are on the statewide ballot, and the party with at least three of those five spots will control the maps drawn by the LRB.

One Democratic fallback is that even if the Lege fails to produce a map and a Republican LRB turns out a drawing, the whole thing has to get through a Democratic federal Justice Department and then will probably go to court. The cautionary tale is less than ten years old: The current maps were approved by the courts, too. And the Republicans have held the Lege and the Congress ever since.

We used to believe that admonition about not paying attention to politics until after Labor Day, but the two leading Republican candidates for governor are hitting the "Send" button on their press blasts at a hyperactive pace. A sampling from our inbox over the last week, more or less in the order received:

• Rick Perry accepts debate invitations from the Denton and Tarrant County GOP. Implores Kay Bailey Hutchison to join him.

• Hutchison says Perry should say how much state money he's spending on "phony re-signing ceremonies" — traveling around the state for ceremonial signings of bills he signed early in the summer.

• Perry issues an unflattering video summary of Hutchison's announcement tour.

• Hutchison's team makes open records requests asking for financial details of the signing ceremonies.

• Perry got an endorsement from Texas Eagle Forum president and Republican National Committee member Cathie Adams.

• Hutchison follows employment announcement from the state by pointing out that the number of government employees under Perry is rising.

• Perry posts a new Internet video in a series his folks call "You Never Know What Kay Will Say".

• Hutchison elbows Perry for talking, in The Wall Street Journal, about the goings-on at the 1976 Republican Convention, noting that the governor, at the time, was a Democrat and voted for Jimmy Carter that year.

• Perry starts a drumbeat for Hutchison's personal income tax returns, implying her husband's income from bonds on public projects is linked to her votes on funding for those projects (denied by the Hutchison campaign and not in evidence in the couple's income tax returns, which came out later in the week).

• Hutchison says the state balanced its budget with $12 billion in federal stimulus money and that Perry, who's been bashing the federal spending, signed it.

• Perry wins the endorsement of Texas Right to Life.

• Hutchison bangs the drum about the signing ceremonies, and about increases in state spending and the number of state workers.

• Another video from Perry, this one on inconsistencies in Hutchison's writing and voting on bailouts.

• Hutchison presses Perry to answer questions about the Trans-Texas Corridor (he says it's dead; she says it's still in his toolbox) and refers supporters to a Trans-Texas Corridor Clock she says will run until he answers TTC questions to her satisfaction.

• Perry was endorsed by the Houston Realty Business Coalition.

• Hutchison posts an unflattering video about Perry's efforts to disrupt her announcement tour.

• Perry asks again for Hutchison's tax returns, and also directs supporters to the unflattering video she posted earlier, adding a letter to ethics officials asking if Perry should report it as a political contribution.

• Hutchison distributes an article about medical and other problems resulting from the same HPV shots Perry tried to mandate for teenaged girls in 2007.

• Perry announces an endorsement from the Texas Apartment Association.

• Hutchison releases tax returns showing she and husband Ray paid $2.1 million in income taxes from 2000 through last year.

• Linda Rogers, chairman of the Burnet County Republican Party and president of the Texas Republican County Chairman's Association, endorses Perry.

• Hutchison's newest unflattering video, titled "groundhog day," spoofs Perry's bill signings. And they ask him again how much money it's costing to fly around and sign those bills.

The start of school should bring a renewed sense of purpose and optimism. Who isn’t hopeful about the future as our students start a new school year loaded with promise, potential and 40-pound backpacks? However, a new report from the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University should give all Texans a pause at the beginning of this school year. The new Bush School report, entitled The ABCD’s of Texas Education: Assessing the Benefits and Costs of Reducing the Dropout Rate, provides a politically balanced look at just how much the Texas dropout rate costs the state’s economy. The Bush School’s savvy researchers targeted the class of 2012 — this year’s high school sophomores — for examination and found that the dropouts from just this one class of Texas students will cost our state up to $9.6 billion in lost wages, increased welfare and jail expenses over their lifetime. That’s almost $10 billion year-in and year-out. With the student population continuing to increase alongside Texas’ demographic shift, that figure will only grow. Texans can no longer afford the luxury of ignoring our dropout crisis. The report, commissioned by United Ways of Texas, must be a somber wake-up call for Texas parents, educators, clergy, and business people. Texas stands to waste upwards of $100 billion in lost economic potential and unwarranted welfare and jail costs in just the next decade unless it grapples with the dropout crisis with genuine commitment and focus. If any other sector of our economy stood to lose so much money, Texans would be in justified uproar. In case you are not disturbed enough by the costs of the high dropout rate, the report also examines the benefits of a high dropout rate, difficult as they might be to imagine or to discuss. A dirty and uncomfortable little secret of the high dropout rate is the savings generated by not having to educate thousands of students each year. The authors of the report estimate that all those dropouts actually save the state up to $1.1 billion per year in teachers, facilities and other costs. Let’s hope that our lawmakers take these figures into account as they gear up for another thrilling installment of the Capitol’s least favorite and most complex soap opera: public school finance reform. The conspiratorially-minded might think that the annual brouhaha about which dropout numbers are accurate is a deliberate effort to prevent a deeper conversation about why so many students drop out in the first place and what we can do to stem the flood. Why bother worrying about the implications when it’s so much more fun (and politically advantageous) to focus on assigning blame for one of the state’s most glaringly obvious problems? Now that we have the Bush School’s important and objective findings, surely we can all get together to do something about our dismal dropout rate. The Texas dropout rate is itself a political hot potato with business and advocacy groups blasting the dropout calculations produced by the Texas Education Agency and politicians of all stripes pledging to combat the dropout epidemic without committing the energy and resources necessary to address both the academic and social needs of our students. Reducing the dropout rate is not going to be easy and will require much more than a handful of government programs. Texas needs a culture shift that emphasizes and rewards education. For example, employers of large numbers of teenagers in one Texas community have banded together to reduce night-time working hours and encourage the completion of homework on school nights. These businesses know that today’s lower-wage teen workers can be either tomorrow’s middle class consumers or tomorrow’s public assistance recipients. Students and parents will need the help of our entire state if we truly intend for more of our students to fulfill the excitement and promise of the start of a new school year. Given the consequences of inaction, Texas can afford nothing less than an all-out effort to move beyond the rhetoric of reducing the dropout rate toward actually ensuring that more of our students graduate from high school ready for the challenges of post-secondary education, work and life. The clock is ticking and the dollars are slipping through our fingers. Jason Sabo is the Senior Vice President of Public Policy for United Ways of Texas, the voluntary state association for Texas United Ways. He can be reached at jason.sabo@uwtexas.org.

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

Despite their sprawling districts and power over public school curricula, State Board of Education members can often coast through election season with little opposition and money spent. That isn't the outlook for 2010. Widely publicized actions by the SBOE concerning math textbooks, science education and social studies have engendered a lot of controversy over the past couple of years. It has grabbed people's attention.

"The more coverage the better. I think this is awesome," says former board chair Don McLeroy, R-Bryan.

Challengers — including the son of former Lt. Gov. Bill Ratliff — have popped up for four of the eight incumbent members up for reelection next year. Just one victory by a challenger would shift the ideological balance of the 15-member board, which is composed of 10 Republicans and five Democrats. (Typically, board members split into two sides — seven social conservatives vs. seven not-as-conservatives — with Democrat Rick Agosto of San Antonio operating as the swing voter who picks which end of the teeter-totter goes up or down.)

A trio from the social conservative group has already attracted challengers, months before the January filing deadline. McLeroy and Cynthia Dunbar of Richmond face opposition in the GOP primary, and Ken Mercer of San Antonio is looking at a general election contest. A member of the not-as-conservative group, Geraldine "Tincy" Miller, R-Dallas, also has an opponent, James Southward George Clayton of Richardson, but he's done little more — at least publicly — than set up a campaign account. Miller does intend to run for reelection, says Alexis DeLee, who was the spokeswoman for then-House Speaker Tom Craddick and is now working as a consultant for Miller.

All of the challengers we spoke to (we didn't reach Clayton) put themselves in the not-as-conservative group, which would hold an outright majority of the board if even one of them defeats an incumbent. Their estimates of how much money it will take to mount a serious campaign range from $100,000 to $250,000.

District 9

McLeroy's district stretches from Paris to Bryan, including part of Plano and Dallas' eastern suburbs. In 2006, McLeroy spent about $8,000 to defeat Democrat Maggie Charleton, 60 to 40 percent. According to the Texas Legislative Council, Gov. Rick Perry drew 45 percent of the district's vote in the four-horse gubernatorial campaign, out-doing his statewide take of 39 percent. Democrat Chris Bell got 24 percent of the votes in that district that year, while getting 30 percent statewide.

Voters may recognize McLeroy's new opponent, Thomas Ratliff of Mt. Pleasant, as the son of the former Lite Guv. A lobbyist, the younger Ratliff says he wants to give more control of schools to local districts.

While he calls himself "deeply religious," Ratliff says, "Constantly pushing religion in the classroom provides the constant threat of lawsuits. When you start blurring the lines, you put schools at risk."

Not only does McLeroy defend his record on the board, he intends to highlight it, saying that he is following through on campaign promises he's been making since 1998.

"I am so excited. Excited to have an opponent who has good connections. Hopefully we'll be able to get the discussion going. I'm going to run a super-positive campaign. I have so much to talk about," McLeroy says. "This is cool. I may not win — I imagine Thomas Ratliff is a good politician like his dad. But I can't think of a better opportunity than to have the well-known son of a well-known Texas politician running against me."

In July, Ratliff reported having $3,650 in the bank. That's $3,650 more than McLeroy had.

District 10

Dunbar's district includes northern Travis County, Williamson County, Cuero and down to the southwestern Houston suburbs. In 2006, Dunbar spent about $45,000 to beat Tony Dale in the GOP primary, 64 to 36 percent. She spent almost nothing to defeat a Libertarian opponent in the general, 70 to 30 percent. In the general, Perry inched out Democrat Chris Bell, 36 to 34 percent, in the district.

Dunbar has one declared opponent in the GOP primary, Round Rock schoolteacher Rebecca Osborne.

"There's a disconnect between the State Board of Education and the classroom," Osborne says.

Osborne says she's not an ABD (Anyone But Dunbar) candidate. She says, "I am not running as a reaction to Cynthia Dunbar. I am running because I believe there are things that I can do, because of my own qualifications... My agenda would simply be different from Cynthia Dunbar's."

Another Republican, Julie Cowan of Austin, is still in the exploratory phase. One consideration weighing on Cowan's mind is whether her candidacy might split the vote with Osborne and allow Dunbar to win.

"I don't need to be the one to run, but there needs to be someone to run," Cowan says. "Cynthia Dunbar isn't doing it for me."

Additionally, two Democrats have opened campaign accounts for the race. Austinite Judith Jennings, who formerly worked for the Texas Education Agency and now works for Resources for Learning educational company, reported $8,500 cash on hand in July. (Neither Dunbar nor Osborne reported having much on hand.)

University of Texas Prof. Lorenzo Sadun of Austin raised about $1,200 and had about $3,800 on hand, including loans. In 2004, Sadun ran a write-in candidacy as a Democrat for U.S. Congress against Michael McCaul. He only drew six percent of the vote. That was a protest candidacy he says, claiming the whomping demonstrates his ability to raise money — about $33,000 in all during that election.

Sadun points out that the district split almost evenly (50-48) between John McCain and Barack Obama in the 2008 elections. "That means this is a district where if people become aware of just how extreme Cynthia Dunbar is, I'm expecting moderate Republicans to vote Democratic, and for it to be a solid Democratic win," he says.

District 5

Mercer's district starts on the north side of San Antonio, stretches west to Harper and as far north as Killeen, and includes the south side of Austin. In 2006, Perry won 39 percent of the vote. In the GOP primary (and runoff) that year, Mercer, a former representative, spent about $50,000 to defeat incumbent SBOE member Dan Montgomery. Mercer reported having $263.13 in the bank this July.

Unless another Republican surfaces, he will face the winner of the 2010 Democratic primary. Texas State University Prof. Rebecca Bell-Metereau filed for that race last week, so there are no money figures to look at yet, but her campaign treasurer is Teresa Hobby, who is the daughter-in-law of former Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby.

Bell-Metereau says she wants to take partisanship out of curriculum decisions. "We need to have Texas get in line with the national curriculum. It shouldn't be that we're this weird little ghetto that can't handle the kind of information and level of sophistication that you see in curricula around the country, and I'm afraid that's what's happening. We have people who think critical thinking is "gobbledygook,"" Bell-Metereau says.

Also in the race is Daniel Boone, who lost by about 44 percentage points in 2008 to Rep. Doug Miller, R-New Braunfels. Other candidates are James Rath, whose campaign website is a portal to an ActBlue fundraising page, and Josiah Ingalls, who received less than one percent of the vote in the May 2009 Austin mayoral election, finishing last in a field of five that also included former Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn (who finished third).

The other board members up for reelection in 2010 are Agosto, Lawrence Allen Jr., D-Houston, Bob Craig, R-Lubbock, and Rene Nuñez, D-El Paso.

Looking ahead to 2012, one Democratic SBOE member is already saying that she's not going to run again. Corpus Christi's Mary Helen Berlanga, whose tenure since 1982 makes her the senior member of the board, says, "I think it will be time for someone else to get involved and dedicate some time to the state and to schoolchildren."

"It's quite critical during any election that we look for individuals who are fair-minded, open-minded and have the interest of the children at heart and really believe in public education," Berlanga says. "We have some individuals [on the board] who are not interested in public education and have said so openly."

—by a Texas Weekly Correspondent

Angela Hale, press secretary for House Speaker Joe Straus, is leaving that job for the private sector.

She'll join Red Media Group, a public relations firm made up of former TV folk like Hale herself, who worked at KXAS-TV in Fort Worth before going to work for Attorney General Greg Abbott. She came to Straus' office from Abbott's at the beginning of this year. No replacement has been named.

Greg Noschese resigned as mayor pro tem of Mesquite and will run for the Texas House against Rep. Robert Miklos, D-Mesquite, in next year's election. Both men are attorneys. Miklos, a freshman lawmaker, beat former Mesquite Mayor Mike Anderson in last year's election.

Department of Corrections: George Clayton of Richardson has opened a campaign account to run against State Board of Education member Geraldine "Tincy" Miller, R-Dallas. We mixed him up with his treasurer, James Southward, in last week's edition... One more: We put Billy Briscoe, who's running for the Texas House, on Bill Hobby's staff. He worked for Paul Hobby, son of the former lite guv. Sorry, sorry, sorry.

Michael Williams picked up an out-of-state endorsement from Newt Gingrich in his bid to become the next U.S. Senator from Texas.Williams broke the news in an Austin American-Statesman blog, and then on Facebook and Twitter, directing his supporters to a fundraising and endorsement letter from the former U.S. House Speaker. Gingrich can't vote in Texas, but the endorsement could help raise Williams' profile in a pack of Republican and Democratic candidates who'd like to take over when Kay Bailey Hutchison leaves that seat. Hutchison, who's running for governor against fellow Republican Rick Perry, has told supporters and reporters she'll resign later this fall. She's not required to do that, but if she does, Perry would appoint someone to the seat and also call a special election to pick a permanent replacement. Williams, who's on the Texas Railroad Commission, is one of several pols expressing an interest. The pack includes Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones, state Sen. Florence Shapiro, and former Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams — all Republicans — and Alma Aguado, former Comptroller John Sharp and Houston Mayor Bill White — all Democrats.

Tom Schieffer won endorsements from four of the Texas House's leading Democrats, picking up some support and giving an answer to the biggest question about him in one stop.Reps. Garnet Coleman and Jessica Farrar of Houston, Jim Dunnam of Waco, and Pete Gallego of Alpine all endorsed Schieffer and said they'll try to convince their colleagues to join in. Schieffer was a partner with George W. Bush in the Texas Rangers Baseball Club, was a Bush-appointed ambassador to Australia and Japan. More importantly, to some potential Democratic supporters, he says he voted for Bush every time his friend was on the ballot, and against Democrats Ann Richards, Garry Mauro, Al Gore, and John Kerry. That's opened the possibility that another Democrat — more attuned to the party's primary voters — would step in and split the electorate with Schieffer. For instance, Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, looked at the race for several weeks this summer, and while he was looking, Democratic donors were frozen, holding their money while waiting to see who all might run. Here's the audio.

Hank Gilbert was going to run for agriculture commissioner until a couple of weeks ago, when he went to Tyler and heard Tom Schieffer speak.

"I just didn't get goosebumps," he says.

Gilbert, a rancher and Democrat from Whitehouse who ran for the ag job in 2006, says he decided a few days later to join the race for governor. He'll face Schieffer, Kinky Friedman, Mark Thompson and anybody else who shows up; the winner will probably face either Rick Perry or Kay Bailey Hutchison in the general election a year from November.

Gilbert said a call from former gubernatorial candidate Chris Bell sealed the deal. He says Bell tried to encourage him to support Schieffer and to stay in the agriculture race. The candidate says he'll promote education and insurance reform, term limits (no more than two terms for each statewide executive office), and tighter control of transportation planning and state spending. He retooled his website for the venture and will announce officially on September 21.

Rep. Jerry Madden, R-Richardson, will seek a tenth term in the Texas House, in HD-67. He's probably going to be in a rematch with Republican Jon Cole of Plano, who ran against him in 2008 and came within 265 votes of knocking him off.

Darlene Brugnoli, who did tax policy for Gov. Rick Perry and, before that, for then-House Speaker Tom Craddick, left the Pink Building to work as a special tax counsel for the attorney general's office.

Mike Barnett is the new director of political affairs for the Texas Association of Realtors. He's a former House staffer who's been working for the Realtors on local campaigns and policy issues in North Texas.

Stephanie Gibson is the new executive director of Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse of Central Texas.

Gov. Rick Perry appointed:

• Ruben Gonzalez Jr. of Fort Worth to the 432nd District Court. He's an attorney with his own practice and a former Tarrant County assistant district attorney. He'll serve until the next elections (and after that if he runs and wins).

• Dallas accountant and recent city council candidate George "Brint" Ryan, Midland County Judge Michael Bradford, and Steve Mitchell, a business systems analyst from Richardson, to the board of regents at the University of North Texas. Ryan backed Carole Keeton Strayhorn in the last governor's race and took some shots from Perry's camp. Now he's a Perry supporter and contributor. And a regent. Ryan and Mitchell are NT alums.

• Carlos Rubenstein of Austin to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and picked Bryan Shaw, who's already on that board, to chair it. Rubenstein was deputy executive director at TCEQ.

Kinky Friedman will announce his candidacy for governor — as a Democrat — in a swing through a dozen cities next week.Friedman (the real first name is Richard) will announce on Tuesday that he's joining the Democratic primary against Hank Gilbert, Tom Schieffer, and Mark Thompson. He ran in 2006 as an Independent, finishing fourth (with 12.4 percent) in a race with Republican Rick Perry, Democrat Chris Bell, and Republican-turned-Independent Carole Keeton Strayhorn. Friedman, a musician, writer and comedian, has been hinting at this for months and already has a campaign committee and has a couple of fundraisers with Willie Nelson and Three Dog Night on the calendar. In addition to setting a date for the announcement, Friedman has hired veteran Democratic consultant Colin Strother to run his campaign.

Tom Suehs will be the state's new executive commissioner of Health and Human Services, Gov. Rick Perry announced Friday.Suehs (pronounced SEES) will head HHSC, which in turn oversees five health and human service agencies with more than 50,000 employees and annual budgets totaling more than $30 billion. He's replacing Albert Hawkins, who handled the consolidation of all of those agencies in 2003 and has been in the driver's seat ever since. Hawkins announced his retirement earlier this year. Suehs has been Hawkins' deputy executive commissioner for financial services since 2003. Before that, he was executive director at the Texas Health Care Association, a deputy commissioner at what was then the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, and president of the American Society of State Health Care Executives. The appointment got approving nods from some key lawmakers. Sen. Jane Nelson, who chairs the Health and Human Services Committee in the upper chamber, called Suehs "an excellent choice" and said naming an insider means there won't be a long learning curve. Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, had the hometown senator's unwritten privilege of first approval, said he'll help the new appointee if he can: "I'm confident that Tom Suehs understands the mission before him, and I'm hopeful that he has the courage, creativity, and experience he'll need to fulfill it."