Political People and their Moves

Department of Corrections: Bob Poage and Royal Furgeson's names were misspelled in an earlier version of the newsletter. Sorry, sorry, sorry.

U.S. District Judge Royal Furgeson Jr. will be the founding dean of the University of North Texas law school, starting in April 2013. Fergeson, appointed by President Bill Clinton, will remain on the bench until he takes that school job next year. UNT's Dallas law campus is supposed to open for students in Fall 2014.

Former U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards was named W.R. Pogue distinguished chair for public service at Baylor University, a part-time appointment that will have him teaching some classes and processing his official papers, which he donated to the school. Bob Poage was a congressman for the area, too; the library named for him includes the papers of a couple of dozen former public officials, including Bob Bullock.

McGuireWoods Consulting, the public affairs arm of the law firm with the same name, is opening an Austin office headed by Luis Saenz. He's a former campaign manager and aide to Gov. Rick Perry, and also worked for a number of Republicans in Washington and Austin including Phil Gramm, Kay Bailey Hutchison and Carole Keeton Strayhorn.

Cherie Townsend is the new executive director at the Texas Juvenile Justice Department; she's the former executive director at the Texas Youth Commission, one of TJJD's predecessor agencies.

Bryan Hebert, deputy general counsel to Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, is leaving the Pink Building to hang out his own shingle, lobbying and consulting.

Dewhurst appointed Hugh Akin to the Texas Ethics Commission. Akin is the executive director of the Hatton W. Sumners Foundation, a private charitable foundation.

Dewhurst also appointed three members of the Texas Senate to the Sunset Advisory Commission. Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, was appointed vice chairman of the commission. Also appointed were Sens. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, and Dan Patrick, R-Houston.

Dewhurst appointed four members to the Select Committee on Economic Development, including Sens. Mike Jackson, R-La Porte, and Florence Shapiro, R-Plano. He also appointed Drayton McLane, founder and former Chairman of McLane Grocery Co., and Brint Ryan, the founder and CEO of Ryan, a tax services firm.

Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, appointed Reps. Dee Margo, R-El Paso; Armando "Mando" Martinez, D-Weslaco; and Jim Murphy, R-Houston, to the Partnership Advisory Commission.

Straus also announced House appointments to the Joint Interim Committee to Study Human Trafficking. Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, will co-chair the committee. The committee members will also include Reps. Cindy Burkett, R-Mesquite; Allen Fletcher, R-Tomball; John Frullo, R-Lubbock; Naomi Gonzalez, D-El Paso; Patricia Harless, R-Spring; and Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi.