Gov. Greg Abbott has named Josh McGee of Houston, Stephanie Leibe of Austin and Ernest Richards of Irving to the State Pension Review Board for terms to expire Jan. 31, 2021. McGee, who was additionally named the board’s presiding officer, is a vice president at the Laura and John Arnold Foundation where he leads the foundation’s “nationwide efforts to improve retirement security.” His appointment has drawn criticism from labor groups.
Abbott named Carol Ann Bonds and Darrell Coleman to the Texas Military Preparedness Commission for terms set to expire Feb. 1, 2019.
Abbott appointed nine people — Neva Fairchild of Carrollton, Susan May of Austin, Lonny Matthew “Matt” Berend of Abilene, James M. “Jim” Brocato of Beaumont, JoAnne Fluke of Lumberton, Paul Hunt of Austin, Crystal Stark of College Station, Casey Hertel of Abilene and Troyon Myree of Houston — to the Rehabilitation Council of Texas.
Abbott has named Ronald M. “Ronnie” Richards of Clear Lake Shores and Kiran Shah of Richmond to the Manufactured Housing Board for terms to expire at the end of January 2017 and January 2019, respectively.
House Speaker Joe Straus has accepted a leadership position with the Republican Legislative Campaign Committee, which is the only national level group working to elect Republicans to statehouses across the country. Straus was named the group’s incoming chairman for 2016 on Tuesday. Straus replaces Iowa Speaker of the House Kraig Paulsen in the position.
Walter Fisher, whose stint as senior adviser to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick was just the latest stop in a long career in state government and in the lobby, announced on Wednesday that he is retiring. Fisher, who was the Senate parliamentarian from 1996 to 2004, was brought on board as part of Patrick’s transition team prior to his taking over as the Senate’s presiding officer in January.
Houston Mayor Annise Parker has endorsed state Rep. Sylvester Turner in the race to succeed her. The term-limited Parker announced her support for Turner, a Democrat, during a news conference Thursday morning at City Hall in Houston. Turner also received endorsements this week from former Houston Mayor Lee Brown and City Councilman C.O. "Brad" Bradford.
Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector Mike Sullivan is backing Bill King in the Houston mayoral race, citing his belief that King will best "tackle serious financial challenges."
Former Gov. Rick Perry has endorsed the candidacy of state Rep. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, for Senate District 1, citing Hughes’ work to secure borders and “protect life and East Texas values.” Hughes also picked up an endorsement from state Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, who said Hughes will help end sanctuary cities and called Hughes's record on anti-abortion issues "second to none."
Steve Hotze, the founder of Conservative Republicans of Texas, endorsed Tom Oliverson's campaign for HD-130, saying Oliverson is "the pro-life, pro-family, pro-business, pro-gun, anti-tax candidate in the race." Oliverson is running against Kay Smith for the open seat.
GOP HD-126 candidate Kevin Roberts announced Tuesday that he has won the endorsement of state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, in his run for the open seat. And on Thursday he won the endorsement of Texas Values Action, the advocacy arm of Texas Values.
GOP HD-33 candidate Lorne Liechty announced Tuesday an endorsement from Dallas Cowboys legend Roger Staubach in his run for the open seat.
Bonny Cain, who chairs the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC), on Wednesday offered up her personal endorsement of GOP SD-24 candidate Dawn Buckingham.
Texas Alliance for Life announced Monday that it is presenting state Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, with a "Courageous Defense of Life Award" for his work during the 84th legislative session, particularly for his work on the judicial bypass law, which goes into effect Jan. 1.
State Rep. Elliott Naishtat, D-Austin, received a lifetime community service award Thursday afternoon. He was given the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the AmeriCorps/Volunteers in Service to America 50th Anniversary Spotlight event at the LBJ Library.
Texas Central Partners, LLC, the group working to build a high-speed rail spanning between North Texas and Houston, announced on Monday the hiring of Holly Reed as managing director for external affairs, Doug Jones as managing director for the design build program and Lori Willox as chief financial officer.
Prominent geopolitical forecaster George Friedman announced plans to launch a new online publication, Geopolitical Futures, after stepping down as chairman of Stratfor, the company he founded in 1996.
Deaths: David Hartman, 79, died last Tuesday. He was prominent in Republican circles as a donor, a leader with Associated Republicans of Texas and, in 1994, was the last GOP nominee for state treasurer. He also founded the Lone Star Report in 1996, which covered the state Capitol as a conservative voice for 15 years.
Forrest Roan Jr., 70, died Saturday. A well known lawyer and lobbyist in the Austin political community, Roan ran his own law firm in recent years. Prior to that, he was partner at Winstead PC and, before that, at Cantey, Hanger, Roan & Autrey.
Disclosure: The Laura and John Arnold Foundation is a major donor to The Texas Tribune. A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.