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2010 Primary Election Results |
Although no Tea Party candidate won a race, including the race for Governor, their impact was undeniable. They were responsible for drawing enough votes from candidates to force run offs, and in some instances, help hand a defeat to the incumbent. Over one million people voted in this election...not bad for a primary.
The November governor's race promises to be one of the most interesting and competitive races. As the sitting governor in a Republican state, Governor Perry begins as the strong favorite, having won well over the required 50% votes to avoid a run-off against U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, allowing him to avoid spending additional campaign funds. Both candidates spent a combined $20 to $22 million on the race. Hutchison spent $13 million throughout her race. Perry spent $11 million, with a great deal of money spent in the last few weeks of the campaign.
Bill White, who won his primary against six candidates with 76% of the vote, is an articulate, popular former three-term Mayor of Houston (a city larger than 16 states). Perry has already come out swinging, requesting White release his tax returns for the past few years. White responded that his business involves partners and the information is proprietary and cannot be released. White is also the only candidate who has not ruled out a tax increase to fix the budget.
The good news for Perry is although Bill White did well in Houston (Harris County), so did Perry. Perry got 96,140 votes (61%) while Kay Bailey Hutchison received 42,458 votes (27%). White received 90% of the vote (89,057) and Shami received 7% (6,931). Although Obama was elected President in 2008, he did not win Texas. Obama only received 43.7% of the vote. No Democrat candidate has broken 46% in the past 10 years with the exception of John Sharp...he pulled 46.01% in 2002. Put all of that together....and it's still anybody's guess.
The big question is: will Senator Hutchinson resign her seat. On a recent radio interview, Hutchison stated that if she lost, she would stay in the Senate until the healthcare reform debate is concluded. Both Senator Cornyn and Governor Perry have asked her to remain in her seat until her term is completed in 2012. Stay tuned.
One of the more interesting races was for Senate District 22. Senator Kip Averitt (R-Waco) withdrew from the race because of health reasons, but because of the timing of his withdrawal, his name still appeared on the ballot along with his opponent, Darren Yancy. Averitt easily won the race with 60.1% of the vote and Yancy received 39.91% of the vote. On Monday, March 8, Senator Averitt announced he would resign his seat next week. The Governor will call a special election in May to determine who will replace Averitt. Darren Yancy stated even before Averitt announced his resignation date that he will be running in the special election. The other most likely candidate, who has not yet announced as of this writing, is David Sibley. Sibley is well-known in his district: he held the Senate seat for eleven years prior to Averitt, was the Mayor of Waco and is currently a registered lobbyist. Local county Democratic Party chairs have said it's too soon to know if they'll have a candidate for the May election, but they will have the opportunity to have a candidate on the ballot for the November general election.
To see all primary election race results, please click here. |
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Interim Committees Start Working |
With primaries out of the way, interim committees began their work, examining topics as required by interim charges set out by each chamber's leadership. The House Ways and Means Committee began meeting in January to discuss the projected budget shortfall, as well as in February where they discussed the sales tax exemption for data processing and bottled water. They will meet again March 25 to discuss possible taxing of services which range from elective cosmetic surgery to car washes. We know they will meet to review other taxes and tax exemptions throughout the interim. However, the House Ways and Means Committee have not posted future meeting dates or agendas at this time.
The House Select Committee on Fiscal Stability was created by the Speaker in January and will examine budget issues as well. Representative John Otto (R-Dayton) will chair the committee with Representative Sylvester Turner (D-Houston) serving as co-chair. Representative Rene Oliveira (D-Brownsville), Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, as well as Representative Jim Pitts (R-Waxahachie), Chair of the Appropriations Committee, will also serve on the committee. The first meeting of this committee is March 24, one day prior to the House Ways and Means Committee. No agenda is available at this time.
The House Appropriations Committee met this week for the first time in the interim to discuss the budget. As you may recall, in January the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Speaker requested agencies find 5% savings in their budgets. Much of the discussion at this first meeting focused on those agency-proposed cuts. The first two speakers were the Chief Revenue Estimator from the Comptroller's Office and the Director of the Legislative Budget Board (LBB). Both speakers had a similar outlook on the Texas economy: the recovery will be more of a U-shaped recovery. Although Texas added 30,000 jobs in January, most of those jobs came from temporary help job agencies, indicating a lack of confidence in the economy. Revenues are about 3% behind what was projected for this biennium creating the budget deficit. The LBB stated that an $11 billion deficit is a conservative estimate, but they are hopeful it will not exceed $15 billion.
The Senate Finance Committee has set its first hearing on March 10. They will be reviewing public debt at all levels of government in Texas.
Numerous House and Senate committees will continue meeting throughout the interim. A partial list is included at the end of this issue. The work product of these interim committee hearings generally becomes legislation that will be actively debated in the 2011 legislative session. TRA will monitor and participate in these committee meetings and report on these activities in future issues of In the Interim. |
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First Year Computer Recycling Results |
| The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) announced the first-year results of the computer recycling program. All computer manufacturers that sell their products in Texas must offer consumers a convenient and free recycling program. From January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009, 81 manufacturers representing 116 brands collected 12.4 million pounds of equipment for reuse or recycling. |
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Upcoming Meetings and Events |
March 10 - Senate Finance, Senate Health & Human Services
March 11 - Senate Health & Human Services
March 23 - Economic Development and Workforce
March 24 - Senate Finance, House Fiscal Stability
March 25 - House Ways and Means
March 31 - Senate State Affairs
April 7 - 8 - Texas Retailers Association Board of Directors Meeting, Houston
April 14 - Senate Finance, Senate Health and Human Services
April 15 - Senate Health and Human Services
April 28 - Senate Finance
May 4 - Senate State Affairs
May 11 - Senate State Affairs
May 12 - Senate Finance, Senate Health and Human Services
May 26 - Senate Finance
June 9 - Senate Finance
June 23 - Senate Finance
July 7 - Senate Finance
July 14 - Senate State Affairs
July 21 - Senate Finance
July 28 - Senate State Affairs
August 4 - Senate Finance
August 18 - Senate Finance, Senate State Affairs
September 16 - 17 - Texas Retailers Association Board of Directors Meeting and 50th Anniversary
September 22 - Senate State Affairs |
