The Best and Worst Legislators 2009
Gerry says: This article forgot to mention that Rob Eissler’s bill (HB3), also eliminates ALL computer requirements from the required courses for all three levels of graduation (minimum, recommended, and DAP). Students can graduate high school without even knowing how to type, or use a spreadsheet, word processor, etc. How can they possibly be prepared for the world outside of high school without these basic skills? This is absolutely ridiculous? But he did keep a full year of fine arts in the requirements... (April 15th, 2010 at 9:06pm)
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WORST LEGISLATORS
Dishonorable Mention
Carl Isett, Republican, Lubbock
Sometimes legislators can find themselves in water that’s over their heads. Isett fell into the Marianas Trench. He totally botched his job as chairman of the sunset process that scrutinizes state agencies, allowing time to expire with a safety-net bill awaiting action as he dithered over whether to answer questions about it or move for passage; as a result, the session ended in chaos, with the existence of the Texas Department of Transportation, the Texas Department of Insurance, and several other agencies in doubt. He embarrassed not only himself but the entire Legislature.
Betty Brown, Republican, Terrell
For remarking that voters of Asian descent should adopt names that are “easier for Americans to deal with.”
Norma Chávez, Democrat, El Paso
For her petty session-long text-messaging feud with fellow El Pasoan Marisa Marquez over an ethics bill. (“U R on the Dishonorable Mention List!!!”)
David Leibowitz, Democrat, San Antonio
For undermining TxDOT reform efforts with a silly proposal for elected highway commissioners.
Tommy Merritt, Republican, Longview
For having the DPS station a helicopter in his hometown at a cost of $600,000.
Leadership
Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst
When press accounts remarked on his absence from the podium during most Senate sessions, he promptly took command of the gavel. And the machinery of government promptly began to sputter, as he carried on multiple conversations and otherwise proved too preoccupied for the task of passing bills. “Thanks a lot,” exasperated senators groused to reporters. Dewhurst was engaged this session—but not with the Legislature. His impending marriage, as well as his possible U.S. Senate race, made him as distracted and unpredictable as a third-grader in desperate need of Ritalin. While he can rightly claim success for his role in finding a windstorm insurance solution and a health care initiative, his leadership and communications weaknesses were on stark display. A prime example occurred during the final weekend, when, standing at the podium, he scolded the House for its work schedule, interrupting himself at one point to take a cell phone call from Straus. A Camp David moment it was not.
Governor Rick Perry
Nothing better sums up his performance this session than his itinerary for Thursday May 28. With deadlines bearing down on a fractious Legislature, much of the people’s work still unresolved, he left Austin to attend a fundraiser in Houston for Congressman Michael McCaul, where he presented talk show host Rush Limbaugh with an Honorary Texan Award. From his State of the State address to his secession silliness to sine die, Perry preened for the hard-core Republican base. As for the dirty work at the Capitol, he kept his hands clean. He threatened vetoes or surreptitiously dispatched allies in the House and Senate to kill bills to save him the trouble. His major accomplishment was finding ways to postpone tough decisions—transportation funding, for example—until after the 2010 election.
Schnookie of the Year
Roland Gutierrez
38, Democrat, San Antonio
Maybe it’s okay to talk . . . and talk . . . and talk as a freshman on the San Antonio City Council, but it’s not okay in the Texas Legislature, especially if you make repeated visits to the microphone and debate your elders in a grating, fingernails-on-a-blackboard manner.
Furniture
The term “furniture” is thought to be as old as the Capitol. Originally it applied to lawmakers with a level of participation that was well below average, indicating that they were indistinguishable from their desks, chairs, and inkwells. Today the definition also refers to the least consequential members:
Charles “Doc” Anderson Republican, Waco
Fred Brown Republican, Bryan
Al Edwards Democrat, Houston
Joe Farias Democrat, San Antonio
Senator Chris Harris Republican, Arlington
Tim Kleinschmidt Republican, Lexington
Senator Eddie Lucio Democrat, Brownsville
Solomon Ortiz Jr. Democrat, Corpus Christi
Inocente “Chente” Quintanilla Democrat, El Paso
Ralph Sheffield Republican, Temple
This article was compiled by senior executive editor Paul Burka and writer-at-large Patricia Kilday Hart, with research assistance from Abby Rapoport.
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