Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic
How else to characterize Susan Combs’ statement today detailing senior staff changes in the comptroller’s office? She so doesn’t get it. The problem in the comptroller’s is lack of competence. So what does she do to fix it? She hires a political operative. His name is David White. Here are his credentials for dealing with the fallout from the release of the personal information of 3.5 million Texans and other serious technology issues at the comptrollers’ office.
1. Served as political director for Rick Perry’s reelection.
2. Worked on various local and statewide campaigns and policy issues.
3. Chief of Staff for State Rep. Wayne Christian.
4. Served as Christian’s lead public policy advisor on several key committees (Regulated Industries, State Affairs, Business and Commerce). I’ll say this for Mr. White. If ever the comptroller should need a revenue estimate for the cost of gender studies at state universities, or for the study of developing a curriculum for a course in the contributions of western civilization, she’s got her man.
5. Served three years as State Chairman of Young Conservatives of Texas concurrent with working for the Legislature.
6. Consultant for the Republican party of Texas.
These aren’t qualifications. These are connections. And you can’t fix a real problem with someone whose only qualification is his political connections.
There is a one-word description for Combs, and it is CLUELESS. Here she is, with her agency and her reputation in ruins and facing gazillion-dollar lawsuits, and she hires … a political consultant. And not just any consultant, but Wayne Christian’s chief of staff. This is classic Combs.
She thinks that substantive problems require political solutions. There is no bottom to this pit of incompetence.
We can all breathe a sigh of relief that the problems at the comptrollers’ office will soon be but a memory. No doubt Mr. White will bring to his job the same analytical powers demonstrated by his previous boss.
Combs doomed herself shortly after taking office, the day that she fired deputy comptroller Billy Hamilton, one of the most competent and respected public servants in the history of the comptrollers’ office. If Combs had a lick of sense, she would have hired Hamilton instead of White and given him total authority to investigate and fix the problems in the office. But she could never do that, because she would have to admit that she should never have fired him. She’d rather be wrong than own up to a mistake. David White couldn’t hold Hamilton’s number two lead pencil.
Tagged: comptroller, david white, susan combs
Waddelow says:
I rarely agree with Burka, but on this I must concur. I know both men. I would trust Billy Hamilton with OPM anytime, anyplace. Mr. White does not have enough sense to walk my dog.
Sadly, Mrs. Combs is only thinking about shoring up her right flank with Mr. White’s hire. It is sad and disgusting that not even six months into their second terms as statewide officials, both she and Todd Staples are already obsessing and manuevering over who will win the Republican nomination for Lt. Governor in March 2014!
Paux on both their houses and their careers.
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Briscoe Democrat Reply:
June 27th, 2011 at 2:46 pm
I believe Strayhorn made a BIG mistake in giving up the Comptroller’s gig back in 2006: she could have had this job for life.
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Blue Reply:
June 27th, 2011 at 11:05 pm
Maybe, maybe not. She’d have had to stop monkeying with the revenue estimates a bit to have kept challengers at bay.
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Overkill, much? says:
Paul, do you know David White? On second thought, don’t answer that question. I know the answer.
If you did know David, you wouldn’t have gone off on a malicious rant. But, then again… that is “classic” Burka.
Keep up the great work.
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paulburka Reply:
June 27th, 2011 at 1:40 pm
No, I don’t know Mr. White. But I know him from his “qualifications.” He is a political hire, not a substantive hire.
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Yikes... says:
Yikes…
Is your problem with the Comptroller or with Mr. White? I agree with the previous commenter. Let’s give him a chance before we start the judging.
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paulburka says:
My problem is with the Comptroller and with Mr. White.
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Overkill, much? Reply:
June 27th, 2011 at 1:49 pm
You have a problem with someone you’ve never met?
This is fantastic insight to your egregiously slanted work in the TM 10 Best/10 Worst piece in recent years.
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Anonymous Reply:
June 27th, 2011 at 2:51 pm
Nice try, overkill. Burkas right, you know it. Take the partisan blustr out of this and the comptroller is mucking up, and Mr. White is more problem than solution.
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The House is Not a Home Reply:
June 27th, 2011 at 8:40 pm
Overkill, much?
You say, “you have a problem with someone you’ve never met.” You act surprised. Surely you met all the vitriol that met Speaker Joe Straus with the same surprise?
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Fun Times says:
Paul,
I think this is the perfect time to play “Toss Up.” Who do you hate more: Rick Green or David White?
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2 Time Loser Reply:
June 27th, 2011 at 2:40 pm
Burka actually hates Mr. White since he was directly responsible for defeating KBH, who was Burka’s hero for being such a great “moderate” Republican from Texas.
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Capitol Observer says:
Burka is right on this one….David White doesn’t have any connections…he was a paid campaign staffer for the Perry Campaign. And working as the COS for Wayne Christian doesn’t give him “credibility” with the right flank of the party. The Republican Party doesn’t know David White and David White doesn’t know the players in the Republican Party.
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Sidd Finch says:
Paul, I get that you’re angry but you’re not doing yourself any favors by ranting. The tone of your piece doesn’t emphasize your point but rather distracts from it.
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paulburka Reply:
June 27th, 2011 at 4:48 pm
My friend Mark McCaig e-mailed me the following comment:
I think you were a bit harsh on David. I’ve known him for around 9 years, going back to when we were both undergrads (David at SFA, myself at A&M) who were active in Young Conservatives of Texas. While the Comptroller’s Office certainly has its problems, I’ve always known David to be an exceptionally bright and hard working guy. He also has a great political acumen, which is necessary for a job like his. Only time will tell whether or not he will be able to help fix the mess there, but he’s a very capable guy who deserves a shot.
I appreciate Mark’s comments and will take them to heart. Whatever quarrel I have should not be with Mr. White but with Ms. Combs.
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Overkill, much? Reply:
June 27th, 2011 at 5:03 pm
I’m just shocked it took someone emailing you for you to realize why your post was so blatantly out of place. You acted like a child.
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Brian Walker Reply:
June 30th, 2011 at 12:02 am
Paul,
I second Mark’s email. I’ve known David for several years. He’s pretty dang sharp. He may be somewhat young, but he is exceptionally bright and a hard worker. I think there’s a good chance he’ll do the office well. I also take exception to your statement that he’s nothing more than a political consultant. I wouldn’t consider David a political consultant at all. For the most part, the modern day idea of what a political consultant is pertains to a paid individual who helps oversee and steer campaigns to success. Most of David’s political career has been spent working for elected officials in their respective elected offices. You might be better off calling him a Capitol guy with good political ties.
Regardless, I appreciate that you took a step back and re-evaluated who you should take issue with if anyone.
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Anonymous says:
what a ridiculous rant that amounts to nothing more than character assassination. First of all, she wasn’t hiring a deputy comptroller, Hamilton’s old position, but a chief of staff.
Secondly, Susan’s problem one can argue stems from not being political enough in her current office. She never played the hold money back game like past comptrollers — this time she simply adjust revenue based on the economic change.
Third, for you to say Susan thinks politics first is as misleading as it is outrageous. She’s the “least political” individual in statewide office. It seems you are using the data exposure as a justification for screeching criticism on a continual basis, and in this case assassinating the character of someone you haven’t met.
How horrible to hire a person with political experience in state office. I’m sure neither party does that! This is the biggest load of crap you have published in a long time, and that’s saying a lot because your blog of late is permeated with the smell of manure.
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Overkill, much? Reply:
June 27th, 2011 at 2:00 pm
Hear, hear.
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Jed Reply:
June 27th, 2011 at 2:15 pm
speaking as someone who has worked in finance for a megacorporation, “holding money back” is not a “game,” but rather a way to avoid making catastrophic mistakes.
everyone in a role like this has to learn that lesson, eventually. the question is whether we want to wait any longer for Combs to learn it on our dime.
i mean, it’s not like she is so good at the other aspects of the job (cf. F1 subsidy) that we should be overlooking major mistakes like these.
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Reggie Bashur says:
Paul — Take another look. Susan Combs has a strong record as Comptroller. She has instituted numerous reforms resulting in significant savings for the state. She has advanced transporarcy and accountability in state transactions. She has advocated policy to help create private sector jobs. Her commitment to openness and sound government was demonstrated within the first week of her taking office. She removed contested case hearings from the CPA to state office of hearing examines. David White is a professional with a strong background. He will do a great job.
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Briscoe Democrat Reply:
June 27th, 2011 at 2:22 pm
Reggie, Combs is also the one who REFUSED to give Anthony Graves the $18 million he was owed for being wrongly imprisoned and he’s suing Abbott’s office as well.
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Amy Squirrel says:
Combs is radioactive. Any sensible Republican who is not a political hack knows that. The title “Chief of Staff” in state government is meaningless.
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Ron Frazier says:
Reggie, Combs has been a disaster from the start of her first term.
I’ll give this guy a shot. He may actually do a good job, but don’t for a second think that Combs is anything more than incompetent.
The only statewide more incompetent is Staples. Thank God for Obama overreach and Bill White’s bad campaign or we would have been in serious doodoo last year.
Y’all don’t seem to understand but these are offices that matter to people. At some point, politics has to take a back seat to what’s best for Texas.
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Classic Burka says:
Burka – Where to start? Maybe I’ll start with slandering your name even though we’ve never met. That seems to be about the extent of your journalistic acumen. Why don’t you do a little research (ie get off your butt and do some real investigating) before you write a hit piece hack job for once? Heaven forbid Combs hire someone that has political experience instead of a lifelong bureaucrat. Then again, that’s exactly the kind of response I’d expect from a liberal zombie like you.
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Anon-TX says:
I guess David couldn’t get any clients beside AT&T to hire him as a lobbyist, so the state will have to pay him.
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Anonymous Reply:
June 27th, 2011 at 2:53 pm
Right wingers payin’ their own….
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Yo' Momma' Says... says:
The Combs apologists can claim all they want to that this hire doesn’t shore up her ranks with the right-wing of the Republican Party.
With all of the available professionals in this state and nationwide, there is no other explanation for why Combs hired a second-rate political operative for this position.
Perhaps it is time for folks to face the facts: Susan Combs hasn’t been qualified for either of the two statewide offices she has held. She severely damaged both.
As for the person that mentioned Todd Staples in the comments above, he falls in the same category: unqualified.
Both of them seeking the Lieutenant Governor’s seat is like two prostitutes running for county sheriff.
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Jurassic Park says:
Paul, you’ve been a “capitol insider” longer than David White has been on earth. I know you’ve been increasingly disillusioned and crotchety in the past few years, but any “insider” will know David White is both a consummate professional and a fantastic person. Just because he was the trigger man for your object of clandestine desire Wayne Christian, and senior staff for Perry all before age 30 doesn’t mean he won’t help right the ship at the comptroller’s office. I know… haters gunna hate, but step up and be a man for once.
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Here we go again! says:
First TDA, then the Comptroller’s office. Sigh…………………
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P.J. Puffenstauff says:
Paul – yet another ridiculous “entry” into your ever deteriorating blog.
Combs is by far the least political statewide elected we have here in Texas. The data breach situation was compounded by this fact. Combs is a great Comptroller who takes her job extremely seriously and has been a key part of the economic development we’ve seen over the last several years.
Her hire of Mr. White is smart–in fact its brilliant. She needs someone who understands the public and can help her communicate with them. That was the biggest failure of the data breach: the aftermath. Mr. White offers her these skills. Your absolutely wrong and guilty of the demagoguery you allegedly despise so much in Texas politics.
Mr. White is well qualified, young, and part of the new Republican movement within our state which is driven by different motivations and desires than have been traditionally sought by the Establishment. Combs needs this and this hire illustrates her biggest strength as a politician: understanding her own weaknesses. She doesn’t need another Combs in her agency; she needs someone else entirely. And she got her man.
The Tribune will end your reign on Texas Politics sooner than you realize. Your instincts are not just off lately. They’re dead wrong.
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Jed Reply:
June 27th, 2011 at 2:17 pm
i like the tribune, too, but i find it curious that you would evoke it in response to a critique of combs. i’m not sure they’re going to the mat for her over there, either.
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The House is Not a Home Reply:
June 27th, 2011 at 2:34 pm
P.J.,
You say Mr. White is part of a “new Republican movement within our state which is driven by different motivations and desires than have been traditionally sought by the Establishment.”
You could not be more wrong. The motivations and desires of young Republicans are the same as they ever were: To make money, and lots of it. Those desires and motivations are just cloaked differently than they were when the Republican Party of Texas consisted of people like President Bush, Governor Clements, and Ray Hutchison.
You can call yourself Conservative, you can yourself Republican. At the end of the day, we all just want more money. Cold, hard cash is the desire, and the motivator.
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Cry me a river Reply:
June 27th, 2011 at 2:37 pm
Incredible how irrelevant your response is “House”.
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P.J. Puffenstauff Reply:
June 27th, 2011 at 2:45 pm
QQ.
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Anonymous Reply:
June 27th, 2011 at 3:16 pm
Mr. White is not qualifed, and trying to beat up Burka is rather funny. Predictable, yes. Why is the whacko right just can;t tell the truth?
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Bob H. says:
Paul, you are 100 percent right. I work at the Comptroller’s office, and you’ve never seen such a mess. Combs has run the place into the ground; all the knowledgable, quality folks have left or been replaced, and there is a new snafu to deal with just about every week. Combs surrounds herself with sniveling yes-men and perky Tri-Delts who don’t know the first thing about running a large state agency. Billy Hamilton wouldn’t have lasted more than a month here because Combs wouldn’t know what to do with a deputy who actually had balls. And now we get this right wing nut wannabe coming in. Smells like Colyandro all over again.
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Comptroller Employee Too! Reply:
June 27th, 2011 at 2:19 pm
Oh yeah – I’m a Comptroller employee too! You know how you know? Cause I said so! The Comptroller is awful as are pretty much all Republicans/conservatives. I love being a bureaucrat and hate it when someone comes into my cubicle and tells me what to do. #totalworthlessbureaucratmove
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Anonymous Reply:
June 27th, 2011 at 3:16 pm
Wow. What a brilliant reply!
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paulburka Reply:
June 30th, 2011 at 3:40 pm
The reference to John Colyandro is that he worked for Strayhorn.
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Anonymous says:
Thats pretty rough on someone you do not know, but that is your prerogative.
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I Can Has Burka? says:
Paul, I’m pretty sure the position David White is filling is not directly in charge of curing any of the data issues. It is an advisory role to the comptroller. So, when the comptroller fills any other position in the agency, will you jump to conclusions or will you do some research and read the job description? Unless you admit you jumped the gun here, then you are really just an armchair hack.
Good thing Mr. White decided to get a job helping the state so that he never becomes a jaded, superficial ‘capitol insiders’ like you? Not everything fits the narrative and agenda that you want to push. Please, let facts get in the way of that next time you write.
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Briscoe Democrat Reply:
June 27th, 2011 at 2:22 pm
Strayhorn should have stayed put as Comptroller: she had that gig for life and could have won re-election in 2006 IF her big ego hadn’t gotten in the way against Perry.
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Jed says:
i don’t understand all the comments in here about how burka “doesn’t know” the players he is criticizing.
since when is that necessary? how many of you know obama?
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Blue Reply:
June 27th, 2011 at 11:10 pm
It’s a little different beating up on the POTUS as opposed to some poor staffer.
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Briscoe Democrat says:
Face it folks, Combs is DONE politically in 2014 and she can forget about being Lieutenant Governor, especially IF Abbott jumps in (Staples is making a mistake in giving up a safe gig too).
Abbott has like what $8.7 million and counting and if he runs for Lieutenant Governor (assuming Obama wins re-election as Prez and Dewhurst goes for governor if Perry retires), then you can see someone like Paul Hobby or someone else run for Comptroller.
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WURSPH says:
Anyone want to join me in signin on for Patterson for Lt. Governor!!
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Briscoe Democrat Reply:
June 27th, 2011 at 2:48 pm
How do you sign onto Patterson’s campaign for LG ?
I’m keeping an eye on Abbott, who is either going to run for the governorship (if Perry retires), LG (if the Dew goes for KBH’s Senate seat), or nothing at all.
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anon says:
Maybe you should have sat down with Mr. White and discussed his plans for the office before you write a smear piece.
Believe it or not, people make career changes and different backgrounds bring different strengths to the table (i.e. communication skills, of which the Comptroller’s office has none)
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Bodhisattva Reply:
June 28th, 2011 at 9:07 am
You gotta be kidding me.
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WURSPH says:
add a “g” to that singin
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WURSPH says:
or is it “signing”….slow down, boy
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Someone who Knows says:
David was COS for Christian last session, not this one, Paul. He was (until recently) an independent consultant/lobbyist.
He’s a solid, skilled, professional who understands Tx Politics. You Paul, as shown by your rant here, are not.
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Jordan Berry says:
David will do a great job. Combs could have just hired a career state employee, but she was looking for fresh ideas and a different perspective.
If we had more folks in government that were problem solvers like David, maybe we wouldn’t revisit the same problems every two years.
Susan choosing David is an example of how private enterprise works and flourishes.
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J Jesse says:
Burka, do some fact checking before you go on your next rant.
Rep. Christian proposed “gender studies at state universities, or for the study of developing a curriculum for a course in the contributions of western civilization” during the 82nd legislative session long after David White left the office in June of 2009 after the 81st session.
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paulburka Reply:
June 30th, 2011 at 3:42 pm
I’m well aware of when Mr. Christian started throwing grenades in the culture war. I was in the House when the Appropriations Bill was debated and Mr. Christian’s amendments came up.
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Private Sector says:
How dare the head of a state agency look outside of the bloated state bureaucracy and hire someone from the private sector? Just terrible that new ideas and viewpoints will be brought into our state government.
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P.J. Puffenstauff Reply:
June 27th, 2011 at 2:47 pm
WHAT DO WE WANT?
-RESEARCH BASED POLICIES!
WHEN DO WE WANT THEM?
-AFTER PEER REVIEW!
The technocrats like Burka have to cast stones from their towers upon us lowly private sectorians!
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PRI-ista Reply:
June 27th, 2011 at 7:18 pm
Hired from the private sector? Call David White anything you want but do not call him a private sector guy. He has earned is paycheck from the State and/or campaign contributions.
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Ron Frazier Reply:
June 27th, 2011 at 9:07 pm
Uh… he’s been making his living off taxpayers or politicians in one way or another his entire professional life.
The private sector that ain’t.
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Sour Six Teen says:
What drivel. Anyone with twitter who follows #txlege is more informed than Paul Burka at this point.
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AK says:
David is a talented young political operative who has excelled and exceeded expectations everywhere he has worked, and he will do great work for Susan Combs. Her only mistake was advertising through a press release a political fix when she needs to advertise an agency fix. In truth, she needs a fix on both fronts, and it’s clear David is there to address the former. Other than the fact that the hire probably should have been made quietly, how is it a problem?
But that’s exactly why she needed to bring someone like David on board.
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Crazy Uncle says:
Paul you know that this story is not news. It is dog bites man. It seems that the more trivial the story the more ardent the blogs.
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Hilarious says:
You stay away from a blog for a little while and suddenly the rules change….I thought you didn’t go after staff, Burka?
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Blue Reply:
June 27th, 2011 at 11:12 pm
Staff are just grist for the mill, I guess.
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paulburka Reply:
June 30th, 2011 at 3:44 pm
I didn’t go after staff. The criticism is directed at Ms. Combs.
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Jon McClellan says:
Burka, David White is just what Combs and her office needs, someone who understands the system and can get results.
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Pri-ista says:
As a former staffer who did work with David White, I would say David White is a great guy and great legislative staffer, but a senior advisor for the Comptroller’s office? Hell no. I doubt that guy could ever make sense out of a balance sheet for the life of him.
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NotDwayneHorner Reply:
June 27th, 2011 at 6:07 pm
Dwayne is that you?
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Pri-ista says:
Don’t give me this, “Well, he was a finance major from SFA!!!” He never applied which allegedly learned.
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Jurassic Park says:
Pri-ista,
Yeah, he never applied what he learned… But he is senior at the Comptroller’s office now… and was in Perry’s reelection… and in the House… something’s working… And I’m pretty sure his “balance sheet” is looking pretty tidy compared to yours at the moment.
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PRI-ista Reply:
June 27th, 2011 at 7:04 pm
His “balance sheet” he made like any true conservative makes it…in the private sector.
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comedic relief says:
David White for Governor
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Capitol Staffer says:
Paul, I thought that you had a policy of treating staffers for politicians with respect, even if you had differences of opinions with the elected official. You have really gone over the edge of the cliff on this one and broken one of your supposed vows of journalistic integrity by attacking a staffer.
Combs has made some mistakes, but at least she realizes it and knows that she has to do something unique and think outside the box to improve the agency. David is a fresh face and is willing to take on the challenges. How about you leave your criticisms to Mrs. Combs and not to her staff who are doing the daily grunt work of the state?
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Waddelow says:
David White is responsible for defeating KBH the same way Al Gore invented the internet. And he is still a Wayne Christian hack.
I was on Rick Perry’s email list last year, but now I’m getting Wayne Christian weekly emails. Coincidence? Nope. David White.
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Anon Reply:
June 27th, 2011 at 6:47 pm
Waddelow… that “coincidence” was probably Jon McClellan, not David White
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Anon v2 Reply:
June 27th, 2011 at 10:14 pm
Waddelow…. you can expect some Ted Cruz emails too. Jon McClellan is there now. Enjoy!
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WOW says:
This is a [vulgarism omitted--pb] joke.
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paulburka Reply:
June 30th, 2011 at 3:47 pm
Not allowed on this blog.
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Edie I. Mean says:
WOW – No need to drop the F-Bomb, this is a PG-13 blog. Just call White an “F-ing joke” and we’ll all get your drift.
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Former Staff says:
I see Paul has posted the license plate piece. He has still not answered the point about not attacking staff. I wish he would have taken a call on his 8 min defense of the Best and Worst on the radio this afternoon.
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patriotone says:
The Comptroller is not competent in her job. There are probably jobs she could handle, this is not one of those jobs. She is abusive to staffers, it seems because she doesn’t know what she is doing. She will probably stay Comptroller indefinitely since moving up as was her plan is now a non-starter. Being a comptroller actually involves knowing something. It is dangerous to let politicians be put in charge of technical matters. We wouldn’t elect the pilot of a plane. I would suggest being the comptroller is at least as complex.
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imakeepitreal says:
And Paul, you’re just a dick.
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Blue says:
This is a disgusting hit piece.
I don’t know Mr. White, never met him, probably don’t agree with his politics. But for the dean of Texas politics with a megaphone the size of the San Jacinto monument to reach down and smite a low level staffer who has done nothing wrong other than try to make a living and serve the state in the way he thought best is utterly beyond the pale.
What’s next, Paul? Character assassination of committee clerks whose bosses push bills you don’t like? A snarky bullet point list of the jobs and education of LBB staffers who write fiscal notes you don’t approve of? Investigation of the political background of Sunset Commission staff? Musings on the qualifications of departmental lackeys sent with prepared testimony before the members in a rehearsed Kabuki show?
Whatever. You can’t take this back, the Internet will ensure it dogs Mr. White for the rest of his career. Congratulations, I guess.
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MKP says:
It should be noted that Billy Hamilton was not fired, he quit. The option of retaining him was not existent. Perhaps a technical point, since Combs certainly would have only kept sniveling yes-men around her anyways, but still worth mentioning.
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Pi says:
Big Dog Big Blog today Paul Burka. The exact right assessment of Comptroller Susan Combs in my opinion.
This story accords exactly with my experiences with the Comptroller’s Office the last six months.
Please watch the Austin City Council’s Special Called Meeting for Wednesday, June 29.
If you think the data breach problem was gross, tune in and see how Comptroller Combs serves up the Texas Major Events Fund as a $250,000,000 feast of Formula One crony pork.
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Robert Morrow says:
SUSAN COMBS * CLUELESS * AGREED* SUSAN COMBS * CLUELESS * AGREED *SUSAN COMBS * CLUELESS * AGREED* SUSAN COMBS * CLUELESS * AGREED* SUSAN COMBS * CLUELESS * AGREED *SUSAN COMBS * CLUELESS * AGREED* SUSAN COMBS * CLUELESS * AGREED* SUSAN COMBS * CLUELESS * AGREED *SUSAN COMBS * CLUELESS * AGREED* SUSAN COMBS * CLUELESS * AGREED* SUSAN COMBS * CLUELESS * AGREED *SUSAN COMBS * CLUELESS * AGREED*
Forumla One flack for billionaires, too.
And she wants to tax all my books I get from Amazon.
Barfing on keyboard as I type.
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Kenneth D. Franks says:
If your personal information was on a public site for about a year you wouldn’t think Combs was competent. There are 3.5 million Texans in that category alone. Then add all of the other people that believe this was incompetence and that is a much larger number.
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2 Time Loser Reply:
June 28th, 2011 at 1:10 pm
Kenneth D. Franks, good thing you never won those State Rep campaigns or else your information would of been shared too! Thankful for unanswered prayers….or something like that right?
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LJK says:
This is a good example of why so many honest, American loving people don’t get into politics anymore. They never have a chance to succeed because they are torn to shreds before they even set foot in their new office. Good luck Mr. White, our prayers are with you!
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TCurrah says:
I, personally, will find it refreshing to work with a man for a change. I am tired of spending the past few years working with bitchy, hormonal, middle-aged women.
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Robert Morrow Reply:
June 28th, 2011 at 7:00 pm
The most dangerous animal on earth is the bitter, angry middle aged hag (think Hillary). They are young enough to have enough energy to be deadly and old enough to have had 2-3 relationships with men that endly bad.
The middle-aged hag/harridan must be avoided at all costs!
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Anonymous Reply:
June 28th, 2011 at 9:10 pm
ah, the not so subtle reference to your conspiracy about Hillary sleeping with Vince Foster. and who was that other lawyer you said the Clintons had killed while they were in the White House?
Did you learn about LBJ’s plot to kill Kennedy from strippers too?
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Anonymous says:
The TX Comptroller’s office is a complex machine, like an old steam engine. You need an old-hand who knows all the buttons (like Billy Hamilton)to run that engine. If this were some other agency its no big deal, but this is the engine of the TX train. She found a boy who could has the credentials of carrying her purse and now he is in charge. I feel for him because he is failed from day one. Hopefully a new Comptroller will come in and put Billy back in…I can already see the piles of returns stacking up on already.
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farklefreddy says:
Mr. White is not being hired to be a technocrat wonk. He isn’t comparable to Mr. Hamilton. They come from two different worlds and serve for two different purposes. Mr. Hamilton could fix the pipes unlike any human, but Mr. White is being hired to provide some (perhaps needed) policy guidance to Combs.
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Briscoe Democrat says:
Bob Bullock was the last great Comptroller we’ve ever had (Sharp was okay too, but didn’t have the long-tenure of the gig).
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Governor Toolshed says:
If David White does for Susan Combs what he appears to have had a hand in doing for Wayne Christian, too bad for Susan Combs.
There is no other member of the Legislature who is as openly referred to in corrupt terms than Wayne Christian.
Political fix?
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Jurassic Park Reply:
June 28th, 2011 at 3:16 pm
Toolbag,
What evidence have ye that Wayne Christian is “corrupt”? (Other than the fact you don’t like him)
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Texun says:
This thread would have been even better in 3-D.
Burka criticized our grandly incompetent controller for hiring a political operative when she should have been looking for a technocrat. On target. Criticism of White was directed soley at his qualifications to take on major operational problems at that troubled agency. So far, his defenders have usually said that he’s smart enough to learn on the job. That doesn’t seem to address the point: the operational problems are critical and training wheels are not appropriate.
But, what the appointment does tell us is that Combs considers her political problems much more important than the operations of her agency, hence the hiring of White before she finds somebody, anybody, who understands her agency better than she does.
As to Burka’s comments amounting to a “rant”, that label is usually thrown at him by our far right brethern whenever he criticizes one of their chosen people. It’s wearing out, dudes.
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James says:
“Bob Bullock was the last great Comptroller we’ve ever had (Sharp was okay too, but didn’t have the long-tenure of the gig).”
C’mon, Billy Hamilton actually ran the place for both of them (and the grandma).
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Briscoe Democrat Reply:
June 29th, 2011 at 12:46 pm
Who’s Billy Hamilton ?
Robert Calvert was Comptroller for 26 years and the dude before that was there for 18.
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James says:
I also felt this was an over-the-top hit piece of a guy that the author admits he never met. At least let the fellow get on the job and actually make a big mistake before the flail comes out. He will either be incompetant, brilliant, or somewhere in between. But, judge him on actual performance.
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Multitasker says:
Thank you Mr. Burka for assessment of Ms. Combs and her recent hire. Some of the comments have been very accurate, others not so much. I guess I will never understand why far right, Tea Party, ultra conservative folks read and comment about your blog. Do they think they can turn you around? Ms. Combs hired a young man who worked for one of your Worst Legislators, Mr. Wayne Christian. Ms. Combs will not be able to win the R nomination for Lt. Governor (that is if Lt. Dewhurst runs for US Senate).
I so wish Tx Monthly would inquire as to the amount of money Ms. Combs has spent on consultants for the Comptrollers office, SECO and the Tx Tomorrow Fund (or whatever its new name is now). I think we would all be shocked!
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Briscoe Democrat Reply:
June 29th, 2011 at 12:45 pm
Dewhurst ain’t running for LG again in 2014, so it’s either KBH’s Senate seat next year or the Governor’s Mansion in 2014.
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Calculatin Coke says:
Let’s see, under Combs leadership:
**School efficiency study roundly ridiculed
**Not one BRE within 10% of actual performance
**One of biggest data breaches in US history
**Wrong on job creation economic development deals
**Says no to man wrongly imprisoned for 18 YEARS
This is the problem with one party domination. Incompetence takes second chair to not rocking the boat. Democrats and voters clearly won’t police Combs. Maybe courts or Republican electeds will.
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