I saw in the Midland Reporter-Telegram that Tom Craddick spoke to the home folks–the Permian Basin Petroleum Association–a few days ago. Here’s what he had to say:
When the next session of the Texas Legislature opens in January, “it will be about money,” said State Rep. Tom Craddick, who has represented the Midland area since taking office in 1969. “Money will be a big challenge — where to put it, where to not put it, will there be enough or will we have to cut spending.”
He said that cuts made during the last session in 2011 will not be restored.
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He said that? That’s interesting. Did I miss something? Is Craddick back on the LBB? Is he going to be vice-chair of Appropriations? How does he know the cuts are not going to be restored?
The story goes on to say, Beyond money matters, other issues will be roads, especially in the Permian Basin, where traffic has risen substantially because of oilfield activity and population growth, Craddick said….
I don’t doubt that roads/transportation will be an issue, but not “especially” in the Permian Basin. There are higher priorities. Dallas/Fort Worth. The north side of San Antonio. Interstate 35. Central Texas. There is growth in the Permian Basin, to be sure, but it shouldn’t be the first thing on the list.
The interesting thing about this article is that Craddick never changes. He still wants to cut the budget despite rising state revenues and a bulging rainy day fund, he still wants to set state policy despite the lack of a portfolio, and he still regards Midland as the center of the universe. And, I bet, he’s still trying to figure out how to regain the speakership.
Bell of the ball says:
Well, of course, the speaker’s apartment he and Nadine worked so hard to improve is just waiting for their return.
Truly, no surprises in his comments. Session is always about money, “where to put it, where to not put it, will there be enough or will we have to cut spending.”
As for his comment about infrastructure for the Permian Basin, so what; he’s telling the home town folks what they want to hear. Again, no surprise. Paul, you surely don’t think he would bring up the priorities you mentioned?
He has served his constituents well (can’t say much for the state as a whole) but he’s old and frail. Time to think about how he wants to spend his “golden years.”
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Distinguished Gentleman Reply:
October 30th, 2012 at 1:48 pm
Craddick is one of Texas’ strongest poster children for term limits.
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Blue Dogs Reply:
October 30th, 2012 at 4:13 pm
Remember when Kay Bailey Hutchison promised the people of Texas that she would serve 2 full six-year terms in the US Senate when she was elected in 1993 ?
Guess what, she LIED and is now leaving after nearly 20 years.
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vietvet3 Reply:
October 30th, 2012 at 8:47 pm
I’m glad she stayed. KBH is probably the last Texas Senator in our lifetimes who truly tried to solve problems for her state and nation, and who didn’t check her brain in at the door. What a contrast with ideologues like Gramm, and more so, Cruz. Thank you, KBH!
Distinguished Gentleman Reply:
October 31st, 2012 at 1:17 pm
Blue Dogs, your point made at 4:13 p.m. would only serve to strengthen my argument that formal term limits should be instituted–because politicians DO lie. Look at Charlie Howard who also lied about term limits when defeating Jim Tallas. Look, too, at Leo Berman who likewise lied about term limits when defeating Ted Kamel.
Blue says:
He cannot possibly believe what he is saying; he may be venal but he isn’t dumb. A lot of the cuts are going to end up being restored in the supplemental to get the 82nd spending base up.
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Absolutely Sweet Marie says:
Did you see where Mr. Craddick spent $720,000+ this election cycle? Geez….
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jpt51 says:
Craddick = I got mine and to heck with the rest of you 99%!
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Bevo's Brain says:
I don’t think Craddick wants to be Speaker again so much as he would like to have a large say in who succeeds Straus as Speaker in 2015 or 2017. He has challenges with his Parkinson’s disease and at some point getting to Austin for session just won’t be worth the effort.
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Reagan Republican says:
Cut the budget? Is anyone thinking about the future of Texas? Education? Water? Transportation? Environment? Health Care. Davy Crockett would today probably say, “You all can go to Hell. I’m going back to Tennessee.”
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Texian Politico Reply:
October 31st, 2012 at 7:36 am
David Crockett would be shocked at how big our government has become. You are ignorant of history if you think otherwise. Just read his famous speech entitled “Not Yours to Give.” Besides, TN is almost as Republican as TX now days anyhow. The era of the Gores in TN is long gone.
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Reagan Republican Reply:
October 31st, 2012 at 7:52 am
Tennessee isn’t last in funding for ESSENTIAL services and seems to realize that in doing so costs MORE in the long run. Mental Health funding, or the lack of it, gets spent, and more so, in our criminal justice system. What will be the cost of not addressing our water needs? Less government yes, but be smart and face reality. Crockett did. Reagan did. He spent more to end and win the Cold War.
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Just Another Joe says:
The interesting thing about this post is that Burka never changes. He still wants to pester and beat up on Craddick even though it is a non-issue.
Leave Craddick alone, Paul. It’s over…been over for about 4 years.
All Craddick did in this article is what every engaged state rep does round about this time of year…give his constituents a forecast of what is to come next session.
He’s been in the building for over 40 years. He doesn’t need to be on LBB or Vice Chair of Approps to know that despite the revenue up-tick, we could still have another bad budget year before us. Lot of current approps members are saying the same thing.
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Blue Dogs Reply:
October 30th, 2012 at 4:13 pm
At least Craddick gets to see his daughter become Railroad Commissioner in November when she wins the open seat this fall.
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John Johnson says:
Is the legislature going to keep playing with the $4.9 billion in dedicated funds?
With over $200M escrowed in an account with Texas Parks & Wildlife’s name on it, is TP&W going to have to continue running ads on Texas Monthly’s website asking for help from the public to keep state parks open?
There is about $200 for every man, woman and child in Texas tied up in these accounts that either need to be returned to us or released to the departments they were intended for. If not corrected this session, every consumer reporter in the state should be posting names of those holding up such a move.
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Jerry Only Reply:
October 30th, 2012 at 6:15 pm
you and i finally agree wholeheartedly on something.
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Vernon Reply:
October 31st, 2012 at 9:36 am
Yes, they will keep playing with dedicated funds, along with all the rest of the funds too.
In my opinion the TP&W just isn’t sexy enough to merit any kind of increase in funding. I don’t think they’ll even get an increase in attention.
Unlike TXDOT or TDCJ, both of which have lots of money and favors to throw around, TP&W doesn’t even have enough to ante up to play at the high-stakes table. So TP&W is relegated to the nickel slots.
Plus, how much attention do the citizens pay to state parks? If they care at all, they sure do keep quiet about it.
Lastly, in this type of bass akwards political climate where any amount of government spending on anything is seen as loathsome (even for programs as noble as TP&W), there’s very few in leadership positions who’ll stand up for good programs.
Mostly, everyone will just whittle their way through the session…posturing a little here, making a pompous (yet benign) tactical stance there, all to ensure that they don’t get ‘primaried’. And that’ll be it. “Sine die, everybody!” In the end, nothing will change.
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No Le Hace says:
Blue Dog you’re right Craddick finally gets his daughter off his payroll onto the taxpayers. Showed a lot of his supporters at Capitol just how loyal she was with sticking it to Chisum. One thing her health ought to be good…..taxpayers paid for her health care her entire life and it will now continue.
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FLPD says:
Wow. Lots of pent up Craddick anger remains–on Craddick’s part, that is! He’s a pretty vindictive guy. I don’t think he’s necessarily trying to return as speaker, but he’s definitely trying to undermine Straus. If isn’t able to knock Straus off this time, he’ll probably retire. But watch for him to time his resignation so that he can hand pick his replacement.
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Cow Droppings says:
Pretty gratuitous post. Kicking the guy just for the sake of kicking him.
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david.holmes says:
Paul -
I want to comment on one aspect of this post.
While I’ve found plenty of things to disagree with Craddick over the years, I can not really fault him terribly for representing his district on the subject of transportation.
I recognize that Odessa/Midland’s relative population may not place it at the top of the list of priorities, but I also think you may not understand what it is like out there right now. When I drove back to visit family in Odessa a couple months ago, the stretch I drive from Sterling City to Odessa was downright daunting. It’s a 2 lane highway with hundreds of large and over-sized heavy equipment trucks every day added to normally fairly brisk traffic on that stretch.
The Odessa American reported a little while back that traffic accidents last year increased by 715 in Odessa/Midland over 2010 and I believe there will be another increase this year. Not only is there no housing to be found out there right now, there are very few hotel rooms to be found any weeknight due to the oilfield workers filling the town. It is truly an extraordinary circumstance.
I realize that is not the primary point you were discussing, but what is going on out there right now is worth knowing. And the infrastructure of highways there was not built for nearly the capacity it is currently sustaining.
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Whoa, Nellie! Reply:
October 31st, 2012 at 9:21 am
“And the infrastructure of highways there was not built for nearly the capacity it is currently sustaining.”
This is a chronic problem in this state everywhere, from the hinterlands to the suburbs. And it begs for a comprehensive solution — force industries and developers to build the roads that will be necessary for the traffic produced by their activities and businesses, not just skim off profits and leave the infrastructure needs to taxpayers.
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Anonymous Reply:
October 31st, 2012 at 1:02 pm
The concern in West Texas is for the abuse of roads by oilfield trucks on state-maintained highways, and on county roads within the region. TxDOT a few months ago announced it had found about $20 million for road repairs/upgrades in the Eagle Ford area, which is experiencing the same problems as in the Permian Basin, and the area is seeking similar funding (Barnett Shale areas around Dallas-Fort Worth also went through the same oilfield truck-related road deterioration problems in the 2005-08 period when those gas fields were under development).
There’s a lot to be gripy with about with Tom Craddick, his attitude and his pet causes over the years. Fixing the highways in the oil patch isn’t one of them, and the tone here sounds more as if Paul thinks the state’s western boundary is U.S. 281. It’s the same mindset as people in New York City who think their state ends at the Westchester County line and don’t give a damn about any problems further north, and it’s neither admirable nor very far-sighted.
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allmaya says:
The traffic is a lot worse out there, despite Craddick getting an Outer Loop built for Midland (I kid you not). Oh, and they even named it the “Nadine and Tom Craddick Highway.”
There also appears to be a substantial increase in traffic fatalities, often involving those large trucks.
Nonetheless, Paul, you are absolutely right. When you compare the traffic anywhere in the Permian Basin to the “Y” in Oak Hill or 281 north of 1604 in San Antonio or numerous sites in Houston or the Metroplex, the folks in West Texas have it very very good.
Everytime I drive down 1826, a commuter road that doesn’t even have shoulders, I think about the idiocy of spending tax dollars to make the road from McCamey to Crane four lanes.
Even if we spent money on Permian Basin roads, by the time the improvements were built, the boom would be over.
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JohnBernardBooks says:
finally something republicans and democrats can disagree on.
Compare Craddick to Straus and you’ll see why dems love Straus, he bows down to them while Craddick stands up for republicans.
What’s with democrats and kowtowing?
Kowtow-”kneel and touch the forehead to the ground in expression of deep respect, worship, or submission,”
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Peggy Venable says:
It’s called consistency. Tom Craddick is consistent – he believes that government is too big and we need to continue to empower citizens and not government. We can spend our own money better than government can. He is right to point out debt as a problem. Texas local governments are $322 billion in debt, second only to California (the Greece of America). Economic freedom provides greater prosperity for all Texans and a cornerstone of economic freedom is limiting the size and scope of government.
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FLPD Reply:
October 31st, 2012 at 10:35 am
Give me a break, Peggy Venable. Craddick used state funds & state debt for a “first class” performing arts center out there at the same time he was cutting funding for public & higher education. There are plenty of examples just like this where this so-called small government/fiscal conservative squandered state resources for his pet projects.
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Bell of the ball Reply:
October 31st, 2012 at 10:39 am
So, Peggy, how much you contributing to building up infrastructure?? oh, yeah, right, you got yours, to heck with anyone else. You’re only interested in your own economic freedom. What a bunch of BS!
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JohnBernardBooks Reply:
October 31st, 2012 at 1:34 pm
Peggy you hit the nail on the head. Consistency is one of the main traits of leadership.
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joe's confused says:
I remain….confused. Mr. Holmes points out above that there is a ton of traffic and no empty rooms available in hotels in west Texas. Unless I’m wrong, both the traffic and the filled hotel/motels are indicators of increased economic activity, which should lead to an increase in local revenues (taxes and fees) that could be addressing some of the transportation issues in the area. Yet, the discussion seems to be “what’s the State going to do about this?”. I remain….confused
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Historyhorn says:
The fatality rate for accidents in the West Texas oilpatch is 2.5 times the average in the rest of the state due to the industrial and mining traffic.
There is more truck traffic on the stretch of I-20 from west of Odessa to east of Midland than anywhere else in the state.
That not only tears the roads to pieces, it is extremely dangerous for the average family to utilize the highways.
Citizens in West Texas see five dollars in state taxes paid for every dollar that returns in services.
I think the rest of the state sees this area as nothing more than an economic colony & it is not out of line to have funding priorities for needs in this region emphasized as well.
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treehugger says:
One thing about widening roads in WTX, its relatively cheap. Compare widening I-35 where whole halves of towns like Troy have to be re-located, to widening State hwy 158 east of Midland. Heck, just peel off a few shrubby mesquite and the two inches of topsoil, add asphalt and you’ve got a road. BTW, there was a whole lot of traffic in that area in the mid-70′s too.
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Not an editor.... says:
He’s just a mean little man….kind of sad, actually.
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Ordinary Citizen says:
Who cares what Craddick says in his district about the budget or the Legislature or anything for that matter? He is staying in the Legislature now because it still serves his oil & gas business interests to do so. Now that his daughter is where she needs to be to protect and build on the family business, he MAY think about stepping down…or maybe not.
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Rich, white & educated says:
Yes, let’s leave rational policy decisions to the Peggy Venables of the world. A recipe for success!
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Blue Dogs says:
Folks, who long will Christi Craddick last on the Texas Railroad Commission ?
A. 2 terms
B. 3 terms
C. Plot a bid for the Governor’s Mansion down the road.
Something tells me that her father maybe pulling the strings to put his baby girl in the big mansion down the street.
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