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Wed April 17, 2013 7:58 am
The Battle for UT Is Far From Over
By Paul Burka

In October 2012, I wrote a cover story about the battle over UT. That battle, which matched regents appointed by Rick Perry against the leadership of UT-Austin, has not abated. I'm going to discuss portions of Brian Sweany's recent interview with regent Wallace Hall as well as write about other aspects of the Perry regents' concerns with the leadership of UT-Austin.  

* Asked by Sweany about whether there was pressure from the governor's office, Hall said, "I've received no directives from the governor other than the importance of figuring this out." It is not clear what "this" refers to--I'm assuming he's talking about affordability--but what is clear is that Hall had requested a large number of documents from the UT system.

* [The interview continues]: "It's not just about affordability, it's not just about accessibility, it's about the quality of education," Hall told Sweany. What is Hall trying to say here? Is he impugning the quality of education at UT-Austin under the leadership of Bill Powers? That is going to be a hard case to make. UT-Austin's academic reputation is extemely high.

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Mon April 15, 2013 11:09 am
An Easy Ethics Fix
By Paul Burka

I have to admire the Tribune's Ross Ramsey. If you have to adopt a cause, you might as well make it a hopeless one. In Ramsey's case, it's ethics reform. I'm going to make a small suggestion that might spur the Ethics Commission to action. Two high-profile cases involving judges on the state's two highest courts have gone unresolved for years. One is a $29,000 fine levied against Texas Supreme Court Judge Nathan Hecht. His violation was his failure to report discounted legal fees as a political contribution. The other involved Court of Criminal Appeals judge Sharon Keller, who received a record $100,000 fine for failing to disclose certain personal assets. Hecht's case has lingered since 2008, Keller's since 2010. It seems to me that the Ethics Commission could establish deadlines for deadbeats to pay up, and if they did not do so, additional fines could be imposed. This seems like an easy fix. Any takers?

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Mon April 15, 2013 7:57 am
The Legacy of Bob Perry
By Paul Burka

Bob Perry, the Houston homebuilder and mega contributor to Republican causes and, in the 2004 presidential race, the Swift Boat Vets, passed away at him home this weekend at the age of 80. In his heyday, Perry was one of the biggest political donors in the state. He emerged as a force in the tort reform debate of 2003, as a major supporter of a new organization called Texans for Lawsuit Reform, just as Tom Craddick was assuming the speakership.

Bob Perry emerged as a political power in Texas for two reasons. One was that he was an avid contributor to leading Republican politicians. The other was his desire to be part of the machinery of government that kept Rick Perry, Tom Craddick, and other Republican leaders in power. He is going to be very hard to replace; few political figures in Texas are capable of replacing the money and the zest for political combat that Perry exhibited throughout his lifetime. (Read my friend Sam Gwynne's profile of Perry from 2007.)

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Sat April 13, 2013 2:19 pm
Potential Fallout Over Travis County DA's DUI Arrest
By Paul Burka

The DUI arrest of Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg could have far-ranging consequences. The DA's office is home to the Public Integrity Unit, which has jurisdiction over crimes committed by public officials. Republicans have long hungered to get their mittens on the office, which has a history of prosecuting high-profile Republicans, including Tom DeLay and Kay Bailey Hutchison. (It has also prosecuted high-profile Democrats, including former speaker Gib Lewis, and, more recently, state representative Kino Flores.

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Fri April 12, 2013 8:12 pm
Road to Somewhere?
By Paul Burka

At last, Rick Perry has decided to back more spending on transportation. His plan, which  was developed by a group of trade associations (Realtors, Texas Association of Business, Texas Oil and Gas Association, and Texas Motor Transport Association) and announced today at a meeting of the Texas Lyceum, calls for raising $41 billion over twenty years. I can foresee two problems with the plan. The first is that motor vehicle sales taxes are general revenue. If you dedicate it to road projects, how are you going to fund other areas of the government -- in particular, the big-ticket items of education and health care? Democrats (and pro-education Republicans) are going to go nuts if a major source of funding education is shifted to highways.

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