Contributors

Brian D. Sweany

Brian D. Sweany's Profile Photo

Brian D. Sweany has been the editor in chief of Texas Monthly since July 2014. A native Texan who was born on Texas Independence Day, he began his career in journalism as an intern at the magazine in 1996, and in the intervening years, he held nearly every possible job in the editorial department. Before being promoted to his current post, he was a senior executive editor in charge of Texas Monthly's political coverage. Sweany has also worked as an assistant professor in the journalism department at Ithaca College, in New York, and as a senior editor at D Magazine, in Dallas. He is active in a number of civic and volunteer organizations, serving on the boards of the Texas Book Festival, the Texas Cultural Trust, and the Frank W. and Sue Mayborn School of Journalism at the University of North Texas, in Denton. He lives in Austin with his wife, two children, and an ever-growing manuscript for The Kingdom of the Saddle, a biography of Charles Goodnight to be published by Penguin.

462 Articles

Politics & Policy|
November 8, 2013

The Irrelevant Governor

Public Policy Polling’s most recent survey shows that Rick Perry has virtually no support for president among Texans. Indeed, he is so poorly regarded that he would lose a head-to-head matchup with Hillary Clinton.The days when Perry was actually relevant are long gone. No one pays any attention

Politics & Policy|
November 7, 2013

Doom for the Astrodome

The news that Harris County voters turned down a proposal on Tuesday to remake the Astrodome into an exhibit and special events center makes me quite sad. In its heyday, the mid-sixties, the Astrodome was the symbol of Houston’s ascension to major-league status, not just as a venue for baseball,

Politics & Policy|
November 4, 2013

Big Jolly Politics on the TAB Rankings

Mark McCaig, Republican gadfly extraordinaire and frequent tormentor of Texans for Lawsuit Reform, posted a commentary on the Big Jolly Politics site over the weekend. Among his observations is an attack on the rankings of state legislators published by the Texas Association of Business. Writes McCaig: With the

Politics & Policy|
October 28, 2013

The Challenges Ahead for Wendy Davis

What are the main challenges for the Wendy Davis campaign? Aside from the basic math of a statewide election, that is? Well, according to one trusted Democratic operative, the biggest is “to get everyone to swim in the same direction.” For instance, should Battleground Texas give up its identity and

Politics & Policy|
October 17, 2013

Dan Branch on Voter Fraud

Attorney general candidate Dan Branch has issued a statement vowing to attack voter fraud. And once again, I am compelled to point out that voter fraud is a solution in search of a problem. Except for rare incidents, such as those involving ACORN a few years back, voter

Politics & Policy|
September 12, 2013

The Underdog

Tom Pauken, the former chairman of the Texas Workforce Commission, knows he has an uphill climb to defeat Greg Abbott in the Republican primary for governor next March. But he’s not interested in what he calls “the divine right of succession.”

Politics & Policy|
August 28, 2013

Texas Tribune Insider’s Poll

I didn’t make the list of the Texas Tribune insiders, but I’m going to try to have my say about the survey on the lieutenant governor’s race nonetheless. First, I think Dewhurst’s 11 percent is too low. There are enough mainstream conservatives left in the Republican party that

Politics & Policy|
August 28, 2013

The Dew’s Latest

The lieutenant governor was quoted as saying, "It's my hope, friends, that about a year from now that people are saying, 'Why were we talking about Wendy Davis?" What he should be worried about is whether people will be saying, about a year from now, "Why were we talking about David

Politics & Policy|
August 26, 2013

The Retirement of Jim Pitts

The retirement of Jim Pitts from the House of Representatives is a sad day. Pitts, who was named a Best this past session, was one of the original eleven Republicans who met to choose a new speaker in 2009 to succeed Tom Craddick. That speaker, of course,

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