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Texas News by Jason Thurlkill

Thu, 12/11/2008 - 14:03

Kuempel outlines his bipartisan vision for the House

By Jason Thurlkill, PolitickerTX.com Reporter

State Rep. Edmund Kuempel, who officially declared his candidacy for speaker Thursday morning, laid out why he is running for the chamber's top job. The Seguin Republican stressed the need for a speaker who brings both parties together and lets members have a voice in the process.   

Kuempel told PolitickerTX.com he's running to "bring back the continuity and the bipartisanship that we seemed to have lost the last couple of weeks and the last session back to the Texas House of Representatives."

There have been 49 comments posted in response to this story.
Thu, 12/11/2008 - 12:24

Cheaper by the dozen: Kuempel files for speaker

By Jason Thurlkill, PolitickerTX.com Reporter

State Rep. Edmund Kuempel joined the race for speaker Thursday.  The Seguin Republican has filed his paperwork for a bid, according to the Quorum Report.  He is the seventh Republican and twelfth candidate to enter the race.

Kuempel had been considered a potential challenger to House Speaker Tom Craddick (R-Midland). He voted in favor of the Geren amendment in 2007, which was viewed as a proxy-vote for Craddick's support. 

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There have been 47 comments posted in response to this story.
Tue, 12/09/2008 - 20:39

A month away, intrigue surrounds speaker's race

By Jason Thurlkill, PolitickerTX.com Reporter

With a month to go until the Texas House convenes to elect a new speaker, a number of questions remain unanswered. Faced with a speaker's race unlike any they can remember, top House aides on both sides of the aisle are trying to determine the motivations behind why candidates are running and whether members who want a new speaker can coalesce around a single candidate in time.

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There have been 48 comments posted in response to this story.
Mon, 12/08/2008 - 23:14

Cook heats up speaker's race

By Jason Thurlkill, PolitickerTX.com Reporter

State Rep. Byron Cook has filed paperwork to run for speaker. The Corsicana Republican is the sixth Republican and eleventh candidate to enter the race.  Cook filed paperwork to run for the chamber's highest office, according to Quorum Report. As of publication time, his speaker's report had not been added to the Texas Ethics Commission's website.

There have been 49 comments posted in response to this story.
Fri, 12/05/2008 - 22:05

Harper-Brown wins recount

By Jason Thurlkill, PolitickerTX.com Reporter

State Rep. Linda Harper-Brown (R-Irving) has won the recount in the House District 105 contest.  According to results from the Dallas County Elections Department, Harper-Brown led Democratic challenger Bob Romano by 19 votes out of the 40,756 votes cast. Harper-Brown had previously led Romano by 20 votes.

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There have been 50 comments posted in response to this story.
Fri, 12/05/2008 - 21:40

Solomons calls for Keel's resignation

By Jason Thurlkill, PolitickerTX.com Reporter

State Rep. Burt Solomons circulated a letter late Friday calling for House Parliamentarian Terry Keel to resign before the Legislature convenes Jan. 13.

The Carrollton Republican, a declared speaker's candidate, claims a majority of members believe Keel is too "polarizing" to continue to serve in his current position.

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There have been 43 comments posted in response to this story.
Fri, 12/05/2008 - 19:36

Bell ad: Huffman doesn't know issues

By Jason Thurlkill, PolitickerTX.com Reporter

As the race for State Senate District 17 heats up, Chris Bell (D-Houston) has launched an ad attacking Republican Joan Huffman. The ad ties Huffman to Gov. Rick Perry and uses a comment she made during a November debate to highlight what Bell's campaign calls a "lack of understanding of the issues surrounding funding our public schools."

"From our schools to healthcare, Joan Huffman and Rick Perry have the same answer," an announcer says. "How we do that, I don't know exactly," Huffman says in the debate clip that follows.

There have been 49 comments posted in response to this story.
Fri, 12/05/2008 - 14:48

Kinky on Hutchison, Perry

By Jason Thurlkill, PolitickerTX.com Reporter

Entertainer Kinky Friedman hasn't ruled out another run for governor, but he made some interesting comments about who he'd support in a match-up between U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Dallas) and Gov. Rick Perry.

Friedman, who won 12 percent of the vote for governor in 2006, was in Lubbock this week promoting a line of cigars when he offered his comments about the 2010 governor's race. He wouldn't close the door on another race for the state's highest office, but he indicated he would have to switch parties. 

There have been 47 comments posted in response to this story.
Fri, 12/05/2008 - 11:40

Hecht fined for illegal law firm contribution

By Jason Thurlkill, PolitickerTX.com Reporter

The Texas Ethics Commission fined Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht $29,000 Thursday for taking and not reporting a political contribution from a law firm that represented him. Jackson Walker, a Texas-based firm, discounted its legal fees when it helped Hecht fight a charge he violated a rule "prohibiting Texas judges from publicly endorsing other candidates for public office," the Houston Chronicle reports.

There have been 44 comments posted in response to this story.
Fri, 12/05/2008 - 10:25

How the next speaker will be chosen

By Jason Thurlkill, PolitickerTX.com Reporter

The main order of business when the Texas House convenes Jan. 13 will be to select a new speaker. It's safe to say members and political observers are more anxious this year than usual about how that process may play out. While the state constitution and chamber precedent provide a roadmap for how the vote may proceed, two particular factors may affect the day's events. The first concerns what roles Secretary of State Hope Andrade and Parliamentarian Terry Keel might play. The second concerns whether the speaker's vote proceeds by secret ballot.

There have been 53 comments posted in response to this story.