Texas Monthly's Best and Worst state legislators for 2015

Best (those with which I heartily concur are in bold; links to selected mentions here and elsewhere):

Rep. Jimmie Don Aycock (R-Killeen; also here)
Rep. César Blanco (D-El Paso)
Rep. Dennis Bonnen (R-Angleton)
Sen. Kevin Eltife (R-Tyler)
Rep. Stephanie Klick (R-Fort Worth)
Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer (D-San Antonio)
Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon (D-San Antonio)
Rep. John Otto (R-Dayton)
Rep. Tan Parker (R-Flower Mound)
Rep. Sylvester Turner (D-Houston)

Worst:

Rep. Cecil Bell Jr. (R-Magnolia)
Sen. Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels)
Rep. Harold Dutton (D-Houston)
Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston)
Sen. Jane Nelson (R-Flower Mound)
Rep. Joe Pickett (D-El Paso)
Rep. Matt Schaefer (R-Tyler)
Sen. Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown)
Rep. Jonathan Stickland (R-Bedford)
Rep. Molly White (R-Belton)

It's hard to pick a bone with any of these, but I thought Rep. Byron Cook (R-Corsicana) should have made the 'Best' list just for his perservering against the likes of most of those on the Worst list.  And I thought Rep. Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston) had a seriously bad session.  As previously posted, she blew up the craft brewers, dishonored Houston's music legacy, shot down "Mr. Tesla" and not only carried the anti-fracking ban bill but also convinced nearly all Houston Democrats in the Texas House to vote for it.

The feature also includes honorable and dishonorable mentions; Furniture; assessments of Governor Greg Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, and House Speaker Joe Straus; and a look at Representative Charlie Geren, our biennial Bull of the Brazos.

The rest of these may get feted with Texas Monthly's write-ups linked in updates to this post, but are just as likely to get follow-up postings depending on how much they (RG Ratcliffe and Erika Greider at TM) and I have to say.

Keffer, Harless join Straus loyalists going out

The Speaker is going to have a difficult time getting re-elected, and if he does, then another dirty job maintaining discipline in the next legislative session (January 2017).

State Rep. Jim Keffer, an Eastland Republican who was one of the earliest supporters of House Speaker Joe Straus, has decided not to seek re-election next year...

First elected in 1996, Keffer is finishing his 10th term in the Texas House. He chairs the Natural Resources Committee and previously led the committees on Energy Resources, Ways and Means, Property Tax Relief and Economic Development.

His departure leaves only three members of the original Polo Road Gang — the 11 Republicans who met privately at state Rep. Byron Cook’s house on Polo Road in Austin before the 2009 legislative session to decide who they would unite behind in the race for speaker of the House. The 2008 elections left the House split almost evenly between Republicans and Democrats, destabilizing then-Speaker Tom Craddick’s coalition and setting the stage for a change in leadership. The 11 Republicans chose Straus, picked up some other Republicans and a majority of Democrats, and elected him that January.

Now, only Straus, Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, and Cook remain in office.

Greg and Charles and also I have covered some of the bailouts already.  I never thought I would ever say that losing Patty Harless was big.  But it is.  (This is how far right we have moved in Texas over a short period of time.  And 2016 isn't going to slow it down very much.)

Harless said she has become frustrated with infighting among Republicans in the Legislature and hopes to stay involved in GOP politics and campaigns after her term ends at the end of 2016. "I'm just really disappointed in the way the Republicans act in the Texas House," she said. "People need to know that consensus and moderation and working across the aisle is not a bad thing.

"Some Republicans cater to the 4 or 5 percent who vote in the Republican primaries," she said. "That's not who we represent; we represent everybody in our districts."

Harless is one of House Speaker Joe Straus' stalwarts and serves on three powerful House committees: Calendars, State Affairs and Transportation. She said she thought about leaving after her fourth term: "I stayed last time for Straus. I'm leaving this time for me."

Pond scum about to float away aside, the House is going to harden a little, much like the Senate did this year.  That's a bad thing if you're not wealthy, not a white male who owns guns, and especially bad news if you're a woman who wants a choice about whether to give birth or not.   The tie that binds all of these disparate winners and losers here is voting.  Mad-dog Republicans do so and everybody else does not.  Not for lack of trying in some cases.  But far too many who could close the gap, or even the score a bit, simply cannot tear themselves away from 'Real Housewives'.

With Houston municipal elections coming up quickly, we'll see another record low before the high tide comes in 2016, when some of these Lege retirees get replaced.  And we can only hope their replacements aren't too kooky (an early bet I would not take).

Update (barely related): Harold Cook pre-writes the statements of legislators who will be receiving Texas Monthly's "Best" and "Worst" awards, due today.  A post on that announcement will follow here in short order.