Meet the Democratic Statewides: Bill White

This series on the Texas Democratic Party's slate of statewide candidates concludes today with the bio and introductory video of the 2010 standard-bearer, nominee for Texas Governor Bill White.



White's parents were schoolteachers, which is likely why this campaign piece focuses on education.

There are many, many ways that Bill White and Rick Perry are different, but perhaps the most critical contrast is their approach to public education. Rick Perry steadfastly refuses to accept even the most obvious facts about the dropout crisis to our public schools. Bill White has made finding solutions to the state’s dropout crisis a central pledge of his campaign, because -- like business leaders, educators, and parents across the state -- he understands our state’s future depends on the kids we’re educating today.

The Texas Association of Business, in a recent report, stated: “Our state faces a true Texas-sized crisis… that will destroy our good business climate, prosperity and growth if it goes ignored.” As the report points out, there are only seven states in the country that have done a worse job than Texas in developing a well-educated young workforce. Only 30.7% of adults in Texas have an associate degree or higher.

A critical reason for Texas falling behind in education is the state’s dropout crisis, a crisis Rick Perry has offered little to no solutions for in his ten years as governor. In fact, Perry can’t even get the numbers right. He and his campaign team have continued to state that Texas’ drop-out rate is only ten percent. (Source: Houston Chronicle). Perry also ignores a report that the National Governors Association put out, stating that, as reported by the Dallas Morning News, “206 Texas high schools were dropout factories -- where at least 40 percent of ninth-graders failed to reach the 12^th grade.” (Source: Dallas Morning News). Perry’s negligence on the dropout crisis is one major example of how he is not looking out for the future of our state.

While Rick Perry tries to hide from the dropout crisis, Bill White has a record of results. As mayor of Houston, White launched the Expectation Graduation program to help cut the dropout rate. Mayor White and his wife, Andrea, led volunteers to go directly to the homes of high school students who didn’t return. (Source: City of Houston). Their efforts led to approximately 8,800 students returning to school as a result, according to material posted on Bill White’s website.

White helped build a law firm, managed a successful business, and served as Deputy Secretary in the U.S. Department of Energy during the Clinton administration before being elected Houston’s mayor in 2003. During his time as mayor the Houston area was a national leader in job growth, with more jobs added than 37 states combined. At the same time, White cut property tax rates five consecutive years and helped senior and disabled citizens with tax relief.

White is best known for his leadership and decisive actions in crisis.  After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, White mobilized effective disaster response and relief, including first responders, businesses and churches. The city of Houston absorbed well over 100,000 Louisiana evacuees, finding shelter and then permanent housing for them. The experiences of Katrina prepared the city for the full blow of Hurricane Ike in 2008, and once again the city's services responded well at a time of severe emergency, as much of the region was without electricity for weeks afterward. For his compassionate, hands-on leadership after Katrina, White received the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in 2007.

Texas is desperate for a leader who will stand up and fight for the future of Texans, be they a high school child at risk of dropping out, a displaced hurricane evacuee, or the hard working middle-class families across the state. We know who Rick Perry stands with: the wealthiest and the most privileged. Texans deserves much, much better than that.

Watch for occasional missives from Corpus this weekend, as I carry dual credentials again this cycle, delegate and media. My friend Neil at Texas Liberal offers four reasons why White will defeat Perry and capture the governorship.

Whither the Astrodome? Survey says YES

I'm remiss about keeping up to date on what's been going on with the Astrodome's future, so if you want or need backstory the Houston Press seemed to have the best description of the three plans proposed to either renovate or demolish it. They -- and some of their reader comments -- were critical, but nothing like what I read in the daily paper of record as regards feedback from the residents of Harris County, who'll foot the bill however it goes.

Now there's a lesson here for everyone: if all you ever hear is the Tea Party types screaming "NO" to everything, then you might think theirs is a majority opinion.

Once again, it is not. And the Chron.com comments attached to this latest news about the Dome is another example of that forum's failing to represent anything other than the Teabagger POV. Read the story, then read the comments.

Respondents to an online survey run by Reliant Park's landlord "overwhelmingly" support saving the Astrodome, according to the official in charge of the survey.

Willie Loston, executive director of the Harris County Sports & Convention Corporation, declined to release a detailed breakdown of the 5,800 votes that have been cast for one of three options for Reliant Park's future. He said only that the combined votes for the two options that include renovations for the Astrodome outnumber those in favor of razing it.

The results, he said, "overwhelmingly show a desire to maintain the building." Loston said the results will help shape a recommendation to Commissioners Court, which controls the fate of Reliant Park.

Now I'm delighted that my opinion turns out to be the "overwhelming" majority one, because I thought ... you know ... that it might not be. Well, not only was I wrong about being right, but I observe that the apoplexy reflected in the poll's results by some of those commenters is nothing but the usual lack of understanding that anyone could POSSIBLY think something different than them. Sad to say, even a few of the now-expected Obama Derangement Syndromers ranting (as if the President or his political party have ANYTHING to do with decisions about the Astrodome) no longer surprises.

That is as fine an example of profound ignorance as one could ever hope to see. But back to the topic.

Commissioners: Disregard the screeching naysayers who only wail about the cost of EVERYTHING. And while you're at it, summon the intestinal fortitude to make the Astrodome a Wonder Again for future generations of Houstonians.

Lord have mercy, we need to find some brave politicians somewhere.

Meet the Democratic Statewides: Uribe, Bailey, Hampton

As the state convention opens today in Corpus, this series on the Texas Democratic Party's slate of statewide candidates continues with the bios and introductory videos of the candidates for Commissioner of the General Land Office Hector Uribe, and the nominees for state Supreme Court Blake Bailey and Court of Criminal Appeals Keith Hampton.



Uribe's goal is to lead the GLO from 20th century hydrocarbon-based energy sources to 21st century renewable ones. Uribe will vigorously battle global warming by promoting renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power, while preventing any negative impact to the revenue streams that flow into the Permanent School Fund.

Uribe has extensive experience in legislative and governmental advocacy, having served almost a decade in the Texas Senate and 3 years in the Texas House. Equal educational opportunity, economic development, and job creation were the hallmarks of Uribe’s tenure as a state senator.

He authored the bill to merge Pan American University into the UT System (it's now called UT-Kingsville), providing graduate programs to previously underserved college students in the Rio Grande Valley. He similarly authored the Texas Enterprise Zone Act, designed to create new businesses and jobs in economically depressed areas. His varied legislative committee assignments prepared him in a broad range of areas including the protection of our environment. He chaired the Senate’s standing subcommittee on Water and vice-chaired the joint subcommittee on Oil Spills and Water Pollution Abatement.

But again, the most significant differences come when you compare him to his opponent, incumbent Jerry Patterson. Look:

The Christmas Mountains, in the heart of the Big Bend region of Texas, were given to the state in 1991.  They should have been transferred to the National Park Service (NPS) and been made part of Big Bend National Park a long time ago.  However, Republican Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson has prevented that from happening, insisting that he wants to sell the Mountains to a private entity.

The foundation that gave the land to Texas wanted the Christmas Mountains to remain public.  Patterson refused to transfer the Mountains to the NPS because he claimed to take issue with any entity that disallows firearms – but in reality, Patterson is just an ineffective steward of Texas’ public lands who is more interested in selling Texas off than preserving it. [Source: NPR, 10/22/07]

Congress lifted the ban on firearms in National Parks and President Obama signed the bill into law earlier this year.  Because Patterson claimed his refusal to transfer the Mountains stemmed from the NPS ban on firearms, the hope was that he would finally transfer the Mountains to the National Park Service.  However, instead of sticking to what he said, Patterson just moved the goal posts.  He now says his problem is that hunting would not be allowed in the Mountains under Park Service control. [Source: Washington Post, 2/19/10; San Antonio Express-News, 4/9/10]

If the ban on hunting in national parks were lifted, would Patterson finally drop the act and transfer the Mountains, or just come up with another excuse?

With Hector Uribe, there are no questions about integrity.  On Hector’s first day as Land Commissioner, he will transfer the Christmas Mountains to the National Park Service, so that they can be cared for responsibly and enjoyed by Texans for generations to come.

Uribe’s focus will be on protecting Texas’ rich and wild environment.  He will be a responsible steward of our vast public lands -- not an ideologue who keeps moving the goal posts however it suits him.

Bailey's pet peeve is the same as mine: the 100% Republican Texas Supreme Court is completely biased against little-guy plaintiffs and in favor of the biggest corporations.

In a recent, Blake Bailey pointed out that Wal-Mart is far more successful appealing lawsuits in Texas than anywhere else in the country. From 1998 to 2005, Wal-Mart has won 100% of the appeals brought against them in Texas; outside of Texas, Wal-Mart has only won 56% of their appeals.

That statistic is the most staggering of a long trend facing the Texas Supreme Court: they have a controversial history of supporting big business in their rulings. From 2005-2006, eighty-two percent of all rulings went in favor of defendants. The rulings themselves wouldn’t be as much of an issue, if it weren’t for the contributions that came along with them.

From 2000-2008, the more money donated to Texas’ Supreme Court justices, the higher the chance of success. A study conducted by the non-partisan consumer advocacy group, Texas Watch, showed that the success rate among donors who gave to the justices on the Supreme Court increased based on how much the donors gave. Here’s a breakdown of their findings:

• 345 donors who had cases before the court gave less than $10,000. They had a success rate – a favorable court ruling – of 54%.

• 44 donors who had cases before the court gave between $10,000 and $24,999. Those 44 donors had a 58% success rate on their cases.

• 48 donors who had cases before the court gave more than $25,000. Those 48 donors had a whopping 64% success rate on their cases.

Justice should not be for sale, regardless of price or party. It is offensive to think that giving more money to the Texas Supreme Court justices will correlate with a higher success rate in the Court – but the findings detailed above demonstrate it to be true.

Bailey's opponent is recently-appointed Justice Eva Guzman... another of Rick Perry's ham-handed attempts at Hispanic outreach. Guzman has accepted large contributions from insurers and bragged on her website about how judicial "reform" has improved the business climate in Texas. Attorneys representing the state's largest insurance companies have even told Bailey point-blank that they were unconcerned about the verdict in a jury trial against his clients, because an appeal to the SCOTX virtually assured them of victory.

This "Supreme Court For Sale to Big Business" aspect is one of the most important things we can change in November.



Hampton is running for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 6. He is challenging two-term incumbent Republican Michael Keasler. When first elected in 1998, Keasler replaced the last Democrat to hold a seat on the Court. Since then the CCA has been under complete Republican control. Sound familiar?

Without any Democrats on the CCA for the past twelve years, the ideological spectrum of the Court has shifted dramatically to the right. One Republican judge on the Court, Lawrence Meyers, recently toured newspaper editorial boards promoting the state’s fairness, prompting Dallas Morning News Editor Michael Landauer to write, “Try not to laugh.” (Source: Dallas Morning News, June 2009). Scott Henson, an award-winning blogger who writes for the non-partisan criminal justice site Grits for Breakfast, wrote the following about the political nature of the CCA:

There is no liberal wing on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. There’s a conservative wing, to which Judge Johnson belongs, and a more or less totalitarian wing, in which Keasler and Meyers reside along with Presiding Judge Sharon Keller. (Source: Grits for Breakfast, June 2009)

The “totalitarian wing” of the Court has a well-documented and thoroughly perplexing history of unprofessional actions. From the “sleeping lawyer” case in October 2000, to investigations into the judicial conduct of Sharon Keller in 2007, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is in desperate need of professional, accountable judges on its bench.

In order to restore a semblance of fairness and justice to the Court, Texas Democrats can help elect Keith Hampton to the Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 6.

Later today: Bill White.