Joe Straus quits Texas House

The so-called sane Republicans -- as Charles Pierce said yesterday about Jeff Flake and Bob Corker -- are going to have to come up with a better response than just running away.  Harvey Kronberg crams as much into his executive summary of the past ten months as one can into two paragraphs.

Speaker Joe Straus today stunned even his closest colleagues with his announcement that he would not seek re-election to his seat in the House. This after polling in the field showed that even his weakest San Antonio precincts were solidly behind him. In addition, there was no possible math that did not have him re-elected to lead the House.

While his low opinion of the hysteria-based rhetoric of other statewide officials and the off the rails priorities of the special session (many but for his efforts) would have further made the recovery of the Gulf Coast even more protracted than it would otherwise be were barely camouflaged, one of the great stings had to be Governor Greg Abbott reassuring CEOs that Straus would kill the bathroom bill at the same time he was rallying pastors to sermonize on its behalf from the pulpit.

It sounds as if -- in a run-on sentence of massive proportions -- HK thinks the governor is going to have be the grown-up and stop pandering to the MAGA base of the TXGOP.  Harvey has lots more Austin connections than me, so I'm sure he has a basis for believing that.  But as AF One landed in Dallas this afternoon, the governor spun his wheels on the tarmac to get in the picture with Trump.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott greets Trump after he exits Air Force One at Love Field. Trump in town for fundraiser https://t.co/FqMFV1eKtG pic.twitter.com/rJMfed9ErS

— FOX 4 NEWS (@FOX4) October 25, 2017

It's truly remarkable watching a crippled man play both sides of the Texas Republican Party's freak right wing against the middle, or the left, or whatever the soon-to-be former-Straus Caucus calls themselves ('moderate' just doesn't work for me).  One of these days his manipulation of the ignorant is going to blow up in his face.  That day is still a ways off.

As to the news: conservative watchers mostly screamed with glee, while Democrats either cried their eyes out or shat their drawers in unmitigated terror.  Let the parlor games begin.

-- Do I think Straus has plans to shoot his $10 million dollar wad on something besides, to quote former TDP chair Boyd Richie from 2006, "a few select Texas House races"?  All snark aside, I certainly hope so.  Surely Joe isn't slinking away into retirement just to be another million-dollar lobbyist, right?  Right?

Update: Tilove at the Statesman echoes Straus: "I don't think so."

-- Where does his top lieutenant, Byron Cook, who bailed out right behind the Speaker this morning, fit in to any of this?  The same cryptic 'look for other ways to serve Texas' line was in his resignation letter.

Chris Hooks got paid a little early this week.

John Zerwas, a moderate who once flirted with supporting Medicaid expansion, today announced his bid to (replace Straus as Speaker), and Chris Turner, the chair of the House Democratic Caucus, quickly signaled a willingness to deliver the caucus’ votes to the best possible contender. That would mean, hypothetically, that Zerwas will need some 15-25 Republican votes to clinch it in the way Straus once did. That seems very doable — particularly if Democrats are able to make real gains in the next general election, in what should be a favorable climate — but no one can say.

"No one can say."   Pfffft.  He'd know better than that (he means, of course, that early speculation about what might occur is as reliable as the Texas Tribune's polling) if he didn't have me muted on Twitter, the putz.

One thing we can say is that the legacy and self-described "very conservative Democrat" who is 'exploring' a run for governor got his news completely Bigfooted by the Speaker's sudden withdrawal today.  Too bad.  Maybe there's a spot for him somewhere on Joe Straus' independent ticket.

The P-Did slate for this year's election

My sample ballot, obtained at HarrisVotes.com, contains seven state constitutional amendments, five municipal propositions, and one race with three candidates vying for the seat of the disgraced and convicted Chris Oliver on Houston Community College's Board of Trustees.  Here's the Chronicle with the overview of that contest.

David Jaroszewski said he was "sickened" when he saw that a Houston Community College trustee pleaded guilty to accepting bribes connected to system contracts earlier this year.

"This isn't right," the longtime community college instructor remembers thinking. He soon would put his name on the ballot to replace Chris Oliver, the District IX trustee who is awaiting sentencing.

Jaroszewski, 64, is one of eight candidates running for three HCC trustee positions this fall. Candidates must convince voters they are best suited to help lead a system that has seen fluctuating enrollment, lawsuits originating from a board member and Oliver's bribery conviction in the last two years.

Early voting for the Nov. 7 election begins (today).

"The public wants a community college that doesn't waste money. The public wants a community college that educates people. … As a trustee, you look at these and (you) can't say it's not my problem. It is my problem," said Jaroszewski, a self-described conservative who teaches paralegal studies at Lee College in Baytown.

Jaroszewski is running against Eugene "Gene" Pack, a retired auto broker, and Pretta VanDible Stallworth, a business consultant, for the District IX seat that covers southwest Houston.

Oliver, who pleaded guilty to taking $12,000 in Visa gift cards and cash, promising to use his position to help a contractor secure new HCC work, is not running for re-election. His sentencing is in November.

Stallworth, 59, and Pack, 65, did not respond to requests for comment.

Bold emphasis and embedded linkage in the excerpt above and below is mine.  Despite her appallingly low online profile -- no website, one Tweet in September, no Facebook except as mentioned by others -- Stallworth's past experience as trustee and her endorsements (listed following and from my state senator and city council member) are enough to earn my vote.

On his website, Pack has pledged to enhance financial aid policies to keep students enrolled after Hurricane Harvey if he is elected.

He also proposed several accountability measures for the board, including shortening trustee term lengths to four years from six and pushing for ethics reform in board contracts and procurement.

Stallworth, a former HCC trustee from 1989 through 1993, was endorsed by the Harris County Young Democrats and the Houston GLBT Political Caucus PAC.

She said in the League of Women Voters of Houston election guide that she would advocate for increased ethics training for board members. Administrators should review employer needs regularly to assess what HCC should teach, she said.

The LWV guide (Adobe Reader files in English and Spanish) is comprehensive, even including an explanation of general obligation bonds for the tireless, most well-informed voter.  More on the other HCC races at the Chron link, and more on amendments ('propositions', numbered on your ballot), municipal proposals ('propositions', identified alphabetically), and races here.  There is no HISD board race on my ballot, so check the guide above or take the HGLBT Caucus' recommendations (I occasionally pick a bone with them, but not this time).

I'm going to follow Daniel Williams' recommendations and vote against Prop 2, Prop 4, and Prop 6, and for 1, 3, 5, and 7.  That's easy enough: yes on the odd-numbered ones, no on the evens.

Finally, with respect to the city's bond issues -- A ($1.01 billion to remediate HPD and city employee pensions), B ($159 million for new and existing police stations and firehouses and equipment) C ($104 million for parks, recreational facilities, bayous, and hike/bike trails), D ($109 million for facilities devoted to public health and wellness and sanitation and the like), and E ($123 million for libraries) -- I will not vote to spite this mayor, who has demonstrated a disturbing animosity toward the city's firefighters on several occasions, including preventing, indirectly or otherwise, their own pay raise proposition from appearing on this ballot.

That would be stooping to his level.  Vote 'for' the city's five bond proposals, despite the fact that they enrich the wealthiest bond lawyers in town, provide a convenient excuse to house more free military hardware for the cops (who have too much as it is), and build urban sanctuaries for inner city dwellers of the most comfortable, Caucasian persuasion while doing nothing for the least among us.

As an atheist, I would like to see more Christ-like conduct out of our city leaders -- not just the hypocrisy-riddled Republicans -- so if a cleaner, safer Houston with a few more places for children to play and read is the ever-so-slightly improved result of all this debt ... that's not a bad thing.

Update: The conservative opponents of the city bonds make their case at Texas Monitor, and unfortunately for Mayor Turner, et.al., it's persuasive.

The Weekly Wrangle

Some of the Texas Progressive Alliance are big baseball fans and some aren't, but all of us tip our caps to the Houston Astros, who delivered a thrilling victory over the New York Yankees in the American League championship's seventh game.  The Astros will face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, beginning tomorrow night.

Off the Kuff noted the plethora of Democratic Congressional candidates, and jobsanger cited Progress Texas for some charts that show Democrats gaining voters in Texas.

John Coby at Bay Area Houston weighed in on the money race in CD-7, and suggested a couple of candidates *cough*Cargas*cough* drop out.

Daniel Williams has a thorough explainer for the seven state constitutional amendments on your ballot in this fall's election.

All five former US presidents -- and Lady Gaga -- gathered in College Station for a benefit for hurricane relief efforts in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands, according to the Texas Tribune.

SocraticGadfly took note of the latest stupidity of Eddie Bernice Johnson, plus her history, and thinks she should stop running for Congress and needs a Green challenger if nothing else.

"The Eleven", a documentary about the hunt for the murderer of young women in Galveston County in the 70's, was previewed by PDiddie at Brains and Eggs.

Neil at All People Have Value reviewed important public art in Houston. APHV is part of NeilAquino.com.

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More Texas news and blog posts!

In Austin last Friday, Gus Bova of the Texas Observer reported that US Attorney General Jeff Sessions blasted undocumented immigrant "pedophiles",  "drug dealers", and "sanctuary cities", while protestors outside chanted, held signs that said 'Sanctuary for All' and laid a trampled Klansman's robe in front of Sessions' motorcade, which he drove over as he departed.

Better Texas Blog has concerns about our retirement savings shortfall, and calls for support of Prop 7, on the ballot in the ongoing elections.

Somervell County Salon posts a few logical fallacy resources.

A fight over Texas barbecue is smoldering in Austin, and PoliTex sees Ag Commissioner Sid Miller right in the middle of it.

Free Press Houston reported that a Pasadena metal band member was one of three Texans charged with attempted murder after a shot was fired at anti-Nazi protestors in Gainesville, Florida, where white nationalist Richard Spencer was speaking.

Pages of Victory declares that he is not a Russian bot after disclosing that much of his blog traffic comes from ... you guessed it.

And Leif Reigstad at The Daily Post noticed that Ted Cruz got doused with Dr. Pepper in a Senate hearing, and his response was something the Zodiac Killer would do.