[Texgreen] A pivotal day in Texas politics

[Roger Baker]

Texas house speaker Tom Craddick is roughly to Rick Perry who Tom =20
DeLay was to GWBush; a ruthless autocratic operator who hammers one =20
wing of the legislature in line for the sake of the big money =20
interests tied to Perry who now rule Texas.

Today is the day that all the combined reform forces in both parties =20
will try to change all that. Things under Craddick have gotten so bad =20=

that even most of the Texas lobbyists prefer Republican challenger =20
Jim Pitts because the big money backing Craddick is concentrated into =20=

only a few sources (like Perry of Houston and Leininger of San =20
Antonio), leaving little influence peddling work for the legions of =20
traditional lobbyists (about nine per legislator in Texas).

If Craddick can get an open roll call vote, he will probably win =20
through intimidation. If the ballot is secret, too many fellow =20
Republicans who hate and fear him would defect and he will lose, as =20
the piece below indicates. -- Roger


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<http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/=20
MYSA010607.01B.speakers_race.2dba083.html>

Open vote may be Craddick's hope

Web Posted: 01/05/2007 11:11 PM CST

Lisa Sandberg
Express-News Austin Bureau

AUSTIN =97 Forget counting pledges. Whether the hard-charging Tom =20
Craddick remains speaker of the Texas House is likely to boil down to =20=

a procedural vote on whether the speakership election is done by =20
secret ballot.

According to the conventional wisdom, a recorded vote next week means =20=

Craddick keeps the job; a secret ballot means he starts packing at =20
his remodeled Capitol apartment and prepares for a non-leadership =20
appointment to the House Irrelevant Committee.

"It'll be the test of the speaker's race," said Rep. Warren Chisum, R-=20=

Pampa, a Craddick ally.

"I think the secret ballot is the ballgame," agreed Royal Masset, a =20
GOP strategist. "Craddick loses with a secret ballot. It's the wooden =20=

stake in the vampire."

Many political watchers say a secret ballot would give House members =20
cover to orchestrate a coup against the incumbent Craddick =97 and not =20=

suffer political fallout (bad committee assignments) if they fail. =20
Craddick's camp spins it slightly differently: A recorded vote, they =20
say, is a matter of principle, allowing the public to know where =20
their representatives stand on the election of the next speaker.

And so, in the topsy-turvy world of politics, the race for speaker =20
has put open government advocates in the awkward position of backing =20
a secret vote, while Craddick, the Republican from Midland not =20
exactly known as a Let-The-Sun-Shine-In kind of guy, works the phones =20=

and tries to shore up support for an open vote.

Craddick supporters, meanwhile, have filed a resolution calling for a =20=

roll-call vote, which would require House members to cast open votes =20
one at a time while everyone watches.

This has subjected Rep. Brian McCall, R-Plano, to taunts that he is a =20=

flip-flopper. McCall had challenged Craddick until he pulled out this =20=

week and endorsed Rep. Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie.

In November, McCall filed House Bill 132, which would require =20
recorded votes on all legislation, amendments, and =97 you guessed =20
right =97 leadership elections.

That was long before he jumped into the speaker's race. Now McCall's =20
spokesman, Roy Fletcher, has been left to explain that if he could do =20=

it over, McCall probably would have removed his bill's provision on =20
leadership elections.

Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford, wasn't buying it. "You either believe =20
in record votes or you don't."

But Suzy Woodford of Common Cause said leadership elections should be =20=

the one exception to the rule of open ballots: Secret votes are the =20
only way to get an outcome untainted by fear of retribution, she says.

"We absolutely are for open government. However, we are also for the =20
sanctity of being able to ... vote your conscience without fear of =20
retribution. If I want to be a chairman and I vote for the quote, =20
wrong one, unquote, my chances of being a (committee) chair are =20
zilch, or I will be assigned to a committee that oversees a broom =20
closet."

Said Tom "Smitty" Smith of Public Citizen, "We think that the =20
statements of members are proof positive that unless they can pass =20
the ballot in secret that their vote will be determined by their fear =20=

that they might get sent to the Committee of No Importance and their =20
bills sent to the Calendar of No Return," Smith said.

Pitts, a former Craddick lieutenant, has not taken a position on the =20
issue of a secret ballot in the speaker's election, saying it is for =20
House members to decide Tuesday, the opening day of the session, when =20=

members adopt the House rules.

Craddick, who has been accused of retaliating against members who =20
don't vote the way he wants, can assume he'll be the next speaker if =20
members vote to hold the election by a record vote, these observers say.

But if a secret ballot prevails, Craddick's support will melt faster =20
than cheese in a hot pan.

"There is the presumption that a vote for a secret ballot is a vote =20
against Craddick," said Rep. Scott Hochberg, D-Houston, who said he =20
hasn't yet considered whether he'll support a secret or record vote.

In the old days, secret votes in speaker races were the norm in the =20
Texas House. The last one was in 1963, when Byron Tunnell was =20
elected, said Denise Davis, House parliamentarian and special counsel.

Any three lawmakers can ask for a record vote. If that happens, then =20
their motion will be put to a vote =97 and that vote will be on the =20
record.=20=