Amarillo restaurant owner Victor Leal announced his candidacy for the Texas House of Representatives, District 87 today. HD 87 is the open seat vacated by Rep. David Swinford's (R-Dumas) retirement.

“Our family has successfully operated restaurants in the Panhandle for over 50 years,” Leal said. “We listen to our guests, work hard on service and deliver on results. I will apply thissame responsive work ethic to protect our family values, improve local quality of life andlower taxes. I also want to continue the outstanding representation of our current State Representative David Swinford who has been a tremendous, conservative advocate for us for so many years,” Leal said.

The San Antonio Express-News is reporting that Lyle Larson, former Bexar County Commissioner and former San Antonio City Council member, is running for state representative. The incumbent, Rep. Frank Corte Jr. (R-San Antonio), announced his retirement yesterday. As Larson has already represented much of the district, his candidacy would be formidible, though others have also expressed interest in filing for the seat. Real estate agent Denise Barnhill has also filed for the seat.

Surrounded by family, Rep. Frank Corte Jr. (R-San Antonio) announced he will not seek re-election to the Texas House of Representatives in 2010. Corte said he is not currently endorsing any candidate for the seat. Corte's office issued a full news release which we post here.

Corte is known as one of the most consistently conservative members of the Texas Legislature. He was president of the Texas Conservative Coalition 1996-1998 and chairman of the House Republican Caucus 2007-2009. He authored several pieces of conservative legsialture, most notably the Woman's Right to Know Act, which provided for informed consent for women seeking abortions. He also authored many bills strengthening private property rights after the U.S. Supreme Court's 2005 Kelo v. New London decision.

Rep. David Swinford (R-Dumas) issued a press release last night announcing that he is not seeking re-election. Swinford has served in the Legislature since 1991. He was asked to lead committees by two different speakers. He was chairman of the Committee on Agriculture and Livestock under House speaker Pete Laney and was chairman of the Committees on Government Organization and later State Affairs under Speaker Tom Craddick. Like the rest of the Panhandle delegation, Swinford had a reputation as one of the hardest working members of the House and is respected by Republicans and Democrats alike.

As chairman of Agriculture and Livestock, Swinford authored House Bill 2, the first comprehensive statement of Texas agriculture policy. Later in his career, Swinford became known for his advocacy for wind power and power investment in West Texas. Due both to Texas's electric restructuring act and federal environmental policy, West Texas has become a much more significant player in providing for the state's energy needs, and wind power has become a much more significant part of the region's economy.

Swinford wrote a column for today's Amarillo Globe News discussing his career and decision in more detail. He also issued a statement to the press, which we reprint in full below:

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of attending a party honoring Harry Cabluck, the lone-time photographer for the Austin bureau of Associated Press. Cabluck was laid off from AP as a part of company-wide cutbacks last month but will likely still be working around the Capitol as a freelancer. Cabluck is a Capitol institution and is perhaps the only person who could go into just about any room at the Capitol without being thrown out. He's spent an entire career helping people from all sides of the political spectrum look good in print. He's also one of the nicest people in the Capitol and often considered a real class act.

The Texas Tribune's Elise Hu wrote a fabulous tribute to Cabluck, and for those who have not done so already, I highly recommend reading it. Speaking as someone who has followed the Capitol for more than a decade, press conferences just won't be the same if Harry Cabluck isn't in the back taking photos.

Last week, I observed a development that raises ethical concerns in the race for State Board of Education District 9 between incumbent Don McLeroy and Thomas Ratliff.

The lobby held a fundraiser for Ratliff. (I've been forwarded several copies of the lobby invitation, one of which can be viewed here.) Several of the lobbyists listed as fundraiser sponsors represent companies that could have business before the State Board of Education. Some represent computer companies that pushed for legislation watering down state textbook quality control efforts and making it easier for computer companies to get state textbook money – bills that passed over the objection of several State Board of Education members. Others represent firms that have provided or could provide investment services to the Permanent School Fund. Still others have no direct connection to board business, but are simply Ratliff family friends.

Houston mayor and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White made an appearance on WFAA's Inside Texas Politics last Sunday (Dec. 6).  White discussed the key themes of his campaign for governor. Speaking immediately after White was LSR Managing Editor William Lutz, who gave a commentary on the need for immigrants to speak English.

Specifically, Lutz praised Dallas police officers who gave tickets to drivers who didn't speak English when pulled over and suggested they have brought to light important probems that need solving. Lutz didn't defend giving tickets to those who haven't broken the law. But rather he argued that the current state of affairs on immigration policy is indefensible too.  Click here to view the entire program. Inside Texas Politics airs every Sunday at 9 a.m. on WFAA-TV in North Texas (Channel 8).

State Board of Education member Cynthia Dunbar (R-Richmond) announced that she is not seeking re-election to the State Board of Education. She also announced her endorsement of Brian Russell for the District 10 seat. We reprint her statement in full below:

It is with a deep sense of accomplishment that I announce I will not be seeking re-election to the State Board of Education.  When I ran in 2006 I was unreservedly outspoken about my conservative views on both government and my goals for office.  My boldness earned me the overwhelming support of all 16 counties within the boundaries of District 10; clearly I was a voice for the majority of my constituents.  I promised them that I would be a statesman and not a career politician and that I would get in, get the job done and get out.  That is exactly what I have done ...

Gov. Rick Perry's campaign has released a new radio ad. The ad, titled "Texas Values," continues the Texas vs. Washington theme Perry has developed throughout this campaign. We post the full script below:

LSR has spoken with Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who confirmed that Senate interim charges will be released one week from today, Dec. 16. A few of the Interim charges are being released early in press conferences with Senators. Dewhurst released some charges on military and veterans issues Monday and water issues today.  We will publish more details on those charges that have been published in our weekly issue.

William Lutz, managing editor of The Lone Star Report, is scheduled to appear on WFAA's Inside Texas Politics this Sunday. Inside Texas Politics airs Sunday at 9 am on Channel 8 in North Texas. Lutz will be giving a commentary on illegal immigration and calling on newcomers to Texas to learn the English language.

In our rush to keep track of everything going on statewide, we neglected to mention a couple of key races going on in our own backyard. We think the Republican primaries in House Districts 47 and 48 are both interesting and could have general election implications.

The Republican Party of Texas has posted a youtube video attacking potential Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White. Click here to view the video.  The Rick Perry campaign has produced a youtube video touting his endorsements. Click here to view Perry's youtube.

U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison has unveiled a new TV ad in her campaign for governor. We post the full script below.  Click here to view the Hutchison ad.

Lawsuit abuse comes in many shapes and sizes. The stereotype of the "ambulance-chasing" plaintiff's lawyer is the image of lawsuit abuse most Americans are familiar with, largely because of the adverse impact such litigation can have on business and the organized effort from business to oppose that kind of lawsuit abuse.

But sometimes the government is responsible for lawsuit abuse. Right now, several Texas city officials are using tax dollars to try to gut the Texas Open Meetings Act by removing its criminal penalties. These efforts are supported by the Texas Municipal League. Long-time readers of LSR will know the League is one of the reasons Texas property taxes are so high, as it opposes any effort to give local voters the right to reject property tax increases that exceed inflation.

TML's position on the right of cities to raise taxes has traditionally received support from some of the state's editorial boards. But not its attack on open government. Over the Thanksgiving weekend, The Dallas Morning News published an editorial blasting the League and its attempt to neuter open government laws. Among the choice quotes in the editiorial:

U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison granted a 20-minute televised interview to WFAA's Inside Texas Politics. Hutchison answered questions from WFAA's Brad Watson and The Dallas Morning News's Gromer Jeffers Jr. To view the TV program, click here.

This was one of Hutchison's most effective campaign appearances of the cycle. Hutchison answered questions about why she entered the govenror's race, why speculation persisted about resigning from the U.S. Senate, and how she plans to govern. She also effectively addressed Gov. Rick Perry's criticism that she supported last year's bailout by mentioning the letter from the Republican Governor's Association, signed by Perry, urging members of Congress to back government action on the economy.

The key difference between this appearance and other Hutchison campaign events: Hutchison put issues that Republican primary voters care about front-and-center. Hutchison's main theme was that Perry needed to be replaced and she argued that she is the better conservative. The tax issue was front-and-center for Hutchison. She still spoke mostly in general terms about what policies she would pursue as governor and she is still battling an incumbent in Rick Perry, but this was a much improved performance from Hutchison. Inside Texas Politics airs every Sunday at 9 on Channel 8 WFAA in North Texas.

We don't normally write about the myriad endorsements that go back and forth between the two candidates in the race for governor. But the State Republican Executive Committee consists of the elected representatives of Texas Republicans. The SREC is elected every two years at the State Republican Convention. It consists of the state chairman, state vice-chairmen, and two delegates [one man and one woman] elected by convention delegates from each of Texas's 31 Senate districts.

We reprint the list of SREC members that have endorsed Perry below:

In yesterday's edition of The Daily Texan, the paper's editorial board takes both the UT administration and the UT Student Government to task for the secretive way it is approaching the next round of tuition increases. This must-read editorial notes that the Texan sent a reporter to a meeting of the UT-Austin Tuition Policy Advisory Committee, only to be denied admittance.

Here's my question: what happened to all these promises about how tuition deregulation will add openness and transparency to the university budgeting process?

Gov. Rick Perry granted an 18-minute interview to WFAA's Inside Texas Politics. The Dallas Morning News's Gromer Jeffers Jr. and WFAA's Brad Watson asked Perry questions on a variety of political topics. You can watch the interview by clicking here. Inside Texas Politics airs every Sunday morning at 9 am on Channel 8 in North Texas.

For a long-time observer of state politics, watching Gov. Rick Perry stand up last week and accept the Texas Medical Association's PAC (TEXPAC) endorsement was ironic to say the least. Perry has sometimes enjoyed cool relations with the Medical Association, that turned down-right frosty in 2001 after Perry vetoed "the prompt pay bill"  -- a bill that would have toughened standards and penalties for insurance companies that pay doctors late, not at all, or inaccurately. But Perry has earned this endorsement, because in the ensuing eight years has signed dozens of bills favorable to the Medical profession.

Like all Texans, we at LSR are shocked by the shootings at Fort Hood yesterday. Our thoughts and prayers are with those impacted by this awful tragedy. As a policy journal, there's not much we have to add to what happened. Newspapers and television have provided comprehensive coverage of the situation. That said, when something like this happens, we felt it appropriate to pause on this blog and pay our respects. We've found the Austin American-Statesman provided some of the best real-time coverage yesterday. The paper set up a twitter feed @fthoodshootings to provide real-time updates on the controversy. We commend those pages to people seeking more detailed information on the topic.

If there's one theme from yesterday's elections that Texas canaidates may wish to consider emulating, it's an emphasis on a positive message and real ideas. Both Virginia Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell and New Jersey Gov.-elect Chris Christie have real, specific ideas on what they want to accomplish as governor of their respective states.

This must have been rough on the Hutchisons. Over the weekend, their hometown newspaper -- The Dallas Morning News -- editorialized that Kay Bailey Hutchison needs to be more specific about her plans for the governor's office.

Excuse the shameless self promotion, but -- welcome aboard DMN editors. Three months ago, I taped a Rant on WFAA's Inside Texas Politics (Aug. 2) calling on Kay Bailey Hutchison to tell Texas what she's for and answer some questions about her beliefs on state policy issues. Now, the Dallas Morning News is calling for more specificity too.

Oh, by the way, Inside Texas Politics airs every Sunday at 9 am on WFAA Channel 8 in North Texas. Lutz delivers a Rant about once a month.

With 77 percent of precincts reporting, it appears all of the 11 constitutional amendments submitted to voters passed. This follows the pattern of past cycles, where Texas voters rarely reject proposed amendments to the Texas constitution. Part of the reason for a high success rate is the two-thirds-of-membership threshhold required to submit an amendment to the voters. The only ballot items that appear to be receiving less than 60 percent of the vote are propositions 1 and 4 (military facilities and research universities).

House Higher Education Committee Chairman Dan Branch (R-Dallas) held a news conference with Speaker Joe Straus (R-San Antonio) to support proposition 4 – the proposition uses money from the higher education fund to assist universities who meet goals showing progress toward Tier One research status. Also speaking at the news conference were Reps. Brian McCall (R-Plano) and Diane Patrick (R-Arlington) and Texas Association of Business President Bill Hammond.

This Sunday, LSR managing editor William Lutz appeared on Inside Texas Politics with Brad Watson on WFAA Channel 8 in North Texas. Lutz blasted Dallas District Judge Tena Callahan's decision to grant a same-sex divorce to a couple married in Massachusetts and used it as an example of how many Democrats campaign as "bipartisan moderates" but don't always act the part when elected. You can view the archived commentary on WFAA's website here.

The entire program can be viewed here. The program also features an interview with Dallas County Commissioner Ken Mayfield.

LSR has received tributes to the late former Sen. Teel Bivins from current Sen. Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo), Gov. Rick Perry,  Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, and Sen. Leticia Van de Putte (D-San Antonio). We will add additional tributes to this space as we receive them. We print below:

Both Gov. Rick Perry and his re-election opponent, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison have issued statements congratulating Cathie Adams on her election as chairman of the Republican Party of Texas. We reprint below.

In last week's issue, we printed that Texans for Lawsuit Reform's Sherry Sylvester sent a handwritten note to incoming-Republican Party Chairman Cathie Adams wishing her well in the chairman's race. At today's meeting of the State Republican Executive Committee, Adams told LSR the note was actually from TLR Chairman Richard Weekley and was a handwritten comment at the bottom of a typed thank-you letter for a donation that Adams had sent TLR. LSR regrets the error.

The State Republican Executive Committee has elected Cathie Adams as the chairman of the Republican Party of Texas. Adams received 36 votes, Melinda Fredricks received 25 votes, and Mary-Yoly Moore of El Paso was nominated but did not receive any  votes.

In our story this week on the race for chairman of the Republican Party of Texas, Texans for Lawsuit Reform's Sherry Sylvester is incorrectly identified as the organization's executive director. She is the organization's spokesperson. LSR regrets the error.

LSR Managing Editor William Lutz will be appearing on WFAA's Inside Texas Politics with Brad Watson this Sunday at 9 am on Channel 8 in North Texas. Lutz will blast the recent decision by Dallas Democratic judge Tena Callahan to grant a same-sex divorce.

There's a lot of misinformation circulating on the Internet about Propositions 2, 3, and 5. They do NOT, we repeat DO NOT, create a state property tax.

The Texas constitution's prohibition on a state property tax remains intact, even if all three pass. The propositions simply make the existing property tax system more efficient. Because of the public interest in this issue, we are putting on the public part of our site (the "featured articles" section) our article from this week's issue. You can access it here too. 

Our article this week explains, in detail, exactly what each of these ballot items actually do and addresses some inaccurate information on the Internet.

Gov. Rick Perry named three new members to the board of trustees of the Teacher Retirement System. Perry named Houston Real Estate Investor Todd Barth, Beaumont investor Seth Crone, and Whitesboro school counselor Nanette Sissney to six year terms. Of the three slots vacant, one was a direct appointment by the governor, one was selected from a list prepared by the elected State Board of Education, and one was selected from a list prepared by active members of the retirement system. As noted in a recent previous post to this blog, the Teacher Retirement System has come under careful scrutiny at the Capitol for its recent investment decisions and move toward more non-traditional investments.

Over the weekend, the Austin American Statesman published a must-read article by Kate Alexander on the latest political controversy at the Teacher Retirement System. Unfortunately, it appears this important story may get lost because much of the Capitol press corps is on a rampage about two non-scandals – one with the forensics board and another with the State Board of Education – and ignoring a real policy issue that might actually impact the upcoming GOP primary.

The Young Conservatives of Texas has produced a video blasting Proposition 4, the "Tier One" constitutional amendment that would redirect the Higher Education Fund endowment money toward universities seeking "Tier One" research university status. The video, set to the tune of Michael Jackson's song "Money," questions the return taxpayers get on the money spent for university research.

In the interest of balance, the supporters of Proposition 4 have their own organization, Texans for Tier One.

Mary-Yoly Moore of El Paso has announced for chairman of the Republican Party of Texas.  Moore is running on a platform of making party operations more transparent and encouraging more outreach for Asian, Black, Hispanic, youth and women voters. The State Republican Executive Committee will meet Oct. 24 to pick a new chairman.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst today announced his appointments to the Sunset Advisory Commission. Dewhurst named Sens. John Whitmire (D-Houston), Joan Huffman (R-Houston), and Robert Nichols (R-Jacksonville) to the commission for terms ending in 2013. He also designated Sen. Glenn Hegar (R-Katy) as chairman. Both Hegar and Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa (D-McAllen) are serving the second-half of terms that end in 2011. Dewhurst also reappointed Charles McMahen as the public member of the commission. The Sunset Advisory Commission examines the structure of state agencies and decides how to improve that structure and whether agencies should be continued.

"I want to thank all of these individuals for accepting appointment s to this important commission," Dewhurst said. "Some of our most critical state agencies are scheduled for review by the Sunset Advisory Commission and I know these appointees will provide the leadership and knowledge necessary to ensure all aspects of agencies under review are thoroughly evaluated."

A federal petit jury has returned mostly guilty verdicts in the Dallas City Hall Corruption trial today.

Former mayor pro-tem Don Hill, his wife Shiela Farrington Hill, former Dallas Plan Commissioner D'Angelo Lee, consultant Darren Reagan and housing developer and car dealer Rickey Robertson were convicted in federal court. The charges included bribery, conspriacy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit extortion, and depravation of honest services.

When sports events don’t turn out as predicted, ESPN analyst Chris Berman frequently says, “That’s why they play the games.”