Thanks to Mike O'Day, the District 29 Texas Rep, and his staff for hosting an open house at their district office in Pearland. It's located near the intersection of FM 518 and I-35 and if you live in his district you should stop by to say hello. Terrie Morgan is there full time and spends her days handling constituents.
The rep walked us through a draft of a powerpoint presentation of the recently completed session and his involvement in it. He'll forward us a copy once its finished and I'll post a link to it.
For me his most surprising comment regarded the brevity of the session. Too short, not enough time to understand all the positions held by the different legislators. He didn't come out and say that they should meet longer, but he hinted that they should. Maybe the wheels are being set in motion.
He refrained from blasting the legislative process, and admitted to having a higher opinion of it now that he's seen it from the inside. He did suggest that the members who took on Craddick were out of line and that the parliamentary moves taken towards the end of the session would have created a precedent where future speakers could be removed for political reasons. As it stands, he or she can only be removed for criminal misbehavior.
He's willing to come to campus sometime soon. I'll let you know once we set it up.
