From the Texas Tribune:
After the last of his challengers dropped out Tuesday, San Antonio Republican Joe Straus was elected to a third term as speaker of the Texas House.
That last challenger, Rep. David Simpson, R-Longview, never found enough support to threaten the incumbent. An earlier challenger, Rep. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, dropped out weeks ago as Simpson entered the race.
Simpson seems to be a gunner - not anxious to sit back and slowly work himself into a position of influence:
The seeds of Simpson’s challenge were planted two years ago. Simpson, in his freshman term, ignored experienced members who advised him to take a back seat and learn his way around, instead battling against legislation that would limit puppy mills and for legislation restricting security searches at airports. He lost both battles, but won a reputation for independence.
Simpson's career will be interesting to follow.
This is Straus' third time to be Texas House Speaker. Straus will now proceed to name committee chairs and members. He is able to do this after the vote - which means that this can turn into a weapon. No one wants to be on record as having oppose the Speaker.
He issued a statement after the vote listing what he sees as being the priorities for the session, he spends a great deal of attention to public education. He also mentions the drought and the need to focus on infrastructure repair.
Here's a snippet (the whole thing is worth a read):
Our rapid growth requires a steadfast commitment to the core responsibilities of government, such as a quality education, a reliable water supply, a healthy transportation system and an honest state budget. These are the priorities that you and I discussed around the state in recent months — the issues that voters expect us to address because they will play the largest role in determining our shared future.
Our priorities should begin where our future does — in public education. More than 5 million children are enrolled in our public schools, which is more than the total population of 29 states. More than 3 million of them are deemed economically disadvantaged, and almost 1 million of them speak limited English. The education of all our students will determine whether Texas is a land of prosperity or lost opportunities.
