How Did Tom Craddick Blow It?

From the Texas Observer: The Fall of the House of Craddick.

Meet Joe Straus -- Speaker of the Texas House

Perhaps the biggest piece of news out of Texas while we were on our break was the defeat of Tom Craddick to continue as Texas' Speaker of the House. Craddick's iron rule eventually led enough of his precious supporters--or House members he had been able to intimidate--to vote against him.

Straus is a Republican who represents San Antonio, meaning that he will be the first Speaker in decades who represents an urban district. This marks a significant change that will affect not only the process in the House (members are expected to have more input on bills and floor procedure are expected to be more open) but the agenda of the House as well (education, transportation and health care). He is also the first practicing Jew to be Speaker.

Here are links to news articles on the election and on Straus in general:

- Background on the Craddick's problems during the last session.
- Interview with Texas Monthly.
- The Joe Straus Era Begins.
- Straus' Record is Moderate and Independent.
- Governor Perry Supports Straus.
- Google Search for Texas Speaker Joe Straus.

Understanding Craddick's Strength

Clay Robinson's piece in today's Chron helps sort this out:

Speaker Tom Craddick gained power and has held onto it (so far) with strong financial support from the business community, including Houston home builder Bob Perry.

Perry alone has been a major pro-Craddick force, giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Republican speaker and the election campaigns of legislative candidates backing him.
The home builder and his business colleagues have been rewarded with additional protections against consumer lawsuits and a less-than-onerous regulatory climate.

But what happens to Perry's money if Craddick is unseated? Well — if the poor economy doesn't dry it up — Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, Attorney General Greg Abbott, many other Republican officials and selected Democrats will continue to get bushels of it.
And so, perhaps, would the next speaker.

At one time or another, the home builder or one of the political action committees to which he contributes heavily has given money to each of the nine House members — four Republicans and five Democrats — now challenging Craddick.

But two — Democrats Sylvester Turner of Houston and Allan Ritter of Nederland — have received much more of his money than the other would-be speakers.

In direct contributions alone, the home builder has given Turner, Craddick's speaker pro tem, $115,000 since 2002. That is almost double what Perry contributed directly to Craddick during that period. Turner received $31,000 of the total during the most recent election cycle.

Perry has given Ritter $67,000 since 2002. He gave most of that — $49,000 — during the 2003-04 election cycle, when Ritter beat a challenger in the Democratic primary, following the lawmaker's sponsorship in 2003 of the bill creating the home builder-backed Texas Residential Construction Commission.

That agency, designed to protect home builders from buyers' lawsuits in exchange for new state oversight over building standards, has been attacked as weak and ineffective by consumer advocates. And the staff of the Sunset Advisory Commission has recommended that the Legislature abolish it next year.

Ritter, who is in the building supply business, was honored by the National Homebuilders Association as the "State Legislator of the Year" in 2003, the year the agency was created.

There are reasons why some get involved heavily in politics. It pays.

Notice that Bob Perry has given money to each of the current candidates for Texas Speaker.

Speaker Summit

A proposal by one of the candidates for Texas House Speaker to meet to sort through the potential mess.

Click here for all posts in Capitol Annex about the 2009 Speaker's race.

The Texas Speakers Race

Click here for an update from the Texas Ethics Commission on the people who have filed to run for the Texas Speaker.

Click kere for information about the process for becoming Speaker.

Craddick Survives

The Chron tells us that reigning Texas Speaker Tom Craddick is likely to remain speaker due to the results of the recent primaries:

Republican House Speaker Tom Craddick, who only months ago seemed to be hanging on to his powerful job by a thread, has emerged from the latest round of elections considerably strengthened. For now anyway.

After fending off a bitter palace coup attempt last year, Craddick gained more supporters than he lost in primary elections March 4 and in the April 8 runoffs.

But a more telling indication of Craddick's momentum came last week, after the primary and runoffs were settled: One of his most ardent critics, Republican Rep. Todd Smith of Bedford, announced his allegiance to the one-time foe.

Smith told Texas Weekly, an online political newsletter, that since the primary results, he no longer believes another Republican can beat Craddick.

"The facts changed and I am reacting to the facts ... I no longer see a scenario where we get a Republican speaker who is not Craddick," Smith said.

The Craddick D's

Tom Craddick's continued hold on the Speakership of the Texas House of Representatives got a shot in the arm. Most of the Democrats who supported him (parties are less important in the Texas House and Senate than the Speaker and Lieutenant Governor) survived their primaries. Many were supported by last minute contributions by Craddick money men.

Going into the election he zeroed in on a handful of races that he considered vital to his future. It seems to have worked.

Toast?

Speaker Craddick's leadership style is now being blamed for the legislature's stagnancy. Says the Chron: "Midnight tonight [5/22] is the deadline for House approval of all nonlocal Senate bills on second reading. Some 202 bills had been set for review on Monday and today, but only a handful had been acted on by Monday evening."

Reports suggest that he's now spending more time trolling the house floor for support against an expected insurgency than pushing for legislation.

Here are related articles:

- Craddick called to step down: GOP committee chair urges him to avoid '18 months of hell' in Legislature.

- Craddick challenge in House widens. Member calls for speaker to quit post after second candidate files.

- Craddick a velvet fist in an iron glove: Foes try to reconcile speaker's soft-spoken demeanor with his win-at-all costs style.

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