Mar 17, 2006

Governor Calls Special Session

I just received word from the governor's office that the long awaited special session of the legislature will begin on Monday, April 17, at 2 p.m.
Posted by The Rep. at

7 comments:

Gritsforbreakfast said...

Uuuuuugh!!

How do you earn a living yo-yoing back and forth to Austin like this?

Friday, March 17, 2006 2:14:00 PM
Anonymous said...

I'm very disappointed by the Rep's failure to answer questions posted on this blogg. He couldn't even answer the question on a law that would set terms on school board members to serve on school boards. If we can't even get your point of view on this issue, how can we trust you? What's is the big deal about telling us your opinion?

Friday, March 17, 2006 3:17:00 PM
The Rep. said...

Scott, always good to hear from you. It is tough to make a living going back and forth. I have been trying to squeeze in as much time at work before the upcoming session. I do enjoy the challenge and the opportunity to work with and for great people.

As to Mr. Anonymous, the 30 second generation is a concern to many of us, nevertheless, please repeat the question and I will do my best.

Friday, March 17, 2006 3:53:00 PM
Anonymous said...

No problem Rep. I sincerely apologize, but this is an issue I am concerned about. Here is the question, with all the corruption and lack of leadership by school board members on school boards around the state, would you be willing to sponsor a bill that would set term limits for school board members to serve on the board? If no, why? If yes, what would you recommend? Please explain fully. I posted this question on the comment dealing with the Edcouch-Elsa school board.

Friday, March 17, 2006 3:59:00 PM
Junkbox said...

Good luck and give 'em heck!

Friday, March 17, 2006 6:52:00 PM
The Rep. said...

Interesting proposal. Let me see if I can think this through. First, I have generally not been a believer in term limitations. I have always believed that in a well functioning democracy the electorate should be the appropriate check on abuses of power or ineffectiveness by some incumbents. Power does corrupt some, but informed voters should remove those that cross the line of appropriateness. In states or cities that have experimented with term limitations, movements have reversed the initial move towards term limits. There must be a reason for this.

Having said this, I am concerned about some small elections where political machines move votes based on pure monetary or corrupt interests of a few rather than on the strength of ideas that might benefit the whole electorate.

Bottom line, people need to fufill their duty to vote intelligently. Prosecuters and law enforcement must also be allowed to do their job. It is a sad statement when organizational controls have to be imposed.

In the case of Edcouch/Elsa, despite setbacks, I still have faith that if the voters are challenged and organized by well intentioned candidates who express a positive vision for the community that voters will respond. I want to believe the good citizens of this community repeatedly have supported me because they know I have good intentions and vote in accordance to what is best for the entire community. Good people can't be afraid to be involved in the political process or to take risks.

Your proposal if not severely limiting is worth looking into. I would like to see how the concept works in other jurisdictions before I commit to the idea. Please note that the powers that prop up the type of officals that we despise will not be detered by term limits. A puppetmaster is never short of puppets. In the end, voters need to be informed, vigilant and do their duty. For God's sake in other countries with less educated populations than our own people vote in greater proportions than most Americans.

Is there anything else?

Friday, March 17, 2006 9:11:00 PM
Anonymous said...

You gave me a political answer for a sensitive political question. Nevertheless, I like your response, but it doesn't give me an insight as to how you would vote, and why, should such bill was to come up before the legislature.

As a Representative, you have the power to change or modify lower chambers of our government by enacting legislation that helps alleviate the problem with our school districts. In my opinion, the major problem with school finance is not that we are not getting enough money to educate our children, the problem is that our school board members are not spending the money wisely. Therefore, I would propose setting term limits to at least deter their unethical behavior.

Unlike your opinion, I think that if we limit the number of terms they serve on the board, their "Compadre" scheme and corrupt behavior would at least be deterred. For example, what is a board member going to do when he/she has a deal with a contractor on an ongoing project that lasts beyond their term? Is the contractor going to give the kickbacks to the next person in line? Would it be worth it then to the contractor? If anything, term limits would at least deter their scheme.

With that said, I like what said on your response. I also think that term limits are not representative of a vibrant democracy, however, when you have problems like the problems we face in politics today, term limits are a must. I will note that term limits would only work at the school board level. I think term limits would never work at the Legislature, or higher political offices including the courts. School board membership is not like the Legislature where seniority is a must in order to enact significant legislation, or in order to have a significant impact as a legislator. For school board members, no seniority is needed. Anybody can get elected and do the job. I would prefer that all school board members would at least have a college education, but we know that is not going to happen. Anyway, there is no need for continuance or seniority. I guess there is an advantage to having experience, but that advantage does not outweigh the need for responsible government and the need to deter unethical behavior.

I agree with your comment that people need to vote, but that is exactly the issue here. Because people don't vote, these people are never voted out of office. It is important to look into some other school boards in the Valley, not just Edcouch/Elsa, for example, PSJA. Lastly, I also agree with your comment and will take a note of that: "good people cannot be afraid to be involved in the political process or to take risks." That is what I liked the most about your response. Perhaps, as the Valley continues to grow, we will develop a younger generation that will concentrate on their duty to govern as opposed to their ability to corrupt the political process.

Monday, March 20, 2006 10:27:00 AM

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