The Mignon Memo

Guy Fielder, the Republican nominee running against Sen. Kirk Watson in Senate District 14 has withdrawn from the race. Watson still faces Libertarian Ryan Dixon on the November general election ballot.

Kathy Walt, Gov. Rick Perry’s press secretary and deputy chief of staff, will leave the governor’s office September 4th to become executive manager of governmental affairs for the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA).  Prior to joining Perry’s staff, Walt worked as a reporter for the Houston Chronicle.

Watch out for shopping mall parking lots this weekend in Texas because August 17 through August 19 is the state’s annual tax holiday. State law exempts most clothing, footwear, school supplies and backpacks priced under $100 from sales and use taxes during this period, which generally results in shoppers saving around $8 on every $100 they spend.  All sales of qualifying items made during the holiday period qualify for the exemption, including items sold over the Internet, television or by mail.  That includes Amazon, which recently began charging sales tax on purchases by residents of Texas.

Not to sound like a broken record, but here’s one more reminder to go vote.  Early voting for the Texas primary runoff election began on Monday and runs through this Friday, July 27^th.  In order to vote in the runoff election, you must be a registered voter but you need not have voted in the May 29^th primary election.  If you voted in one party’s primary election, you may not vote in the other party’s runoff election.  Look for the results of the runoff elections in next week’s memo.

The Texas Workforce Commission has released the latest job numbers for Texas.  Texas added 12,900 jobs in June yet the unemployment rate rose slightly to 7 percent, still below the national jobless rate at 8.2 percent.  Job growth was seen in construction as well as education and health services.  Manufacturing and information resources showed job losses.

Austin financial consultant and historic preservation activist August Harris III was appointed to the Texas Historical Commission by Gov. Rick Perry. Harris’ term will expire in February 2015.  Perry also appointed Michael Donegan of Rockwall, an accounts manager at El Dorado Chemical Co. and former mayor of McLendon-Chisholm, to the commission.

Early voting for the Texas primary runoff election begins on Monday, July 23^rd and runs through Friday, July 27^th.  In order to vote in the runoff election, you must be a registered voter but you need not have voted in the May 29^th primary election.  However, if  you voted in one party’s primary election, you may not vote in the other party’s runoff election.

Texas Comptroller Susan Combs announced that for the current fiscal year, sales tax collections are close to $1.5 billion ahead of original projections.

Governor Rick Perry and Anita Perry plan to move back into the renovated Texas Governor’s Mansion later this month.  The Perrys moved out of the mansion in 2007 for a $10 million renovation project to upgrade mechanical systems, including fire alarms, sprinkler systems, plumbing and wiring.  In June of 2008, the mansion was severely damaged by a fire.

The State of Texas will not expand Medicaid or establish a health insurance exchange, two major tenets of the federal health reform, according to Gov. Rick Perry. On Monday, Gov. Perry sent a letter to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius expressing his opposition to both components of health care reform.   In its opinion upholding the Affordable Care Act, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states may not be punished for opting out of the Medicaid expansion.  In the absence of a state-created health insurance exchange, the federal government will create an exchange to be used by states that fail to create their own.

Austin architect Matthew Kreisle III was named chairman of the Texas Historical Commission by Gov. Rick Perry. Kreisle is a senior partner and managing principal at Page Southerland Page, an Austin architectural firm.

Former State Rep. Ron Wilson has been named the new Director of the Office of Civil Rights at the Texas Department of Transportation. Wilson’s duties will include supervision of offices related to the agency’s relations with Historically
Underutilized Businesses.  Wilson served in the Texas House for 27 years.

A federal trial began in Washington D.C. on Monday to determine the legality of Texas’ controversial new Voter ID law.  Texas is suing the U.S. Justice Department over U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder’s refusal to grant “pre-clearance” for the state to implement the new rules, under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The burden is on the state to prove that the new identification requirements have neither the intent nor the effect of discriminating against minorities.  The trial is expected to last until the end of the week.

Here’s your weekly election reminder. The primary runoff election will be held July 31, 2012.  Early voting for runoff runs from July 23 through July 27.

Whitney Brewster has been named the new Executive Director at the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles.  Brewster currently serves as the director of Alaska’s Division of Motor Vehicles and has led the agency for the past five years. Previously she directed Alaska’s Division of Elections, was deputy chief of staff for the lieutenant governor and worked for the Alaska State Legislature. A Houston native, Brewster begins work at the DMV in early August.

Have a safe and happy Fourth of July holiday!  Did you know that Independence Day was first celebrated in Philadelphia on July 8, 1776? In 1941, the U.S. Congress declared the Fourth of July a federal legal holiday. It is one of the few federal holidays that have not been moved to the nearest Friday or Monday.

Texas charter school advocates filed a lawsuit claiming that disparities in funding and a cap on new charter schools violate the state constitution. The lawsuit, filed in Travis County, is separate from the larger public school finance litigation brought by hundreds of traditional school districts as well as some charter school supporters. However, the new case is expected to be added to the larger case because it relates to the same constitutional issues. That case is set for trial in October.

Texas A&M University plans to buy the Texas Wesleyan School of Law for close to $25 million. The school, located in downtown Fort Worth, will be called the Texas A&M School of Law at Texas Wesleyan University. Texas Wesleyan President Frederick G. Slabach and A&M System Chancellor John Sharp said the universities plan to work together to build a top-tier law school. The school currently has about 674 students.

Texans who are eligible to vote, but not yet registered have one week left to register to vote in the July 31, 2012 Primary Runoff Elections. Voter registration applications must be postmarked no later than Monday, July 2, 2012. Voters who cast ballots in one of the major party primary elections on May 29, 2012 will vote in the runoff election for the same party in which they cast their primary ballot.  Early voting for the July 31, 2012 Primary Runoff Elections will begin Monday, July 23, 2012 and end Friday, July 27, 2012.

Gov. Rick Perry has appointed Jeff Moseley of Houston to the Texas Transportation Commission for a term to expire Feb. 1, 2017. The commission oversees the Texas Department of Transportation. Moseley is self-employed and a consultant for Opportunity Houston. He is also former president and CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership, past executive director of the Economic Development and Tourism Department for the Office of the Governor and a former Denton County Judge.

Governor Rick Perry set Tuesday, November 6, 2012, as the special election date to fill the House District 144 seat vacated by the death of Rep. Ken Legler  (R-Pasadena). The legislator elected in this special election will serve out the remainder of Legler’s unexpired term.  Legler’s widow, Barbara Legler, announced that she will run in the special election.

Texas A&M University has been chosen as the location of one of three centers for Innovation in Advanced Development and Manufacturing.  The Texas A&M System will receive a $286 million federal contract to develop a new national center for researching and manufacturing drugs to respond to pandemic diseases and bioterrorism.  A&M System Chancellor John Sharp said the project would create about 1,000 jobs in Texas, mostly in the Brazos Valley.

Paul Sadler and Grady Yarbrough, the two candidates competing in the runoff for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, will participate in a televised debate on June 26. Dallas PBS affiliate KERA will host the one-hour debate.  KERA will also host a debate this Friday, June 22 between Republican candidates Ted Cruz and David Dewhurst.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the electric grid operator for most of Texas, unveiled a new mobile phone app today. The initial version includes current system operating conditions, conservation tips and an overview of ERCOT.  The app will provide “push” notifications straight to Apple and Android devices so during times when ERCOT is experiencing high demand and conservation is critical, users who enable the feature will receive alerts notifying them of the situation. The free ERCOT Energy Saver app can be found by searching for ERCOT in the Apple and Google app stores.

The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) results were released last Friday by the Texas Education Agency.  The results show that passing rates on five key end-of-course tests ranged from 87 percent on the biology test to 55 percent on the English I writing test.  Texas is phasing in the passing requirements for STAAR as it did with previous standardized tests.  The number of questions students must answer correctly will increase at intervals until 2016, when the final passing requirements will be in place.  While there is no required course sequence in Texas, most high school freshmen take biology, world geography, Algebra I, and English I.  English I content is assessed using two different tests, one focusing on reading skills and the other on writing skills.  More information on scoring can be found on the Texas Education Agency’s website.

Gov. Rick Perry has appointed Robert “Barney” Barnwell III of Magnolia to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles Board for a term to expire Feb 1, 2013. Barnwell is president of Universal Natural Gas Inc., and president and board chair of Texas Gas Utility Services.  He will serve as the representative of the public on the Board.

Don’t forget to tune in tonight to TNT’s updated version of Dallas, complete with J.R., Bobby, Sue Ellen and, Southfork.  We know we’ll be watching.

The Legislative Budget Board has given state agencies instructions regarding their submission of legislative appropriations requests for the 2014-2015 biennium. State agencies were directed not to request any funds above funds spent in 2012 or budgeted for 2013. Agencies were also asked to submit proposals on ways to reduce current budgets by 10 percent. Several areas were exempted, including the Foundation School Program; money for debt payments; Medicaid entitlement programs; the Children’s Health Insurance Program; foster care; adoption subsidies; permanency care assistance; and the state’s contributions to state pension and employee group benefit plans.  Prison and other criminal justice and security programs were not excluded from the budget cuts.

The Democrats and Republicans will meet this weekend for their party conventions. Democrats will gather in Houston while Republicans will gather in Ft. Worth.  One interesting factor this year is that the primary runoff elections have not been held so expect to see those candidates actively participating in the conventions.

Texas had another good month in terms of sales tax collections. Comptroller Susan Combs announced that Texas collected $2.09 billion in sales tax revenue last month, up 7.3 percent from the same period the previous year.  That makes 26 months of consecutive sales tax growth.

Here is an interesting fact.  According to statistics released yesterday by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis that breakdown gross domestic product by state, Texas now accounts for 8.7 percent of the United States’ economy.

The 2012 Texas primary election results are in.  The following is a brief recap.  If you would like to see exact percentages, follow this link to the Texas Secretary of State’s website: http://www.sos.state.tx.us.  The primary runoff election will be held July
31^st.

U.S. Senate seat 

Lt. Governor David Dewhurst and Ted Cruz will face off in the Republican primary runoff.  Tom Leppert came in a distant third.  The Democratic primary ended in a runoff between former Texas House member Paul Sadler and Grady Yarbrough.

Congressional races

Twenty Congressional incumbents faced a contested primary.  Only one incumbent was defeated. Congressman Silvestre Reyes (D-El Paso) was defeated by Beto O’Rourke in the Democratic primary for CD 16.  O’Rourke will face Republican Barbara Carrasco in the general election.   Of the six open seats, five involved contested primaries.  In CD 35, Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin), who moved into the newly drawn district, won his primary race and will face Republican Susan Navariz in the general election.  The remaining open seats will involve runoff elections.  In CD 14, State Rep. Randy Weber (R-Pearland) will face Felicia Harris in the Republic primary runoff.  In the Republican primary runoff in CD 25, former Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams will face Wes Riddle.  In CD 33, State Rep. Mark Veasey (D-Ft. Worth) will face former Texas House member Domingo Garcia in the Democratic primary runoff election.  In the Democratic primary runoff in CD 34, Filemon Vela will face Denise Saenz Blanchard.  In the Republican primary runoff for CD 34, Adela Garza will face Jessica Puente Bradshaw. In CD 36, Steve Stockman and Stephen Takach will compete in the Republican primary runoff.

Statewide Races 

There were two contested primary races involving seats on the Texas Railroad Commission and both will result in runoff elections.  In Place 1, State Rep. Warren Chisum (R-Pampa) and Christi Craddick were the top two candidates who will face each other in the runoff election. The victor will compete with Democrat Dale Henry in the general election.  In Place 2, incumbent Railroad Commissioner Barry Smitherman will compete with Greg Parker in the Republican party runoff election.  The winner faces no major party opposition in November.

There were two contested primary races involving seats on the Texas Supreme Court.  In Place 2, incumbent Justice Don Willett defeated Steve Smith. In Place 4, incumbent Justice David Medina wound up in a runoff against John Devine.

Texas Senate 

Six incumbent Texas Senators faced a contested primary.  Senators Robert Nichols (R-Jacksonville), Tommy Williams (R-The Woodlands), Robert Duncan (R-Lubbock), Craig Estes (R-Wichita Falls) and Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo) won handily.  In a closely watched race, Sen. Jeff Wentworth (R- San Antonio) wound up in a runoff with Donna Campbell. There were contested primary races in three open seats. Rep. Kelly Hancock (R-Ft. Worth) defeated Rep. Todd Smith (R-Ft. Worth) in Senate District 9.  Hancock will face Democrat Pete Martinez in November.   Rep. Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown) defeated Ben Bius in Senate District 5 and faces no major party opposition in November.  Rep. Larry Taylor (R-League City) defeated two primary opponents in Senate District 11. He will face Democrat Jacqueline Acquistapace in November.

Texas House 

Forty-five House incumbents had contested primary races. Two of those incumbents were paired in one district.  Meanwhile, there were 30 open seats, many involving contested primary races.  Seven incumbents were defeated in the primary elections.  Rep. Leo Berman (R-Tyler) was defeated by Matt Schaefer. Rep. Wayne Christian (R-Center) was defeated by Chris Paddie. Rep. Marva Beck (R-Centerville) was defeated by Trent Ashby. Rep. Barbara Nash (R-Ft. Worth) was defeated by Matt Krause. Rep.  Mike “Tuffy” Hamilton (R-Mauriceville) was defeated by Rep. James White (R-Lufkin), Rep. Rob Eissler (R-The Woodlands) was defeated by Steve Toth, and Vicki Truitt (R-Keller) was defeated by Giovanni Capriglione. Four House incumbents will face run-offs including: Representatives J.M. Lozano (R-Kingsville) against Bill Wilson, Sid Miller (R-Stephenville) against JD Sheffield, Jim Landtroop (R-Plainview) against Ken King,and Chuck Hopson (R-Jacksonville) against Travis Clardy.  There will be run-offs in thirteen other House districts:

Republican primary runoffs:

HD 12: Tucker Anderson v. Kyle Kacal

HD 23: Wayne Faircloth v. Bill Wallace

HD 24: Greg Bonnen v. Ryan Sitton

HD 26: Rick Miller v. Jacquie Chaumette

HD 67: Jon Cole v. Jeff Leach

HD 68: Trent McKnight v. Drew Springer

HD 91: Ken Sapp v. Stephanie Klick

HD 114: Bill Keffer v. Jason Villalba

HD 115: Bennett Ratliff v. Steve Nguyen

Democratic primary runoffs:

HD 40: Terry Canales v. Auggie Hernandez

HD 95: Nicole Collier v. Jesse Gaines

HD 117: Phillip Cortez v. Tina Torres

HD 137: Jamaal Smith v. Gene Wu

State Board of Education

Seven incumbent members of the State Board of Education faced primary opposition and three were defeated.  In District 3, Board member Michael Soto was defeated by Marisa Perez in the Democratic primary.  District 12 incumbent George Clayton did not make the Republican primary runoff. That will be a contest between former SBOE member Geraldine “Tincy” Miller and Gail Spurlock.  In District 14, Board member Gail Lowe was defeated by Sue Melton in the Republican primary.  Incumbents who won their primaries include District 5 Board member Ken Mercer; District 7 Board member David Bradley; District 8 Board member Barbara Cargill; and District 9 Board member Thomas Ratliff.  Bradley, Ratliff and Melton do not have any major party opposition in November.

There were five open seats. Democrat Martha Dominguez was the winner of the Democratic primary in District 1. She faces no major opposition in the general election. In District 2, Republican Laurie Turner will compete against the winner of a runoff election between Democrats Celeste Zepeda Sanchez and Ruben Cortez, Jr.  In District 6, Republican Donna Bahorich will face Democrat Traci Jensen. In District 10, Democrat Judy Jennings will compete against the winner of the Republican primary runoff between Tom Maynard and Rebecca Osbourne. In District 15, Republican Marty Rowley will face Democrat Steve Schafersman in the general election.