I take it back. Chris Bell is not too tightly zipped!
His first television ads are airing in major markets in Texas this week. Kinky and Grandma have consistently upstaged the more serious former U.S. Congressman Chris Bell during most of this election cycle. Most print and electronic news teams have concentrated on the comedian Kinky Friedman and the sharp tongued Republican Comptroller turned Independent who now calls herself "Grandma" as she runs against her former buddy Rick Perry for his job. Now the Chris Bell for Governor of Texas Campaign has fired their "rocket" into the living rooms of Texans and is waging his campaign's pocket book on this hilarious, definitely not stodgy, television ad.
Chris, usually seen only in suit and tie, appears in blue jeans with a sports coat jacket, in this campaign. He is a GIANT. The Alamo comes to his knees, the country side is small and the skyscrapers of Texas are minute compared to Chris Bell who tells folks that "We must Think Big. Texas needs a Moon Shot" and touts the need for higher education.
I got a call yesterday and cracked up as this ad was described to me. I saw it today and couldn't help from having a very refreshing belly laugh. I don't know if this ad will get him votes. However, it will get talked about.
http://tinyurl.com/lqaqz
I'm not sure whether it is a blessing or a curse that most Texas Democrats are too under funded to buy TV commercials this year. Sometimes the way candidates spend their ad dollars attracts votes. Other times, folks laugh but don't vote. Will be interesting to see what Mr. Bell's Moon shot for Texas Campaign does to his name recognition and electoral probabilities.
At the very least, Mr. Bell is financing 30 seconds of comic relief for our side during this election cycle.
I do not know who is directly responsible for some of the changes that appear to be coming from the Chris Bell campaign. However, since Glen Maxey signed on as State Coordinator for the Chris Bell for Governor Campaign, there has been a marked shift for the better. Chris is actively enlisting down-ticket populist candidates like Hank Gilbert and David Van Os to travel with him and "stump" together in the same venues. Previously the Bell camp ignored the down-ticket candidates with smaller war chests.
As the public stands up and announces support for David Van Os, Hank Gilbert, Fred Head and Maria Luisa Alvarado, the Bell campaign is reaching out more frequently to them and is working more as a team member to enable all of them to win in November.
I see this as a turn for the better for Texans as we fight to cull out the bad apples and reclaim our State Government for the people of Texas.
This is definitely a very different kind of election cycle in Texas. Many are predicting that under funded populist Democrats like Hank Gilbert and David Van Os will defeat Republicans with million dollar war chests.
A four-way race for Governor keeps that race "completely wide-open." Even book makers won't stake much on predictions of who will occupy the Governor's mansion next year. However, seeing the outcry of Texans' who are showing up by the hundreds at town after town to protest construction of the Trans Texas Corridor, it appears very likely that someone other than Rick Perry will be governor next year.
Monday night in Fort Worth, local elected officials endorsed the TTC, while all ordinary citizens who testified spoke out against it.
David Van Os, (D-for TX Attorney General), Hank Gilbert, (D-for Texas Agriculture Commissioner) David Harris (challenger to U.S. Congressman Joe Barton), and Carol Keeton Strayhorn, (currently the Republican Comptroller of Public Accounts who is running for Governor as an Independent) spoke out against the TTC.
Hank Gilbert and Fred Head are speaking at five TTC hearings a week. Gilbert's oppponent for Agriculture Commissioner, Senator Todd Staples authored Senate Bill 1706 which "amends" most of the Texas Transportation Code and changes much exisiting Texas Law to allow private control of Texas Highways, conversion of existing public highway to private toll entities without public vote or hearing, and removes the necessity of public advertisement and solication of competitive bids on Texas Highways and toll roads.
Fred Head, (Democratic Candidate for Comptroller of Public Accounts) is the a former university Accounting teacher and attorney who helped pass open meeting and campaign finance disclosure legislation during his 14 years in the TX House of Representative. Head, a member of the reform group, Texas Dirty Thirty, has a long history fighting governmental corruption. Unlike his opponent, (the current Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs), Fred Head has years of related job experience. While in the house he served on the House Appropriates Committee and was a member of the powerful Texas Legislative Budget Board and Chairman of the Texas Higher Education Committee. Seeing elected officials accept big contributions as they rewrite large sections of Texas Law to enable special interest acquire monopolistic concessions, no-bid contracts, and be allowed to have the State of Texas exercise eminent domain on their behalf on public works projects that citizens are not allowed to vote on is more than enough to get Fred Head to take another go at running for Public Office.
Local governmental officials appeared Monday in Fort Worth, presented their local transportation plans and asked the TDoT (Texas Department of Transportation) to adopt their local plans and incorporate them into the TTC Toll Road proposal. Citizens were outraged. Their messages were described by citizens as "Sucking up to the TDoT in order to try to salvage something out of the massive corporate welfare TTC initiative for local priorities as we see TTC siphon off resources from all other transportation possibilities for this decade!"
Glen Whitley, currently County Commissioner who ran unopposed for Tarrant County Judge and won that seat, was booed by some in the crowd. Whitley stated that he was "motivated by the need to get big trucks off of the road." However he failed to mention that he is secretary of the THSRTC (Texas High Speed Rail Transportation Corporation) and Board Member, TX Public Power Pool. Whitley's participation in votes on the TTC by the Tarrant County is inappropriate since he is directly associated with two organizations lobbying for light rail and energy in Texas. The proposed Tran-Texas Corridor is supposed to be a 1/4 mile wide transportation corridor from Oklahoma to Mexico with utility pipe lines, rail corridors and truck and car toll roads. Citras, a corporation based in Spain has joined with H.B. Zachary, as the private companies who are supposed to share in an estimated $190 billion dollar privately controlled joint partnership with Texas Department of Transportation.
Zachry family members and company's with the Zachry family surname paid over $765,596.00 in "campaign donations" to Texas elected officials in the last five and a half years. State Senator Todd Staples accepted over $14,000.00 from the Zachary company and Zachry family and Zachry PAC in 2005. He authored Senate Bill 1706 which rewrites or revokes more of existing Texas law than any legal document in this century. Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, who presides over the Senate of Texas, received $51,000.00 in campaign contributions from the Zachary family and their family controlled corporations and PAC, last year. During the 2002 Governor's race, the Zachry family covered both sides of the aisle. The Zachry family saw that both John Sharp (D) and incumbent Rick Perry (R)
Campaigns were recipients of their "generous" campaign contributions! It took 30 pages to list the names and amounts of Zachry family contributions to Texas elected official as reported by the Texas Ethics Commission! Rick Perry has received $146,000.00 from Zachry family and business interests.
Senate Bill 1706 authorizes local governmental entities to transfer existing highway and rail corridors and facilities currently in public use to toll authorities WITHOUT PUBLIC HEARING or POPULAR VOTE.
It permits construction of rail lines, highways, roadside facilities such as restaurants and fuel stops on by private entities, utilizing eminent domain to condemn the land.
It permits the TDoT to assume responsibilities for rail and energy transmission corridors which currently are the responsibility of the Texas Railroad Commission without submitting this major governmental reorganization to the voters.
It allows the TDoT to select a short list of contractors / investors/ management companies for planning, construction and management of rail, highway, and pipeline projects without solicitations for submission of proposals. The short-list must contain at least 2 companies and those companies will "bid competitively." Gosh, how sweet it is that cronies who give large contributions to most of the incumbents in Austin can learn of the opportunity to submit proposal for consideration of being considered for the short list. Then TDoT will apply "competitive bidding practices" between those on that "short list."
The Twenty-first century shows that Graft and Corruption has been carried to new heights in Texas. Lobbyist have been allowed to buy Senators and the Governor, Lt. Governor and Attorney General who have conspired with the company which just "HAPPENS TO BE THE ONE TDoT HAS DETERMINED TO BE THE BEST CHOICE TO MANAGE THE TRANS-TEXAS CORRIDOR."
Texas Law requires a 3/4 vote to approve Constitutional Amendments. Senate Bill 1706 amends or revokes more sections of Texas Law than any bill in Texas History. As it was presented and passed in the Senate, it was not publicized widely. If passed by the House, it will not have to go before the voters to become law.
Few news stories appeared about this monumental piece of legislation. It is the longest bill I have ever read. It is at least 50 pages long.
The bill passed the Texas Senate by a very large margin. It is probable that the "generous campaign donations" of the Zachry family and other pro-toll road lobbyist groups smoothed its journey through the Senate. Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, presiding over the Senate, was definitely loyal to the Zachry family, his powerful supporters who backed him to the tune of $51,000.00 in 2005 alone.
This is the year when citizens in Texas, both Republican and Democrat, are looking up, scratching our heads and saying: $765,596.00 in political donations from the H.B. Zachry family and related family members, companies and PAC to secure a potential windfall of $180 billion monopoly in toll road, rail and road side concessions for 50 years looks rather suspicious. We're wondering if the $51,000.00 David Dewhurst accepted in 2005 and the combined $146,000.00 Rick Perry has accepted since 2000 from Zachry family and related companies and PACs is actually "CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION." Somehow, to many of us, it looks more like "BRIBERY/CONSPIRACY" than just merely Campaign Financing. We have only begun examining Texas Ethics Reports. When we factor in donors from people who are members of the Zachry PAC who do not have the Zachry surname, it is probably that the numbers will be much higher.
Even "Grandma" Carole Keeton Strayhorn took $13,000 from Zachry donors in 2003. She has only received $100 during this election cycle. She is speaking out against it now. When questioned Monday night, she told Faith Chatham that "Zachry wasn't involved in the TTC in 2003." There are Democrats and Republicans who are on the list of paid "water carriers" for toll road lobbyist and construction companies. Activists in Texas are researching, taking names, asking questions and preparing to clean house.
We advise every candidate and incumbent who has ZACHRY show up on their ethics reports to return those contributions. Even if you've already spent the money, having the company show up on your ethics report which is one of only a very few players positioned to win from the largest land grab in Texas History will (hopefully) be the death for many politicians in Texas.
Citizens in Texas want the Texas Department of Transportation and elected officials to concentrate TDoT payroll and resources to identifying and solving our highest priority transportation needs. The TTC is not the solution for Texas. Avoiding raising the gasoline tax a few cents is too high a price to pay when it means turning over our State's infastructure to private corporations, transferring tolls paid by Texans' to foreign company's, siphoning off crucical tax dollars from local school districts and county and city taxing entities, and charging Texans high tolls to travel over highways in this state (some of them existing public highways) for 50 years.
We are outraged at local officials who are endorsing the TTC in order to try to get a segment of it converted to fill some already identified local unfunded transportation plans.