Editorial Writing

Opinion page policy

Write your officialsSTaTeGov. rick perryPo Box 12428austin, TX 78711512-463-2000http://governor.state.tx.us/

State rep. john OttoP.o. Box 2910austin, TX 78768-2910512- 463-0570Fax: 512-463-0315district office:P.o. Box 965dayton, TX 77535(936) 258-8135Fax (936) 258-7190

State Sen. Charles SchwertnerP.o. Box 12068capitol Stationaustin, Texas 78711(512) 463-0105(512) 463-5713 (fax)

NaTiONalpresident barack ObamaThe white House1600 Pennsylvania ave., nwwashington, d.c. 20500202-456-1111http://www.whitehouse.gov

U.S. Sen. john CornynUnited States Senatewashington, d.c. 20510-4305202-224-2934http://www.cornyn.senate.gov

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruzroom B40Bdirksen Senate office Buildingwashington, d.c. 20510202-224-5922http://cruz.senate.gov

U.S. rep. Kevin brady301 cannon Buildingwashington, d.c. 20515202-225-4901Huntsville office: (936) 439-9532www.house.gov/brady

THE HUNTSVILLE ITEMEstablished 1850

The Huntsville Item1409 10th St., PO Box 539

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©2011. The Huntsville Item is published mornings seven days a weekat 1409 10th St., Huntsville, TX 77342, by The Huntsville Item. USPS254-580. Second class postage paid at Huntsville, TX 77340. POST-MASTEr: Send address changes to The Huntsville Item, PO Box 539,Huntsville, TX 77342.

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rita Haldeman

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editor

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Business Manager

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Production director

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The Huntsville Item encouragessubmissions to our opinion Page. wewelcome diverse and varied opinions.However, unless explicitly noted, noopinion expressed on this page reflectsthe editorial position of The HuntsvilleItem. letters will be published unless theycontain content deemed inappropriateor in poor taste. letters need to be 250 words orfewer. The Item reserves the right toedit letters for length and language andto reject letters that:

• are confusing or unclear.• contain crude, incendiary or uncivil

language.• promote commercial offerings or

personal correspondence.• do not identify the writer or employ

a pseudonym.• address a third party or are mass

mailed. we encourage letters that addresscurrent events and issues, and we askthat you refer to the headline and publi-cation date of the story or the letter thatcaused you to write. all letters must be signed andinclude the writer’s address and tele-phone number for verification.Questions should be directed to thenewsroom at [email protected]. email your letters to us [email protected]. Includeyour letter in the body of the email.

THe iTem’s View

Your LeTTers

OpinionTHe HUnTSv Ille I TeM wedneSday, ocToBer 8 , 2014 / 4a

In my short time working at TheHuntsville Item, I have gotten to meetsome people who have accomplishedextraordinary things.

I have met formerBearkats who playedMajor League Baseballand in the nBA, includ-ing one man who pitchedfor the new YorkYankees. I met the firstAfrican-American to playfor the Houston Astros(then called the HoustonColt .45s) and a womanwhose husband broughtthe rolling Stones to San Antonio fortheir first performance in Texas, just toname a few.

I have also gotten the chance to partici-pate in and attend some events that Iwould’ve never gotten the chance to if Iwasn’t working for The Item.

Thanks to Gerry Etheredge, I was invit-ed to help shoot off the city’s Fourth ofJuly fireworks display this summer. I alsogot the chance to taste barbecue cookedby world-renowned smokers and grillersat the first Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown,

thanks to Ben Pruitt. I also watched theHouston Texans beat the Buffalo Bills in aspectacular luxury suite a couple of weeksago, thanks to Item photographer JoshYates.

All of this is to say that not every job orcareer has to be all about making a colos-sal amount of money.

I don’t make the big bucks working forThe Item, which I wouldn’t expect to as a22-year-old rookie working in a smalltown anyway, but I am perfectly fine withthat, as I’ve gotten to meet people whohave some really unique experiences toshare and have experienced some uniquethings myself in working for the paper.

Getting the chance to experience thingsothers normally do not, and sharing thestory of people who have done importantand incredible things is why I got intojournalism in the first place.

I also am aware that, generally speak-ing, journalists do not make boatloads ofmoney. That doesn’t bother me when Ithink about my future, since my parentshave always told me to look for a career Ilove, something I see myself doing for along time.

I can already attest to the fact that

doing what you love is an important partof finding happiness and fulfillment in lifebecause working as a cook for minimumwage in various restaurants is miserableand, at times, grueling work.

I believe the career path I have startedon is the right one for me and I’mextremely grateful to The Item for hiringme and allowing me to start my careerwhile still in college, something that notevery college student gets the opportunityto do.

Having only worked at The Item foreight months, I know there is still plentyto learn and there will always be assign-ments that I might not particularly beexcited to do. However, the interestingpeople I’ve met and unique events I’vecovered and participated in are what makethe job so enjoyable.

Hopefully, I will spend many moremonths writing for The Item and tellingthe stories of the people of Huntsville.

jp mcbride

Heard iT in THe newsroom

This reporting job can be kind of cool

Thanks for making this year’s Fair on the Square the biggest, best ever

Dear Editor,Huntsville is a great place to live! I am

amazed at the amount of volunteerism andcommunity spirit that is displayed at theFair on the Square each year.

I know that our citizens show this act ofservice many times during the year, but thefirst Saturday in October seems to bringout the best in everyone!

I have a tremendous amount of gratitudeand respect for the FOS committee, volun-teers, vendors, sponsors and spectatorswho all work together to make this festivalone of the best around!

I believe that 2014 may be one for therecord books!

The weather — a truly chamber of com-merce kind of day — certainly helped, andfor that, we must all thank God for shower-ing us with sunshine and cooler tempera-tures!

The shopping options were stupendous!Thanks to our vendors for providing somany wonderful treasures! The entertain-ment both Friday and Saturday was superb!

I hope that if you did not attend the con-cert on Friday that you will be sure to putthat on your to-do list for 2015. What agreat way to kick off the weekend andshare some good music with friends!

Hopefully, you stopped by the foodcourt and tasted some of the delicious

items that tempted your taste buds! We allhave our favorites and I was sure to stopand get mine!

Thanks again for being a part of a com-munity who gives its time and treasures tosupport our downtown, the chamber andHuntsville!

And if you recognized any of those vol-unteers in bright pink or yellow shirts, besure to tell them thank you!

Save the date for Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015.... Looking forward to another great year!

LAUrA GrEEn

Fair on the Square coordinator andevents manager

Huntsville-Walker County Chamber ofCommerce

JP McBride is a reporter at The Huntsville Item.He is also a senior at Sam Houston StateUniversity studying journalism. McBride can bereached by telephone at (936) 295-5407 or byemail at [email protected].

City on solid ground with tobacco surchargeHow do y’all feel about the City of

Huntsville implementing a monthly $50insurance surcharge for city employeeswho smoke or use tobacco of any kind?

Is that a progressive idea that may givesmokers and other tobacco users an incen-tive to stop?

Or is it an intrusive, discriminatory pro-gram that may save the city money, butmakes life more difficult for those whoenjoy their smokes, or a dip or chew oftobacco from time to time.

We believe the tobacco surcharge maybe both. It’s progressive and a good idea,but it feels a little like Big Brother breath-ing down our necks, telling us what we canand can’t do, at and away from work.

Sometimes solid policies come with alittle tension and that’s OK.

We like the city’s decision mostlybecause the future program provides indi-viduals an incentive to stop an unhealthy

habit that costs way too much anyway.After a unanimous vote Tuesday to

approve the program and policy, the cityannounced its plan to provide free tobaccocessation classes to help employees whowant to kick the habit.

The $50 surcharge will not go into effectuntil January 2016, so city employees havemore than a year to quit.

Some folks — maybe most of theemployees who smoke or use tobacco reg-ularly — won’t quit. They’ll pay the $50fee every month and keep on using theirtobacco products.

We think it’s a wise idea to provide extraincentive to people who want to quit, folkswho are tired of paying $6 for a pack ofcigarettes and may be feeling the effects —increased risk of life-threatening diseases,premature aging, shortness of breath,impact on physical activity — of smoking.

This program is not unheard of; many

companies nationwide do it. Sam HoustonState University and the Texas Departmentof Criminal Justice do it.

The only problem is the surcharge maylack teeth and accountability. The insuredsimply check a box saying they do not usetobacco products.

Maybe the city should add a section tothe policy, which has not been written yet,that would deny further coverage to indi-viduals who lie and say they aren’t usingtobacco and actually are. This may seemharsh, but the city does its own insurance,which means that illnesses are coveredwith money from the city coffers — tax-payer money. Taxpayers should not pay forthe bad habits of others.

Our advice would be to avoid the sur-charge altogether. Employees and cityretirees should take advantage of the cessa-tion classes and kick the habit. It’s betterfor everyone that way.

10-8 Page 4a opinion_layout 1 10/7/14 8:30 PM

Opinion Page policy

Write your officialsSTaTeGov. Rick PerryPO Box 12428austin, tX 78711512-463-2000http://governor.state.tx.us/

State Rep. John OttoP.O. Box 2910austin, tX 78768-2910512- 463-0570Fax: 512-463-0315district Office:P.O. Box 965dayton, tX 77535(936) 258-8135Fax (936) 258-7190

State Sen. Charles SchwertnerP.O. Box 12068Capitol Stationaustin, texas 78711(512) 463-0105(512) 463-5713 (fax)

NaTiONalPresident Barack Obamathe White House1600 Pennsylvania ave., nWWashington, d.C. 20500202-456-1111http://www.whitehouse.gov

U.S. Sen. John CornynUnited States SenateWashington, d.C. 20510-4305202-224-2934http://www.cornyn.senate.gov

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruzroom B40Bdirksen Senate Office BuildingWashington, d.C. 20510202-224-5922http://cruz.senate.gov

U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady301 Cannon BuildingWashington, d.C. 20515202-225-4901Huntsville office: (936) 439-9532www.house.gov/brady

tHe HuntsVIlle ItemEstablished 1850



Circulation Department: (936) 295-4911News e-mail: [email protected]


tHe HuntsVIlle Item, estab. 1850





©2011. The Huntsville Item is published mornings seven days a weekat 1409 10th St., Huntsville, TX 77342, by The Huntsville Item. USPS254-580. Second class postage paid at Huntsville, TX 77340. POST-MASTER: Send address changes to The Huntsville Item, PO Box 539,Huntsville, TX 77342.

Subscription rates:

Rita Haldeman

Publisher

[email protected]

Tom Waddill

Editor

[email protected]

[email protected]

Bill Hamilton

Business manager

[email protected]

Polly Johnson

Circulation director

[email protected]

Cecil Poe

Production director

[email protected]

the Huntsville item encouragessubmissions to our Opinion Page. Wewelcome diverse and varied opinions.However, unless explicitly noted, noopinion expressed on this page reflectsthe editorial position of the Huntsvilleitem.

Letters will be published unless theycontain content deemed inappropriateor in poor taste.

Letters need to be 250 words orfewer. the item reserves the right toedit letters for length and language andto reject letters that:





mailed. We encourage letters that address

current events and issues, and we askthat you refer to the headline and publi-cation date of the story or the letter thatcaused you to write.

all letters must be signed andinclude the writer’s address and tele-phone number for verification.Questions should be directed to thenewsroom at [email protected].

Email your letters to us [email protected]. includeyour letter in the body of the email.

THe ITem’S VIew

Opiniont H E H U n t S v i L L E i t E m S U n d ay, O C tO B E r 2 6 , 2 0 1 4 / 4 a

There’s something to be said aboutgrowth. It scares some people and encour-ages others.

The Item is encouraged by the rapid andsuccessful growth Sam Houston StateUniversity has had over the last few years,and all of the projects that have yet to becompleted.

Recently, the university opened a brand-new student health and counseling center.Over the last five years, SHSU has alsoopened or is working on the Old MainMarket cafeteria, University Camp, TheWoodlands campus, University Center,Fred Pirkle Technology Building and theSycamore Vivarium animal testing lab toname a few.

SHSU also plans on constructingInnovation Plaza criminal justice center, anew post office, a South ResidentialDistrict with a new dormitory and cafete-ria, new biology and art buildings, and amassive expansion to the Lowman StudentCenter.

Over the last decade, SHSU has grownfaster than the state average and servesnearly 20,000 students. Its course and pro-

gram offerings expand every year. And it’snot just in the areas of criminal justice andeducation, for which SHSU has gained ahardy reputation, but also health scienceswhere the university is addressing a press-ing need for more, qualified nurses andmedical assistants.

In addition, a growing online programoffers students out of the travel range achance at relatively affordable and, in ouropinion, often-underestimated qualitydegree plans. SHSU Online has a shelf fullof awards to show the effort.

Growth has its challenges. While theschool has grown in size, the lack of class-room and research space has become aproblem — although not at the fault of theuniversity. The school operates as one ofthe least funded per student of any Texasschool and increasingly relies on tuitiondollars to make up for stagnant state fund-ing.

Thirteen years ago, general revenue(including state funding, fees, room, boardand other enterprises) and statutory tuition(state-mandated) made up 89 percent ofSHSU’s total budget. University, or desig-

nated, tuition made up only 12 percent.That meant less on the shoulders of stu-dents.

The roles have nearly reversed.Designated tuition now makes up 43.6 per-cent of the total budget, which means stu-dents pay even more than before. Generalrevenue has only grown by about $10 mil-lion and statutory tuition by about thesame. Designated tuition has gone from $8million in 2001 to more than $61 million in2014 — a 263 percent growth in terms ofbudget makeup.

Students and graduates of SHSU are tak-ing the brunt of the cost for operating theuniversity, but it’s an unfortunate necessityand there isn’t really another option. SHSUadministrators are doing what they can tokeep costs as low as they can, while contin-uing to grow and offer more quality pro-grams without much more help from thestate.

In other words, they’re pretty efficient.As most people can attest, projects that gothrough years of growing pains usuallyturn out well. We’re excited to see what thefuture holds for our university.

SHSU growing faster than we think

By BoB orkand

Item columnIst

Huntsville’s Olive Gardenrestaurant opened its doorsabout two years ago and by allreports has been doing excel-lent business ever since. Folksaround here don’t seem tomind waiting 30 to 40 minutesfor a table during peak eveninghours.

With an estimated 818restaurant locations globally,Olive Garden is clearly themajor component of Orlando,Florida-based DardenRestaurants Inc., generatingabout 45 percent of the corpo-ration’s annual sales. Darden’sdining empire includesLongHorn Steakhouse, CapitalGrille, Bahama Breeze,Seasons 52, Eddie V’s, andYard House. (The Red Lobsterchain was spun off threemonths ago for $2.1 billion.)

You’ve probably dined atour local Olive Garden, situat-ed close by Target and the newAcademy, so you’re familiarwith its Italian-American cui-sine of pasta dishes, steaks andsalads. Among the restaurant’sappeals are “all the breadsticksand salad you can eat” and —to be sure — the fresh, heated,garlicky, buttery breadsticksare welcome appetizers whileawaiting one’s entrée.

Ah, but there’s the rub! Toomany breadsticks are beingserved, according to StarboardValue LP, an activist hedgefund that happens to beDarden’s second-largest share-holder with 8.8 percent of thecompany’s shares (NYSE:DRI).

Not only are breadsticksgoing to waste, getting stale

and being trashed, saidStarboard last month in a 294-slide presentation enumeratingall the things that were wrongat Olive Garden, but the chainwas paying extra for custom-length straws, the 96-itemmenu was too complex, someitems made no sense, such asvegetable lasagna topped withchicken (“If you wanted meaton your lasagna, you wouldorder the meat lasagna” readthe Starboard slide.)

Not true, responded Darden’smanagement. Unlimited bread-sticks “convey Italian hospitali-ty” and are important to thefriendly casual-dining atmos-phere at Olive Garden. As forStarboard’s allegation that thechain was adding salt to waterbeing used to cook pasta toqualify for longer warranties onits pots, Olive Garden respond-ed that it had already curtailedthe practice.

Be that as it may,Starboard’s lengthy listing ofpoor management practicescaused shareholders atDarden’s annual meeting twoweeks ago to trash every mem-ber of Darden’s board of direc-tors, replacing them with 12 ofStarboard’s choosing, includ-ing Starboard’s chief executiveJeffrey Smith. An exhaustivesearch for Darden’s new CEOis already under way.

Other than the breadsticksentanglement, there are in factsome meaty problems at OliveGarden. The Wall StreetJournal reports that soup at thechain runs $6.49 a serving,compared with $4.49 atChili’s. If you haven’t gorgedon breadsticks and still haveroom for dessert, a slice ofwhite chocolate raspberry will

set you back $7.29 at OliveGarden, compared with $5.99for apple cheesecake atApplebee’s, the newspaperreports.

Huntsvillians, like mostTexans, don’t like to dine with-out their glass of iced tea. But$2.59 for Olive Garden’s“fresh-brewed ice tea”? (I sup-pose that’s the alternative to“stale-brewed ice tea.”) Howabout $7.50 for a glass ofhouse merlot wine? (You canjust about buy a whole bottleof pretty decent merlot fornearly the same price at mostlocal supermarkets.)

Hospitality may need someattention too. Entering ourlocal Olive Garden, you’ll usu-ally find two or three college-age hostesses chatting amiablyamong themselves, fairly will-ing to interrupt their discourseto seat customers. Ah, but thenthey have to consult their seat-ing chart and — after severalsuspenseful minutes of deliber-ation — determining they doin fact have a table for you,which may or may not have aserver assigned.

A few days after Darden’sboard of directors was shownthe trash heap, USA Today sur-veyed “five restaurant industryconsultants” to see what meas-ures they’d recommend toimprove Olive Garden. Thefindings:

• Think like millennials(young adults 22-37 who com-prise about 22 percent ofAmerica’s population):Millennials want a place forfresh, healthier, customizedfood, with less emphasis onbreadsticks and unlimitedsalad.)

• Retrain the staff: Pay more

for top -quality servers andmake sure they’re knowledge-able about the food they offer.

• Become more authentic:Bring the brick oven out intothe dining room, so customerscan “see the experience.”

• Upgrade the salad: Iceberglettuce - the bulk of an OliveGarden salad - has little nutri-tional value. Substituteromaine or some combinationusing field greens. Andimprove the menu by offeringlighter versions of qualityappetizers, salads, soups, anddesserts.

• Offer better value: Pricesat Olive Garden went up —but value didn’t.

Olive Garden isn’t alone incoping with a changing mar-ket. Earlier this week,McDonald’s issued a “dreadfulearnings report,” according toThe Wall Street Journal, thatshowed a 30 percent decline inquarterly profits on a 5 percentdrop in revenue. So customertastes are changing faster thanmenus can be revised.

With $3.6 billion in annualsales, it’s imperative for OliveGarden to fashion a new recipefor success. As it reshapesitself under forthcomingchanges dished up byStarboard Value’s activist man-agement, we can hunger for animproved menu with reason-able prices, wishing therevamped Olive Garden“Buona fortuna!”

Olive Garden: Too many breadsticks?

Bob Orkand, an Elkins Lake resi-dent, taught English and social stud-ies at high schools in Huntsville,Livingston and Houston, and alsotaught courses in media manage-ment at the University of HoustonSchool of Communication.

10-26 Page 4a Opinion_Layout 1 10/25/14 7:02 Pm Page 1

Opinion Page policy

Write your officialsSTaTeGov. Rick PerryPO box 12428austin, TX 78711512-463-2000http://governor.state.tx.us/

State Rep. John OttoP.O. box 2910austin, TX 78768-2910512- 463-0570Fax: 512-463-0315District Office:P.O. box 965Dayton, TX 77535(936) 258-8135Fax (936) 258-7190

State Sen. Charles SchwertnerP.O. box 12068Capitol stationaustin, Texas 78711(512) 463-0105(512) 463-5713 (fax)

naTiOnalPresident Barack ObamaThe White house1600 Pennsylvania ave., NWWashington, D.C. 20500202-456-1111http://www.whitehouse.gov

U.S. Sen. John Cornynunited states senateWashington, D.C. 20510-4305202-224-2934http://www.cornyn.senate.gov

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruzroom b40bDirksen senate Office buildingWashington, D.C. 20510202-224-5922http://cruz.senate.gov

U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady301 Cannon buildingWashington, D.C. 20515202-225-4901huntsville office: (936) 439-9532www.house.gov/brady

THE HUNTSVILLE ITEMEstablished 1850



Circulation Department: (936) 295-4911News e-mail: [email protected]


THE HUNTSVILLE ITEM, Estab. 1850





©2011. The Huntsville Item is published mornings seven days a weekat 1409 10th St., Huntsville, TX 77342, by The Huntsville Item. USPS254-580. Second class postage paid at Huntsville, TX 77340. POST-MASTER: Send address changes to The Huntsville Item, PO Box 539,Huntsville, TX 77342.

subscription rates:

Rita Haldeman

Publisher

[email protected]

Tom Waddill

editor

[email protected]

[email protected]

Bill Hamilton

business Manager

[email protected]

Polly Johnson

Circulation Director

[email protected]

Cecil Poe

Production Director

[email protected]

The huntsville item encouragessubmissions to our Opinion Page. Wewelcome diverse and varied opinions.however, unless explicitly noted, noopinion expressed on this page reflectsthe editorial position of The huntsvilleitem.

letters will be published unless theycontain content deemed inappropriateor in poor taste.

letters need to be 250 words orfewer. The item reserves the right toedit letters for length and language andto reject letters that:





mailed. We encourage letters that address

current events and issues, and we askthat you refer to the headline and publi-cation date of the story or the letter thatcaused you to write.

all letters must be signed andinclude the writer’s address and tele-phone number for verification.Questions should be directed to thenewsroom at [email protected].

email your letters to us [email protected]. includeyour letter in the body of the email.

Texas PoLITIcs

THe ITem’s VIeW

OpinionT h e h u N T s v i l l e i T e M F r i D ay, D e C e M b e r 5 , 2 0 1 4 / 4 a

So, another race for speaker of theTexas House of Representatives.Rep. Scott Turner, R-Frisco, is con-

testing incumbent Republican Speaker JoeStraus of San Antonio’s bid for a fourthtwo-year term.

Turner, 42, will starthis second term in theHouse Jan. 13. The for-mer pro football corner-back lists his occupationas motivational speakerand businessman.

Most observers thinkTurner’s challenge toStraus as insufficientlyconservative is less a realcontest than an effort tocall attention to Scott Turner.

It takes 76 of the House’s 150 membersto elect a speaker. At least 73 of theHouse’s 98 incoming Republicans saythey’ll support Straus – not includingStraus.

Straus, 55, will almost certainly alsohave the support of most of the 52Democrats. They know Straus is conser-vative. But they also have found in him acommon-sense, member-sensitive leader,who wants government as frugal andsmall as possible, but also to meet itsresponsibilities like transportation, educa-tion, and health care.

Plus, he understands legislators need to“vote their districts” as their constituentsexpect them to.

Until the 1970s, no speaker servedmore than two consecutive two-yearterms. But since 1975, no speaker hasserved fewer than three.

Democrats Billy Clayton served eightyears (1975-83), Gib Lewis 10 (1983-1993), and Pete Laney 10 (1993-2003).Republican Tom Craddick served six(2003-09).

Reasons for the longer tenures includeTexas’ switch from two-year to four-yearterms for most statewide officials, begin-

ning in the 1974 election.The idea was to extend terms, and

schedule the elections in non-presidentialyears, to avoid conservative Democratsbeing dragged down by a more liberalpresidential candidate atop the ballot.

Longer terms also gave governors andother officials a chance to govern, withoutimmediately facing re-election. They alsocould seek a presidential nomination with-out sacrificing their current office.

The switch to four-year terms, however,reduced the opportunities for speakers torun statewide.

In the 40 years before 1974, at least sixHouse speakers ran for statewide office,including Coke Stevenson for lieutenantgovernor (1938); Price Daniel Sr. forattorney general (1948); Waggoner Carrfor attorney general (1960); JamesTurman for lieutenant governor (1962);and Ben Barnes for lieutenant governor(1968). All but Turman won.

But in the 40 years since 1974, nospeakers have run statewide. There havebeen fewer opportunities to seek an officewithout contesting an incumbent.

Clayton wanted to run statewide, andeven had stationery printed for a run foragriculture commissioner in 1982.

But a federal indictment for allegedlytaking a bribe in the Bri-Lab sting opera-tion, even though Clayton was acquitted,killed his chances. He did not run, andrelinquished the speakership to Lewis.

Another reason speakers stay longer isthe realization that, along with the gover-nor and lieutenant governor, it is one ofthe top three most powerful posts in anincreasingly powerful state government.

President Lyndon Johnson’s “GreatSociety” in the 1960s escalated the federalgovernment’s using federal matchingfunds as bait to get states to carry out pro-grams like education, health care, trans-portation, water and others. As a result,state legislatures had some control overdispensing a lot more money.

That gave the speaker more power, andthe longer he stayed, the more it grew.Moving to statewide offices other thanlieutenant governor, governor, or U.S.Senator was no longer a step up.

Plus, a speaker doesn’t have to runstatewide – just win their home district,and the votes of 75 House colleagues.

Lewis served for a decade, and proba-bly wanted to stay longer. But in his finalterm, he ran afoul of laws about illegalgifts, and basically plea-bargained awaycontinuing as speaker to avoid a nastytrial.

Lewis’s successor Laney also hoped towin a sixth term as speaker in 2003. ButRepublicans swept statewide offices in the1998 elections, and gained control of thefive-member Legislative RedistrictingBoard in 2001 for the first time.

The LRB drew new district lines favor-ing Republicans for 2002 elections. Thatturned the House from 78-72 Democraticto 88-62 Republican in 2003. AndRepublican Tom Craddick ousted Laney.

But Craddick’s autocratic and partisanleadership wore thin even with someRepublicans. After three terms, and adecline of 12 Republicans in the House, to76, 11 ABC Republicans – “Anybody ButCraddick” – vowed to change things.

In early 2009, they chose from amongtheir number second-termer Straus as theirspeaker candidate. They then joined withmost of the House’s by-then 74Democrats for a majority to elect Strausand boot Craddick.

Since then, Straus has stood off otherRepublican challengers, with the insur-ance policy of Democrats realizing Strausis more reasonable than the alternatives.

Like Scott Turner. It will be interestingto see how many votes he gets – if indeedthere is a vote at all.

davemcneely

Longer tenure for Texas House speakers

Welcome to Huntsville, Dr. WrightAfter two unanimous votes

Thursday that made official thehiring of new Huntsville ISDSuperintendent Howell Wright,a few of the board memberswelcomed the district’s newboss and his wife to town.

Justin Brock went first.Wearing a green-and-whiteHornets windbreaker, Brocksaid he couldn’t wait to startworking with Dr. Wright. Hestressed that there would bechallenges, but confidently,Brock said the district couldreach its goals if everyoneworks together.

We believe that’s the key. Weall have to work together.

We’ve got to help Dr. Wrightand Deputy SuperintendentSonny Cruse, who did an out-standing job as the district’s

interim superintendent duringthe first semester of the 2014school year.

It’s true, Huntsville ISD hassome serious challenges.Improving test scores, webelieve, tops the list.

Wright cannot snap his fin-gers and make that happen byhimself. He’s got to have helpfrom the district’s principals,teachers and administrators,plus all of the public school stu-dents and parents.

Everybody’s got to be onboard.

We hope Wright can helpHuntsville ISD overcomefinancial challenges caused bythe district’s limited tax base.

The district may need to lookinto holding another bond elec-tion to deal with its aging

school buildings and facilities,but that should be put on holdfor a while until the new super-intendent and his staff takescare of other more pressingmatters.

Again, we urge a hugeemphasis being placed onimproving test scores.Huntsville ISD’s reputation hastaken a huge hit over the lasttwo or three years, and the bestway to improve the district’simage is to post higher scoreson the state’s standardized tests.

Teachers, students, princi-pals, administrators and parentshave been concentrating a lot ofenergy on improving test scoresin this school year, and withWright now in place, evenmore time can be devoted toreversing a troubling trend that

has resulted in parents movingtheir children away from HISD.

Wright must keep buildingup teacher morale. It wouldhelp if our new superintendentis a master motivator, someonewho can bring down the higherthan average teacher turnoverrate in the district.

We also need a superintend-ent with a firm hand when itcomes to discipline. Wright’sdoor should always be open toconcerned parents, but he alsomust support and trust histeachers and principals.

The job Wright signed up forThursday is not an easy one.But like Brock and others saidbefore the ink was dry on thenew superintendent’s contract,the district can reach its goals ifwe all work together.

Contact Texas Politics columnist Dave McNeelyby email at [email protected] or byphone at (512) 458-2963.

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