Swinford Resigns - Will Go For The Money

Republican State Rep. David Swinford, House District 87 representative from the Texas Panhandle, had already announced that he would not run for re-election. He did not run in his party's primary last Spring and was set to retire when his term expired in January. He will be replaced by either Democrat Abel Bosquez, Republican Walter Price IV, or Libertarian James Hudspeth.

But those dollar signs just kept getting bigger and bigger in his eyes and he finally couldn't stand it any longer. On August 26th, Swinford sent a letter to Governor Perry in which he said he would retire on August 31st. He said in the letter, "After much discussion and consultation with District 87's leaders, community leaders and good friends, I have decided the greatest parting gift to my constituents would be to retire early."

I won't dispute that his retirement is indeed a gift to the residents of the Panhandle, but that's not why he's retiring early. In a word it's -- MONEY. He was set to take a lobbying job (after all, there's only 1500 lobbyists in Austin), but now he's also been offered a job as a consultant. He's still trying to decide which one he wants to take, but you can be sure it'll pay 10 or 15 times his salary as a state representative (at a minimum).

Swinford has spent 20 years representing the Panhandle in Austin and has made a lot of political friends. He could be very valuable to someone wanting something from the legislature, and he's planning to get the big bucks while the getting is good.

Frankly, this sort of thing shouldn't even be allowed. It has a definite stink of the unethical. Representatives (and senators) in the state legislature should not be allowed to become lobbyists or "consultants" for several years after they leave their elected legislative job (10 years sounds about right to me). These legislators were elected to serve the people of their district, not to set themselves up for a high-paying influence-peddling position.

Swinford was also playing party politics with the early retirement. He was hoping to get the governor to call a special election to fill out the remainder of his term -- a special election that would be held on the same day as the general election in November. Since the same person would probably win both the special election and the general election, that person could be sworn in early and would have about two months seniority over other freshmen legislators elected in the general election.

But to my surprise (and to his credit), the governor is not going to call a special election. His spokeswoman says "the timing and the circumstances of Swinford's resignation don't merit it." I have to agree with the governor. A special election held on the same day as the general election would just be an exercise in silliness.

Good riddance to Swinford. Now we just have to see if we can elect someone better to replace him.

Swinford Says No To Re-Election Bid

David Swinford (pictured) has been the representative for House District 87 in the Texas Panhandle for the last 19 years, but it looks like that's coming to an end. The veteran Republican state legislator says he is not filing for another re-election bid.

Rep. Swinford said, "I do love the House and I always will, because it's a fabulous institution, but it's time for someone else to represent House District 87. If I were to run for re-election, I would be 70 years old in the next session. I've been a public servant for a long time and I want to spend more time with my family, enjoy my grandchildren and see my friends here more often."

This is somewhat good news for Democratic candidate Abel Vasquez. It means he's is now running for an open seat and won't have to face an entrenched incumbent. He said, "It makes it more of a 50-50 race, because we are both running for an open seat."

That may be a bit too optimistic, because any Democrat running for office in the Panhandle has a hard row to hoe. This is still the reddest area in Texas. In addition, the only daily newspaper here in Amarillo is little more than a propaganda organ for the Republican Party.

I'm not saying it's impossible for Vasquez to win, because upsets do happen from time to time in politics. But a Democratic win in House District 87 would be a shocker to political pundits statewide.

It's not yet known who the Republicans will be running for the office. So far, names being thrown around are Amarillo mayor Debra McCartt and president of the Amarillo I.S.D. Board of Trustees Anette Carlisle.

UPDATE -- Victor Leal, owner of Leal's Mexican Restaurant in Amarillo, says he will toss his hat in the ring as a Republican.

Bosquez To Run Against Swinford

There is little doubt that the Texas Panhandle is now the reddest part of the state. There are three House Districts in the Panhandle, and a Democrat has not won one of the seats since 1994. That was Warren Chisum, who immediately changed his party affiliation to Republican after winning the seat (thereby increasing the IQ level of both parties).

The three seats are currently held by Republicans David Swinford, John Smithee and Warren Chisum. None of them has even had a Democratic opponent since 2002, when Swinford defeated Jesse Quackenbush. It looks like at least that may change for one of the districts next year.

At the Amarillo Central Labor Council's Labor Day Picnic today, Potter County Democratic chairman Abel Bosquez (pictured) will announce that he will be a Democratic candidate for House District 87. Since he is the only candidate for the position in the Democratic primary, that will pit him against David Swinford in the general election.

Bosquez says he'll make education, jobs and health care his main campaign issues. He realizes that the odds are against his winning the seat, but says, "I think I can because the tide is changing. I think I can get a lot of votes because there are a lot of people here who don't vote because they don't think their vote counts. Those are the people who will help me win this race."

I give Bosquez credit for running. The Democrats should be running candidates in all three of the races. And he may be right about large numbers of people not voting. But my question is who is going to get these voters to the polls?

Bosquez might stand a chance if he had done a better job in organizing the Democratic Party in Potter County. But it is far from organized. Half of the county's precincts don't even have a precinct chairman. How do you turn out votes in precincts without organization and leadership in those precincts?

I hate to be the voice of doom, but Bosquez looks like little more than a sacrificial lamb to me. Even so, I will vote for him and try to support him in my own precinct.

Amarillo Rep. Opposes Cell Phone Ban

Tomorrow a new law goes into effect.   It will be against the law to use a cell phone while driving in a school zone.   This is a good law, which will probably save the lives of some children here in Texas.

The law was passed in the last session of the Texas Legislature.   The only problem is the law doesn't go far enough.   It should have banned the use of cell phones while driving anywhere and anytime.   Fortunately, there are some members of the legislature that want to ban all cell phone driving, as soon as the legislature meets again.

Rep. Jose Menendez (D-San Antonio), who authored the school zone bill, is one of those supporting the comprehensive ban.   Rep. Bill Pickett (D-El Paso), chairman of the House Transportation Committee agrees, and says the committee will be holding hearings soon so a bill can be ready when the legislature convenes,   

Menendez says,   "I am hopeful that my colleagues will understand that this is a serious issue that needs immediate attention because a lot of drivers now use cell phones as if they were computers and are getting too distracted....There is already too much evidence which shows that using a cell phone while driving, whether talking or texting, puts people at great risk of getting involved in a major accident.

But our own representative here in Amarillo opposes the ban on cell phone driving.   Republican David Swinford (pictured) says,   "The people I represent are not stupid, they are smart enough to take care of themselves.   Trust the people."

What an idiotic statement.   Stats from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have shown that a cell phone driver is as dangerous as a drunk driver.   And that a fact even among the folks Swinford represents.   Does he want to eliminate drunk driving laws too, and "trust the people"?

Personally, I don't care to trust cell phone drivers with the lives of my family and friends, anymore than I'd want to trust those same lives to drunk drivers.   There are at least 2,600 deaths and 12,000 serious injuries caused by cell phone drivers each year, and this number will only rise as our cell phones are capable of doing more things all the time.

Does Rep. Swinford just not care about the thousands killed and injured each year by cell phone drivers?   Or is he just getting too much campaign money from the communications companies?   Either way is a pretty sad commentary on his position. 

Chisum And Swinford Are Out

As most of you probably know, the Texas Panhandle is one of the reddest areas in the state (hell, it's one of the reddest areas in the nation). We don't just elect Republicans up here. We elect dyed-in-the-wool right-wing fundamentalist nutjobs. It's so bad, that at times I feel like the Panhandle owes the rest of Texas and the nation a huge apology.

Two of the worst of the wing-nuts are Rep. Warren Chisum (pictured) and Rep. David Swinford. Both were die-hard Craddick supporters, and under his dictatorial regime, they had important committee chairmanships. Chisum was chair of the powerful Appropriations Committee and Swinford chaired the State Affairs Committee.

But these Craddick loyalists backed the wrong horse this year, and now they must pay the price. Craddick lost the speakership to San Antonio's Joe Straus, and Chisum and Swinford have lost a lot of clout in Austin. Both men have lost their chairmen positions. They are no longer powerful chairs who can kill a bill at their whim.

This is a very good thing for Texas. It would be better still if Democrats could gain control of the Texas House, but it's going to take another couple of years to do that. Until then, I'll settle for Chisum and Swinford losing their political clout.

Good things happen a step at a time, and this was a pretty big step.