TX-Gov: Newsweek Predicts Bill White Will Win in 2010; White Receives Key House Endorsements

by: Phillip Martin

Fri Dec 18, 2009 at 10:02 AM CST

The Bill White for Governor campaign is gaining momentum as it heads into the final days of fundraising before the end of the year.

First, Newsweek predicts that White will win the Governor's race in 2010:

Our money’s on Perry as the victor in the March primary, if only for the anti-Washington sentiment swirling around the state. But he won’t emerge unscathed. As the primary takes its toll on his public image, doors open for the likely Democratic candidate, well-liked Houston Mayor Bill White, whose energy and planning initiatives, along with his economic management, have won him broad favor. By building a coalition of Hispanics, independents, and moderate Republicans from Texas’s growing, more Democrat-friendly urban centers, White will waltz into the governor’s mansion. But just barely.

Along with their prediction, they post the following video from PBS Houston:

Secondly, White received the endorsement of three House Democratic leaders today -- State Representatives Garnet Coleman, Jim Dumman, and Pete Gallego. The three issued the following joint-statement:

We are excited to partner with Bill White in his campaign to bring leadership to our state and meet Texas’ tough economic challenges. In Rick Perry’s decade of failure, our state’s budget has given away millions in special interest hand-outs when we should have been investing in sensible solutions that benefit everyday Texans. Texas needs leaders who put partisanship aside and let government work for the best interests of its people, and Bill White will do that as Governor.

Reps. Coleman, Dunnam, and Gallego released individual statements of support, as well. Each focused on economic issues -- an encouraging sign, to be sure. All three House Democrats have led the fight for public policy throughout the decade, and if they are coming out on White's behalf to challenge Perry on economic issues, then we should expect that -- at least at the top of the ticket -- we will have a true policy discussion on the economic challenges Perry has laid before the state.

Texas House Democratic Leaders Endorse Bill White for Governor

Reps. Coleman, Dunnam, Gallego Issue Statements of Support

AUSTIN – Rep. Garnet Coleman of Houston, Rep. Jim Dunnam of Waco, and Rep. Pete Gallego of Alpine endorsed Bill White for Governor today. The three Texas House Democratic leaders issued the following joint statement of support:

We are excited to partner with Bill White in his campaign to bring leadership to our state and meet Texas’ tough economic challenges. In Rick Perry’s decade of failure, our state’s budget has given away millions in special interest hand-outs when we should have been investing in sensible solutions that benefit everyday Texans. Texas needs leaders who put partisanship aside and let government work for the best interests of its people, and Bill White will do that as Governor.

Representative Coleman, Chair of the House Committee on County Affairs, the Legislative Study Group House Caucus, and a member of the Calendars Committee, said:

Mayor White is a fiscally responsible leader that will partner with us to wisely protect taxpayer dollars and invest in services that will lay a firm foundation for our future. The mayor shares our values and our vision for Texas, and I’m happy he’s decided to run for Governor. 

As a Representative from Houston, I've seen Mayor White, working with the Controller and a bipartisan City Council, prepare balanced budgets with surpluses to help Houston to weather the recession.

In contrast, Governor Perry’s response to state budget crises is to recklessly cut necessary programs, squander taxpayer dollars in privatization schemes, and place the burden on Texas families with higher tuition, health care, and insurance rates. We need a hands-on manager with business experience to cut state costs in times of declining revenues by finding efficiencies without compromising services.

Representative Dunnam, Chair of the House Select Committee on Federal Economic Stabilization Funding and Leader of the House Democratic Caucus, said:

Texas has paid the price for Governor Perry’s politics.  While accepting over $14 billion in federal stimulus funds to balance our state budget, he took a stand against assistance for unemployment insurance, tripling tax bills for small businesses. 

His management of state agencies focuses on what’s best for his cronies and financial backers, not for the state.  Mayor White knows how to balance a budget, but more importantly, he knows how to manage an organization.  He’s managed the City of Houston through both fiscal and tropical storms, and he has been re-elected with percentages more than double Governor Perry’s 39%. 

Our state government is lacking executive leadership.  For those in the Legislature that have worked hard to find common ground and care about the future of our state, we need a governor who is able to be a leader, not just play one on TV.

Representative Gallego, Chair of the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence and immediate past chair of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, said:

Having spent years working on the state budget, I’ve seen the real effects that bad management can have on state government. 

Pricing kids out of college is not a business plan for the future of Texas, but Governor Perry’s rising college tuition rates have been an added tax to middle income families.  The Governor and the State Board of Education are more interested in catering to the far right wing than they are in addressing the drop out problem.  Mayor White in Houston has shown what personal leadership is, not just through government action but in organizing his community and helping bring dropouts back to school. 

Governor Perry has charted a course that doesn’t invest in the future of Texas.  Mayor White has the proven track record to work with members of both parties to seek and find common ground.  Mayor White is the leader that Texas needs today.