Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst visited the Downtown Houston Pachyderm Club last Thursday in his bid for re-election:
He seemed to be in good spirits and was positive about his chances in the May 27th runoff. He focused on his record, reminding us of not only tax cuts but other bills that he has pushed through the Senate. He didn’t talk about his opponent, Sen. Dan Patrick, much but said that polling shows that if people are informed about their respective records, they clearly favor Dewhurst and that the key is getting them to the polls.
Several items that he highlighted:
- Southern Border – Dewhurst said that the state has been building up assets on the border since 2007 and reached “critical mass” in September 2013. There was a one month “surge” and they completely shut down the sector from the Gulf of Mexico to Laredo – nothing moved, including people and drugs. Now that the infrastructure is in place, we can seal the entire Texas border for a couple million dollars per month in additional funding.
- Continued improvement in schools – Dewhurst noted that the next session will have more conservative Senators than ever before and he hopes to push parental triggers and school choice through.
- Drug testing – Dewhurst reminded us that he pushed through drug testing for those on unemployment. The House blocked drug testing on welfare recipients but he hopes to pass that next session.
- Continue cutting taxes – Dewhurst talked about his overall record of cutting taxes and added that he is going to push for another property tax reduction next session. He mocked Patrick for his proposal to eliminate property taxes, saying it isn’t realistic.
Those are a few of my outtakes but you can watch his speech and see what you think.
I don’t know if he can pull this off or not. He has a tough road ahead and will need to spend $6-8 million in the next eight weeks to have a shot. He has to walk a fine line between educating voters on his record and educating them on who Sen. Patrick is. I don’t think that the current line of thinking among the professional pundits and media that he has to focus on Patrick losing in November will work. He did note that two-thirds of second place finishers win the runoff. As a supporter of Dewhurst, I hope he and his team are able to figure out the right strategy to win but recognize that at this point, it is a longshot.
In 1978, I went to work for the Oilers and found myself in the Public Relations office, working as secretary to Jack Cherry, the guy who created “Luv Ya Blue.” I sat at a desk outside Jack’s door, across the room from a sofa. Various members of Houston’s sports press, including Dale Robertson, Bob Allen, Hal Lundgren and others, including representatives of the various vendors and advertisers who did business with the Oilers would come in to see Jack and, as he spent a lot of time on the phone, they would wait on the sofa until Jack was able to see them. (Jack was a great guy—he never kept people waiting unnecessarily.) I enjoyed visiting with those who found themselves on the sofa and we had a lot of good conversations. The only person who would not wait to see Jack was Channel 11’s new sports reporter, Dan Patrick. He never learned my name and he would never sit on the sofa—he would just push right past me and barge in to see Jack without waiting. Jack didn’t like that and neither did I—it was pretty insulting. You wouldn’t believe how much pleasure it gives me to tell you what a jerk he was then. Dan Patrick has been saying he came to Houston in 1979, but I know it was 1978—Earl Campbell’s first year in the NFL. You can look it up!
On the other hand, David and Gene Dewhurst do business with my current employer. Occasionally, I relieve the receptionist in the late afternoon and on some of those occasions Gov. Dewhurst will come in for an appointment with the owner of the company. He and his DPS driver arrive, I announce him and he takes a seat in the waiting area, where he and I have a little visit. It’s funny, but every time I shake hands with him at an event, within 24 hours he shows up in the office!
Do you see the contrast?
Good post Peggy!