My colleague Heather has posted on her blog about changes that are needed in the governor's office. Heather welcomes Kay Bailey Hutchison to the governor's race, and expresses her intent to support KBH for governor. Mostly, Heather wants Rick Perry out of the office, and suggests that term limits are needed for the position. I could not agree with you more Heather! Not only do we need term limits for statewide offices such as governor, but we need term limits on every elected position in government, whether it's local, state or federal.
Does anyone out there still believe we have a representative government that serves the will of the people? I sure don't. We have a government made up of elected officials who are power-hungry, self-serving and out to make a career out of "public service." A lack of term limits encourages this. Candidates for elected office run on a platform of promises: If you elect me, I will be the true representative of your interests! What choice do we have but to vote for them and hope for the best. So we elect them, and once they take their seat, whether it's the state legislature or the US Congress, they become part of the problem. Their decisions are based on what will get them elected the next time around. Once they have some power, they seem willing to do whatever it takes to hold onto it, all the while feathering their nests with the perks that come with the job. Some corporate-sponsored private jet travel here, some campaign contributions from lobbyists there, while becoming further out of touch with their constituency. They can't be there for important votes that affect our lives, but they never fail to show up to vote themselves a pay raise.
Our government exists to serve the people. The framers of our system of government never envisioned the career politician of today. Public servants were meant to go to Washington, or to the state capitol, serve their families, neighbors and communities, then return home and go about their business, while some other citizen took on the temporary role, and so on. I am convinced that the framers of our Constitution never saw a need for term limits, but if they had known we would end up with the system we have today, they would have written them in. The problem we face today is that the elected officials and legislators we need to impose term limits on are the very people who would need to vote the limits into law in the form of a constitutional amendment. Widespread support for such a measure is unlikely, as current seat holders are unlikely to vote in favor of something that puts them out of a job.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Run Bill, Run!
Bill White, current three-term mayor of Houston, announced last week that he has scrapped plans to run for Kay Bailey Hutchison's yet-to-be-vacated Senate seat, and has decided instead to run for governor of Texas. As a newcomer to Texas, I have only recently become familiar with Bill White. I read a fascinating and impressive profile of him in Texas Monthly that turned me into an instant fan.
Bill White posted a video on line in which he lays out the issues he plans to focus on in the campaign:
What a breath of fresh air versus the politics as usual that we've seen recently from the other serious candidates running for governor. White refrains from attacking other candidates, directly or indirectly. The only allusion he makes to other candidates or the race itself is when he predicts that negative ads will be forthcoming from his opponents.
Rather than attacks or political posturing, White gets right down to some substantial issues in this short announcement video. His overall point is that he wants Texas to be a leader in innovation and opportunity for the rest of the nation. He mentions several obstacles to achieving this, that presumably he would address as governor: Texas' high dropout rates, increasing insurance and utility costs for Texas families, lack of health insurance for kids, and higher-education tuition increases. I'm left wondering, however, how much of this White can address if he is elected to the position of one of the weakest governors in the nation. I wonder also whether White can successfully make the adjustment from his current position as a strong mayor, to that of weak governor.
As neither a Republican nor a Democrat, I tend to vote based on the merits of an individual candidate. Bill White's record as mayor of Houston is more impressive to me than anything I've seen from the other candidates for governor. Considering the dismal record of Democrats vying for statewide office in Texas over the last 15 years, White's chances don't look very good. Bill White has my vote, and if he can win over enough of the non-affiliated voters like me, who now make up the majority of the Texas electorate, maybe he'll have a shot after all.
Bill White posted a video on line in which he lays out the issues he plans to focus on in the campaign:
What a breath of fresh air versus the politics as usual that we've seen recently from the other serious candidates running for governor. White refrains from attacking other candidates, directly or indirectly. The only allusion he makes to other candidates or the race itself is when he predicts that negative ads will be forthcoming from his opponents.
Rather than attacks or political posturing, White gets right down to some substantial issues in this short announcement video. His overall point is that he wants Texas to be a leader in innovation and opportunity for the rest of the nation. He mentions several obstacles to achieving this, that presumably he would address as governor: Texas' high dropout rates, increasing insurance and utility costs for Texas families, lack of health insurance for kids, and higher-education tuition increases. I'm left wondering, however, how much of this White can address if he is elected to the position of one of the weakest governors in the nation. I wonder also whether White can successfully make the adjustment from his current position as a strong mayor, to that of weak governor.
As neither a Republican nor a Democrat, I tend to vote based on the merits of an individual candidate. Bill White's record as mayor of Houston is more impressive to me than anything I've seen from the other candidates for governor. Considering the dismal record of Democrats vying for statewide office in Texas over the last 15 years, White's chances don't look very good. Bill White has my vote, and if he can win over enough of the non-affiliated voters like me, who now make up the majority of the Texas electorate, maybe he'll have a shot after all.
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