Background on SBOE Vote

“A Vote for the Record Book”
by Donna Garner
5.5.11

*Today’s vote on HB 600 (State Board of Education/E120 redistricting map) will be one of the prime votes by which conservatives rank candidates when it comes time for the 2012 elections.


THIS AFTERNOON

In spite of our pleas to our Texas Legislators, they have managed to pass one of the most dastardly bills to come out of this session because if left to stand, the Texas State Board of Education redistricting map will negatively impact what happens to our public schools for ten years to come.

The House took a record vote today on HB 600 (Sen. Seliger’s rogue E120/SBOE redistricting map) and concurred with the Senate.

The vote in the House today was 80 yeas, 61 nays, 3 present not voting, 2 absent excused, and 4 absent.

The representatives who voted against the dastardly HB 600 (Sen. Seliger’s rogue E120) in the House this afternoon were Allen; Alonzo; Alvarado; Anchia; Berman; Burnam; Cain; Christian; Coleman; Davis, Y.; Dutton; Eiland; Farias; Farrar; Flynn; Gonzales, V.; Gonzalez; Guillen; Gutierrez; Harper-Brown; Hernandez Luna; Hochberg; Howard, D.; Hughes; Johnson; King, P.; King, T.; Landtroop; Larson; Laubenberg; Lozano; Lucio; Mallory Caraway; Margo; Marquez; Martinez; Martinez Fischer; McClendon; Menendez; Miles; Muñoz; Naishtat; Oliveira; Paxton; Perry; Pickett; Quintanilla; Raymond; Reynolds; Rodriguez; Simpson; Taylor, L.; Taylor, V.; Thompson; Truitt; Veasey; Villarreal; Vo; Walle; White; Zedler. 

Please take time to thank these courageous representatives who voted against HB 600.

When HB 600 (Sen. Seliger’s rogue E120) was passed in the Senate on 4.29.11, the only two Senators who voted against it were Sen. Brian Birdwell and Sen. Dan Patrick.  Please take time to thank both Sen. Birdwell and Sen. Patrick.

You can go here and click on “Record Vote -- 5.5.11” to see for yourself how the House members voted:

http://www.legis.state.tx.us/BillLookup/Actions.aspx?LegSess=82R&Bill=HB600

Now HB 600 (Sen. Seliger’s rogue E120) has been sent to Gov. Perry’s desk.

We have a chance to stop this bill.  I beg of you to call Gov. Perry and tell him that we want him to veto HB 600 and announce a Special Session to produce a fair and equitable SBOE map, honoring the conservative voting patterns reflected on Nov. 2, 2010.

Gov. Perry is one of the most conservative Governors in the entire United States. I believe he will listen to us if we make our voices heard.

Gov. Perry’s phone numbers:  1-800-252-9600; 512-463-1782; 512-463-2000

Gov. Perry’s e-mail address:  http://www.governor.state.tx.us/contact/assistance.aspx
 

GOV. PERRY’S THREE OPTIONS

Gov. Perry also has three options that are open to him by law:

(1)  Gov. Perry can SIGN the SBOE bill as presented to him.

(2)  Gov. Perry can veto the bill as presented to him, but then the map would go to the courts to decide the SBOE redistricting map.

(3)  Gov. Perry can veto the bill as presented to him AND CALL A SPECIAL SESSION for the purpose of coming up with an acceptable map that he would sign.


==================================
“We the People Showed up in Austin Yesterday”
by Donna Garner
5.5.11

http://alicelinahan.net/2011/05/05/governor-perry-stand-with-us-we-the-people-showed-up-in-austin-yesterday/


Yesterday 24 conservative leaders from all across Texas drove hundreds of miles at their own expense and on their own time to go to Austin to meet with the Texas Attorney General’s (TAG) office.

These 24 conservative leaders were tea party and/or Republican activists who represent thousands of other Texas conservatives who have become totally frustrated with our Texas legislature.

Most of the people who came to the meeting had taken personal leave or had left their own businesses to spend the entire day in Austin, not going to fancy malls and eating at exotic-sounding restaurants but instead to do the grunt work of strategizing for the remainder of this legislative session and for the elections of 2012. (You will soon see visual evidence of our hard work.) 

These conservative leaders have already begun spending the hours required to vet candidates for 2012, and they shared their ongoing results yesterday.  We want to make sure that the ever-growing conservative numbers of Texas voters are not fooled in the next election by those who run as conservatives and then legislate as left-leaning Republicans-in-Name-Only (RINO’s) as we have seen in this present legislature.


OVER 3,500 SIGNATURES ON OUR PETITION


One of the things that we did was to present our petition that held over 3,500 names, gathered in only 6 days.  This was the petition that voiced Texas citizens’ passionate displeasure over the redistricting process that we have seen thus far by the Texas Legislature. The redistricting process will determine the direction in which Texas will go for the next ten years!

 Next stop for the petition is Gov. Perry’s office. It is not too late for other concerned citizens to sign the petition at:

 http://austinreteaparty.com/Signthepetition.aspx