Brian McCall is the chancellor of Texas State University System, the first university system established in Texas. He also served in Texas House of Representatives as chairman of the House Calendars Committee and as a member of the Higher Education Committee. During his session, he passed one of the largest tax-cut bills in Texas history. The honorable McCall hold a bachelor’s degree from Baylor University, a master’s degree from Southern Methodist University, and a doctor of philosophy degree from The University of Texas at Dallas. McCall is the founder of The Empowerment Project, a non-profit organization which has sent more than $10 million worth of math and science books to disadvantaged schools in the Republic of South Africa and helped …show more content…
At the beginning of every chapter, Brian McCall talked a little bit about how the new politicians took over the position of Texas governor, which is a clever way of the transition. Although he spent 45% of the time talking about the campaign, a fair number for me, sometimes he spent 60% of the time explaining how some governors won the election, for example, John Connally, Dolph Briscoe, and William Clements in his first term. It really helps me to get to know those governors better than just reading their achievements, and I think that 60% is a large number for the campaign only. His idea of using the campaign as the transition between two administrations is very smart. I like it and I think he did really well on it, and I also think that he should shorten that part. "The power of the Texas governor" revealed not only what the Texas governors did in their terms, but also their personalities, their views, and their working styles. And because his purpose was to show their characteristics, he spent a lot of time talking about their campaign and what they did to attract the support of people and the legislators. The book gave me a flashback of Texas politics and fantastic development. Thanks to his personal experience in politics, McCall walked readers through nine terms of Texas governors and explained how the office of governor run within the broader
We are proud to introduce the next governor of the great State of Texas, Ms. Jane “Bitzi” Johnson Miller. She is a staunch Conservative Republican whose proud Texan traditions are deep rooted here in the Lone Star State. A native Texan who grew up in West Texas, she comes from a great line of proud Texans including former Governor Joe “Big Daddy” Johnson. Ms. Miller attended Harvard and earned a Master’s in Business Administration. In this difficult and uncertain time of economic recession, she has
There are many different opinions on how much power the governor of Texas should have than other states. Some people debate on whether Texas government should have a singular executive instead of plural executive. There are pros and cons of having a plural executive model and at times they believe that it can be more democratic than the single executive model. The governor’s power is debated about whether or not they have not enough or too much power with governing the state of Texas.
Texas governors are not as powerful as some people think. Their personality and appearance matter the most when being considered for a vote. The governor is seen the most rather the other officials, which is why their personality and appearance is so important. Governors used to be able to serve a 2 year term but that changed in 1974. The service term increased by 2 years. Rick Perry was elected in 2000 and is Texas’ longest serving governor. To be an eligible candidate the aspiring governor should be at least 30 years of age. Usually, the governor is a white, mid-age, male. Over time things changed when Miriam Ferguson and Ann Richards were elected. To be a candidate you must also be a U.S. citizen and at least lived in the state 5
“Last Man Standing: Politics Texas Style” is a dramatically captured documentary film on Texas Politics by filmmaker Paul Stekler, which focus about Texas politics, which constantly shift dominance of from past Democratic party to recently Republican party. This movie revolves around the 2002 party nominees, Patrick Rose and Rick Green is fighting for the House Seat in the district, which includes hometown of former president Lyndon Johnson, George W. Bush, and his father. The election for Governor of Texas first Hispanic nominee oilman and businessman Tony Sanchez for Democrat and African American decedents Rick Perry as Republican fight for the governor on the a major party ticket.
In this paper I will highlight one of the governors of Texas. Dolph Briscoe was the governor of Texas from 1973 to 1979. Not only was he a governor, he was also one of the largest individual land owners in Texas history. This in a state known for huge ranches. His philanthropy has provided support to a wide range of educational, medical, scientific, and cultural institutions. In this paper I hope to provide a little insight in to how much this man has impacted the evolution of Texas.
One major cutback in power for the governor in Texas is the fact that the governor, and lieutenant governor, must share their power with four department heads. These department heads are elected officials. Another way the governor’s power is limited is by a need for a two-thirds majority from each house of the legislature to remove a judge. It is almost like the framers of the 1876 Constitution did not trust the previous governor to run government with righteous intent. They made the chief executive work within and out of government to accomplish agendas. Moving on to the legislative branch, this branch of government was reduced in power and authority in ways similar to the governor. Salaries were lowered and terms were reduced, at least for Representatives. However, even Senators must randomly choose at least half of their members to receive only a two-year term. Perhaps the reason for this is to give legislators some time to get experience about the legislative process and yet also have fresh ideas and agendas. Most likely the most prominent way the legislature is leashed back is the biennial legislative sessions. This allows government to be slower when dealing with issues and was conceived for that express purpose by the framers of the 1876 Constitution. In the individualistic tradition, people should take care of themselves and not relay on legislators to make new laws to try to fix whatever problems people have. Lastly, the judicial branch. The judicial
Over the course of United States history, Texas has always been a peculiar state. It has had it's fair share of triumphs and downfalls, some of which were the Battle of The Alamo, the defeat of the Spanish army, and its acquisition by the United States. Although the history of Texas might seem to dominate the opinions of many, the governmental component is no different. In fact, some have debated if the very foundation of our government is a democracy or a republic. In response, and through thorough research, I have concluded that Texas is, in fact, a democracy, because there is a multitude of electoral systems, an array of elected positions that citizens can run for, and a myriad of court systems to which justice can be served.
Texas is considered a very diverse and unique state in many different aspects. It is the second largest state with more than twenty-six million people residing. People all over the state live in a variety of environments, cities, suburbs, rural areas, you name it. Of course though, like in everything else, there are always both positive and negative things. However, despite the fact that Texas have very high poverty rates and it has the second highest income inequality, Texas is a very interesting state and it has a lot of things that are worth learning about. I learned some things about Texas politics that I thought were very interesting. These topics include the State Constitution and the legislature.
In comparison to the President of the United States and governors of other states the governor of Texas occupies a very “weak” office. The reason can be traced back to conditions surrounding the New Texas Constitution of 1876. The writers of the New Texas Constitution were cognizant of their experiences during Reconstruction after the Civil War. It was during the Reconstruction period that the Union Army helped enforce the Reconstruction Constitution of 1869. The governor of Texas was granted wide-ranging executive powers in fear that a possible rebellion would occur by former confederate soldiers and their supporters. At that time Edmund J. Davis, the new Texas governor, used his executive powers to demoralize his
The most common Governmental figure in Texas is the Governor. This power is nothing more than that of a celebrity status. Although the Governor has the power to appoint independent boards and commissions, the senate has to confirm these appointments. This is called senatorial courtesy What is meant when this job is more like a celebrity is because of the Governors ceremonial roles as acting as Chief of State. This increases the Governors popularity and prestige, and broadens the image of the office. One important power or role that the Governor is responsible for is coordinating relations between Texas and other states. This can definitely be an important factor. For example, the need of federal aid during the time of an emergency can require the help of other states. The Governor also acts as the Chief Budget officer of the state. Even though the presiding officer presides over this office, the Governor does have some control. This is a very effective example of a good trustworthy system.
In my analysis of the Texas Constitution I will assess the three branches of our State Government, the Legislative Branch, Executive Branch and finally the Judicial Branch. Our State Government resembles our National Government in various ways but also in very different ways which we will review in this essay. I will identify a handful of criticisms and problems associated with the provisions in each of these branches of our State Government and identify suggested reforms that many feel are needed.
The most common Governmental figure in Texas is the Governor. This power is nothing more than that of a celebrity status. Although the Governor has the power to appoint independent boards and commissions, the senate has to confirm these appointments. This is called senatorial courtesy What is meant when this job is more like a celebrity is because of the Governors ceremonial roles as acting as Chief of State. This increases the Governors popularity and prestige, and broadens the image of the office. One important power or role that the Governor is responsible for is coordinating relations between Texas and other states. This can definitely be an important factor. For example, the need of federal aid during the time of an emergency can require the help of other states. The Governor also acts as the Chief Budget officer of the state. Even though the presiding officer presides over this office, the Governor does have some control.
The Texas governor in compared to other states governors doesn’t actually have very much power this is because in the 1875 Constitutional Convention powerful interest groups like the Grangers were determined to eliminate big government so they deiced to limit the governors powers creating what is called a plural executive meaning no one holds too much power. In Texas the governor has the power to appoint, military power, and
His campaign focused on four themes: welfare reform, tort reform, crime reduction and educational improvement. He won re-election in 1998, becoming the first Governor in Texas history to be elected to two consecutive four-year terms.
In this documentary we learn about the different views politicians have when running for many offices. Particularly, in this film, we see the diverse opinions from Rick Green, a republican and Patrick Rose, a democrat. These two politicians are running to become the Texas state representative and do so by many ways of campaigning.