Early Education: Make it THE Issue in 2010

The more constituents and voters inquire about a candidate’s perspectives on high-quality early care and education, the more likely we can expect action to be taken on it during the next legislative session.  

During the Primary Elections, hundreds of emails were sent to both Democratic and Republican Canidates for Governor by TECEC members! Now we would like to turn your attention to the General Election on November 2, 2010.  Many important races for office will be decided at that time.  TECEC will be calling on our members to advocate for high-quality early care in different and important elections throughout the state. 

Let's kick it off with one of Texas' least understood, yet incredibly important elected offices: Lieutenant Governor

or read below for more information on the office and the two main candidates:
David Dewhurst and Linda Chavez-Thompson:

The Lieutenant Governor is the second-highest executive office in Texas government. The Lt. Governor is elected independently of the Governor, making it possible for the two positions to be from two different political parties. Despite being part of the executive branch, the Lt. Governor serves as the President of the Texas Senate, arguably the most powerful position in the Texas Legislature. 

The Lt. Governor has a variety of duties, including but not limited to:

1. In the case of the Governor’s death, resignation, removal from office, or absence from the state, the Lt. Governor steps in and fills the Governor’s place.

2. As President of the Texas Senate, the Lt. Governor is responsible for appointing and establishing the committees of the Senate. This is an area of considerable power as the committees control different public policy areas.

During session, the Lt. Governor assigns Senate bills to specific committees. The Lt. Governor has considerable discretion in assigning bills to committees because bills frequently touch on several policy areas and the Lt. Governor might prefer sending the bill to one committee over another. As a result, the Lt. Governor can reward or punish a committee and its members, or interest groups, in his/her selection of which committee a bill is assigned to.

3. The Lt. Governor serves as the deciding vote in the Senate should there be a tie.

4. The Lt. Governor serves as chairman of the Legislative Budget Board and Legislative Council, which have considerable influence over state programs, the budget, and public policy.  The Lt. Governor also serves on the Legislative Council, the Legislative Audit committee, and the Legislative Education Board.

Meet the Candidates for Lieutenant Governor

Linda Chavez-Thompson: Democrat  

Linda Chavez-Thompson’s extraordinary story began when she was born in Lorenzo, Texas on August 3, 1944. At the age of ten, she started working for thirty-cents an hour hoeing cotton with her brothers and sisters. In ninth grade, she had to leave school and to go to work full time to support her family. She continued picking cotton in the fall months and cleaning homes in the surrounding cotton farm community to earn enough money to buy clothes and food for her family.

Chavez-Thompson was hired as a Secretary at the Constitution Laborer’s Union in Lubbock, Texas and, over the next forty years, kept working to build a long and impressive career working on behalf of working people, fighting to bring fairness and opportunity to Texans in communities across the state.  (Read more…. )

Issues
Chavez-Thompson’s main issues include: health care, jobs and economy, and education. For education, Chavez-Thompson says she will create new incentives to place more math and science teachers in the classroom to prepare our kids to compete for the jobs of tomorrow; tap the Rainy Day fund if needed to ensure that no teacher loses his or her job because of state budget shortages; organize parents and communities to support their public schools and increase high school graduation rates; expand financial aid to ensure middle class families are not being priced out of a college education.

Contact
Follow Chavez-Thompson’s campaign on Twitter: @ElectLinda
Email: info@electchavezthompson.com

David Dewhurst: Republican (Incumbent)

Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst is a native Texan, proud veteran of the U.S. Air Force and Central Intelligence Agency, successful businessman, rancher, and happy father. He serves as President of the Texas Senate and is proud of the broad support he has earned during his tenure.

Through four Regular Sessions and seven Special Sessions of the Legislature, Lt. Governor Dewhurst has worked to pass legislation to create new jobs and economic opportunity, improve schools, and protect public safety.  A fiscal conservative, Dewhurst has worked to balance four budgets while holding state spending below the rate of inflation plus population growth. These conservative budgets have helped the state’s economy grow faster than the national economy and create one million new jobs in Texas over the last six years. (Read more… )

Issues
Lieutenant Governor Dewhurst’s main issues include: fiscal responsibility, border security, property rights, public safety, transportation, and education reform. Lieutenant Governor Dewhurst says the following on his website about education reform:

“Our children are the future of Texas, and their success tomorrow depends on their ability to excel in the classroom today. As Lt. Governor, David Dewhurst has been a strong champion of education reform. While he has worked to dramatically increase funding for education in Texas, David has also demanded better results from our public schools and universities. He worked to increase educational standards, phase-out the TAKS test, provide merit pay for the best teachers and control the skyrocketing college tuition.”

Contact
Follow Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst on Twitter: @Dewhurst4texas

Email: info@DavidDewhurst.com