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REPORT TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
By: Lawrence Olsen
(December 19, 2008)

OUTSIDE PANEL REVEALS HIGHWAY NEEDS: $300+ BILLION FOR NEXT TWO DECADES

Soon after she was named in late spring, Transportation Commission Chairman Deidre Delisi selected a 12-member blue ribbon committee to study Texas' most critical highway needs over the next 22 years. Hence, the name of the distinguished body became the 2030 Committee.

At the Transportation Commission's work session Dec. 17, committee chairman Michael Walton unveiled the results of the panel’s work that started last June. Walton, who holds the Cockrell Chair in Engineering at the University of Texas, noted that six well attended public hearings were held across the state: in Austin, El Paso, Houston, Dallas, Amarillo and Corpus Christi.

In broad categories, the committee called for expenditures for the next 22 years (2009-2030) of $89 billion for pavement maintenance; $36 billion for bridge maintenance; $171 billion for urban mobility and $17 billion for rural mobility and safety. The grand total is $313 billion or an annual outlay of about $14 billion. This figure would represent three to four times what the Department has spent (in highest years) for construction and maintenance.

Transportation Commissioner Ned Holmes asked Tom Johnson, a member of the 2030 panel, whether the highway construction industry could develop the capacity if that much money became available. Mr. Johnson, executive vice president of the AGC of Texas, responded in the affirmative. "A few years back the Department doubled the lettings in one year (to a bit more than $5 billion) and the contracting industry easily met the challenge. I do not doubt that the same thing would occur if the monies became available in the future.”

The Transportation Commission is expected to act on 2030 report early next year. Besides Chairman Walton and Mr. Johnson, to see the entire committee list and to review more info about the report go to http://texas2030committee.tamu.edu/.

NARROWILY, SUNSET ADVISORY COMMISSION VOTES TO ABOLISH FIVE-MEMBER COMMISSION AND HAVE CZAR or CZARINA RUN TxDOT

By a 7-5 vote, the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission voted Dec. 16 to create a new governing authority for the Texas Department of Transportation. The majority of the 12-member board voted to establish a single commissioner, chosen by the governor and confirmed by the senate, to be the director of the agency's daily activities. The senate and house members differed significantly on this controversial question. House members Lois Kolkhorst, Linda Harper Brown, Ruth McClendon and Dan Flynn favored the one-person rule. Public members, Ike Sugg (named by Speaker Tom Craddick) and Charles McMahen (appointed by Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst), along with Commission vice chairman Senator Glenn Hegar, joined the majority. Leading the dissent against the proposal was Commission Chairman Representative Carl Isett and his no vote was joined by Senators Kim Brimer, Juan Hinojosa, Bob Deuell and Craig Estes. One should read the title of this agency carefully; its middle name is advisory. There is a long way before the June 1 end of the 81st session. All concerned with supporting the highway program in Texas need to weigh in during that time with our members of the Texas Legislature.

STATE SENATE SPECIAL ELECTION COMPLETES LINE UP FOR 81ST SESSION (we think)

On Dec. 16, Houston District Judge Joan Huffman, R, easily defeated Democrat Chris Bell in the Senate District 17 run off. This special election occurred because State Senator Kyle Janek resigned mid-way through his term last summer. This brings the 31-member state senate to a final tally of 19 Republicans and 12 Democrats; the Democrats made a net gain of one with Democrat Wendy Davis of Fort Worth ouster of Republican incumbent Kim Brimer.

On the other side of the Capitol, the recount victory of GOP Representative Linda Harper-Brown by 19 votes over her Democratic challenger earns a 76-74 margin for her party. Yesterday, Republican hopeful Brian Walker, who lost to Democratic incumbent Chuck Hopson by a bit more than 200 votes after a recount, filed notice that he intends to pursue a election challenge through the jurisdiction of the Texas House. Despite the challenge, conservative Democrat Hopson will be sworn in Jan. 13 with his 149 colleagues.

For those of you who are keeping a running tally, there are 12 candidates who have filed the required papers to solicit their colleagues for votes to be speaker. Republicans who have filed are Tom Craddick (incumbent), Jim Keffer, Edmund Kuempel, Byron Cook, Tommy Merritt, Burt Solomons and Delwin Jones. Democrats who have filed are Pete Gallego, Scott Hochberg, Allan Ritter, Senfronia Thompson and Sylvester Turner.

At this point, no one candidate has revealed that he or she has the magic 76 votes needed for victory to have the gavel during the next session. There does seem to be a prevailing view that it will be a Republican, however, given the two-seat margin they enjoy.

 

REMINDER: Join us for the 4th annual Texas Transportation Forum January 5-7, 2009 at the Hilton Austin Hotel. Go here http://www.dot.state.tx.us/ttf/ to find out more.

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REPORT TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
By: Lawrence Olsen
(November 21, 2008)

TxDOT: COMINGS AND GOINGS

Change is affecting more than the nation's capital as 2008 comes to a close. In the last few months, several long time leaders at the Texas Department of Transportation voted to retire. Accordingly, new leadership is in the process of assuming the reins of key slots within the Department.

Houston district engineer Gary Trietsch announced this July that he was ending his 40 -year career. Trietsch ran the state's largest district since 1995 and went out with a significant trophy: the early completion of the state's largest ever project, the expansion and upgrade of the Katy Freeway, which beat its six-year time frame by eight months. The contractor on five of the six segments of the project was Williams Brothers and the other section was completed by Balfour Beatty.

Today, the commission announced that Mr. Trietsch will be succeeded by Delvin Dennis, now the Deputy District Engineer for the Houston district; Mr. Dennis has been the interim director since Trietsch left August 31.

The domino effect for leadership began earlier in the year with the elevation of two district engineers to new administration posts: David Casteel left the San Antonio slot and John Barton vacated his leadership of the Beaumont district to join the second floor in Austin headquarters. Mr. Casteel was succeeded by Mario Medina, previously the district engineer in Laredo and Randy Redmond, transportation planning and development director at Tyler, assumed Barton's Beaumont mantel.

Also moving to a high-level administration post was Amarillo District Engineer Mark Tomlinson who succeeded Phil Russell as director of the Texas Turnpike Division. Brownwood Operations Director Howard Holland moved north to fill the shoes of Mr. Tomlinson. Mr. Russell was promoted to a high level administration position. With the retirement of the Corpus Christi D.E. Craig Clark, Russell Lenz moved from the head position at Abilene to the warmer & windier climate of the Sparkling City by the Bay.

As of this writing, both Laredo and Abilene have interim district engineers; we will notify you when these positions are filled.

81st TEXAS LEGISLATURE; MANY QUESTIONS ANSWERED, A FEW STILL REMAIN

First, the easy parts: Governor Rick Perry and Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, neither of whom faced reelection November 4, will retain two of three key leadership roles during the next session of the Texas Legislature convening January 13.

Secondly, the minority party Democrats gained seats in both the Senate and the House, but not much in the former. Veteran Republican Kim Brimer of Fort Worth was ousted by Democratic challenger Wendy Davis by a margin of about 7000 votes out of 300,000 cast. Mrs. Davis is a former Fort Worth city council member. Her election reduces the Republican margin to 19-11 in the 31-member Texas Senate.

State Senator Kyle Janek, Houston Republican, resigned his seat this summer and after the prelims, the finals include Chris Bell for the Democrats and Joan Huffman for the Republicans; Bell captured 38 percent in the first go round and Mrs. Huffman, a district judge, had 26 percent. The runoff is December 16. To refresh your memory, Bell is a former Houston city councilman and one term member of the U.S. Congress; he also was the standard bearer for the Democrats in the governor's race in 2006 against Governor Perry and finished second in a four-person race with 30 percent.

HOUSE SPEAKERSHIP UP IN THE AIR

When the smoke cleared the morning after the election, the count stood: Republicans, 75, Democrats, 73 and recounts, two. Republican Linda Harper Brown of Irving won her district by 20 votes; conservative Democrat Chuck Hopson of Jacksonville was victorious by 103 votes. Both challengers, quite naturally, have requested recounts. When the election began, the Republicans had a 79-71 margin. The Republicans picked up three seats previously held by the opposite party while the Democrats nabbed six from the Republicans, thus giving the Democrats a net of three.

Thus far, ten candidates, including current Speaker Tom Craddick of Midland, have filed the papers necessary to compete for the speakership. Those fellow Republicans challenging Mr. Craddick are Tommy Merritt, Longview; Delwin Jones, Lubbock; Jim Keffer, Eastland and Burt Solomons, Carrollton. Democrats who have made similar filings are Sylvester Turner, Senfronia Thompson and Scott Hochberg, all of Houston and Pete Gallego of Alpine and Allan Ritter of Nederland.

It should make for an interesting holiday for the 150 members of the Texas House and those who closely follow their activities

 

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REPORT TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
By: Lawrence Olsen
(September 30, 2008)

2030 COMMITTEE CONTINUES TO DRAW INTEREST

Amarillo---A healthy turnout greeted members of the special committee named by the Texas Transportation Commission for a hearing September 18 here. The so-called 2030 Committee was selected in July to conduct hearings throughout the state to determine needs of the highway system. Following the committee's public hearings, it will deliver a report to the Commission in December. State Representative David Swinford of Dumas participated throughout the two-hour hearing and Representative John Smithee of Amarillo also attended. An aide to State Senator Kel Seliger also welcomed the committee as the Senator was conducting a town hall meeting in the southern part of his vast district.

Howard Cowan, TGR president, told committee members of the shortage of funds on a statewide basis and of the pressing needs of the West Texas area. Mayor Debra McCartt of Amarillo also urged more funding for the Panhandle, and local elected officials from Lipscomb County complained about the lack of basic maintenance funds for their area that they said had suffered great damage because of increased drilling activity. Named this summer by Chairman Deidre Delisi, the committee has held hearings in Austin, Houston, Dallas and El Paso. Tropical storm Gustav resulted in the cancellation of the Corpus Christi hearing slated for September 4, but this meeting will be rescheduled for October.

SUNNY DAYS AHEAD FOR TGR GOLF

Buffeted by serious storm damage, the greater Houston area and Gulf Coast are looking forward to balmier days ahead. One way to enjoy the improved conditions will be at TGR's fall golf tourney, Jeff Collins of JLA Engineering, has stated. Collins is serving as the chairman of the committee for the upcoming October 21 tournament to be held at Woodforest Golf Club in Montgomery, TX. Aiding Mr. Collins in pushing participation are the following committee members: Randy Rogers, Williams Brothers; Steve Maynard, Durwood Greene; Larry Senkel, Willis; Mike Pruitt, Angel Brothers; Jamie Boyd, Boyd Consulting; Bill Fendley, Cobb, Fendley & Associates; Stacey Hillbrich, H & L Engineering; Watson Potter, Chemical Lime; Fred Simmons; Zurich Surety; Dean Alley, CMC Construction; Dale Kornegay, BorTunCo; Clint Teutsch, Moore Brothers Construction and Tom Robertson.

Please find a flyer about the tournament here.

IN CASE YOU'VE BEEN GONE.....

November 4 is just five short weeks away and on that day the citizenry will pick its 44th president of the United States. Closer to home, Texans will elect a U.S. Senator, 32 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, 16 members (just more than half) of the 31 state Senators, 150 members of the Texas House of Representatives, some statewide judicial candidates, a member of the Railroad Commission and so on. Early voting begins Monday October 20 and ends Friday October 31. I would remind those of you who might be traveling to the November highway letting in Austin that it will overlap with the election, so you might consider availing yourself of the early voting process.

 

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REPORT TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
By: Lawrence Olsen
(August 4, 2008)

BLUE RIBBON COMMITTEE NAMED; FOCUS ON HIGHWAY NEEDS

Last month, Commissioner of Transportation Deidre Delisi announced the formation of a 12-member committee that will conduct public hearings and report back to the Transportation Commission by the end of the year. Delisi, named to lead the five member Commission by Governor Rick Perry this May, said that she and her fellow commissioner members wanted this distinguished panel to focus on needs, rather than on ways to fund the shortfall in highway funding. Mrs. Delisi, a youthful veteran of state government, has stated the she and the Commission will work with the executive and legislative leadership to find answers to the perplexing questions of revenue sources.

A healthy crowd attended the initial public hearing July 24 in Austin; the committee heard from local transportation leaders representing the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority and the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization as well as officials from the Austin Chamber of Commerce and the Capital Area Transportation Coalition.

Because it will focus on a timeline of the next 20 some odd years, the special group has been named the 2030 Committee. Michael Walton of the University of Texas Center for Transportation Research will serve as chairman. The Texas Transportation Institute, affiliated with Texas A&M University, will also work closely with the 2030 Committee. Tom Johnson, executive vice president of the AGC of Texas, was named as a member of the committee.

The committee will meet again in El Paso this Thursday, August 7; in Houston, August 14 and in the Metroplex, August 21.

To see a complete list of the committee members and the meeting agenda, with specific time and sites, please see http://www.dot.state.tx.us/2030_committee/default.htm. TGR members are urged to attend these vital hearings.

COMMISSION MEETS IN WICHITA FALLS

Wichita Falls-- All members of the Commission attended an outstanding breakfast meeting at the Wichita Falls Country Club as the commission held its first "road" trip since 1996 to the home of Sheppard Air Force Base and Midwestern University here July 31. State Representative David Farabee was an effective and entertaining master of ceremonies at the early morning gathering which had many TGR members mingling with local and area officials and a contingent from TxDOT. Amanda Abrams, Zack Burkett, John Lessner, Dale Stubblefield, Arnold Oliver, Dan Reagan, Eddie Shafie, Vic Suhm and Sam White were among the TGR members in the large audience there for the eggs and bacon and the chance to meet the newest members of the Commission, Chairman Deidre Delisi of Austin and Bill Meadows of Fort Worth. Both Chairman Delisi and Commissioner Fred Underwood emphasized the importance of upcoming meetings of the 2030 Committee and encouraged the audience to attend a near by gathering, or at least to write the committee with their opinions.

Assistant Executive Director John Barton told the Commission during the hearing that a recent consultation with the 25 highway districts indicated that roughly $35 billion in projects could be readied for contract in the upcoming three years. Finance Director James Bass added that current projected revenues for that three period would leave the Department more than $20 billion short in funding those same projects.

AROUND THE LEGISLATURE

Houston Republican State Senator Kyle Janek resigned in early June. Governor Perry has called a special election to coincide with the general election November 4. Filing closes August 29 but at least two well-funded Republicans, Austen Furse and District Judge Joan Huffman are in the race and the Democrats will be represented by unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate Chris Bell, who formerly served on the Houston City Council.

State Representative Diane Delisi of Temple, a member of the legislature since 1991, has resigned. She has chaired the Health related committees in the House for several sessions; she is the mother-in-law of Commissioner Deidre Delisi.

Governor Perry has named former Transportation Commissioner Hope Andrade of San Antonio as Secretary of State. She succeeds Phil Wilson who resigned to join the private sector this summer. Mrs. Andrade was named to the Transportation Commission by Governor Perry in December 2003 and served with distinction. She also served as chairman of the commission until the governor's appointee of Mrs. Delisi.

 

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REPORT TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
By: Lawrence Olsen
(May 20, 2008)

DELISI, MEADOWS JOIN COMMISSION

Governor Rick Perry named Deidre Delisi to head the Texas Transportation Commission April 30. Mrs. Delisi replaces Hope Andrade of San Antonio who had served as interim chairman of the five-member panel since January. In addition Perry has picked William Meadows of Fort Worth to replace Ric Williamson, former commission chairman, who died December 30, 2007.

Until last year Mrs. Delisi served as Governor Perry's chief of staff. Raised in Nashville, she earned degree from Duke and Stanford universities. She was involved with the presidential campaigns of Lamar Alexander and George W. Bush and also worked for State Senator Bill Ratliff before joining Perry's successful effort to win the post of lieutenant governor in 1998. She and her husband have twin sons, nearly one year old. Her mother-in-law is State Representative Diane Delisi of Temple who did not seek reelection this year.

Meadows served as a member of the Fort Worth City Council and as mayor pro-tem. He is chairman of Hub International Rigg, an insurance company. He previously served on the Texas Water Development Board and recently as vice chairman of the North Texas Toll Authority.

TRANSPORTATION FORUM AGAIN DRAWS MULTITUDES

Meeting last month, the third edition of the Texas Transportation Forum drew more than 1300 customers and featured speeches by Governor Perry and U.S. Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson of Dallas. Mrs. Johnson, a member of Congress since 1993, is the only Texan on the majority side of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Also recognized at a special luncheon were the newest additions to the Road Hand roster. They are Mary Horn of Denton; Gene Short of Sherman; Tim Brown of Belton and Gary Molberg of Amarillo. Mrs. Horn is the Denton County Judge while both Short and Brown are county commissioners (Grayson and Bell, respectively). Molberg heads the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce.

To read more about the details of the conference, click here.

GOLF TOURNEY A ROARING SUCCESS

Horseshoe Bay--- Nearly four score TGR members and friends participated in an outstanding outing May 12 for our spring golf tournament. The winning foursome was Chuck William

Hard work by the golf committee of Bruce Bayless, Hunter Industries; Eddie Bostic, Austin White Lime; Gary Botkin, Capital Excavation; Kirby Carpenter, Texana Machinery; Kelly Morgan & Tom Robertson, Hanson Pipe & Products; Jim Siddons, Frank Siddons Insurance; Lee Solis, Austin Bridge & Road and Shelley Williams, Trinity Highway Products garnered TGR a sterling roster of event and team sponsors. Please click here to see the entire list of generous supporters.

 

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REPORT TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
By: Lawrence Olsen
(April 1, 2008)

COMMISSION RECEIVES CLOUDY FORECAST

The department's chief financial officer James Bass gave the Transportation Commission a preview of the United Transportation Program (UTP) at the monthly meeting in Austin last week. Mr. Bass noted that the UTP was a planning document only and it was restricted to forecasting available future revenues based on current law. The document also forecasts only the amounts available for letting of highway contracts. During the next 11 years (through FY 2019), Mr. Bass predicted $28.2 billion would be available. Not included in this figure, for example, is the $5 billion Texas voters approved last November for highway improvements. This program would be paid for by general revenues but is on hold until the next legislature enacts the authorization for the program. At length, the commission discussed various scenarios the staff had drafted for the utilization of these monies and the effect on rehabilitation, maintenance and mobility.

SPRING GOLF TOURNAMENT SET

Our golf committee has chosen an outstanding site for our spring tournament May 12. It is the Slick Rock course at beautiful Horseshoe Bay. Please find a registration form here. Please sign up your teams soon to reserve your spot.

Many thanks to our committee: Bruce Bayless, Hunter Industries; Eddie Bostic, Austin White Lime; Gary Botkin, Capital Excavation; Kirby Carpenter, Texana Machinery; Kelly Morgan & Tom Robertson, Hanson Pipe & Products; Jim Siddons, Frank Siddons Insurance; Lee Solis, Austin Bridge & Road and Shelley Williams, Trinity Highway Products. Also, special thanks to Hunter Industries, LTD and Trinity Highway Products for sponsoring the lunch and reception at our Horseshoe Bay tournament. To see the complete list of our sponsors, click here.

EARLY VOTING STARTS FOR RUNOFF RACES

Yesterday was the opener, not only for most major league baseball teams, but also for the early voting for the April 8 runoffs. Undetermined by the March 4 primaries were one statewide contest, several congressional races and five contests in the Texas House of Representatives.

Whoever wins the Democratic nod for the Railroad Commission seat will have the formidable task of beating incumbent Republican Michael Williams, a native of Midland. Dale Henry of Lampasas faces Mark Thompson of Hamilton for that right. Although there are a couple of races on the Democratic side in north Texas for Congressional seats now held securely by Republican incumbents, the most intensity appears in the runoff between Shelley Sekula Gibbs and Pete Olson in a GOP contest in the Houston area. This is a race with nationwide implications because it provides one of very few chances for the Republicans to reclaim a seat held by the other side. This is fabled District 22, once held by Majority Leader Tom DeLay. DeLay resigned his seat in the fall of 2006 and Democrat Nick Lampson won the general election over Dr. Sekula-Gibbs. Dr. Sekula-Gibbs lost to Lampson because the filing deadline had passed and she had to conduct a write in campaign which garnered her an amazing 42%. Later she won a special election (Lampson did not contest) to serve the final 51 days of the vacated DeLay term. She and Olson topped the ten-person field. Olson is a military veteran who has worked on Capitol Hill for Senators Phil Gramm and John Cornyn, both of whom have endorsed him, along with numerous members of the Texas GOP delegation.

In the Texas Legislature, one incumbent, George "Buddy" West of Odessa finished second in a four-person race and will face former District Judge Tyron Lewis. The other runoffs are all for seats vacated by the Republicans: Fred Hill of Richardson, Mike Krusee of Round Rock, Diane Delisi of Temple and Robert Talton of Pasadena.

Driving the turnout will be local races that may be hot in certain areas. Two examples quickly come to mind; district attorney races without incumbents in Travis and Harris County. Interesting, all four runoff candidates in those two races are females; Democratic (naturally in Travis County) and Republicans in Harris County.

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REPORT TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
By: Lawrence Olsen
(March 17, 2008)

LEGISLATIVE LEADERS URGE TxDOT TO ISSUE BONDS

Lt. Governor David Dewhurst and Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick have written TxDOT Commission Chairman Hope Andrade to urge the spending of $1.5 billion to replace the cuts announced by the Commission in November (please find a copy of the letter here). The legislative leaders suggested using the proceeds of so-called Proposition 14 bonds to bolster construction improvements. In response, the Commission bucked the suggestion to Governor Rick Perry, who selects the members of the five-member commission. Due to the December 30 death of Commission Chairman Ric Williamson, one vacancy now exists on the panel. Mrs. Andrade of San Antonio was named as interim chairman by the governor in late January. The governor’s office reacted quickly and negatively to TxDOT’s inquiry, saying it was not interested in issuing more debt that would only delay a long-term solution to the Department’s funding problems. Texas Good Roads supports the efforts by legislative leaders to stop the bleeding. At the same time, we remain critical of the legislative’s bolstering general revenue through use of funds that historically have been reserved for highway improvements. This is certainly not a recent phenomenon, occurring on a significant scale since 1986. The leaders’ letter indicates an awareness of this problem and a pledge to reduce the practice. Senate Transportation Committee Chairman John Carona has stated one of his major goals is to halt these diversions. We urge you to contact Governor Perry, Lt. Governor Dewhurst, Speaker Tom Craddick and your state senators and representatives and inform these elected leaders of your support for the proposal suggested by Lt. Governor Dewhurst and Speaker Craddick. To find the senator and state representative who represent you, go to http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/ and type in your address.

COMMISSION MEETING IN BEAUMONT SCRUBBED

TxDOT Deputy Executive Director Steve Simmons has notified Texas Good Roads that the Texas Transportation Commission meeting set for April 30 in Beaumont as been rescheduled for Austin due to “cash flow issues.” Simmons notes that the Beaumont meeting will be reset at a later time.

PRIMARY RESULTS

The March 4 Texas primaries witnessed an unprecedented turnout with the Democrats (because of a three-alarm chili presidential contest with Senators Clinton and Obama) outvoting Republicans 2-1 (about 4.3 million total votes). Underneath the excitement of the Democratic presidential debate, two Republican state senators, Craig Estes of Wichita Falls and Tommy Williams of the Woodlands, easily dispatched primary votes. Not so fortunate were eight House incumbents who bit the dust. They were Paul Moreno (D-El Paso); Pat Haggerty (R-El Paso); Kevin Bailey (D-Houston); Corbin Van Arsdale (R-Houston); Thomas Latham (R-Mesquite); Borris Miles (D-Houston); Juan Escobar (D-Kingsville) and Nathan Macias (R-Bulverde). Moreno served 38 years, Haggerty 18 and Bailey 16. Latham, Miles and Macias were all rookies. The Macias race will have a recount as he was bested by fellow Republican Doug Miller by 38 votes. Odessa Republican Buddy West, a 14-year veteran, ran second in a four-person race and faces an April 8 runoff. Other House runoffs will occur in the seats vacated by incumbents Mike Krusee, Round Rock; Diana Delisi, Temple; Robert Talton, Pasadena and Fred Hill, Richardson (all Republicans). The Republicans currently hold a 79-71 edge in the Texas House.

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REPORT TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
By: Lawrence Olsen
(February 28, 2008)

FRIDAY (FEBRUARY 29) IS THE LAST DAY TO VOTE EARLY

If you will be away from your home next Tuesday March 4, you have until the close of business Friday February 29 to cast an early vote in the Texas Primaries. Texas Secretary of State Phil Wilson has predicted the 20-year old mark for turnout will be exceeded by the end of the balloting. Obviously there is tremendous interest in the Democratic presidential battle between Senators Hillary Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois. What is yet to be determined is how this significant surge of primary voters will affect locally contested races on the ballot, specifically those for the Texas House of Representatives. Nearly 30 incumbent House members face foes in both the Democratic and Republican primaries.

COMMISSION HONORS LATE CHAIRMAN

At its monthly meeting in Austin, the commission officially named the hearing room in honor of Ric Williamson who died December 30, 2007. A former member of the Texas House of Representatives, Williamson was named to the Transportation Commission in 2001 by Governor Rick Perry and was also chosen by the governor to preside over the commission in January 2004, a position he held until his recent death. Ric's widow, Mary Ann, and two of his three daughters attended the ceremony and received a resolution adopted by the Commission.

Last month, the Commission began its annual traveling program with the gathering in Victoria. TGR hosted a breakfast that featured commission members, including the newly named interim commissioner of transportation, Hope Andrade of San Antonio. State senator Glenn Hegar of Katy, who represents Victoria, had kind words for the department during the breakfast meeting; Hegar was named vice chairman of the Sunset Commission by Lt. Governor David Dewhurst. Other road shows meetings this year will be in Beaumont (April) Wichita Falls (July) and southern Dallas (October).

FORUM RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER

For the third consecutive year, TGR is joining the Department, the Texas Transportation Institute and the AGC of Texas as a co-host for the Texas Transportation Forum April 20-22, 2008. Among the luminaries already committed to attend are Governor Perry and many others. Today would be an excellent time to sign up online at www.TexasTransportationForum.com.

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