Representation In Austin, Texas there are seven members of the city council. Members of the council consist of five council members, and a mayor pro tem, and a mayor. The mayor, Lee Leffingwell, has resided in Austin his entire life. He attended college at the University of Texas where he majored in Mechanical Engineering. He is married and has three children and has six grandchildren. Leffingwell served on the city council for four years before becoming the elected mayor in 2009. He was then reelected in 2012, and will be serving until December 15th, of this year (2014). The mayor is democratic and upholds Austin’s liberal beliefs. Next up on the tier of representation is the governor. The governor of Texas is republican Rick Perry. Similar to Leffingwell, Perry is a native Texan. He grew up in a small town near Forth Worth, where he lived the majority of his youth. He then attended Texas …show more content…
Senator Kirk Watson was elected for this position in 2006. Previously, Watson was the mayor of Austin and was also a member of the Chamber of Commerce. The areas he covers are Travis County ( where I live) and Bastrop County, which is right outside of Austin. Graduating from Baylor University located in Waco Texas, Watson ended with superb grades and was top of his class. He is married and has two children. With many policy focuses, one of the main principles Watson stands for is accessible health care for people of all ages. In relation to the Texas State Senator representative, the Texas State Representative is another worth mentioning. Democrat Donna Howard serves as the representative for my district 48, and was born and raised in Texas. She lived in Austin, and attended the University of Texas where she obtained her Masters in Health Education. She has served as part of the house of the representatives since 2006, and continuously has won her elections, gaining support for her
Subsequently Lee retired from Delta Air Lines. He had decided to become a volunteer at Austin to work on environmental issues, and in 1999 he was appointed to the Environmental Board by the city council of Austin, to eventually be promoted to chairman by his fellow colleagues. Lee later ran for place 1 in Austin city council and won in 2005, suffering through the unexpected death of his wife just two weeks before Election Day. Lee was married to his now deceased wife, Julie Byers, she was a registered nurse at a hospital in Austin, Lee and Julie are the parents of three, and also the grandparents of six. He was later re-elected as the city mayor in 2012. He was running on issues such as increasing the public transparency, investing in the infrastructure of transportation, and supporting more small businesses, although Lee has always had a more particular interest for the environmental issues such as water conservation, banning p...
An issue in Texas today is whether the public have sufficient control over the executive branch of Texas government. Texas has a plural executive, which mean the public not only elects the Lieutenant Governor, but also the Attorney General, Comptroller, Land Commissioner, and Agricultural Commissioner (Benson, Clinkscale, and Giardino 216). These elections add significantly to the “long ballet” that the public can vote for. Some argue that because there are so many to vote for, people cannot adequately vote for the positions. The research and attention needed to stay up to date on the elections can steer people away from voting. Many people vote for the governor and the lieutenant governor because of the title and how high the positions are.
...tory of this great state to. Dolph and his legacy will live on in Texas for many years and some of the policies and procedures that he established will be transferred down from one governor to the next. Even if it changed a bit here and there, those policies will be basis for Texas’s governors and politicians in the future. This has been a glimpse of a truly great man in the history of Texas. This was a surprising and refreshing revelation to find that at least some part of our American history was a grand memory. This is in contrast to some of the great tragedies in Texas’ history.
The people of Texas are diverse and carry their “big can-do attitudes and accents” (Pearson); making Texas a bigger than life state. The political culture of Texas is impacted by two different subgroups of individualistic and traditionalistic characteristics. The combination of traditionalism and individualism has had a huge impact on the state and Texas’ seven different constitutions. The shift in power between 1827 and 1876 has impacted the political diversity Texas has today. Looking at the specifics of these subcultures, the traditionalists believe government should benefit the wealthy and powerful, and that government services must be limited.
The Texas Legislature is far too archaic to provide consistent leadership for a state government; Congress has become too enmeshed with the executive branch and leaves blurry lines drawn in its separation of powers. The ideal legislature would be a modernized version of what the Texas Constitution created.
Texas went through a great amount of political change from being dominated by the Democratic Party during the 1960s and 70s, from the Republican Party taking over in the 80s. One of the big reasons for this change was due to the political party’s views. Throughout this essay I will discuss the changes of the political stances in Texas as well as the present day factors that affect America.
In the United States, for the last four decades, from Richard Nixon to Ronald Reagan through the two Bush Presidencies, the Republican Party won the White House by amassing large margins among white voters (Lizza.) The state of Texas has been reliably Republican since the 1970s and there are various elements to Texas political culture that can be narrowed down to three essential ideological trends: economic liberalism, or faith in the free market economy, social conservatism, or favoring traditional values and moralism, and populism, or promoting the rights and worthiness of ordinary people (Texas Political Culture.) As a result, the dominant political mood in Texas favors low taxes, minimal government services, and policies that are pro-business. This phenomenon is not static, however, since changing demographics in the state are causing changes in the profile of Texas in reference to electoral politics, among other major issues. This paper will explore different perspectives about the changing demographics of Texas, and where they might lead the state politically, and will present a variety of viewpoints regarding this complex subject.
In the youth of Texas, the Democratic Party enjoyed electoral dominance on all levels of state government and in the representation in the national government. Democratic rule was dominated by a conservative white political elite that strongly promoted economic development, but that resisted change either in race relations or social programs for the poor ("Texas Politics," 2009). Republicans were not completely absent during this period, but their electoral victories were few and limited in scope ("Texas Politics," 2009). In every election after 1980, however, the Republican strength grew into the now dominant rule that currently reigns in Texas. Since the 1990’s, the Republican Party, despite the attempts of others, has had a stronghold on the state government. With that being said, the Republican Party has dominated the overall elections.
Texas politics is an interesting ecosystem of power, rules and regulations. Of course, in typical Texas fashion, most of the politics we engage in we do our own way. From governors who stay in office for a decade to our extremely diverse demographics, Texas is extremely unique. This uniqueness of course comes with its critics, benefits, and downsides. This is particularly true with the Texas Court system compared to both the federal courts and many other states.
Gibson, Jr, L. T., & Robison, C. Government and politics in the lone star state. (eighth ed.). Pearson.
The government of the state of Texas is a difficult and complicated institution that is composed of many different levels. The question comes in to everyone's mind at one time or another whether or not to trust the government. It could be that people believe that the officials will take advantage of their power, or simply people don't like the idea of being controlled by someone who is not a family member or friend. To avoid this centralized power, the government is divided into stages and this is a reasonable ground for trusting the government. Government runs this state and it does deserve to be trusted.
The controversy surrounding the 78th Texas Legislature between the Democratic and Republican Party state representations and senators was that there was an attempt to redistrict the recently redrawn congressional districts. This issue of, “redistricting” was indorsed by the Republican Party. The endorsement of “redistricting,” wasn’t surprising considering that the Republican Party had just won the Texas state legislature for the first time since Reconstruction. The Republican Party’s position on the issue was clear through the statements of Tom DeLay, “Texans deserve representation that reflects their values and believes.” Knowing that the redistricting would result in catastrophic losses for the party, the Democrats apposed the idea of, “redistricting.” The Democrats were so opposed to the idea of, “redistricting,” that they fled to Ardmore, Oklahoma. The justification for the party fleeing was said best in the words of state Representative Jim Dunnam, “We're here in Ardmore, Oklahoma, because the real problems of Texas are budget problems, are school finance problems, are health ...
Political culture is broadly shared values, beliefs, and attitudes about how government and society should function. Gov. Rick Perry speaks supporting strong Texas state government and minimal federal government intervention. Based on Texas’s founding origins, and experiences and orientation toward the marketplace (pro big business), who should participate in government, and the role of government. The three state political culture categories are moralistic, individualistic, and traditionalistic. Texas is a mix of traditionalistic and moralistic according to our textbook. The moralistic New England Puritanism view of the common good, government should promote public good. Individualistic view of government to provide order and protect property
Texas Democrats extend this philosophy to the issue of public education. “All children should be able to attend a safe, secure school and have access to an exemplary educational program that meets their needs and abilities. All school districts must be adequately and 100% equitably funded. All Texans should have access to affordable, quality higher education and career education programs.” Clearly, they believe every child in Texas deserves a high quality education, and have outlined several propositions to accomplish this goal. Texas Democrats would like to reduce reliance on "Robin Hood" and instead utilize state revenue to es...
"Texas Politics - Texas Political Culture." Welcome to Texas Politics. University of Texas at Austin, 2011. Web. 15 Mar. 2011. .