The Travis County District Attorney's office just put out a statement regarding this morning's criminal complaint against Tom Craddick, which was filed by campaign finance watchdog group, Texans for Public Justice. From the DA's office:

The complaint received today from Texans for Public Justice regarding Tom Craddick and the Texas Jobs PAC is being reviewed by the Public Integrity Unit.

In order to determine whether there has been a violation of the Texas Speakers Act, it will be necessary to gather additional information. The Public Integrity Unit is in the process of gathering such information and steps are being taken to secure relevant documents. Additional comments will be forthcoming as appropriate.

Austin state lawmaker Dawnna Dukes, also considered a Craddick D, has said the $50,000 was made available to her but she declined it.

Posted by Elise Hu at 4:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rumors began swirling before the end of the legislative session that House Speaker Tom Craddick's right-hand woman/Chief of Staff Nancy Fisher was leaving the office.

It is only now that the move has become official. Here's the press release:

"It has been an honor to work with the Speaker in this capacity for the past five years," Fisher said. "I appreciate the trust he placed in me, and the opportunity to play a small role in bringing historic changes in public policy. While I will greatly miss working for the Speaker, the time has come for me to take some time off and pursue outside opportunities."

Fisher joined Craddick's office in 2003 when he was elected Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives. She initially acted as the legislative director and was then promoted to chief-of-staff in 2005.

"Nancy has done an excellent job as my top advisor," Speaker Craddick said. "Nadine and I wish her all the best in this next chapter of her life, and we are incredibly grateful for her service and commitment to us."

Fisher will be leaving the Speaker's office at the end of February.

Posted by Elise Hu at 2:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you've been too busy making the holiday party/holiday shopping rounds to get your normal dose of politics this weekend, here's a quick review... some "one-stop-shopping", if you will:

Abbott Sides with Craddick
After pushing back its release by several hours, the Attorney General eventually came out with his opinion on questions posed by Craddick's challengers after acrimonious final days of the session.
Craddick had argued he couldn't be removed by the 150 member body that voted him in; instead, that he was a statewide officer akin to Lt. Gov Dewhurst, who could only be removed by impeachment, which requires 2/3rds of the House AND Senate.
Abbott ultimately sided with Craddick on the question, in a move the DMN's Karen Brooks calls "a blow against insurgent lawmakers who tried to oust the speaker at the end of the legislative session".

Ronnie Earle Era Ending
The Travis County District Attorney announced Friday he would be stepping down at the end of his term, setting up a scramble in Austin for his job and speculation as to whether Earle will run for governor in 2010. AP's Kelley Shannon says it marks "an end to a three-decade reign in which he battled some of the biggest names in Texas politics".

Cornyn Officially In
Sitting US Senator John Cornyn filed his papers for re-election Saturday morning at the state GOP headquarters. The Houston Chronicle's RG Ratcliffe woke up early Saturday to attend the filing event, and files this report.

Ron Paul Rakes It In
On the 234th anniverary of the Boston Tea Party on Sunday, Ron Paul's Austin supporters marched from the Texas capitol to Lady Bird Lake, where they dumped tea into the water (temporarily) as part of a national one-day fundraiser, which wound up taking in $5 million for the Texas Congressman.

Nationally...
Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama won competing newspaper endorsements, Obama snagging The Boston Globe's, and Clinton picking up that of the Des Moines Register. (What do endorsements matter, you may ask. But in the early states of Iowa and New Hampshire, candidates have credited the endorsements for giving them a three to five point bump.)

Both papers agreed on McCain as their candidate of choice in the Republican race. McCain also won the backing of Democrat-turned independent Joe Lieberman, which will be official tomorrow. The Politico says the endorsement "is an effort to draw attention to the McCain campaign, which needs a splash."

What's Ahead...
Tuesday is election day in Tarrant County, where Democrat Dan Barrett and Republican Mark Shelton are facing off in the runoff for the Texas House seat of retired State Rep. Anna Mowery, R-Fort Worth. Moritz/Batheja of the Star-Telegram report "early voting has been relatively slow since it opened Monday."
The race has been full of surprises (Shelton wasn't expected to make the runoff), shenanigans (anonymous election day robocalling that criticized the record of leading Republican candidates), and money -- Craddick and his financial supporters coming to the aid of physician Mark Shelton, who has pledged his support to the embattled speaker.

Unrelated...
Perhaps Dallas Cowboys fans should ban together and put pressure on Tony Romo to ditch that Jessica Simpson, who I am blaming for the disaster at Texas Stadium on Sunday.

Posted by Elise Hu at 9:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I think those of us who witnessed it are still kind of shocked and awed by what happened in the final days of the spring legislative session. That's when the bubbling movement to unseat the House Speaker finally exploded into a mystifying mess of parliamentary procedure, floor rhetoric and the speaker's refusal to recognize members.

The Speaker's challengers have asked Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott for an AG opinion on the recognition matter, and Abbott has 180 days to respond. We're all still waiting, and if you want to find out about the opinion as soon as it comes out, here's how.

Sign up for the Attorney General's e-updates on his opinions. The link is here. Notice you can also sign up for news releases, consumer alerts, etc etc.

I don't think you can fully classify yourself as a nerd until you subscribe to these email alerts. Join the club!

Posted by Elise Hu at 4:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)