The Texas Observer

The Texas Residential Construction Commission defended itself today during a Texas Sunset Advisory Commission hearing. Just last month, the Sunset Commission’s staff made the unusual recommendation that the agency be scrapped because it did “more harm than good” for Texas consumers.

Today, the representatives from the TRCC who testified before lawmakers did all they could to avoid taking blame. The general consensus of the TRCC commissioners was that Texas consumers needed to be more educated about the home building process.

They argued for the survival of the agency and said that HB 1038, which made changes to the agency, needed time to take effect. The legislation was passed in 2005 by Rep. Allan Ritter, D-Beaumont, who also authored the original legislation.

TRCC Commissioner John Krugh, general counsel and VP for Bob Perry Homes, who helped craft the legislation that created TRCC, said he felt the agency was “fair and unbiased” toward consumers.

He said there were a number of misconceptions about the agency such as the idea that TRCC blocks or delays court access. (Arbitration can take up to two years with TRCC before homeowners can pursue their cases in court). “We are light regulation and heavy reconciliation,” he told the Sunset panel.

Commissioner Lewis Brown said he “totally disagreed” with the Sunset staff’s recommendation that the agency be scrapped. He called TRCC the voice of the consumer. “If you take away their voice, then shame on you,” he admonished the legislators.

Rep. Dan Flynn, a member of the Sunset Commission that will help decide if the agency survives, wondered why, if TRCC was fair and unbiased, was there such a disconnect between consumers and the agency?

Krugh remained silent on the issue. The executive director of the agency chimed in. He said consumers were very upset, because they already felt abused and cheated by the builder. Once they start working with TRCC, consumers felt the process was taking too long so they started to believe the agency was on the builder’s side. He also blamed the news media for portraying the agency on the side of home builders.

The “don’t blame us” argument from the agency didn’t sit well with consumers.

Carol Hemphill, a home buyer testified that she had 215 defects in her new home. Hemphill said she contacted TRCC who acknowledged the defects but said they were powerless to do anything about it. Hemphill said no attorney would take her case because construction defect cases were too expensive and took too long to pursue.

Hemphill said a lawyer had told her that “too many roadblocks had been put up by the Legislature to successfully pursue a case for a consumer.” She said she would probably lose her home because there was no way to sell it. “It would cost $25,000 to $50,000 to see it through arbitration,” she said.

It’s difficult to believe in the agency’s independence when wealthy home builder Bob Perry, the state’s largest campaign donor, donated $17,000 to Ritter’s campaign in 2006, the author of TRCC legislation. And when Perry’s VP and general counsel serves as an agency commissioner.

The Sunset Commission will make a recommendation in December on whether the agency should be abolished.

Darn it. I got my Henrys confused. My apologies. Victor Morales actually ran against Ciro Rodriguez and Henry Cuellar (now both Dems serving in D.C.) in the 2006 Democratic primary for the remodeled CD 28 — not in the November 2006 special election against Ciro (the current Rep. from CD 23) and Henry Bonilla (the former Republican Rep. from CD 23).

Here are the results from the Texas Secretary of State:

March 2006
U. S. Representative District 28
Henry Cuellar (I) DEM 24,256 53.09%
Victor Morales DEM 2,943 6.44%
Ciro D. Rodriguez DEM 18,484 40.46%
———–
Race Total 45,683

November 2006
U. S. Representative District 23
August G. “Augie” Beltran DEM 2,647 2.13%
Rick Bolanos DEM 2,564 2.07%
Henry Bonilla (I) REP 60,175 48.60%
Adrian DeLeon DEM 2,198 1.77%
Lukin Gilliland DEM 13,728 11.08%
Ciro D. Rodriguez DEM 24,594 19.86%
Craig T. Stephens IND 3,341 2.69%
Albert Uresti DEM 14,552 11.75%
———–
Race Total 123,799

Ciro won that one in the December runoff. Once again, sorry for the foul-up.

The editors asked me to do something in the way of an introduction. I must say, I am writing here in The Texas Observer Blog with some trepidation and an almost paralyzing reverence. The Observer has been and continues to be one of the sweet spots of Texas journalism.

My name is Cody Garrett. I was born in San Angelo and grew up in Tyler and Temple. I have been to every corner of this great state, and I have covered Texas politics in print, on the web, and elsewhere for years. I always keep one eye on The Observer — watching with admiration its forays into the blogosphere.

I think what is important is the work I hope to continue — that hard-boiled approach to news and analysis. Let me just announce, I am hereby taking the plunge — and I will do my best to respect the tradition and level of reporting that has gone before.

Well, I’m off.

In an effort to keep this good-bye from falling into sentimentality or preachiness, I’ll just leave with a recommendation. “Fifty Years of The Texas Observer” pretty much tells the tale of why everyone who works for this magazine does what they do. The anthology was compiled by Char Miller and published in 2004. I came across it by accident while packing up after a different part-time job cut my position. But from the book’s earliest pages, I found a testament to this magazine’s commitment across decades to simple, yet difficult, principles: freedom, equality, and justice. The titles of the very first editorials — “To Enlighten, and Not to Suppress” (Ronnie Dugger) and “Keep Facts Straight, Stand By Convictions” (Paul Holcomb) — tells a reader everything she needed to know about this rag-tag operation. And they do it without a single pun. The current crop of contributors is decidedly puzzled by that.

As frustrating as it can be covering politics, the book is an unexpected record of progress. The problems of fifty years ago seem horrific by today’s standards. Little quirks, like the public obsession with “bra-burning feminists,” covered so well by Kaye Northcott and Molly Ivins, seem pitiable now. And even our 2003 account of House Democrats’ escape to Ardmore, Okla., seems like a story about crises averted. (”If we can stop [the Republicans] now, then my six-year-old will have an opportunity to have a Democratic Congress in her lifetime,” said Rep. Jim Dunnam, who was shooting for optimism at the time.)

And, of course, here is the place for the caveat that these problems are never resolved, just alleviated. The struggle continues. So do the happy hours, hopefully.

I’m off to San Francisco, just because it’s time for this Texas boy to try something new. Please send margaritas.

Thanks for reading. I can’t wait to see how the next blogger only makes this space better.

Today the Texas Freedom Network released a statement excoriating Don McLeroy, Gov. Perry’s recent pick for chairman of the State Board of Education, for his comments on religion and Intelligent Design in a 2005 sermon to his church in College Station. The Observer uncovered and discussed the sermon in a recent blog post.

From Texas Freedom Network’s press release: “This recording makes clear the very real danger that Texas schoolchildren may soon be learning more about the religious beliefs of politicians than about sound science in their biology classes,” TFN President Kathy Miller said today. “Even worse, it appears that Don McLeroy believes anyone who disagrees with him can’t be a true Christian.”

Today’s New York Times includes an opinion piece by James McWilliams, an Observer contributing writer, that looks at the Eat Local movement with a critical eye. The article is a slimmed down version of a longer story currently available on the Observer website.

The fine editors here at the Observer are looking for my replacement, since, sadly, I’m leaving this great position in a few weeks. Here’s the listing:

It’s a part-time job for someone eager to post daily updates to our Web site about Texas politics, government, culture, and the occasional oddity. Curiosity, solid reporting skills, and a measure of self-discipline are all musts. A bit of wit and charm and a sense of humor are also helpful. To apply, send a letter, a resume, and some writing samples to:

Editors
The Texas Observer
307 West 7th Street
Austin, Tx. 78701
editors@texasobserver.org

I’m biased, but I think you won’t find a better opportunity to cut your teeth in political journalism than this here job. Come and take it, as they say.