ustxtxb_obs_1983_06_24_50_00007-00000_000.pdf

Honorable Mention CRAIG WASHINGTON DEMOCRAT-HOUSTON Almost a legend in the House, he pouted his first three months in the Senate, absent a lot tending to his law practice . . . took him a while to realize that his eloquence counted for less in the clubby atmosphere of the Senate than it did in the House . . . possibly the best legal mind in the Senate as shown in Jurisprudence Committee and floor debate . . . an Aristotelian sense of tragedy, good and evil seems to come over him when he steps away from the action . . . regarded Hobby’s not calling for Doggett’s amendment to kill Sarpalius’ filibuster on farmworkers’ compensation as “tragic,” not because the farmworker bill died, but because Hobby will never have a sense of the Senate, will never know whether or not the votes were there to kill a filibuster . . . regretted trading his initial vote for a workfare bill for a vote in the House on a bill for AFDC payments; cancelled the deal when he thought it was necessary \(“You can’t . . . believes his major accomplishment was killing bills that needed killing, including Leonard’s bill prohibiting municipal governments from banning guns, a capital murder bill, bills on Texas Youth Council jurisdiction, escape from custody, admissible evidence, and a constitutional amendment defining indictments and informations. CHET EDWARDS DEMOCRAT-DUNCANVILLE Worked hard on ethics legislation and stood with the farm workers on workers’ comp., but is considered a hard vote to get on such legislation because the Farm Bureau is headquartered in his district . . . may be a future point man on trucking deregulation, even though Central Freight is also in his district .. . also hopes to get involved with education legislation . . . some say he was too cautious this session, too concerned about his political options . . . perhaps relies too much on charm to be all things to all people . . . after Duncanville was redistricted out of Phil Gramm’s Sixth Congressional District, Edwards said he was ready to settle in and become the best state senator he could possibly be. HECTOR URIBE DEMOCRAT-BROWNSVILLE Was Senate’s most effective minority member this session .. . able to represent farmworker in terests without alienating the establishment . . . patrician air .. . feels his district is safe enough that he can vote his conscience without getting in trouble back home .. . ties to South Texas rancher Clin ton Manges . . . has Railroad Com mission ambitions . . . Water Plan Comes Up Dry The sad fate of this session’s water plan resembles the fate of the education package. Hobby pulled it together only to have Lewis’ boys kill it. Rep. Tom Craddick, the Republican from Midland who chairs the House Natural Resources Committee, has close ties to the river authorities and felt parts of the package threatened local control. His opposition degenerated into a partisan personality clash when state Sen. John Montford, the freshman from Lubbock, blocked the appointment of Ernie Angelo, a former mayor of Midland, to the college coordinating board. \(He had been appointed quick wit and relatively moderate views, by the way, turned out to be a pleasant surprise this session had helped Hobby formulate the plan. Craddick killed it by reporting individual bills out of his committee instead of the whole package. Gib Lewis could have pressured Craddick, but Lewis was none too enthusiastic about the plan either, particularly since it was known as Hobby’s plan. The lieutenent governor apparently had not sought House help on the matter and had not lined up House sponsors for the individual bills. The plan could be a special session issue, but supporters are reluctant to seek that, mainly because Tom Craddick still chairs Natural Resources. Lewis, of course, could replace him, using the rules he pushed through for himself early in the session, but he has no inclination to do so since he needs to hold House Republicans in his corner to assure himself another term as speaker. Lewis could also assign the package to the State Affairs Committee if he were so inclined. It’s more likely the water plan will be delayed two years while it undergoes a re-write, this time with House involvement. One other factor contributed to the water plan’s defeat: the opposition of former Speaker Bill Clayton. “You really think Clayton was going to allow a water plan to get through this session after his plan failed?” a supporter asked rhetorically. THE TEXAS OBSERVER 7