By Michael V. Hannigan
We may still be two months away from the opening of the 84th legislative session, but that doesn’t mean there is a hiatus on politics in Texas. This week, news outlets and social media has been abuzz about the looming vote on the Speaker of the House.
For days, pundits have been counting supporters between the current speaker, Republican Joe Strauss, and the Tea Party backed Scott Turner. From reports it would appear that Strauss has the votes to be speaker again, but Turner has vowed not to back off and to force a vote on Jan. 13, the first day of the session.
Here is a story from the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal that does a good job of explaining the situation.
We contacted State Rep.-elect Dr. Stuart Spitzer and asked his take on the speaker issue, and here is what he said:
There is a lot of press and I am watching to see who is where. My father who is a carpenter taught me to measure twice and cut once and I think that is good advice here. There will be much to see over the next month and a half and I plan to take it all in and listen for what is best for the citizens of Henderson and Kaufman counties.
I’m pretty sure I remember State Rep Elect Spitzer saying on the campaign trail that he would not vote to re-elect Speaker Joe Strauss. That would be a shame. It will almost 100% assure that our representative will not be included in any decision making during the entire next session. Change is great but within the definition of politician is learning how to participate in the system to effectively represent all of us in the District.
Just sounds to me like he’s on the fence and refuses to take a stand on either side. THAT is sad to me. Strauss has held up legislation that he doesn’t like instead of letting it come to a vote. Maybe it’s time for some ‘new blood’ in the Speaker’s chair.