Tag Archives: Leticia Van De Putte

Another way to become Tier One

Posted on September 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

There’s more than one way to achieve Tier One status, at least for some universities. When Ricardo Romo became president of the University of Texas at San Antonio a decade ago, he resolved to transform the sleepy commuter campus into … Continue reading →

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Kirk Watson not running for Governor

Posted on August 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Phooey. There’s been a lot of speculation about my plans for the next election. Well, I’ve decided what I’m going to do, and I want to announce it to you all first. I will run for re-election to the Texas … Continue reading →

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Dems attack Perry over stimulus funds

Posted on August 2, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Good to see. Texas Democratic lawmakers Thursday defended President Barack Obama’s stimulus package against criticism from Republican leaders, saying Texas is making economic progress with the help of recovery funds. Texas state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, said … Continue reading →

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The latest Lyceum poll

Posted on June 25, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Lyceum just released a poll on various campaigns and politicians, and well, I’m not sure that it says much of anything. I’ve got the PDF here, and the problems begin right away: We interviewed Texas adults during the … Continue reading →

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Schieffer announces

Posted on June 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte is out. State Sen. Kirk Watson may or may not jump in. Tom Schieffer is in. After a rally in front of the Fort Worth elementary school he attended, Schieffer plans stops in Houston … Continue reading →

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Kirk Watson on the vetoes

Posted on June 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

State Sen. Kirk Watson gives his view of Governor Perry’s vetoes. As he was one of the biggest victims of Perry’s pen, he had a lot to complain about. Among the bills he discusses is one I hadn’t been aware … Continue reading →

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Van de Putte says she’s not running for Governor

Posted on June 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, who has been contemplating a run for Governor next year, has sent out a press release saying that she will not do so. Here it is: Statement of Senator Leticia Van de Putte regarding … Continue reading →

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So what happens now?

Posted on June 1, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Hell if I know. In a last-minute legislative meltdown, the Texas Senate adjourned Monday night without passing key measures to avert a shutdown of the Texas Department of Transportation and other state agencies, raising the specter of a special session … Continue reading →

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Van de Putte gearing up

Posted on May 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

With sine die just around the corner (and God willing, no special session), we may start to get some answers to the questions about which legislators might be running for higher offices. One of them is State Sen. Letitia Van … Continue reading →

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Dems say they can block McLeroy

Posted on May 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Good for them. San Antonio Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, who chairs the Senate Democratic Caucus, said all 12 Democrats in the Senate plan to vote against the nomination [of Don McLeroy as Chair of the State Board of Education]. … Continue reading →

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Get ready for the next school funding lawsuit

Posted on April 29, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The handwriting is on the wall. Property tax cuts and a stingy state budget have left many Texas school districts saying they are short-changing children and warning of another lawsuit attempt to force reforms. Texas lawmakers plan to increase school … Continue reading →

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Statewide race for Earle?

Posted on April 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Well, this is interesting news. Retired for all of four months, former Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle is considering running for a new job, possibly as the state’s top lawyer. “There have been people who have talked to me … Continue reading →

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Everyone has an opinion on Kay and Rick

Posted on April 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Former Congressman Martin Frost thinks Rick Perry has a good shot at winning his primary against Sen. Hutchison. Perry, who won with less than 40 percent in a four-way general election field in 2006, is not popular with the general … Continue reading →

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Senate passes SB1569, but may not be able to override a veto

Posted on April 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Senate passed SB1569, the bill that accepts stimulus funding for unemployment insurance, by a 19-11 vote today. As Elise noted on Twitter, two Senators flipped to No for final passage; one other Senator was either absent or did not … Continue reading →

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TYD convention

Posted on April 17, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Sadly, I am no longer young enough to be considered a “Young Democrat”. But I’m still young enough to tell you about the Texas Young Democrats convention going on this weekend in Austin. Here’s actual YD George Nasser with the … Continue reading →

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Senate passes budget

Posted on April 2, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The good news is that the budget presented by the Senate isn’t a big step backwards, which was a real concern given the bleak financial picture and the huge obligation of the property tax cuts, which we continue to be … Continue reading →

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Meet Tom Schieffer

Posted on March 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Real good interview by BOR’s Todd Hill with prospective Democratic candidate for Governor Tom Schieffer. I’ve said before that while I’m glad to see a Democrat with some stature take steps towards the Governor’s race, Schieffer is a big unknown … Continue reading →

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Lege versus Gov on unemployment funds

Posted on March 12, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Showdown time. The House committee charged with recommending how to use the federal stimulus money does not see eye to eye with Gov. Rick Perry on the $555 million for unemployment insurance. In a 5 to 1 vote, the committee … Continue reading →

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Today’s the day for Voter ID in the Senate

Posted on March 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Ready or not, here comes the voter ID battle in the Senate. There’s a chance today will merely be Day One of this fight, as Patricia Kilday Hart notes in her preview. Sen. Robert Duncan, who will chair tomorrow’s Committee … Continue reading →

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Here come stimulus money

Posted on March 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The first batch of funds is arriving. The Department of Housing and Urban Development allocated more than $500 million to Texas cities and counties on Monday, part of a wave of stimulus money expected to flow into the state. Federal … Continue reading →

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Schieffer jumps in

Posted on March 2, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We have a candidate, one not named Kinky. Former U.S. Ambassador Tom Schieffer of Fort Worth has just announced he is taking his first formal step toward seeking the Democratic nomination for governor during a Texas Independence Day press conference … Continue reading →

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Interview with State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte

Posted on March 2, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As I mentioned on Friday, I had the opportunity to speak with State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte. She’s the chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus (I mistakenly said “House Democratic Caucus” in my intro, but got it right after … Continue reading →

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One more PPP poll

Posted on February 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

PPP does the Governor’s race, general election-style. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Rick Perry would both best Democrat Tom Schieffer in a potential gubernatorial face off next year, although the race has some potential to be competitive if the current Governor … Continue reading →

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Will we or won’t we fix unemployment insurance?

Posted on February 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a lot of money riding on the answer to that question. The lure of $555 million in federal stimulus money for additional unemployment insurance has Texas legislators mulling whether to expand unemployment benefits to more workers. To get that … Continue reading →

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Voter ID debate set for the Senate

Posted on February 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I did an interview with State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte this evening, and in the course of our conversation, which I’ll be publishing on Monday, she said that there was a hearing set for voter ID legislation – presumably … Continue reading →

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The sad state of sex education in Texas

Posted on February 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We do a really lousy job of it. In sex education classes, 94 percent of Texas school districts teach that abstaining from sex is the only healthy option for unmarried couples, and, in many cases, students are given misleading and … Continue reading →

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KBH leads Perry in early poll

Posted on February 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Last week, the polling firm Public Policy Polling asked the readers of its blog which state they should do next. The readers, with a little help from us bloggers, picked Texas. PPP has the results of its first poll up … Continue reading →

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The case for Van de Putte

Posted on February 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Robert Ryland makes his case for a gubernatorial run by Sen. Leticia Van de Putte. Go check it out and see what you think. That Facebook group is up over 300 members in less than two days, by the way. … Continue reading →

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Van de Putte profile

Posted on February 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Really nice article in the SA Current about San Antonio’s Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, the Democratic caucus leader and a rising national star who had a pretty busy year in 2008 and may be headed for bigger things next … Continue reading →

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More on Schieffer

Posted on February 12, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Still not sure what I think about potential Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Schieffer, but at least as long as he’s out there at least there will be someone who can provide some counterweight to the Rick ‘N’ Kay Show. Although … Continue reading →

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So how’s the state of our state?

Posted on January 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Well, you can read the text of Governor Rick Perry’s State of the State speech and see for yourself what it was all about. Frankly, I think Matt got it in one: This was a campaign speech. I mean, stem … Continue reading →

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