Texas Race For Governor (Kay Bailey Hutchison)

It is now time to take a peek at the second candidate in the race for the office of Governor of the Great State of Texas….Kay Bailey Hutchison. Again, I realize that there are other candidates in the running but I am focusing on the two that I expect to be put up a real Texas fight. Respectfully I hope…No mud slinging you two. That is just so unbecoming.

Hutchison was born in Galveston to the former Kathryn Ella Sharp and Allan Abner Bailey, Jr.,] an insurance agent. She has two brothers, Allan and Frank. Hutchison grew up in La Marque, Texas.

She married her first husband, John Pierce Parks, a medical student, on April 8, 1967; they divorced in 1969.[3] She married her second husband, in Dallas, Ray Hutchison, on March 16, 1978. They have two adopted children: Kathryn Bailey and Houston Taylor, both adopted in 2001. She also has two stepdaughters, Brenda and Julie, from her husband's previous marriage. Ray Hutchison is a former member of the Texas Legislature and ran an unsuccessful bid for the Texas governorship, having lost the Republican nomination in 1978 to Bill Clements of Dallas. He is a senior partner with the law firm of Vinson & Elkins.

Senator Hutchison and her family have their primary residence in Dallas, where her children attend school. She has a second house in Virginia, where she lives when the Senate is in session.
She is a supporter of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation where she is an honorary board member.

She received her bachelor of arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1962, where she was a cheerleader and a sister of Pi Beta Phi sorority. She received her J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 1967. Following her graduation from law school, she was the legal and political correspondent for KPRC-TV in Houston. Hired by Ray Miller, host of the long-running The Eyes of Texas anthology series, Hutchison was the first female onscreen newswoman in Texas.

In 1972, Hutchison was elected to the Texas House of Representatives from a district in Houston. She served until 1976. She was vice-chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board from 1976 to 1978. She was a candidate for election to the United States House of Representatives in 1982 for the Dallas-based 3rd District, but was defeated in the primary by Steve Bartlett. She temporarily left politics and became a bank executive and businesswoman.
In 1993, by special election, Hutchison became the first woman to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate. During the campaign her opponent, Krueger, charged that Hutchison was a "country club Republican" and insensitive to the feelings of minorities. In January, the Houston Chronicle reported that both Hutchison and Fields had promised to serve a maximum of two six-year terms in the Senate as part of her support for term limit legislation for members of Congress. In April, the Dallas Morning News reported that Hutchison had repeated her pledge to serve only two terms in the U.S. Senate, if elected, and had also said term limits ought to cover all senators, including Senator Phil Gramm (R-TX), who had been elected in 1984 and re-elected in 1990. (He would stay in the Senate until 2002.) The term-limits legislation never passed, and Hutchison has said that she would not leave the Senate in the absence of such legislation, because doing so would unilaterally hurt Texas at the expense of other states in the seniority-driven institution.

Shortly after the special election victory, Travis County authorities, led by Democratic district attorney Ronnie Earle, raided Hutchison's offices at the State Treasury looking for proof of allegations that Hutchison used state equipment and employees on state time to help with her campaign. She was indicted by a grand jury in September 1993 for official misconduct and records tampering.

The case against Hutchison was heard before State District Judge John Onion in February, 1994. Earle declined to proceed with his case. Though he had intended to continue the case later, Onion declined to give Earle that opportunity. The judge instead swore in a jury and immediately ordered the panel to acquit Hutchison when no evidence had been presented to them by Earle. The acquittal barred any future prosecution of Hutchison.

The National Journal ranked Hutchison as follows in its 2004 rankings, which are based on various key votes relating to economic policy, social policy, and foreign policy: "Economic: 26% Liberal, 73% Conservative; Social: 38% Liberal, 60% Conservative; Foreign: 0% Liberal, 67% Conservative. Although a loyal Conservative Republican she has been known to cross over to the other side on a few issues. She is more likely to do this than either Phil Gramm or his successor John Cornyn." A poll that was released on June 19, 2007, shows that Hutchison has an approval rating of 58%, with 34% disapproving.

Hutchison supports the legality of abortion but has frequently voted for restricting abortion. Hutchison has often been rated highly by pro-life organizations receiving a 94% rating from the National Right to Life Committee. She is opposed to taxpayer-funded abortion and supports restrictions such as parental notification and making it illegal to transport a minor across state lines in order to circumvent parental notification laws. She also believes that the decision of the United States Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade was appropriate and should not be overturned, but is opposed to the Freedom of Choice Act because it would restrict the right of states to impose restrictions on abortion.

Hutchison proposed the "District of Columbia Personal Protection Act," which drew 31 cosponsors in the United States Senate, while drawing 157 cosponsors from the House. This bill would have protected gun rights of DC citizens by dismantling the handgun bans the city had for thirty years. DC's law states that one may possess a rifle or shotgun as long as they are disassembled and inoperative, but not pistols. The law was recently struck down in a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, District of Columbia v. Heller.

Hutchison is a strong supporter of single-sex education (boys and girls in separate rooms) in public schools. In 2001, she worked with Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) to write provisions into the No Child Left Behind Act (specifically sections 5131.a.23 and 5131c) authorizing single-sex education in public schools. Section 5131c required the Department of Education to write new regulations facilitating single-sex classrooms; this provision led to the publication of new regulations by the Department of Education in 2006 which do in fact facilitate single-sex education in public schools. She is a supporter of the U.S. Public Service Academy.

In 2006, Hutchison received more campaign contributions from members of large oil and gas corporations than any other member of Congress. In 2005, Hutchison voted against prohibiting oil leasing in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and has supported legislation promoting drilling in the refuge in 2002 and 2003. In 2005 she also voted against including oil and gas smokestacks in the Environmental Protection Agency's mercury regulations. In 1999, she voted to remove funding for renewable and solar energy, although she has more recently stated she supports the development of alternative energy sources. According to the League of Conservation Voters environmental scorecard, Hutchison received a rating of zero — the lowest possible score — in the 104th Congress. However, they have since upgraded her to a grade of 18% in the 110th Congress.

On border control, Senator Hutchison supports local consultation between communities along the border and the Department of Homeland Security to determine what type of fencing and security measures make sense in particular areas based on what those officials see on the ground. She has stated that bureaucrats in Washington are hardly positioned to determine the most effective measures, which areas of the border are experiencing the most significant problems, and how construction of the fence will impact local communities.

As for term limits, Senator Hutchison has proposed limiting Texas governors to two four-year terms. Apparently term limits do not apply to her as she has been a representative since 1993. But, in her defense, unless they pass an amendment stating all representatives have to abide by a maximum, two-term limit, I wouldn’t leave willingly either.

Hopefully we now have a little more insight into the two candidates that I expect to give us the tightest race for Governor in November 2010. I am sure as election day grows near we will learn even more than we care to know about these two. But as I am sure you know, running the greatest state in the nation is a very serious matter. We can’t trust just anyone to it. I personally feel that Governor Perry has done a fine job. The Texas economy has surpassed the entire country’s economy. Our CHIPS program has been wonderful, we have no state income tax….heck, I could go on and on. And as for Mrs. Hutchison, she has represented us wonderfully in Washington. I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for her. So in my opinion, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Let’s just leave things the way they are and keep moving Texas forward.

Thank you again wikipedia for providing this information. Click on the link to wikipedia listed below for more information on Kay Bailey Hutchison.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kay_Bailey_Hutchison
United States Senate
Texas House of Representatives
Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
single-sex education