City governments, particularly those led by Democrats, are to blame for problems nationwide, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said during a nationally televised interview Friday.
“People are happy with their governments at their state level, they’re not with the city,” said Patrick, a Republican, in an interview with Fox Business Network. He was responding to a question about gubernatorial races.
“Our cities are still controlled by Democrats,” he added. “And where do we have all our problems in America? Not at the state level run by Republicans, but in our cities that are mostly controlled by Democrat mayors and Democrat city council men and women. That’s where you see liberal policies. That’s where you see high taxes. That’s where you see street crime.”
The comments drew a quick response from mayors in Texas. In a message posted to Twitter, Austin Mayor Steve Adler responded, “If it’s wrong to have lower jobless and crime rates than Texas as a whole, I don’t want to be right. Certainly not that far right.”
Patrick’s remarks came halfway through a special legislative session in which lawmakers have repeatedly taken aim at local governments. Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, has proposed to lawmakers a long list of ideas related to how cities and counties set budgets, regulate land use and approve construction projects.
Some of the most controversial bills now making their way through the Legislature would require a local election to approve property tax rate increases over a certain percentage and legislation that would regulate which bathrooms transgender people can use. Current versions of the bathroom proposal would preempt parts of local nondiscrimination ordinances that include protections for transgender people.
Many city officials have criticized the Legislature’s efforts, saying city governments need freedom and flexibility to govern.
“We are closer to our residents than the state is or the federal government, so we know what is best for our community because we are responsible for our community,” said El Paso Mayor Dee Margo, a Republican. “Not only is El Paso the largest U.S. city on the Mexican border, we’re also ranked as the safest city in the nation.”
Mayors from two of the state’s six biggest cities are Republican: Margo, plus Betsy Price of Fort Worth.
But “the fact that city elections are nonpartisan is one of the greatest things about city government,” said Bennett Sandlin, executive director of the Texas Municipal League. “We like to say that potholes aren’t Democratic or Republican… it costs the same amount regardless of ideology.”
Disclosure: Steve Adler, a former Texas Tribune board chairman, the Texas Municipal League and Dee Margo have been financial supporters of the Tribune. A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government, and statewide issues.
What is it about Texas? Is it something in the water? Colorado is cluttered with Texans in the summer, too often buzzing around our mountains on their ATVs like so many mosquitos. Some are nice enough, even if a bit long-winded. But, too many bring their politics and sense of entitlement with them. These same folks go home and write our paper about how we should change our town to accommodate them and their obnoxious machines. The truth is most of us don’t want to be like Texans. We’re perfectly happy the way we are … and where we are.
In a state dominated by right wing crazies – SERIOUS crazies – it’s almost impossible to decide which nutjob is causing the most harm to the citizens of Texas – Abbott, Patrick, Paxton, Lois Kolkhorst, Donna Campbell, Lamar Smith, Ted Cruz, Steven Hotze, Pat Fallon, Jonathan Strickland, Sid Miller, Jane Nelson, Barry Smitherman, etc., etc. – the list is (truly) endless. We’re in deep, deep caca here in Texas. People are slowly waking up to that fact but even now it may be too late to reverse the psychic and physical damage these self-righteous lunatics have done to our citizens and our once proud state.
It’s ironic that all the increases in employment have been from the policies and leadership of the larger cities in Texas. Houston and San Antonio are both increasing dramatically in size and population. They know the businesses who want to come to this area and the workforce they need. The lower costs for energy and water availability are up there in their needs as well. Some of our leaders have gerrymandered districts to ensure the same areas elect the same type of representatives. Then, when those conservative districts aren’t conservative enough – they recruit until they find someone who is farther to the right. And that my friends, is how we try to forget about public schools, come up with unenforceable bathroom policies … along with a governor-initiated tree bill for his own personal vendetta. He vetoes an ethics bill from one of his own party’s leaders. Isn’t Texas better than this?
These comments have become the mainstay of this sect of the Republican party seeking to usurp control away from those duly elected to serve our cities by the citizens of those cities. It is the height of hypocrisy that Mr. Patrick and the followers of this part of the Republican party can bemoan and openly fight over-reach by the federal government, while their own agenda is plainly over-reach and state control of local governments. The great economy in the state of Texas is due to the willingness of city and their partners the local economic development corporations to provide incentives, abate taxes, reduce regulation, expedite zoning, build collaboration with secondary education and institutions of higher education to provide companies clear pathways for growth in our state. If the state government of Texas ran as efficiently as many local governments, we would not need costly special sessions to debate Bathroom Bills! I am saddened that political partisanship is dominating Texas State government, and more saddened that leaders such as Patrick and others seek to embed that partisanship at the local level. I would remind them that local leaders are the closest to their constituents and are most responsive. We do not need the state regulating local affairs, plainly if the voters don’t like what the council has done they are voted out of office. Perhaps this is what needs to happen at the state level.