Rick Perry

Rick Perry
47th Governor of Texas
Incumbent
Assumed office  December 21, 2000
Lieutenant	Bill Ratliff (2000-2003) David Dewhurst (2003-present)
Preceded by	George W. Bush
39th Lieutenant Governor of Texas
In office January 19, 1999 – December 21, 2000
Governor	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Bob Bullock
Succeeded by	Bill Ratliff
9th Texas Agriculture Commissioner
In office 1991–1998
Governor	Ann Richards (1991-1995) George W. Bush (1995-1999)
Preceded by	Jim Hightower
Succeeded by	Susan Combs
Member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 64th district
In office 1985–1991
Preceded by	Joe C. Hanna
Succeeded by	John R. Cook
Constituency	Haskell, Texas
Born	March 4, 1950 (1950-03-04) (age 60) Paint Creek, Texas
Political party	Republican (1989-present) Democratic (1968-1989)
Spouse(s)	Anita Thigpen Perry
Children	Griffin Perry Sydney Perry
Residence	Austin, Texas
Alma mater	Texas A&M University
Profession	Governor of Texas
Religion	Methodist
Signature
Military service
Service/branch	United States Air Force
Rank	Captain
Battles/wars	Vietnam War
Perry was succeeded by Bill Ratliff in the lieutenant governor's post by a vote of the Texas Senate in which Ratliff served until the election and inauguration of David Dewhurst. See related articles for details.

James Richard "Rick" Perry (born March 4, 1950) is an American politician. He is the 47th and incumbent Governor of Texas, having held the office since 2000. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998, he assumed office as governor in December 2000 when Governor George W. Bush resigned to become President of the United States. Perry was elected to two full terms in 2002 and 2006.

Perry served as chairman of the Republican Governors Association in 2008, succeeding Sonny Perdue of Georgia. He now serves as Finance Chair.

Perry holds all records for Texas gubernatorial tenure, having broken both Allan Shivers' consecutive service record of 7 1/2 years in June 2008 and Bill Clements' total service record of eight years (over two non-consecutive terms) in December 2008. As a result, the Dallas Morning News reported in December 2008 that Perry has the distinction of being the only governor in modern Texas history to have appointed at least one person to every possible state office, board, or commission position which requires gubernatorial appointment (as well as to several elected offices to which the governor can appoint someone to fill an unexpired term, such as five of the nine current members of the Texas Supreme Court). Should Perry complete his current term on January 18, 2011, he will become the first Governor of Texas to complete two consecutive four-year terms. He is also the second longest-serving current Governor in the United States (North Dakota Governor John Hoeven is the longest-serving, having taken office six days before Perry).

Perry has announced his intention to run for an unprecedented third consecutive four-year term in 2010. Perry won the Republican primary election defeating U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison^[1][2] and former Wharton County Republican Party Chairwoman and businesswoman Debra Medina.^[3]

Early life

A fifth-generation Texan, Perry was born in Paint Creek, about 60 miles (97 km) north of Abilene in West Texas, to ranchers Joseph Ray Perry and the former Amelia June Holt. His father, a Democrat, was a long-time Haskell County commissioner and school board member. Perry graduated from Paint Creek High School in 1968. As a child, Perry was in the Boy Scouts (BSA) and earned the rank of Eagle Scout; his son, Griffin, would also later become an Eagle Scout.^[4][5] The BSA honored Perry with the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award.^[6]

Perry attended Texas A&M University where he was a member of the Corps of Cadets and one of A&M's five yell leaders, a male cheerleader at Texas A&M.^[7] He graduated in 1972 with a degree in animal science. While at Texas A&M University Perry successfully completed a static line parachute jump at Ags Over Texas (a United States Parachute Association dropzone), the dropzone that was then in operation at Coulter Field (KCFD) in Bryan, Texas, just north of Texas A&M (in College Station, Texas).

Upon graduation, he was commissioned in the United States Air Force, completed pilot training and flew C-130 tactical airlift in the United States, the Middle East, and Europe until 1977. He left the Air Force with the rank of captain, returned to Texas and went into business farming cotton with his father.

In 1982, Perry married Anita Thigpen, his childhood sweetheart whom he had known since elementary school. They have two children, Griffin and Sydney. Anita Perry attended West Texas State University and earned a degree in nursing. She has spearheaded a number of health-related initiatives such as the Anita Thigpen Perry Endowment at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, which focuses on nutrition, cardiovascular disease, health education, and early childhood programming.

Perry has said that his interest in politics probably began in November 1961, when his father took him to the funeral of Sam Rayburn, who during his long public career served as speaker of the Texas House and the U.S. House of Representatives. Dignitaries from all over the nation came to the small town of Bonham, the seat of Fannin County, for the service.

Texas Legislature

In 1984, Perry was elected to the Texas House of Representatives as a Democrat from a district (64) that included his home county of Haskell. He served on the House Appropriations and Calendars committees during his three two-year terms in office. He befriended fellow freshman senator Lena Guerrero of Austin, a staunch liberal Democrat who endorsed Perry's reelection bid in 2006 on personal, rather than philosophical, grounds. Perry was part of the "Pit Bulls", a group of Appropriations members who sat on the lower dais in the committee room (or "pit") who pushed for austere state budgets during the 1980s.

In 1989, The Dallas Morning News named him one of the most effective legislators in the 71st Legislature. That same year, Perry announced that he was joining the Republican Party.^[8]

Agriculture Commissioner

In 1990, he challenged incumbent Democratic Agriculture Commissioner Jim Hightower. Hightower had worked on behalf of Jesse Jackson for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988, while Perry had supported U.S. Senator Al Gore of Tennessee. Perry narrowly unseated Hightower, even as the Republican gubernatorial candidate, Clayton Williams, went down to defeat at the hands of Ann Richards.^[9]

As Agriculture Commissioner, Perry was responsible for promoting the sale of Texas farm produce to other states and foreign nations and supervising the calibration of weights and measures, such as gasoline pumps and grocery store scales.

In 1994, Perry was reelected Agriculture Commissioner by a large margin, having polled 2,546,287 votes (61.92 percent) to Democrat Marvin Gregory's 1,479,692 (35.98 percent). Libertarian Clyde L. Garland received the remaining 85,836 votes (2.08 percent).^[10]

Lieutenant governor

In 1998, Perry chose not to seek a third term as Agriculture Commissioner, running instead for lieutenant governor to succeed the retiring Democrat Bob Bullock. Perry polled 1,858,837 votes (50.04 percent) to the 1,790,106 (48.19 percent) cast for Democrat John Sharp of Victoria, who had relinquished the comptroller's position after two terms to seek the lieutenant governorship. Libertarian Anthony Garcia polled another 65,150 votes (1.75 percent).^[10] Perry thus became the state's first Republican lieutenant governor.

Governor

A photo of Rick Perry on August 28, 2004 from his tour of Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas.

Perry assumed the office of Governor late in 2000 when George W. Bush resigned to prepare for his presidential inauguration, becoming the first Texas A&M graduate to serve as Governor.

Perry won the office in his own right in the 2002 gubernatorial election when he defeated Laredo businessman Tony Sanchez, polling 2,632,591 votes (57.80 percent) to Sanchez's 1,819,798 (39.96 percent). Four minor candidates shared 2.21 percent of the vote.^[10]

The 2006 gubernatorial election proved to be a stiffer challenge. Though he easily defeated token opposition in the primary election, Perry faced a six-way race involving former Democratic Congressman Chris Bell, Libertarian candidate James Werner (a sales consultant); and three independent candidates – outgoing Republican state Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn (who chose not to face Perry in the primary race when early polling data suggested she would lose badly), well-known Texas country music singer Kinky Friedman, and write-in candidate James "Patriot" Dillon. Perry won the race in a plurality, polling 1,714,618 votes (39 percent) to Bell's 1,309,774 (29.8 percent), Strayhorn's 789,432 (18 percent), Friedman's 553,327 (12.6 percent), and Werner's 26,726 (0.6 percent). Dillon garnered a mere 718 votes. Perry became only the third governor in state history to have been elected by a plurality of less than 40 percent of votes cast (the 1853 and 1861 races also featured plurality winners carrying under 40 percent).

Late in the 2006 campaign, the Republican Governors Association received one million dollars from Houston businessman Bob Perry (no relation), and the association then contributed that amount to Rick Perry. Bell brought suit, contending that the Bob Perry donations had been improperly channeled through the association to conceal their source. In 2010, the Rick Perry campaign paid Bell $426,000 to settle the suit.^[11][12]

Perry is a member of the Republican Governors Association, the National Governors Association, the Western Governors Association, and the Southern Governors Association.

Early in his term as Governor, Perry pushed through the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) designed to insure 500,000 children^[13] and convinced the state Legislature to increase health funding by $6 billion. Some of these programs have since faced funding reductions, and Perry has refused to resume funding to previous levels even though Federal Matching Funds for Healthcare above and beyond the amount dedicated by the legislature would be available because of the additional financial burden it would place on the state. He also increased school funding prior to the 2002 election and created new scholarship programs, including $300 million for the Texas GRANT Scholarship Program. Some $9 billion was allocated to Texas public schools, colleges, and universities and combined with a new emphasis on accountability for both teachers and students.

Perry's campaigns for lieutenant governor and governor focused on a tough stance on crime. In June 2002, he vetoed a ban on the execution of mentally retarded inmates. He has also supported block grants for crime programs.

Perry has also included tort reform in his platform; as lieutenant governor, he had tried and failed to place a limit on class action awards and allowing plaintiffs to distribute awards among several liable sources. In 2003, Perry sponsored a controversial state constitutional amendment to cap medical malpractice rewards;^[14] this proposal was narrowly approved by voters.

This legislation not only caused a decrease in malpractice insurance rates, but caused a significant increase in the number of doctors seeking to practice in the state.^[15]

Recently, Rick Perry has drawn attention for his criticism of the Obama administration's handling of the recession, and for turning down approximately $555 million in stimulus money for unemployment insurance. Perry was lauded by the Texas Association of Business^[16] for this decision and his justification–that the funds and the mandatory changes to state law would have placed an enduring tax burden on employers. In September 2009, Perry declared that Texas was recession-proof: "As a matter of fact...someone had put a report out that the first state that's coming out of the recession is going to be the state of Texas...I said, 'We're in one?'"^[17]

Paul Burka, senior executive editor of Texas Monthly, criticized Perry's remarks, saying "You cannot be callous and cavalier when people are losing their jobs and their homes."^[18]

Fiscal issues

Perry, a proclaimed proponent of fiscal conservatism, has often campaigned on tax reform and job growth. Perry resisted creating a Texas state income tax and sales tax increases, protected the state's "Rainy Day fund", balanced the state budget as required by state law, and was reelected on a platform to reduce property taxes that exploded with the inflation of property values in the late 1990s and the 21st century. In early 2006, Perry signed legislation that delivered a $15.7 billion reduction in property taxes.^[19]

In early 2006 Perry angered some fiscal conservatives in his own party by supporting an increase in the state franchise tax alongside a property tax reform bill. Many organizations within the Republican Party itself condemned Perry's tax bill, HB-3, and likened it to a "back door" state income tax.^[20] Perry claimed in a statewide advertising campaign that the bill would save the average taxpayer $2,000 in property taxes. Critics contended that Perry inflated these numbers; the actual tax savings, they said, would average only $150 per family.^[21]

In 2003, Perry signed legislation that created the Texas Enterprise Fund to enhance the development of the economy of Texas a top priority. In 2004, Perry authorized the Enterprise Fund to make a $20 million grant to Countrywide Financial in return for a promise "to create 7,500 new jobs in the state by 2010." The grant (all of which are approved by the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the House) is one of the largest made from the fund in terms of the size of the grant and the number of jobs promised. In the fall of 2007, while slashing jobs and with its stock price plummeting, Countrywide assured Perry's office that the company "believed" it would meet its 2010 commitment^[22] only to be acquired in a fire sale two months later by Bank of America. Thanks to the "claw-back" provisions in the program, grantees return funds to the state for jobs not created.

Scrutiny directed at his preference for tax cuts has been largely offset by the state's comparative strength^[23] in the midst of a serious global economic downturn.

As lieutenant governor, he initially sponsored a controversial school vouchers bill as an alternative to the "Robin Hood" school finance proposal. In 2004, Perry attacked the same "Robin Hood" plan as detrimental to the educational system. He attempted to get the legislature to abolish the system and replace it with one that he believed would encourage greater equity, cost less, hold down property and sales taxes, and foster job growth. Perry objected to the legalization of video lottery terminals at racetracks and on Indian reservations as well as increases in cigarette taxes.

In 2003, Perry called three consecutive special legislative sessions to procure a congressional redistricting plan more reflective of the state's population. The plan finally adopted, supported by then U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Sugar Land, brought about a five-seat Republican gain in the delegation. In 2006, however, the five-seat edge was reduced to three seats.

A special session of the legislature was convened on June 21, 2005, to address education issues, but resistance developed from House Speaker Tom Craddick, a Republican from Midland. Perry's proposal was attacked by members from property-poor districts and was rejected. During the session, Perry became involved in a heated debate with Comptroller Carole Strayhorn about the merits of his school finance proposal. Strayhorn initially planned to oppose Perry in the 2006 Republican primary but instead ran as an independent in the general election.^[24] Another special session was convened on July 21, 2005 after Perry vetoed all funding for public schools for the 2007-2008 biennium. He vowed not to "approve an education budget that shortchanges teacher salary increases, textbooks, education technology, and education reforms. And I cannot let $2 billion sit in some bank account when it can go directly to the classroom."

Perry's campaign office in 2006 declared that without the special session, some "$2 billion that had been intended for teacher pay raises, education reforms, and other school priorities would have gone unused because House Bill 2 [the public school reform package] didn’t pass."^[25] The bill failed to pass in the first session, and was refiled in a second session, in which the bill was defeated 62-79, after 50 amendments were added without discussion or debate.^[26]

Late in 2005, to maximize the impact of a bipartisan education plan, Perry reached across the aisle to his former rival in the race for lieutnant governor, John Sharp, a former Texas State Comptroller and a member of the Texas Railroad Commission, Texas State Senate and Texas House of Representatives, to head an education task force charged with preparing a bipartisan education plan. The special session convened on April 17, 2006. Sharp accepted Perry's offer and removed himself as a potential candidate for governor in 2006. The task force issued its final plan several months later, and the legislature adopted it.^[27] For his successful efforts, Sharp was later nominated by the Dallas Morning News for the "Texan of the Year" award.^[28]

Social policy

Perry is pro-life and opposes government funding for elective abortions. In 2005, Perry, a social conservative, signed an abortion bill that limited late-term abortions and required girls under the age of 18 who procure abortions to notify their parents. Perry signed the bill in the gymnasium of Calvary Christian Academy in Fort Worth, an evangelical Christian school.

Perry is also known for his socially conservative views on homosexuality. He opposes the right of gay men and women to marry according to their sexual orientation. He condemned the United States Supreme Court decision in Lawrence vs. Texas, which struck down sodomy laws which made it a crime for two gay men or women to engage in consensual sexual activity and he called Texas' last such law "appropriate."^[29]

Perry's Christian faith

In what was described as a "God and country" sermon at the Cornerstone church in San Antonio, attended by Perry and other mostly Republican candidates, the Rev. John Hagee stated, "If you live your life and don't confess your sins to God Almighty through the authority of Christ and His blood, I'm going to say this very plainly, you're going straight to hell with a nonstop ticket." Perry was asked if he agreed with those comments and said, "It is my faith, and I'm a believer of that."^[30] Perry went on to say that there was nothing in the sermon that he took exception with. Humorist and entertainer Kinky Friedman, the Jewish independent candidate for governor in the 2006 election, said, "He doesn't think very differently from the Taliban, does he?" Carole Keeton Strayhorn disagreed with Perry's comments, and Democrat Chris Bell said that one who is in public office should "respect people of all faiths and denominations." Fundamentalist conservatives then responded, arguing that Perry had a right to his faith, and that he was not disrespecting Americans of other religious convictions.^[31] While on tour in August 2009 interview with Israel's Jerusalem Post Perry affirmed his support for Israel from his religious background, "I'm a big believer that this country was given to the people of Israel a long time ago, by God, and that's ordained."^[32]

Intelligent design

Perry has supported Texas schools teaching creationism and "intelligent design" alongside evolution. A spokeswoman for Perry called intelligent design a "valid scientific theory," despite its being rejected by the orthodox scientific community and at least one federal judge.^[33]

HPV vaccine

On February 2, 2007, Perry issued an executive order mandating that Texas girls be vaccinated with Gardasil, a newly approved drug manufactured by Merck that protects against some strains of the human papilloma virus which causes cervical cancer. The order included an opt-out provision for parents. The move made national headlines.^[34]

Perry's decision has been criticized by some social conservatives and parents due to concerns about the moral implications of the vaccine and safety concerns. On February 22, 2007, a group of families sued in an attempt to block Perry's executive order.^[35] Apparent financial connections between Merck and Perry have been reported by news outlets, such as a $6,000 campaign contribution, as well as Merck's hiring of former Perry Chief of Staff Mike Toomey to handle its Texas lobbying work.^[36]

Perry's order has also been criticized for the price of the vaccine, approximately $US360 in Texas.^[37] Gardasil is a patent-restricted vaccine and Merck is the sole producer.

On May 9, 2007, Perry allowed a bill to go into law that would undo his executive order.^[38]

Effective use of vetoes

Perry set a record in the 2001 legislative session for the use of the veto: he rejected legislation a total of 82 times, more than any other governor in any single legislative session in the history of the state since Reconstruction. Predictably, Perry's use of the veto drew criticism from some in the 2002 gubernatorial campaign, having used the veto only nine fewer times than preceding Governor George W. Bush had during three legislative sessions and 22 more than Ann Richards cast in two sessions.^[39] In the two legislative sessions since the 2001 session, Perry was more conservative in his use of the veto, employing it 51 times.^[40] However, as of 2005, he has used the veto more than any other Texas governor in a continuous administration; the only governor who exceeded Perry's total was Bill Clements, who faced a heavily Democratic legislature. Clements vetoed legislation 184 times in eight years: Perry, 132 times in five years.

Supreme Court Justice Steve Smith

Perry has made numerous appointments to the Texas courts, the Texas Railroad Commission, as secretary of state, and to other boards and commissions during his tenure as governor. Two of the three Railroad Commissioners, Victor G. Carrillo and Elizabeth Ames Jones, began their service as Perry appointees. The third, Michael L. Williams, started in 1999 under appointment from George W. Bush. He has named six short-term appointments as secretary of state, including two of his former legislative colleagues, Henry Cuellar and Gwyn Shea.

One of Perry's first selections was the appointment of Xavier Rodriguez to succeed Greg Abbott on the Texas Supreme Court. Rodriguez, a self-proclaimed moderate, was quickly unseated in the 2002 Republican primary by conservative Steven Wayne Smith, the attorney in the Hopwood v. Texas suit in 1996, which successfully challenged affirmative action at the University of Texas Law School. Hopwood, however, was overturned in a 2003 decision stemming from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Steven Smith was elected by a comfortable margin over Democratic opposition in the 2002 general election.

Perry objected to Smith's tenure on the court and refused to meet with the new justice when Smith attempted to mend fences with the governor. Perry encouraged Judge Paul Green to challenge Smith in the 2004 Republican primary. Perry raised funds for Green, who defeated Smith in the primary and was then elected without opposition in the general election. Smith attempted a comeback in the 2006 Republican primary by challenging Justice Don Willett, another Perry appointee who was considered a conservative on the court. Smith polled 49.5 percent of the primary vote, but Willett narrowly prevailed.

Trans-Texas Corridor

As a way to meet the transportation needs of a population that grows by roughly 1,000 Texans per day^[41] , Perry proposed the Trans-Texas Corridor, a $145+ billion-dollar project that would encompass multi-lane highways, rail and utilities, speeding the movement of people, products and power across the state. Instead of raising taxes to pay for the project, the project was proposed to be partially financed, partially built and wholly operated by private contractors who, in exchange for a multi-billion dollar investment, would receive all toll proceeds, notably Cintra, a Spanish-owned company, and its minority partner, San Antonio-based Zachry Construction Corporation, one of Texas' largest road construction companies.^[42] Some of the more controversial aspects of the project include tolls, private operation of toll collections (at rates set by local municipalities), and extensive use of eminent domain (or the option for landowners to maintain a lucrative equity stake in the project) to acquire property.

Opponents seized on a first-draft illustration of the plan that represented an inaccurately wide swath of land and ignored later versions as a way to bolster their claims of a "land grab." Perry has been criticized for opposing the public release of the actual terms of the 50-year deal with Cintra to the public for fear they would chill the possibility of the company's investment; Perry's former liaison to the legislature and expert in public-private partnership, former State Senator Dan Shelly, returned to his consulting/lobbying work with Cintra after securing the TTC deal while on the state payroll. As expected, all of Perry's gubernatorial opponents opposed the corridor project. The 2006 state party platforms of both the Democratic and Republicans parties also opposed the current corridor legislation.^[43][44] In August, 2008, Perry co-signed a letter indicating his interest in exploring a variety of approaches to meeting the state's transportation infrastructure needs.

In 2001, Perry appointed Ric Williamson of Weatherford, an old friend, former legislative colleague and innovator, to the Texas Transportation Commission. Williamson became the commission chairman in 2004 and worked for TTC until his sudden death of a heart attack on December 30, 2007.

In 2007 Perry endorsed Rudy Giuliani for President. Some commentators found this to be an odd choice considering the two differed on many issues, but Perry stated he chose Giuliani for his fiscal conservatism and intention to appoint ideologically conservative judges to the Supreme Court.

Death penalty

Like the majority ^[45] of Texans, Rick Perry supports the death penalty.^[46] Perry has been criticized by anti-death penalty groups including some human rights organizations worldwide. On June 2, 2009, Texas carried out the 200th execution since Perry assumed the office of governor.^[47] Under Texas law, the Board of Pardon and Parole may make a recommendation to commute such a sentence, which the Governor is free to ignore, but the reverse is not true–if the Board does not make such a recommendation the Governor cannot then commute the sentence. The only power the Governor has is to issue one, 30-day reprieve.

However, the chairman of the board is appointed by the governor, and serves at his pleasure.^[48] Also, all the members of the Parole Board have been appointed by the incumbent Governor of Texas.^[49] The mission statement for the work of the board is laid down after consultation with the Governor and the procedures and policies of the Board are to a great extent decided by the chairperson the Governor has chosen; the chairman also decides which Board members are to serve when an individual case is decided.^[48][50]

Cameron Todd Willingham

Questions were raised in 2009 by a report from an investigator hired by the Texas Forensic Science Commission that an innocent person may have been executed in Texas while Perry was governor. The report concluded that a fire allegedly set by Cameron Todd Willingham in 1991 to murder his three daughters could not have been arson. Willingham said that he was asleep in his house when the fire started and denied that he deliberately killed his children.^[51] He was executed in Texas on February 17, 2004. Prior to his execution Dr. Gerald Hurst, an Austin scientist and fire investigator, reviewed the case and concluded there was "no evidence of arson, the same conclusion reached by other fire investigators. Hurst's report was sent to Perry's office as well as Board of Pardons and Paroles along with Willingham's appeal for clemency.^[52] Neither responded to Willingham's appeals. "The whole case was based on the purest form of junk science," Hurst later said. "There was no item of evidence that indicated arson."^[53]

The Texas Forensic Science Commission agreed to investigate in 2008 after defense attorneys claimed that Willingham was wrongfully convicted on the basis of flawed scientific evidence. Dr. Craig Beyler, a nationally recognized fire investigator in Baltimore, was commissioned by the state panel to conduct an independent review. He submitted a 55-page report, saying methods used in the investigation could not fully support a finding of arson.^[51] The report, written by Dr. Beyler, found that "a finding of arson could not be sustained". Beyler said that key testimony from a fire marshal at Willingham's trial was "hardly consistent with a scientific mind-set and is more characteristic of mystics or psychics.” ^[54].

Perry later expressed skepticism of findings by fire experts. He stated that regardless of findings by arson experts, court records showed evidence of Willingham’s guilt in charges that he intentionally killed his daughters in the fire. Perry is quoted in the report as stating of Willingham, “I’m familiar with the latter-day supposed experts on the arson side of it”, but court records provide “clear and compelling, overwhelming evidence that he was in fact the murderer of his children.” ^[55]

Willingham's wife, Stacy Kuykendall, has gone on record^[56] stating her firm belief that Willingham murdered her children.

On October 2009, Perry replaced three members of Texas Forensic Science Commission just two days before it was to hear from Dr. Beyler, the author of the latest of three reports to conclude that arson was not the likely cause of the 1991 fire. As a result, the hearing was postponed indefinitely, and critics of the governor accused him of trying to quash the Willingham probe.^[57] Perry said the commission’s inquiry will continue, saying that his decision to replace the three commission members was part of the normal appointments process.^[51]

Ousted head of the forensics panel, Samuel Bassett, has stated he felt pressure from Perry's office and that they felt the Beyler report was a "waste of State money" and that the Willingham investigation should be a lower priority. He went on to say that they indicated they were not happy with the course of the Willingham investigation and hinted at reducing the commission's funding.^[58]

Pardons and commutations

Under Texas law, the Governor is not permitted to grant pardon or parole, or to commute a death penalty sentence to life imprisonment, on his own initiative (the law was changed after former Governor James Ferguson was charged with selling pardons for political contributions). Instead, the Board of Pardons and Paroles will recommend to the Governor whether or not to grant such. If the Board recommends such, the Governor is free to reject the recommendation, but if the Board chooses not to recommend such, in the case of a death penalty sentence the Governor can only grant a one-time, 30-day reprieve.

In 2005, Frances Newton's appeal for a commutation of her death penalty was declined. Her attorney had argued Newton was incapable of standing trial. The Board of Pardon and Parole did not recommend a commutation, and Perry chose not to grant the one-time reprieve. Newton was executed on September 14, 2005.

Tyrone Brown was an African-American who was sentenced to life in a Texas maximum security prison in 1990 for smoking marijuana while on probation. Texas Judge Keith Dean had originally placed Brown on probation, but changed the sentence after Brown tested positive for marijuana. After being defeated in the last Dallas election, Dean requested the governor pardon Brown. On March 9, 2007, Perry granted Brown a conditional pardon after receiving a recommendation from the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles.^[59]

On August 30, 2007, Perry commuted the death sentence of Kenneth Foster, an accomplice in a 1996 murder, doing so three hours before Foster was to die by lethal injection. Evidence had shown that while Foster was present at the scene of the crime (transporting the individual who actually committed the crime away from the scene in his car), he had nothing to do with the actual commission of the murder, and, for that matter, may not have even been aware that it had been taking place, as he was outside in his car at the time. Again, the Board of Pardon and Parole recommended the commutation, and Perry chose to accept the recommendation, thus converting the sentence to life in prison with a possibility of parole in 2037.^[60]

Environmental issues

Perry does not believe the science behind anthropogenic global warming. He has remarked several times that there is no scientific consensus on the issue.^[61] In a September 7, 2007 speech to California republicans, Perry said, ""Virtually every day another scientist leaves the global warming bandwagon. ... But you won't read about that in the press because they have already invested in one side of the story."^[62] As support for this argument, his office lists two dozen articles, almost none written about or by scientists.

Texas-based TXU was planning a $10 billion investment in 11 new coal-fired power plants over the next several years, but drastically reduced those plans as terms of their buyout.^[63] The Governor's Clean Coal Technology Council^[64] continues to explore ways to generate "clean energy" with coal. After the 2009 legislative session, Perry signed House Bill 469^[65] which includes incentives^[66] for clean coal technology breakthroughs.

Perry rejects regulation of greenhouse gas emissions because he says it would have "devastating implications" for the Texas economy and energy industry. He has stated that he supports an "all of the above" energy strategy^[67] including oil, coal, nuclear, biofuels, hydroelectric, solar, and wind energy. Perry has collaborated with T. Boone Pickens, an alternative energy advocate and oil pioneer. Environmentalists have characterized his views on climate change as "shortsighted and overly alarmist."^[68]

Education

In 2007, Perry vetoed health care for community college faculty due to revelations that schools had been using state funds to pay benefits for non-state employees. Funding for state-employed school personnel was restored in a joint agreement and funding re-allocation later that same year.^[69]

Perry, an Aggie himself, visited the newest Texas A&M University system campus in Texarkana, Texas in August 2010. ^[70] He commends Texas Business owner Truman Arnold for his more than $10 million contribution to the fledgling campus, whose mascot is the Eagle.

Inauguration concert controversy

Perry invited his friend, rock musician Ted Nugent, to perform at a black-tie gala hours after Perry's second inauguration ceremony. Nugent appeared onstage during the inaugural ball wearing a cutoff T-shirt emblazoned with the Confederate flag and shouting derogatory remarks about non-English speakers, according to press reports.^[71] The NAACP condemned Nugent's flying of the Confederate flag, but he denied intentionally making any racially offensive comments and stated that the flag is a symbol of southern heritage.^[72]

Bilderberg Group meeting

Perry attended the 2007 meeting of the Bilderberg Group in Istanbul, Turkey.^[73]

Fire at Texas Governor's Mansion

On June 8, 2008, the 152-year-old historic state governor's residence was swept by a fire the local authorities suspected was a result of arson. The mansion, which was undergoing planned maintenance, had no occupants at the time; Perry and his family had been living elsewhere since the previous fall. Because the fire occurred outside of working hours, no workers were inside, although much of the building was badly damaged.^[74] At the time of the fire, Perry himself was in Stockholm, Sweden, on an economic development tour to encourage investment in Texas.

Comments on the sovereignty of Texas

Resolution

In April 2009, Perry endorsed a resolution supporting state sovereignty as reserved by the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.^[75] On April 9, 2009, Perry said, "I believe that our federal government has become oppressive in its size, its intrusion into the lives of our citizens, and its interference with the affairs of our State. That is why I am here today to express my unwavering support for efforts all across our country to reaffirm the States' rights affirmed by the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. I believe that returning to the letter and spirit of the U.S. Constitution and its essential 10th Amendment will free our State from undue regulations, and ultimately strengthen our Union."^[75]

Tea Party protest

After a tea party protest held on April 15, 2009, Perry responded to a reporter's question about secession, saying, "Texas is a unique place. When we came into the union in 1845, one of the issues was that we would be able to leave if we decided to do that... My hope is that America and Washington in particular pays attention. We've got a great union. There's absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, who knows what may come of that."^[76][77][78] In reference to Perry's comments, a spokesperson said that Perry "never advocated seceding".^[76] According to Time magazine, experts say that Texas cannot legally secede but it may split into five states.^[79] In an op-ed piece^[80] distributed on May 17, 2009, Perry stated "I have never advocated for secession and never will."

Responses

On April 19, the Amarillo Globe-News posted an editorial,^[81] writing that Perry "uttered some words that take that discussion to a level not heard since, oh, 1861 - when Texas in fact did secede and joined the Confederate States of America. We all know what happened next."

U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) said:

Well, I don't think it's particularly useful. The legal response is 'You can't do it.' We fought a Civil War. You can't do it... I think it's a distraction. We have a lot of serious issues. This is not one of them.

Rep. Charlie Gonzalez (D-TX) said:

I think the governor got carried away. You see posturing in preparation for the Republican primary. It serves no useful purpose.

Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) said:

I'm receptive to the principle of secession. You should have the right to leave.

^[82]

Response to H1N1 influenza pandemic

Perry asked for federal assistance in fighting the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic.^[83]

Immigration

Perry has opposed the creation of the Mexico – United States barrier, which is meant to keep out illegal immigrants. Instead of barricading the border completely with a fence, Perry believes that the federal government should fulfill its responsibility to its citizens by securing the borders with "boots on the ground" and technology to improve safety while not harming trade with the state's biggest trading partner, Mexico.^[84]

Ethics group named Perry one of America's worst governors

In its April 2010 report, ethics watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington named Perry one of 11 "worst governors" in the United States because of various ethics issues throughout Perry's term as governor.^{[85][86][87] [88]}

2010 Texas gubernatorial election

In April 2008, Perry announced his intent to run for re-election.^[89] Perry defeated Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison in the March 2, 2010 primary election, becoming the Republican nominee. He will be facing Democratic nominee Bill White. Although early polls indicated that Perry was ahead the most recent survey, conducted by a Democratic-owned polling firm, show a 43 - 43 tie. As a matter of principal, Perry has refused to debate White until he releases tax returns covering the span of his public service to put to rest concerns of self-dealing.

Rasmussen Reports Poll has Perry leading 49-41 with an edge with Independents by twenty-six percentage points: 59-33.

Other candidates included Texas secession candidate Larry Kilgore, and Wharton County Republican Chair Debra Medina. Cathie Adams, chairman of the Republican Party of Texas, had already committed her support to Perry prior to her election as chairman, but under party rules, she must remain neutral in the primary contest. Adams succeeded Tina Benkiser, who resigned to party post to work actively in the Perry campaign.

Should he complete his current term, Perry will have been in office for over ten consecutive years (the remainder of George W. Bush's second term after he left to become President, plus two elected full terms). He is currently the longest serving Governor of Texas in terms of both total time in office and continuous time in office. (Bill Clements previously held the record for total time in office, having served two non-consecutive four-year terms; Allan Shivers previously held the continuous time record at 7.5 years.) If re-elected in 2010, he would be the state's fourth governor to be elected to three terms following Allan Shivers, Price Daniel, and John Connally, and the first to be elected to three four-year terms.

Political future

Perry has persistently denied aspirations to higher office; he was originally included on the 2012 Presidential Straw Poll ballot at the Values Voter Summit in September 2009, but his name was removed at his own request.^[90] In April 2008 while appearing as a guest on CNBC's Kudlow & Company, he specifically stated that he would not agree to serve as Vice President in a McCain Administration, stating that he already had "the best job in the world" as Governor of Texas. Further, during a Republican gubernatorial debate in January 2010, when asked if he would commit to serving out his term if re-elected, he replied that "the place hasn't been made yet" where he would rather serve than the Governor of Texas.

2008 presidential endorsements

In October 2007, despite their political differences on many social issues, Perry endorsed Rudy Giuliani for President. "Rudy Giuliani is the most prepared individual of either party to be the next President... I'm not talkin' about any mayor, I'm talkin' about America's Mayor," Perry said.^[91] Some conjectured that, if Giuliani were elected, Perry might have been considered for a position in the new President's cabinet, or perhaps the Vice Presidency.^[92] However, Giuliani withdrew from the race on January 30, 2008 after failing to gain support in early primaries.

Both Giuliani and Perry immediately endorsed Arizona Senator John McCain for President.^[93] Shortly after Mitt Romney's withdrawal from the race in early February, Perry reportedly^[94] called McCain rival Mike Huckabee and suggested that he withdraw as well to clear the way for McCain to secure the nomination. Huckabee declined this request and made it clear publicly that he would only abandon his presidential bid if McCain secured enough delegates. Huckabee withdrew his presidential bid on March 5, 2008 after John McCain won the Texas and Ohio primaries.

Publications

Rick Perry has written one book. On My Honor: Why the American Values of the Boy Scouts are Worth Fighting For was published in February 2008.^[95] In his book, Perry celebrates the positive impact of the organization on the youth of America and criticizes the ACLU for its legal actions against the Boy Scouts of America.^[96]

Electoral history

References

External links

• Governor Rick Perry official state site
• Texas Governor Rick Perry official campaign site
• GovernorPerry on Twitter
• Biography at the National Governors Association
• Biography, interest group ratings, public statements, vetoes and campaign finances at Project Vote Smart
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Campaign contributions at FollowTheMoney.org
• Collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Heir to the Throne Jenny Staff, The Austin Chronicle May 28, 1999
• Continued absence of Dems grinds House to a halt Shelley Kofler, WFAA-TV, May 14, 2003
• The Class of 1985 The Austin Chronicle, February 27, 2004
• Trial by Fire, Did Texas execute an innocent man, David Grann, The New Yorker, September 7, 2009

Agriculture Commissioners of Texas Milner  · Kone  · Davis  · Terrell  · McDonald  · White  · Brown  · Hightower  · Perry  · Combs  · Staples

Governors and Lieutenant Governors of Texas Governors J. P. Henderson · Wood · Bell · J. W. Henderson · Pease · Runnels · Houston · Clark · Lubbock · Murrah · Hamilton · Throckmorton · Pease · Davis · Coke · Hubbard · Roberts · Ireland · Ross · Hogg · Culberson · Sayers · Lanham · Campbell · Colquitt · J. Ferguson · Hobby · Neff · M. Ferguson · Moody · Sterling · M. Ferguson · Allred · O'Daniel · Stevenson · Jester · Shivers · Daniel · Connally · Smith · Briscoe · Clements · White · Clements · Richards · Bush · Perry Lieutenant Governors Horton · Greer · Henderson · Dickson · Runnels · Lubbock · Clark · Crockett · Stockdale · Jones · J.W. Flanagan · Campbell · D.W. Flanagan · Fountain · Pickett · Hubbard · Sayers · Storey · Martin · Gibbs · Wheeler · Pendleton · Crane · Jester · Browning · Neal · A.B. Davidson · Mayes · Hobby, Sr. · Johnson · L. Davidson · T.W. Davidson · Miller · Witt · Woodul · Stevenson · J.L. Smith · Shivers · Ramsey · P. Smith · Barnes · Hobby, Jr. · Bullock · Perry · Ratliff · Dewhurst