Kirk Watson, a Democrat from Austin, was elected to the Texas Senate in 2006. He serves as vice chairman of the Senate Nominations Committee and is a former Austin mayor.
Austin is such an easy target for those in control of the Texas Capitol. But their Austin-bashing is nothing more than a facile attempt to deflect attention away from the state’s own very serious challenges and the failures in addressing those challenges.
If we can set aside the politics and hard feelings, we might be able to forge a partnership that will create something wonderful for our community. There are a lot of things about which the city and state don't see eye-to-eye, but the transformation of the Capitol Complex shouldn't be one of them.
We ask Texans to put a lot of trust in us and believe that we as legislators are acting in their best interest. But lately, we've done a sorry job of ensuring people can both trust — and verify.
As the Texas government forces Texas families to pick up more and more of the tab for higher education, some in the Capitol are trying to eliminate much-needed tuition assistance.
This session was supposed to be big for ethics. Instead, lawmakers chose to protect themselves from public scrutiny and accountability. What happened?
While those in control of the state Capitol rail against property taxes, they also quietly take advantage of them. It's time to give Texans an honest accounting and a real tax break.
State Sen. Wendy Davis' courageous filibuster a year ago laid bare a new reality in Texas politics: When we fight back, we can make a difference. And that was just the beginning.
