Drew Darby and San Angelo Tea Party at Odds Over Choice for House Speaker

On Jan 13, 2015, the new Texas Legislature is sworn-in and lawmakers prepare for the biennial gathering of the Texas government. The New Year features a new Governor Greg Abbott and a new Lt. Governor Dan Patrick.

Some Tea Party members, including members of the San Angelo Tea Party (SATP), want a new Speaker of the Texas House too, vowing a concerted effort—and floor vote—to replace incumbent Speaker Joe Straus, a Republican from San Antonio. They are backing a fresh face and Tea Party Republican: One-term Texas House member Rep. Scott Turner from Frisco.

State Rep. Drew Darby represents the Texas House District 72 that contains San Angelo and the surrounding communities and he isn’t excited about a Turner speakership.

Darby is a close ally of Straus, and in conservative west Texas, he has received criticism for that, particularly from members of the SATP. The local Tea Party hasn’t found anyone who can oust Darby, however. Darby enjoys widespread support regardless of SATP complaints. He won the 2014 Republican primary election with 79.46 percent of the vote.

Darby says he likes Turner, but doesn’t think he is ready to be speaker. Digging deeper, Darby’s objection to Turner runs into process and ideological differences too. Those differences come from a seasoned understanding of governance, Darby contends. “He’s against water, against transportation, and against the public schools,” Darby said. When Darby says “against”, he means against spending state tax dollars on them.

Water infrastructure, Darby argues, is needed for the fast-growing population of Texas. Darby doesn’t think you can supply every thirsty new Texan with water by voting “no” to spending.

On transportation, Darby gets animated. He mentions that registration fees for vehicles are at the same level since the 1980s. Darby is in favor of pay-as-you-go funding for the state’s roadways. But you have to spend money to execute pay-as-you-go, he says.

Texas roads are deteriorating and it’s going to cost billions to fix them, Darby says. Every year Texas puts off fixing the roads, like the Farm-to-Market roads in the south and west Texas oil fields, it’s going to add more to future costs. Darby mentions that when the Democrats were in charge of the state government, they raised gas taxes nine times to pay-as-you-go. There hasn’t been a rate increase since 1990, he says. Instead, Texas has been piling up debt to pay for new highways. Darby doesn't believe debt is a conservative solution.

It’s the issue of the public schools that reveals the only stark ideological difference Darby has with Turner’s supporters.

Turner is for school choice and vouchers. Darby doesn’t think school vouchers are good for west Texas. “Our communities out here are defined by the school districts,” he said. Darby wants you to think about high school football. What kind of community would Wall, Christoval, Miles or Winters be if everyone was driving their kids to different private schools? “Vouchers are a way for the city folks to get the state to finance their own private schools,” Darby said.

Advocates for school choice are worried about the cultural decline of society that they believe is fostered by an amoral curriculum in the post-Abington School District v. Schempp public school system.  Schempp, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, began the process in 1963 of removing God from the classroom. School choice would allow parents to choose to where their state-funded vouchers would be spent, even, perhaps at a parochial school.

For Darby, whatever benefits the culture gains with vouchers doesn’t trump the unseen cost of removing the glue that binds west Texas’ communities together.

He also thinks that vouchers are a concept that isn’t ready for consideration in uncertain times. The Fort Bend ISD group lawsuit is scheduled to have a decision about state school finance by the Texas Supreme Court this year. What the court decides will alter somewhat how public schools are financed.

And then there is the Texas Teachers Retirement System (TRS) health care program. Darby says it’s $800 million under water due to healthcare costs continuing to rise. The retirement system for all state employees is $750 million under water, he says. Darby wants a plan to get these two retirement systems healthy. If we don’t start now, he says, we’ll miss the ability to leverage compound interest, costing Texans much more in future years.

On Jan. 13, members of the SATP are chartering a bus to Austin to show support of Turner and attempt to persuade Darby to vote against Straus. Darby says he isn’t budging, but will listen to constituents who call. “Since the Tea Party put my phone number up on their website, I’ve had five or six calls,” he says. In all but one, Darby says the caller ended up understanding, if not agreeing with, his reasons for supporting Straus.

Straus is a facilitator and process-oriented leader, Darby says. “He allows the House members to run the agenda… to bring legislation to the House,” Darby says. “He doesn’t get involved in day-to-day decisions.”

Darby says that last session Straus only voted on the budget, one of the most contentious issues the House faces.

The ability to facilitate legislation is something Darby feels that Turner will lack if successful in ousting Straus. “He’s a one-term member who didn’t get a single piece of his own legislation through last session,” Darby says.

The chances of a Turner Speakership are quixotic at the moment. According to the Texas Tribune, last month both Straus and Turner asked for a recorded vote for Speaker, the first time this has happened since 1975. The Tribune noted that 73 of the 98 Republicans have already publically expressed support for Straus. There are 52 Democrats who aren’t anticipated to vote for the Tea Party Republican Turner. The winner needs 76 votes.

Darby’s predictions for the upcoming Texas Legislative session:

• They will adjust accountability standards for public school testing, but there will not be a wholesale overhaul.
• The transportation formula for school districts will get adjusted.
• Darby wants more of the motor vehicle sales taxes to be dedicated to Fund 6, the transportation and highway fund.
• Darby wants the Texas Department of Public Safety to be funded out of the general revenue fund, not the transportation fund.
• The Legislature will address border security where the state is currently spending $20 million per month, Darby says. After touring the Rio Grand Valley this summer, Darby says two things are not working. The first is that the Texas National Guard, with no real authority to perform interdiction, is not returning a good return on investment for Texans. The second is that the temporary assignment of DPS troopers to the border is straining law enforcement in the troopers’ home base communities, like around San Angelo, and is not good for trooper morale. He says he is looking for solutions, whether it’s more manning, redirecting border security money into technology (cameras) or bolstering borderland sheriff’s departments.
• $4 billion for highways. Darby’s district is already getting $40 million for fixing the roads.

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Correction: In the original version, it read that the TRS, or teachers' retirement system is $800 million under water. Darby actually said that the TRS Healthcare insurance program for teachers is $800 under water. The text has been changed to reflect this.