Naked City

On Friday, Oct. 10, Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn sent a letter to Gov. Rick Perry asking that he veto HB 7 -- the government reorganization bill that would, among many other things, strip the comptroller's office of the responsibility (and the staff) for the "e-Texas" state-agency performance reviews and the Texas School Performance Reviews. The bill hadn't passed yet -- that would come Sunday afternoon -- but by Monday, Perry had "indicated" his refusal, according to Strayhorn as she blasted the governor in a speech before the Greater Houston Partnership. The Republican comptroller apparently retains a few sources among the Capitol elephants; Strayhorn said she had since learned that the governor had personally informed the House Republican Caucus that "he wanted these programs stripped from the comptroller's office because 'it was personal.'"

"My telling the truth is apparently what the governor takes as 'personal,'" thundered Strayhorn, after a thumbnail history of her offenses to the Republican leadership: announcing the budget shortfall, refusing to certify an unbalanced budget, pointing out $700 million in additional funds for health care, and worst of all, listing the $2.7 billion in new fees and other charges included in the Lege's "no new taxes" budget. Strayhorn went on to blame the Perry administration for cuts in children's health insurance, "skyrocketing" property taxes and homeowners insurance, "unacceptable inequity" in public education, cuts to higher education funding, and transportation gridlock. "And what is most personal to me," Strayhorn continued, "is the lost civility, the lost dignity, the lost honor, the lost effectiveness, and the lost spirit of bipartisanship championed by then-governor and now President George W. Bush."

Strayhorn has often been mentioned as a possible candidate for governor, senator, or lieutenant governor; when asked by the Houston Chronicle if she now has Perry in her sights, she would only say, "I am 24-7 the Texas comptroller, and I will be 24-7 the Texas comptroller. I never say never. I want to be where I can make the most difference."