Gov. Rick Perry‘s office has made a lot of hullabaloo about him being made Texan of the Year by the 41st Texas Legislative Conference on Friday.

However, this wasn’t actually news, since the win was announced way back on Dec. 19 last year – this was just the chicken dinner pat-on-the-head shindig in New Braunfels last week. So the decision was made before the Texas Youth Commission scandal. And the human papillomavirus “inoculation by dictate” debacle. And the Legislature working hard to put the breaks on his Trans-Texas Corridor. And his disapproval rating, according to SurveyUSA, hitting 50% as of Feb. 9.

This article appears in March 23 • 2007.

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The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.