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January
4, 2006
GOP Sophomore Class Claims Five
of Ten Top Spots on 2005 Rankings
By
Mike Hailey
Capitol Inside Editor
They've
had the numbers to make or break key legislation
since showing up for their debut session
three years ago - and most of the members
of the GOP's big sophomore class have lived
up to the conservative reputations they'd
established as candidates when Republicans
took the Texas House elections by storm
in 2002.
The
Capitol Inside Conservative Voting
Index is evidence of that. Five House Republicans
from the Class of 2003 are among the 10
state representatives who compiled the most
conservative voting records at the Texas
Capitol in 2005, the CVI shows. Twelve of
the 24 most conservative state House members
are sophomores as well. One
Republican freshman is also ranked among
the top 10 most conservative House members
in Texas in 2005.
The
Conservative Voting Index has been updated
to reflect biennial scores assigned to state
lawmakers by four Texas political organizations
that analyzed key votes cast in the House
and Senate while the Legislature was in
session earlier this year. A Capitol
Inside examination of a series of House
and Senate votes taken in the 2005 regular
session also figures into an overall average
on which the CVI rankings are based.
While
the Voting Index reinforces the sophomores'
conservative image, it also shows that not
all of the 26 Republicans who took office
in early 2003 marched in lockstep on major
issues facing the Legislature during their
second House terms. Three sophomores - in
fact - are rated among the 10 least conservative
House Republicans on the updated list.
The
most conservative House member in 2005 was
a second-term Republican - State Rep. Ken
Paxton of McKinney. Another sophomore,
State Rep. Jodie Laubenberg
of Parker, ranks third while a couple of
classmates - State Reps. Linda Harper-Brown
of Irving and Bill Keffer of
Dallas - are close behind in a tie for fourth.
Two-term Republican State Rep. Larry
Taylor of Friendswood is tied for
ninth place on the conservative voting list
for the year that ended at the start of
this week.
The
Senate's 19 Republicans all had higher
conservative ratings than any of the chamber's
12 Democrats. That wasn't the case in the
House, where five Republicans scored lower
than the most conservative Democrat - State
Rep. Chuck Hopson of Jacksonville.
State
Senator Todd Staples, who's
running for Texas agriculture commissioner,
slipped past State Senator Jane
Nelson of Lewisville to claim the
top spot as most conservative state senator
in the year that just ended. Nelson and
State Senator Troy Fraser
of Horseshoe Bay are tied for second in
the upper chamber on the conservative voting
meter for 2005.
State
Senator Kip Averitt of
McGregor had the lowest score for a Republican
in the east wing of the Capitol while State
Senator Ken Armbrister of
Victoria to no surprise was the most conservative
Democrat during the past year.
The
least conservative House member based on
the voting record reviews was State Rep.
Alma Allen of Houston while
State Senator Judith Zaffirini had
the lowest average score in her side of
the Capitol. Another freshman House member
- State Rep. Abel Herrero
of Corpus Christi - scored tenth on the
list of least conservative House members.
State Rep. Eddie Rodriguez of
Austin - one of nine Democrats who entered
the lower chamber the same year Paxton and
the other sophomores arrived - finished
2005 in the seventh position on the list
of least conservative House members.
State
Rep. Pat Haggerty, an El
Paso Republican, had the least conservative
record of all 85 Republicans who voted on
bills, amendments, motions and other proposals
in the lower chamber this year.
The
CVI is based on an average of scores assessed
by the Texas
Eagle Forum, the Young
Conservatives of Texas and Heritage
Alliance, which used to be known as
FreePac. Scores assessed by the Texas
Association of Business were also factored
into the final equation this year.
State
Rep. Rene Oliveira made
the biggest leap up the ladder, vaulting
from his position in May as the least conservative
House member to 22nd on the list of most
conservative Democrats. The index lists
scores for 62 House Democrats who cast votes
in the regular session and two special sessions.
State Rep. Carlos Uresti
of San Antonio - a candidate for state Senate
in 2006 - covered the most ground in the
other direction as he dropped from his spot
in May as the 24th most conservative Democrat
to 47th on the updated list.
But
none of the Democrats or Republicans moved
as far in either direction as State Rep.
Jim Pitts of Waxahachie
did when he went from being the 13th most
conservative member to 68th on the list
as a result of votes he cast during his
first session as the House Appropriations
Committee chairman. Stephenville State Rep.
Sid Miller, who was elected
vice-chairman of the House Republican Caucus
during the regular session, made the biggest
move up the conservative list when he shot
from the 57th position to number 13 on the
new ratings. Freshmen representatives and
senators were not ranked on the May CVI,
which was based on scores issued after the
2003 session by the aforementioned organizations
along with a CI score for votes cast during
this year's regular session.
State
Senator Eliot Shapleigh
of El Paso climbed from his slot as the
least conservative Senate member in May
to number eight on the list of 12 Democrats.
State Senator Judith Zaffirini
of Laredo traded places with Shapleigh.
State Senator Jon Lindsay,
who's not seeking re-election, made the
biggest move of any Republican in the upper
chamber when he fell from sixth to 13th
on the conservative list.
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