It’s nothing new to see candidates distorting their record in order to appear more conservative, but rarely do they flat out lie as badly as Susan Todd did to reporter Scott Nishimura of the Fort Worth Star Telegram.

Susan Todd was asked by the FWST about her past activities related to the Tony Sanchez campaign– a liberal Democrat who looked (unsuccessfully) to knock off Rick Perry for Governor in 2002. Todd told the newspaper that she never supported Sanchez, claiming the Texas Medical Association Alliance PAC (TEXPAC) endorsed him. Todd was President of the Texas Medical Association Alliance, but says she was never a board member of its PAC.

To say she was never a supporter of Tony Sanchez is a flat-out lie.

Susan Todd may not have been a board member of TEXPAC, but she was definitely a co-chair of the group called “Republicans and Independents for Sanchez”. The group included “125 Texas community leaders who back the Democratic gubernatorial candidate but might vote Republican in other races.”

Susan Todd also served as an advisory committee member for the group “Women for Sanchez.” The most prominent members of the committee included:

• Former Governor Ann Richards
• Congressman Sheila Jackson Lee
• Congressman Eddie Bernice Johnson
• State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte
• State Sen. Judith Zaffirini
• State Rep. Yvonne Davis
• State Rep. Dawnna Dukes
• State Rep. Jessica Farrar
• State Rep. Helen Giddings
• State Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon
• Former State Rep. and convicted felon Terri Hodge
• Former State Rep. Norma Chavez

But probably most damning of all was the quote Susan Todd gave in a press release sent out on behalf of Republicans and Independents for Tony Sanchez saying, “Mr. Sanchez will have my vote!”

Exactly how does Susan Todd say with a straight face that she never supported Tony Sanchez? Her blatant dishonesty over her past is reason enough to vote against her in the GOP Primary for HD 97. Even more so is her record as an ObamaCare cheerleader and her refusal to support taxpayers. You can read more about those at StopSusanTodd.com.

Susan Todd isn’t fooling anybody, no matter how much she pretends to be a conservative. Vote for the actual conservative in HD 97: Craig Goldman.

In 2007, Neugebauer wrote a letter to the Treasury Secretary criticizing him for not opening Fannie & Freddie up so that more of Wall Street’s toxic assets could be dumped onto taxpayers. Neugebauer wrote: “By refusing to lift the portfolio caps on the two GSEs, the [Bush] Administration continues to remain overly rigid…” Neugebauer continued with “Now is not the time to tie the hands of GSEs with insufficient portfolio cap flexibility or to micro-manage their portfolio activities…” History tells us that such is exactly what was needed.

The Bush White House had been trying to answer alarm bells about impending doom in the housing credit markets with reforms of the GSEs and Randy Neugebauer opposed those reforms.

The Wall Street Journal pointed out in 2010 that “These days, everyone—even Barney Frank—claims to want to reform Fannie and Freddie. Most Republicans now sound like these columns did for more than a decade, assailing the companies for their systemic risk to the financial system after taxpayers have had to put up $150 billion, and counting, to maintain them as the walking dead.”

“But as the debate over the mortgage giants resumes, the real threshold for GOP leadership ought to be who was right when it counted—that is, who was willing to take on the companies, their Wall Street allies and the housing lobby before the meltdown. The destructive duo [Fannie and Freddie] were long protected by a bipartisan phalanx of Members, and a core group of Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee were among the guardians. They include Gary Miller of California, Randy Neugebauer of Texas and Spencer Bachus of Alabama,” reported the Journal.

In the Neugebauer letters I’ve posted you see this two-faced position clearly. Before the crisis Neugebauer was pushing for allowing portfolio caps to be increased so that more junk debt could be piled into the GSEs by Wall Street’s bad actors. And then after the implosion became public a year later, Neugebauer writes a letter from an opposite position all worried about taxpayers’ exposure to the bad investments and demanding information – a pivot worthy of an Olympic gymnast.

I do not say this lightly as few worked harder to elect Neugebauer than did I but, send Randy Neugebauer and all of Congress a message: Vote for Chris Winn now in the GOP primary.

Texas Watchdog reported yesterday that Arlington ISD recently hired a public relations marking firm for $100,000 in order to “burnish its image.” The plan would use billboards, direct mail, e-blasts, fliers, social media campaigns, and brochures in order to keep parents in the loop about new classes, available electives and school ratings.

It’s going to take more than a PR firm to improve taxpayer’s perception of the district. Scrounging up $100,000 for a marketing campaign, despite being a member of a large collection of ISD’s throughout Texas suing the state for more money isn’t helping.

If perception is a problem for AISD, why not use that money on things that will actually improve the academic performance of their district instead of trying to rebrand themselves as such?

Republican:  SCHOOL CHOICE:  The state should fund education by allowing dollars to follow the child instead of the bureaucracy, through a program which allows parents the freedom to choose their child’s school, public or private, while also saving significant taxpayer dollars. Yes or No.

Democratic:  Referendum 3: Should the Texas Legislature allow the people of Texas to vote to legalize casino gambling with all funds generated being used only for education? For or Against.

So, Republicans have a chance to send a message that they want parents to have control over their children’s education.  Meanwhile, Democrats are being asked whether they want to approve gambling to pay for education in Texas.  There has rarely been a clearer line of distinction in the education goals and policies of the major parties.  School choice that can empower parents and save the state (read: you, the taxpayer) money could be a vital component to fixing our state’s overall problem with education funding.  Meanwhile, legalizing casino gambling would increase the state’s financial burden, creating or expanding regulatory agencies and necessarily increasing local and state law enforcement.  One is about loosening government’s monopoly and the other is about spending more with a diminishing return.

These are hardly issues that fit into the neat box of political affiliation; there are Democrats in favor of school choice, especially in inner cities, and there are Republicans who have filed gambling expansion legislation as late as the last session in Austin.  That being said, the priorities of the parties have become crystal clear, and we don’t need to wait for election results on May 29 to see this.

The desire to make the TEA Party seem weak ineffective has been a tempting narrative for the media to play since the 2010 election. After all, a movement powerful enough to put 101 Republicans in the Texas House in a non-presidential election cycle is enough to make any liberal cringe.

So it’s really no surprise the Dallas Morning News is joining the effort to downplay the potential power of the TEA Party in Texas’ 2012 election cycle.

DMN editorial columnist William McKenzie wrote yesterday about the business-focused special interest groups rallying to support Joe Straus and keep him as Speaker of the House – preparing not to let the “tea party run the show.”

McKenzie is apparently unhappy with TEA Party candidates’ desire to get rid of the franchise tax – one that hurts small businesses — and replace it with a more equitable system. Instead, he and Straus’ special interest cronies want to keep the franchise tax essentially the way it is now – limiting the growth of small businesses while providing more revenue to continue inefficiently funding our public school system.

As he put it, “I’m glad to see the business community getting ahead of this debate,”

In other words, he and the Dallas Morning News are glad someone is pushing back against the gains the TEA Party made during the 2010 election.

That’s certainly not breaking news, as taxpayers could see weeks ago the DMN was shilling against conservatives when they made anti-compact, pro-tax endorsements – picking tax-hikers like Todd Smith over Kelly Hancock in SD 9, David Lowerwald over Ron Simmons in HD 65, or Jim Pruitt over Scott Turner in HD 33.

All this really boils down to is an effort to begin shaping the narrative of a weak, ineffective, and unmotivated TEA Party, hoping taxpayers will be a little less vocal and a little less motivated to go out and support conservatives this election.

It isn’t working.

In fact, the TEA Party is brewing stronger than ever. Just ask recently defeated moderate Senator Dick Lugar (R – Indiana) what he thinks about the TEA Party’s effectiveness in replacing him with Richard Murdock.

Speaker Joe Straus campaigning at the same polling place as his primary challenger Matt Beebe

The TEA Party’s efforts in Indiana were no fluke. Just like here in Texas, it’s no fluke that establishment Republicans are in seriously hot water – some of which decided they couldn’t take it anymore and chose not to run for re-election. Others, such as Straus Committee Chairmen Vicki Truitt and Rob Eissler, are facing serious challenges in the primary. Straus’ favorite freshmen – like Barbara Nash and Lance Gooden – are being challenged as well.

Even Straus himself is facing a serious primary challenge – unheard of for any Texas Speaker in at least the last 20 years!

The results of the primary election in two weeks will come to show that the TEA Party is still a force to be reckoned with, no matter how hard the Dallas Morning News and other media outlets attempt to suppress it.

In a mail piece sent to voters over the weekend, Roger Fisher fraudulently claims TFR lists his opponent, Jonathan Stickland, as a tax-raiser. Bizarrely, Fisher cites us as his source!

Even more strange, since we have endorsed Jonathan Stickland.

In fact, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility endorsed Jonathan Stickland, in part because he has publicly pledged (see below) to oppose any and all tax increases. Meanwhile, Mr. Fisher has NOT signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, and worse still, raised taxes 12 percent while serving on the city council.

Jonathan Stickland is a strong conservative who deserves the support of HD92 conservatives.

Jonathan Stickland has signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge; Roger Fisher has not.

The majority of the taxes you pay in Texas are decided at the local level.  When you pay property taxes, they mostly pay for schools, and some services from your city and county and various other districts.  That has to be the most compelling reason to do your civic duty and vote in these most local of elections.  If it isn’t enough, consider that your city council and mayor are the elected officials who make decisions on things like police, fire, and other emergency services, on parks and other recreation, on mass transit like rail and buses, and on waste and water services.  Red light cameras are usually put in place by cities; parking fees and fines are decided on and collected for the city.

Voters are doing no one any favors by sitting out these elections.  Many do because the election is held on a Saturday in May – Mother’s Day weekend, when there are so many excuses to “forget” to vote.  This year in particular, with mass confusion over when the elections are being held and what’s on the ballot, voter apathy is at a wretched peak, meaning the diehard tax-and-spenders are more likely to get their way in non-partisan elections.  Incumbency carries weight in local elections, but a motivated base can easily push out an incumbent when the incumbent’s usual voters are inclined to stay home thinking they don’t “need” to get out and vote.  All the more reason for conservatives to do their homework and cast a vote – a little bit could go a long way.

If you didn’t vote early, you have all day on Saturday to cast your vote.  Not sure what’s on the ballot where you are?  Here’s a round-up of some lists from the major counties – if I didn’t list yours here, please check your county elections office (just search online for “—– county elections” if you’re not sure where to go).

Whatever you do, don’t let the status quo win just because you couldn’t be bothered to take ten minutes to go and vote.  As the wise man said, decisions are made by those who show up.

Dallas County list of entities holding elections

Travis County Sample Ballot (link fixed)

Harris County list of entities holding elections

Bexar County Sample Ballot

Collin County Polling Locations and Sample Ballots

Tarrant County Sample Ballots

Lubbock County Sample Ballots

McLennan County Polling Locations and Sample Ballots

Williamson County Ballot Information

Sid Miller

“As a veteran legislator, Sid Miller has consistently proven himself to be a strong advocate for Texas’ conservatives and the interests of his constituents,” said the president of Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, Michael Quinn Sullivan. “On issue after issue, Sid Miller has been willing to fight for his East Texas constituents while protecting Texas taxpayers.”

In 2011, Miller earned the “Taxpayer Champion Award” for his rating on the Fiscal Responsibility Index, which examines legislators recorded votes during the legislative session.

Sullivan praised Miller’s long-standing record in the Texas House promoting commonsense, conservative policy solutions and opposing tax increases.

Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, www.EmpowerTexans.com, is a non-profit, non-partisan 501c4 entity that focuses on state and local public policy issues.

“Troy Bonin is a principled conservative who will bring practical, commonsense principles to the Texas House,” said the president of Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, Michael Quinn Sullivan. “Voters can count on Dr. Bonin to oppose new taxes, reduce Texans’ tax burden, and demand greater accountability for how our money is spent in Austin.”

Bonin is seeking the Republican nomination in the open-seat House District 3, created during the redistricting process.. The primary election is set for Tuesday, May 29.

“Texans are looking for strong conservatives like Troy Bonin who will fight for the values and principles that will make Texas strong.”

Vicki Truitt

Truitt has performed poorly on the ratings of many conservative groups’ legislative ratings, including the Fiscal Responsibility Index. Rather than address her own record, or explain her efforts to raise taxes and increase regulations, Truitt’s campaign has been distorting the positions and activities of Empower Texans, including a mail piece sent last week that asserted false information without any citation of public records.

“Unlike Vicki Truitt, Empower Texans has never advocated for the imposition of any new taxes, and certainly not imposing sales taxes on health care, groceries or medicines. Out of desperation to hide her tax-raising record, and no-bid contracts from taxing entities, Vicki has resorted to creating myths and spreading distortions,” said Empower Texans president Michael Quinn Sullivan. “Vicki conveniently forgets her own tax-hiking record. While she is welcome to try and distort her own voting record and positions, she is not welcome to distort ours.”

The letter, sent by respected ethics attorney Trey Trainor of Beirne, Maynard & Parsons, L.L.P., directs Truitt “to cease and desist any further mischaracterization of the organizational goals of Empower Texans or the employment status of its employees.”

In her campaign mailer, Truitt also fraudulently claims Empower Texans employs a lobbyist. Truitt, however, uses as a campaign consultant Fort Worth lobbyist Bryan Eppstein. Truitt barely won re-election in 2010 despite outspending her opponents 10-to-1.

The incumbent legislator has recently been found to have received no-bid contracts from the Tarrant County Hospital District starting shortly after being appointed to the House Committee on Public Health. Those contracts accelerated in 2009 after she entered the leadership circle of House Speaker Joe Straus, a fellow moderate from San Antonio. A company run by Truitt and her husband has received at least $350,000 in no-bid contracts from the hospital district.

Truitt has also spearheaded an effort to increase the state’s gasoline tax and various fees — an effort opposed by every conservative group in the state, thousands of voters and a bipartisan majority of the Legislature. However, Truitt vowed at a public rally on the steps of the state capitol to continue working to raise taxes.

“As a state representative, Vicki Truitt has engaged in a reckless pattern of misrepresentation both on the House floor and in her actions as a candidate,” said Sullivan. “Rather than engage in defamation, Vicki and her team should spend time addressing her pursuit of no-bid government contracts. Rather than hide behind distortions, Vicki should come clean about her failed record.”

Joe Straus

And since 1992, only four times has an incumbent speaker faced any challenge in their district whatsoever — primary or general. In the national sea-change election of 1994, then-Speaker Pete Laney squeaked by a general election win with 64.6 percent of the vote.

In the Obama-wave 2008 election, a politically weakened Tom Craddick narrowly won a general election bid… with 62.1 percent of the vote. (He lost the speakership a month later.)

The New York Times, in fact, referred to Joe Straus’ election as House Speaker over Mr. Craddick as riding the Obama wave, noting a “coup by moderate Republicans” joining with the Obama Democrats elected that year. (The article was titled “Texas Rebellion Gives a Centrist a Lift.”)

The strength of a speaker is often measured by the staying power of his allies. A complaint against Mr. Craddick were claims his committee chairs and allies were left vulnerable when targeted in elections.

Joe Straus has been unsuccessful in protecting his own inner-circle. Republican chairmen Delwin Jones of Lubbock and Tommy Merritt of Longview were defeated in the 2010 primary, and Democratic Straus ally Jim McReynolds fell that November. Straus cheerleader (and committee chairman) Brian McCall of Plano resigned his seat in 2010, to avoid a primary fight and take a job in higher ed.

Since then, Straus committee chairs have been retiring in droves — all worried about having to defend themselves against charges of being aligned with a speaker uncommitted to even the most basic of fiscally conservative reforms.

Mr. Straus even worked against the Republican wave of 2010, doing his best to keep vulnerable Democrats in office by refusing to support Republican challengers — including doing a fundraiser for one of his doomed Democratic chairs.

His favored freshmen — like Barbara Nash, Marva Beck and Lance Gooden — are having a rough go in their GOP re-elections, as are entrenched Straus committee chairs like Vicki Truitt.

(Meanwhile, Ken Paxton — who attempted a late-game challenge to Straus in 2011, and the talking heads in Austin declared politically dead as a result — is walking essentially unopposed into a state senate seat.)

Using history as their guide, legislators expect a Speaker of the House to be standing on the most solid ground; Mr. Straus has an unthinkable primary challenge. Add the loss of even one committee chairman or Straus-friendly freshman, and the voice of his speakership becomes an inaudible whisper.

Bill Callegari

“As a veteran legislator, Bill Callegari has consistently proven himself to be a strong advocate for Texas’ conservatives and the interests of his constituents,” said the president of Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, Michael Quinn Sullivan. “On issue after issue, Bill Callegari has been willing to fight for his constituents while protecting Texas taxpayers.”

In 2011, Callegari earned the “Taxpayer Advocate Award” for his rating on the Fiscal Responsibility Index, which examines legislators recorded votes during the legislative session.

Sullivan praised Callegari’s long-standing record in the Texas House promoting commonsense, conservative policy solutions and opposing tax increases.

“Mr. Callegari has been a leader in working to get government out of our pocketbooks, reducing the number of licensing agencies and freeing small businesses from burdensome regulations.”

Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, www.EmpowerTexans.com, is a non-profit, non-partisan entity that focuses on state and local public policy issues.

Former State Rep. and "Prince of Pork" Tommy Merritt

Recently at a candidate forum for House District 7, Tommy Merritt re-assured voters why they made the right choice by throwing him out of office in 2010. Merritt (sounding well-versed in the Educrat/Liberal playbook) went on record advocating for drawing down the Rainy Day Fund this coming session to pay for the “enrollment growth” allegedly not funded by the 82^nd Legislature.

In other words, Tommy Merritt is already committing himself to draining the state’s savings account (six months before the 83^rd Session even starts) without even so much as considering to look for more efficiencies or to cut out wasteful spending in other areas of state government.

Remember, the supposed “enrollment growth” that wasn’t funded in the 82^nd Session has been overfunded by nearly five times the rate of population plus inflation over the past ten years – a topic we’ve covered extensively over the past year.

It would be interesting to know if the “Caucus of One” is also joining with his liberal brethren to claim the state “cut” funding to public education this biennium (which we all know was actually an increase).

It would also be interesting to know if the former “Prince of Pork” is aware that Longview ISD, the largest school district in HD 7, has a pathetic instructional spending rate of less than 30% – spending over $15,000 per student! Does it sound like they really need more money than what the state has already appropriated them over the last decade? Sadly, this isn’t a problem isolated only in East Texas.

Regardless, Merritt’s admission to wanting to do exactly the same thing he did the last time he was in Austin (spend all your money) is helpful. Taxpayers in HD 7 have a stark contrast between him and conservative champion David Simpson.

Simpson, who was named “Rookie of the Year” by Young Conservatives of Texas, responsibly voted against draining down the Rainy Day Fund last session to pay for recurring expenses. His display of commonsense policymaking (a breath of fresh air for HD 7!) is why he earned the distinction of Taxpayer Champion.

If you live in East Texas, this is really an easy choice to make. If you want a true conservative leader dedicated to protecting taxpayers, David Simpson is your man. Otherwise, Democrats like Senfronia Thompson would love to be re-united with their former colleague.

Take for example a story from Texas Tech’s Daily Toreador on May 2^nd headlined “Texas Tech offers course about vampires”. Erin Collopy is the professor teaching the course and pointed out that it’s not original to Tech but has been bouncing around academia since, no surprise, the 1960’s.

“(The course) traces the development of the vampire from its roots in Slavic folklore into the literary and film vampire of today,” said the associate professor of Russian language and literature to the Toreador reporter. “I’m more interested in what the vampires represent,” she said. “They are an excellent metaphor for human anxieties, fears and desires. If you look at something like the book ‘Dracula,’ that has traditionally been read about anxiety about the foreigners, anxiety about political systems that are different from the British system, anxiety about female sexuality.” [sic]

“The course fulfills a multicultural and humanities requirement that is required for all Tech students,” the story reports.

I’m a big fan of true Liberal Arts education but does this truly fit or, is it an example of academic self-indulgence wasting our time, our money, and replacing class time that should be spent on the basic canon of philosophy and Western Civilization?

It seems fraudulent for Texas Tech and the others to decry budget cuts and raise tuition when vampire literature studies are among the rot filling those expensive classrooms.

In fact, at one-third of the locations the chargers are only gathering cobwebs.

By the way, the chargers cost taxpayers $5,000 apiece!

While electric cars might someday be a viable means of transportation, that day isn’t today — no matter how much wasteful spending the federal and local governments might try. The current crop is at best a fad.

GM halted production of the Chevy Volt because of lagging sales. That hasn't stopped San Antonio charging taxpayers for car chargers.

General Motors announced in March that they were suspending production of their Chevy-branded Volt. Why? The Washington Post says it was “disappointing sales.” (Those Volts catching on fire probably didn’t help.)

Electric cars are very expensive, even with subsidies. And some are just downright crazy.

The KENS-5 story includes an interview with the owner of an electric Porsche. Yes, you read that right, an electric Porsche. If someone can afford an electric Porsche, taxpayers shouldn’t be buying them charging stations.

Proponents of the wasteful spending told journalists that the money was spent installing the unused chargers so government could study the electric car market.

The idea government is going to do market research is just plain silly. Let the marketplace do market research, and keep the government’s nose out of it. And out of our pockets.

Many Texans fail to realize that at one time, Texas had a constitutional statewide property tax.  The statewide property tax was a 10 cent tax per $100 valuation, used to bring in revenue for capital improvement projects for Texas public universities.  In 1978, State Representative Wayne Peveto filed suit to prove the state property tax is unconstitutional on ground that valuations, assessment, and  collection methods vary widely among the 254 counties in Texas.   The inequities in the appraisal process around the state make the tax inequitable, even though the tax rate was set by law.  In the 1970s, the inequities present in the statewide property tax were enough to force the legislature to repeal the tax or risk the tax being ruled unconstitutional, even at a low, flat tax rate.

Several years and many laws later, the appraisal system is still a quagmire of inequity.  Each year a value comes out of the magical black box, but the property owner seldom knows the means by which the value was developed.  In years when the market is distressed, homes are not selling, and foreclosures are up, appraisals may somehow increase above and beyond the common selling price of the house in one county but may remain flat in neighboring counties.

Even with the improvements made to the appraisal system and adding options for homeowners to easily challenge their appraised values, there are still many more differences between county appraisal offices instead of similarities between them.  The Comptroller’s Methods and Assistance Program (MAP) shows that many counties have improvements to make to their appraisal offices.

Every inequity that is currently in the property tax system will be expanded if a statewide property tax is reinstated through a constitutional amendment.  Fortunately, the State Legislature had the presence of mind to repeal the constitutional amendment that had previously authorized a statewide property tax in 1982 and the Texas voters overwhelmingly approved it.  The current legislature should take note of the wisdom of their predecessors 30 years ago and realize that a statewide property tax for public education will not fix the school finance system, it will only lead to further constitutional property tax challenges.

Despite all this, Senator Duncan and a handful of others continue to advocate for a statewide property tax to pay for public education.  As the House Ways and Means committee meets today to discuss, in part, alternative tax systems for the state, we need to make sure we’ve learned the lessons of the past before attempting to move forward.

Last October, Dripping Springs ISD asked taxpayers to approve a 13-cent property tax hike  (to the maximum allowable rate by law), claiming the state underfunded public schools during the 82^nd Legislative Session.

They forgot to mention that the DSISD’s instructional spending rate was abysmal – only 25% of total funding was making its way into the classroom.

With no surprise, voters shot down the board’s proposal to hike taxes in the November election by a 74-26% margin – one of the largest rejections of a tax hike in the state that cycle. In other words, taxpayers gave their school board a big, fat F for their fiscal irresponsibility.

It doesn’t appear the school board learned their lesson.

On April 19^th, DSISD trustees passed a “Resolution to Stop the Cuts,” ridiculously calling for a special session to dip into the Rainy Day Fund (up to $2.5 billion) in order to bring funding up the level it would have been had the legislature not finally cut them off from their spending addiction.

They don’t understand that they already have plenty of money – they just don’t seem to know how to spend it responsibly. Nor do they seem to understand the calls during the 82^nd Session to protect the Rainy Day Fund for when the true budget-busters – ObamaCare and Medicaid liabilities – finally hit the state in the coming years.

Taxpayers shouldn’t worry though – Governor Perry has already made it perfectly clear the big-spending educrats aren’t going to get their way with a special session.

DSISD Board of Trustees Secretary John Adams

What they should keep mind, however, is that DSISD board Secretary John Adams is running against Taxpayer Champion Jason Isaac in the general election for Texas House this November. No doubt, as a Democrat and an educrat Mr. Adams will be campaigning solely on restoring “cuts” to public education – which were actually still increases – with no plan to actually stop wasteful spending and make our public schools more efficient.

Taxpayers should give Mr. Adams a remedial course in fiscal responsibility by sending Rep. Isaac back to Austin.

Dallas ISD just hired Mike Miles as the district’s new superintendent at a price of $300,000 per year. Lucrative bonuses embedded in Mile’s contract, totaling up to $200,000 annually, are appalling considering the district faces another budget shortfall this year and is currently suing the State of Texas over its school funding system.

The aforementioned lucrative bonuses include $125,000 per year for meeting “student achievement goals,” yet to be determined by the district, and $75,000 per year if Miles meets certain performance goals.

In addition, Miles is entitled to a $500 per month vehicle allowance and a $250 per month cell phone allowance. That’s the equivalent of about four teacher’s annual salary in bonuses alone.

This year DISD is facing a budget shortfall of up to $38 million. The district plans on dealing with the shortfall by closing schools and cutting more than 200 teaching positions.

Not to mention Dallas ISD is a part of a coalition of schools suing the state over its school funding system.

By this action, the district claims that the state is to blame for its budget shortfalls, but on closer examination, DISD officials prove that they have been mismanaging taxpayer money for years.

The school district’s attempt to vilify those in the Legislature as if the state is the cause for their abhorred fiscal mismanagement is a ploy that just won’t work. Remember, this is the same district that was exposed by the Dallas Morning News for their profligate waste of more than $81 million – or about 1,500 teaching positions – from 2006 to 2010.

Administrative excess has clearly become business as usual for Dallas ISD, and the contract for the new superintendent serves as another example of the glaring hypocrisy of public school educrats.

The Austin American Statesman reported this weekend that UT is buying a restaurant called Players for $3 million in cash, plus a 10-year no-charge lease valued at about $1 million. Nice deal for the owners, but is it a good deal for the students and taxpayers?

After all, that’s a lot of cha-ching – and apparently far more than the property is worth. To circumvent state laws prohibiting payments for property above fair-market value, one of UT’s related charitable foundations is kicking in cash — the McCombs School of Business Foundation.

It goes like this, according to the Statesman:

The foundation bought the property for $3 million and the no-charge lease. UT then purchased the property from the foundation for $1.5 million in cash and assumed the $1 million lease obligation, for a total cost to the university of $2.5 million — the appraised value of Players. In other words, the foundation contributed $1.5 million to cover the difference between the appraised value and the sale price.

While UT might have an interest in actually using the property, they also might not.

Apparently UT just has a lot of cash laying around. And they just couldn’t use that money for, you know, reducing tuition or improving the ratio of teacher-faculty to students. No, buying a restaurant makes a lot more sense… to a bureaucrat.

Who shows up: Campaign Todd or Austin Todd? Both will end up raising your taxes.

In editorial board meetings and in the safe confines of Austin’s backrooms, State Rep. Todd Smith is a reliable vote for the tax-hike crowd.

But if you’re in the 90 percent of Republicans who want to limit the reach of government? Todd Smith just doesn’t have the time for you.

In fact, Todd Smith apparently told the Dallas Morning News that if elected to the Texas Senate in District 9 he’d support raising gasoline taxes. No surprise; he has actually supported raising gasoline taxes for some time.

Speaking to conservative voters in the district, however, we hear from a different Todd Smith. The campaign Todd Smith says he’s a conservative who opposes raising taxes and will control the costs of government. (Where has this Todd Smith been during legislative sessions?)

So we have an Austin Todd, and a Campaign Todd. Unfortunately for the two Todd Smiths, the Fort Worth Star Telegram introduced them both to voters. Talk about an odd couple.

Caught between a Dallas Morning News endorsement praising him for being a tax-hiker, and a speech to the Mextroplex Republican Women claiming he opposes a tax increase, Mr. Smith nonsensically explained the disconnect to the FWST by claiming he just wants to keep his options open, in case the economy improves.

Translation: Todd Smith just wants to keep your pocketbook open to his special-interest friends. He is at-best unreliable on taxes, and a failure on spending.

Consistently failing conservative groups’ ratings, Todd Smith was an early supporter of moderate Joe Straus. But then Smith was unceremoniously dumped by the Straus leadership team; exactly why is a mystery, but observers note it came after he publicly mismanaged Voter ID legislation in 2009 and then foolishly denied his own culpability.

So on taxes — like so many issues — there appears to be several Todd Smiths. One who favors the DMN hike-taxes-now-for-boondoggles program, and one who claims he opposes a tax hike — for now, while campaigning. Depending on who else he talks to, a few more Todd Smiths may appear.

(The NE Tarrant County TEA Party has seen enough of Todd Smith. Not a single member of their steering committee is supporting him.)

Bottom-line: Todd Smith will say almost anything to get a seat in the Texas Senate. But he will most definitely vote to raise your taxes… if he’s given the opportunity.

So whoever the real Todd Smith is, Texas taxpayers are looking forward to sending you packing.