Letter From Rep Candy Noble on the speakers race
I’m going to step on some toes today, so tuck yours in.

The observations are my own (so don’t get mad at anyone but me if you disagree).

Let me start by giving you some of my personal background. I served on the State Republican Executive Committee (SREC) for 8 years, and while there, we worked diligently to make sure that the Republican House Caucus would meet together and elect a speaker. We got it into the platform, and as a member of the Texas House we also now have it in our House Republican Caucus Rules. The purpose of that rule was to assure that a handful of Republicans would not join with Democrats and elect a Speaker. All three sessions that I have served (I’m about to begin my fourth session), we have done just that. We elected Speaker Dennis Bonnen, then Speaker Dade Phelan within the Caucus process.
Here's where it gets sticky.
Opening day two years ago, a handful of Republicans did not vote for the Speaker that was chosen by the House Republican Caucus process. They should have been vilified by the “grassroots” for not only going against the Caucus process, but also against our own Republican Party Rules. But no. Instead, there were those who praised them and they were hailed as heroes. They had defied Party Rules! So how did they not get “censured” for not following the Rules? Because outside (and inside) influences told the Grassroots to believe that they were heroes for breaking those rules. Curious, right? I’ll circle back around to those outside influences later.
So, now let me give you a little background on how differently the two chambers- the House and the Senate- work. First, in the Senate it is the Lt Governor who runs the Senate, but he is not a Senator (so cannot author bills). He alone decides which bills can be heard and voted on the Senate Floor. Even bills that have made it through the committee process and have made it to the Senate floor do not necessarily get voted on by the full Senate. It has been said that the Lt Governor in Texas is more powerful than the Governor when the Legislature is in Session because he controls the flow of all the bills through the entire Senate. For the record, I like Lt Governor Dan Patrick, and appreciate his conservative stances and was honored to have his endorsement in my recent race. But picture a Democrat with that much power over half of the Legislature and you’ll get a shiver up your spine.
That is why it is important that the House is so very different, to be a balance to that power. Our Texas ancestors were brilliant when they crafted our government. It takes half, or 76 members (out of 150) to elect a Speaker. The Speaker is elected from among our House membership. At any point in Session, 76 members can get mad enough at that Speaker to remove him or her from being Speaker. Also keep in mind that it takes a quorum of 100 members to conduct House business or to pass a proposed Constitutional Amendment.
We have had extraordinary success in the Texas Legislature the last three sessions. Our Texas Economy is so strong that if we were an independent nation we would rank 8th in GDP in the world. We eliminated abortion. We built our own border wall. We passed the largest property tax cut in the history of the world. We passed Constitutional Carry. We Saved Women's Sports and protected children online and in their school libraries. And so much more... We have a lot to celebrate as a state. Yet those same outside influences keep disparaging the Texas House, the Texas House Speaker, and even individual Republican Members of the House. Remember, nothing passes into law without going through both the House and the Senate. To what end is the purpose of vilifying any Republican?
Now I’m going to jump headlong into the Texas House Speaker’s race. I’ve not written or spoken about it publicly, because I love my fellow House Members and love the great policies that we work on together to accomplish. Unfortunately, those same outside (and inside) influences have made the race all about politics (not policy).
What we should be asking the candidates for Speaker: What are your policies that will help Texas be successful? How will you accomplish those policies?
Here is the GOOD NEWS: WE HAVE TWO OUTSTANDING CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICANS that are running for Speaker. Yes, you heard me right. No matter what you’ve heard to the contrary, both men who are currently running are good guys and would do a great job leading the House.
David Cook is my deskmate on the House Floor, and I love him and his wife Tonya. His grandkids call him “Cookie,” so together we are “Candy and Cookie” and the snacks (candy and cookies) make our desks a popular stop on the House Floor. I am on the record supporting him for Speaker.
Dustin Burrows was my Chairman on Way and Means my freshman term. We did significant property tax reform under his leadership, and he was a great communicator as a chairman. We always knew where we were headed as a committee, and he explained both the process and the purpose of our mission as a committee very clearly.
Both of these men love our state and our party and would do a great job.
(Why anyone would want that job is a mystery to me…I certainly would not want it. They should both be thanked for throwing their hats in the ring, not bludgeoned for it.)
Now, how did we get to where we are today?
The House Republican Caucus met on December 7.
All eighty-eight Republican House members were present to begin. Our Caucus Chairman is a dear friend and colleague, Tom Oliverson. Just as a frame of reference, Chairman Oliverson had already not only put his name out there as a candidate for Speaker, he had declared his support for one of the two candidates. A good number of members had expressed their concern going into Caucus that the process would not be fairly led by someone who had openly expressed that they were not neutral. I did feel that he tried his best to do everything by the book.
And so the Caucus began.
Here’s where it gets complicated. In the first three rounds of voting, a candidate needed 2/3 of the membership, which is 59, to receive enough support for the Caucus Nomination. The rules change after three rounds to a 3/5 or 53 members voting for one candidate for that candidate to secure the Caucus nomination. Keep in mind that neither 50 nor 53 is enough for anyone to be elected Speaker. They need 76 House Members to be elected, and keep their seat as Speaker.
The first round of voting David Cook got 48 and Dustin Burrows got 40. No one anywhere near the 59 needed. The second round of voting David Cook got 47 and Dustin Burrow got 41. No real progress toward the 59 needed.
Here’s where it got ugly, I’m sad to say. One member asked for a 10-minute break for everyone to talk. (Let me point out that it is always a good thing on the House Floor for members to take a minute to work together for solutions. It happens quite often.) Some members said “No! I object!” to this ten-minute break suggestion. They wanted to go straight into the third round of voting. Chairman Oliverson decided to have the members vote on the question of a 10-minute talking break. The division of the room on this suggested vote made the room appear even more hostile. This is when a good number of members got up and walked out. It is my understanding that they felt that the process was too flawed to be fair. I stayed in Caucus hoping that they would come back and that we could choose a candidate with all 88 people voting. I do wish they would have stayed, but that is water under the bridge.
Now, the Republican House Caucus Rules allow for a simple majority to continue to conduct business, and “those present and voting” make up the new number for a decision by the body. To make a long story a bit shorter, after a delay of a couple of hours, only 62 out of the original 88 voted again. Now remember, it takes 76 to elect a Speaker on the House Floor, so the 62 were never going to be enough. The 62 did vote, and David Cook got 48 and Dustin Burrows got 14 votes. But because the “present and voting” number was lower, so was the number needed for 3/5, that number was now lowered to 37.
Twenty-six Republican House members were not there to vote. It could be argued that had they stayed, no one would have gotten to the threshold for a Caucus nomination, no matter how many rounds of voting we had accomplished. David Cook never got more than 48 votes in Caucus, but with the lower number of people present and voting, he did get the Caucus endorsement.
I was asked all through last year’s election who I would support for Speaker. My answer was always “I will support whoever gets the most votes in Caucus”. Therefore, as a person of my word, I do support David Cook for Speaker. His 48 votes in Caucus is a majority of Republicans and I’m proud to support my friend and deskmate.
Now to address those outside and inside influences. Why would anyone be so adamant that one Republican be Speaker and not another? Especially with two men who have a proven history so closely aligned with Conservative principles and outstanding voting records?
It certainly isn’t about Conservative policies. They both are unified when it comes to our core mission.
It isn’t about who can work best with the Senate or the Governor. They both have, as far as I can tell, good working relationships and friendships with both.
And, no matter what you’ve been told, it is not about “Democrat Chairs of Committees.” David Cook has said that he would not appoint Democrat Chairmen, and Dustin Burrows has said that this is a Rule that the entire House should make, not the Speaker, therefore leaving that choice up to the body, and that he would abide by the will of the House on that issue. They are not that far apart on this issue, just different methods for achieving it.
Here's the part that you may not know about. Outrageous and even evil methods have been brought to bear on some of the members supporting Dustin Burrow in the race. Horrible accusations, publishing and mass texts with the member’s cell phone numbers, mailers (from our Republican State Party, of all things) and threats have been leveled at them. All for supporting a Conservative Republican for Speaker. In my opinion, this is shameful, and certainly not the Republican way of doing things.
We should all pause and ask ourselves. Who is paying for this vitriol? And why?
Is it to get good policy into law? I contend that that is not the answer, because when I speak to people, they often can’t even tell me one issue with which they disagree with either candidate. In fact, I haven’t had one person give me a good answer as to why this venom is aimed at a fellow Republican.
Is it because one candidate has Democrat House members on their list of supporters? That, too is a bad reason, because any candidate needs to get to 76 to win next Tuesday, and it is my understanding that both candidates have reached out to Democrat House members for support.
My support for David Cook is firm. We should all be allowed to have good and healthy discussions without damaging rhetoric dividing us into factions. We have an opportunity to do great things in the Texas legislature this session, and let’s give whoever is the Texas House leader a chance to prove themselves in the days ahead.
So, today I want to ask you for a couple of things as we head into session next Tuesday.
Pray for us. Pray for our leadership and that each member would look to God for wisdom on that search. Give each member the benefit of the doubt that they are representing their constituents to the best of their ability. Don’t buy into the rhetoric that others are “in the know” and should tell you what YOU should think or who you should like. Let’s act like Christians and show that we can love and disagree without being hateful or disagreeable. Let’s remember that we don’t grow our party with disunity, but on common goals and good policy.
For those coming down for the Swearing In next Tuesday, we’d love for you to come by our new office on E1 508. We’ll roll out the red carpet for you! Can’t make it in person? Watch online at the Texas House of Representatives live streaming. We gavel in at noon on Tuesday, January 14. 
Meanwhile, bundle up out there. Remember that you can check out the Texas Grid Conditions in real time. We’ve done so much to improve the grid over the last several years, it’s encouraging to see the changes. Also, TxDOT has snow and ice driving tips and also road conditions and road closures at DriveTexas.
Till next time…..
Candy Noble

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