1/28/2008

UPDATED: Hope Andrade Named Interim Chair of TxDOT - BUT, IS IT LEGAL?

Hope Andrade, who has served on the TxDOT commission since 2003, has been appointed to a term to expire "at the pleasure of the Governor".

According to the Governor's Office, Gov. Rick Perry appointed San Antonio's Hope Andrade as the "interim" chair of the Texas Transportation Commission today - to replace Ric Williamson who died from a heart attack just weeks ago. Andrade is expected to continue to ignore Texans and the Texas ledge, to force freeway to tollway conversions (as well as the TTC land grab) just as Williamson did.

UPDATE: A REGULAR BLOG READER, WHO IS ALSO A PRACTICING ATTORNEY BRINGS UP A GREAT POINT about the statements found on the Gov's website, "interim" and "for a term to expire at the pleasure of the governor".

The Gov can appoint who he wishes, BUT state law limits the term of that appointee, AND the appointee must be approved by the Ledge for that position.

So I ask, how is an "interim" appointment to expire whenever the Gov wants even legal?

The Gov. can either appoint someone for the term or not at all.

The Gov has no authority to make "interim" appointments, which I assume was fabricated to run an end-around on the Ledge. After all, The Ledge can't approve or disapprove an "interim" appointment, can they?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Her name is familiar to me. Was she head of CAMPO or was she with Envision Central Texas? I no I have written her vitriolic emails in the past.

Horrible Horrible Horrible

Anonymous said...

Okay, now I recall. She is a member of Texas Transportation Commission. When I made my big sign to picket down there at TTC building, I was going to put names of all the Commissioners on the sign.

Guess there is no chance of pursuing legal angle in Perry making "interim" appointments, but sure wish there were.

I have read up a bit about this woman. She and her hunsband in San Antonio must have big bucks and several businesses. She is in their chamber of commerce, claims to support Hispanic citizen causes when it is convenient, and don't know for sure but bet the Andrades are big Perry and R. party supporters and donators. She was a governor appointee on the Texas Turnpike Authority in the past. She is against gas tax increase and is in to using alternative public private parterniship fascist forms of financing roads. In other words, she is hell bent on having the TTC and the local double tax fascist toll roads.

If Hispanic citizens of San Antonio and Texas want good and fair road policy in Texas, they ought to be up in arms on the appointment of this woman to head the TTC.

Sal Costello said...

Folks,

The blue hyperlinks within the articles always give you a lot more drill down information...try it - click on Hope's hyperlink.

Thanks
Sal

Anonymous said...

When will someone, "ANYONE", stand up and say that "enough is enough". Perry has been in office too long and knows no boundaries. He is feeding his ego by doing things that are close, if not completely, illegal. Like this appointment. Now, everyone shifts their concern to a possible illegal appointment while he just goes on his merry way feathering the nest for the TTC. If it was "his dream", it was a nightmare, and I wonder if he can even tell the difference. There is so much opposition to the concept that we have lost sight of addressing the real need to solve the transportation problems. Isn't there SOME WAY to force this thing to a vote? People are nearing a state of paralysis in doing anything with their properties in fear that it will be destroyed by this "thing" of Perry's.

Anonymous said...

An on-going problem is that the in-place bureaucrats are squandering tax-payer funds among their cronies on no-bid and frivilous advertising lieu productively maintaining and building roads as the funds were collected to do. (from Dan Jasinski)