Texas Government (GOVT 2306) -- The Executive

1. The Executive
GOVT 2306
Chapter 8

2. Overview of the Governorship
 Gubernatorial Politics: Money and Media
 Donors of large sums of money to a winning gubernatorial
campaign are often appointed to key policymaking positions
 The practice of buying influence with campaign contributions is
common throughout the American political system
 Texas is no exception

3. Overview of the Governorship
 Election
 Constitutional Prerequisites
 Minimum age: 30
 U.S. Citizenship
 Texas residency for 5 years (immediately preceding the election)
 Historically, those who are elected had a conservative-moderate
political ideology

4. Overview of the Governorship
 Election
• Informal Qualifications of Governor
– Party v. Ideology
– Gender
– Race
– Religion
– Profession
– Income Level
– Incumbency
– Education

5. Overview of the Governorship

6. Overview of the Governorship
 Compensation
 Salary: $150,000 as of 2010-2011
 Set in the state budget
 Same as the salaries for the attorney general and the comptroller of
public accounts
 Texas Constitution forbids the governor from receiving compensation
from other employment after taking office
 Mansion
 Around $168,000 per year for staff and upkeep
 Staff
 Travel
 Security
 Texas Department of Public Safety

7. Overview of the Governorship
 Compensation
 Salary: $150,000 as of 2010-2011
 Set in the state budget
 Mansion
 Staff
 Travel
 Security – DPS

8. Overview of the Governorship
 Succession
 Should a governor die, resign, or be removed from office, a
governor-elect refuse to take office or be permanently unable to
fill the office, a successor serves for the remainder of the
governor’s 4 year term
 Order of Succession
 Lieutenant Governor
 Senate President Pro Tempore
 Speaker of the House
 Attorney General
 Chief Justices of 14 Texas Court of Appeals in ascending order

9. Overview of the Governorship
 Removal from Office
 Impeachment and conviction are the only constitutional means of
forcing a governor from office prior to the end of the term
 Governor Jim “Pa” Ferguson was removed in 1917
 Article XV Section 1 of the Texas Constitution explains process:
 Articles of Impeachment begin in the Texas House of Representatives
with a simple majority vote
 To remove the Governor – one or more of the articles must be
approved by 2/3 Senators present.
 If convicted of impeachment, governor can no longer hold appointed or
elected state office

10. Overview of the Governorship
 Staff
 A governor’s success is often determined by the ability of his/her
personal staff to work with
 Interest groups
 The Texas Legislature
 The general public
 The number of people on the governor’s staff increased
dramatically after 1990 (Gov. Richard’s term)
 However, the legislature removed some of these staff positions est. by
the Richards admin. to shrink state government

11. Overview of the Governorship
 Notable Governors
 Sam Houston (7th Governor) – 21
Dec. 1859 – 18 Mar. 1861 [Ind]
 Only person in U.S. history to serve as
governor of two states as well as the
only governor to have been a foreign
head of state
 Opposed secession of Texas from the
Union
 Was evicted from office on 16 Mar.
1861 for refusing to take an oath of
loyalty to the Confederacy
 To prevent further bloodshed in Texas,
Houston refused President Lincoln’s offer
of 50,000 troops to prevent Texas’
secession

12. Overview of the Governorship
 Notable Governors
 Edmund J. Davis (14th Governor) – 8
Jan. 1870– 15 Jan. 1874 [Rep]
 Supported the rights of freedmen and
urged the division of Texas into several
Republican-controlled states
 Accused of violating the 1st
Amendment, institutionalizing his
political opponents, and denying
enfranchisement to regular
Republicans
 Used the Texas State Police to combat
racially-motivated crimes
 Created the State Guard of Texas and the
Reserve Militia
 Last Republican governor until Bill
Clements (1978)

13. Overview of the Governorship
 Notable Governors
 Richard Coke (15th Governor) – 15
Jan. 1874 – 21 Dec. 1876 [Dem]
 From Waco, Texas
 Fought in the Confederate army,
appointed as a Texas District Court
Judge, and later an associate Justice of
the Texas Supreme Court
 Worked as governor to balance the
budget and presided over the
Constitutional Convention of 1875
 Instrumental in creating the Agricultural
and Mechanical College of Texas
(Texas A&M)
 Later elected as a U.S. Senator

14. Overview of the Governorship
 Notable Governors
 Lawrence Sullivan Ross (19th
Governor) – 1887– 1981 [Dem]
 His family helped found Waco
 Served as McLennan Co. Sheriff and a
Texas Ranger
 CSA General in the Civil War
 One of the youngest
 Served as a state senator
 As governor, he oversaw the dedication
of the new Texas State Capitol
 Only governor to call a special session
to deal with a treasury surplus
 Became president of Texas A&M and
helped save it from closure

15. Overview of the Governorship
 Notable Governors
 James S. Hogg (20th Governor) –
1981 – 1985 [Dem]
 First Texas Governor to be born in
Texas
 Lawyer, doctor, and statesman
 Served as attorney general
 Associated with the populist movement
 Hogg Laws
 Supported the Texas Railroad
Commission
 Sought to regulate alien land ownership
and stop railroads from issuing watered
stocks
 Urged legislation for the RR Commission
to fix rates based on fair valuation
 Essentially, our first “anti-trust” governor

16. Overview of the Governorship
 Notable Governors
 James E. “Pa” Ferguson (26th
Governor) – 1915 – 1917 [Dem]
 “Farmer Jim” from Temple, Texas
 Anti-prohibitionist Democrat
 Vetoed appropriations for the University of
Texas
 Because he could not remove professors he
did not like
 This spurred an impeachment movement in
the legislature
 Indicted on 21 charges of
 Misapplication of public funds
 Receiving $156,000 from an unnamed source
 Only Texas governor to be impeached
and removed from office
 Later became the “First Gentleman of
Texas”

17. Overview of the Governorship
 Notable Governors
 Pat Morris Neff (28th Governor) –
1921 – 1925 [Dem]
 Progressive Democrat from Waco,
Texas
 Born in McGregor
 Served as Assistant County Attorney
and County Attorney for McLennan Co.
 Strong supporter of Prohibition and
instrumental in the development of the
Texas State Parks Board
 Mother Neff Park
 Ambivalent regarding the 1920s Ku
Klux Klan
 Was President of Baylor University
from 1932 to 1947

18. Overview of the Governorship
 Notable Governors
 Miriam A. Ferguson (29th, 32nd
Governor) – 1925 – 1927; 1933-1935
[Dem]
 Born in Bell County
 Defeated Klan candidate Felix D.
Robertson in 1924
 Averaged 100 pardons a month during
her first term in office
 Accusations of bribes and kickbacks were
common
 Unsuccessful attempts to impeach her
 Accused of giving state highway contracts
to companies that advertised in her
husband’s newspaper during her 2nd term
 In 1933, she signed legislation that
established the University of Houston

19. Overview of the Governorship
 Notable Governors
 Dan Moody (30th Governor) – 1927 –
1931 [Dem]
 Business Progressive Democrat
 Served as Williamson Co. Attorney
 Obtained convictions against members
of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s
 Est. 150,000 members at the time
 Became known as the “Klan Fighting
Governor”
 As Attorney General, he conducted
investigations of the Fergusons
 Recovered $1 million for the state
 Was instrumental in pushing the Klan
into hiding during his tenure as
governor

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