Jerry Patterson: Conference Call and New Website

This afternoon, Cahnman's Musings was privileged to join a conference call with Jerry Patterson, a candidate for Texas Lieutenant Governor, and the current land commissioner.  The call focused on the launch of their redesigned website, with ample Q and A.  We liked what we heard and look forward to hearing more.

We were impressed that Patternson is writing the copy on his 'Issues' section himself.  Patterson said he wants to give voters more "specificity and detail" on policy than typical candidates.  This is music to our ears; it's also what Ted Cruz did.

He also said that while he didn't seek out controversy, he wouldn't be afraid of it if it appears.

Patterson understanding of the inside baseball of the Texas Senate stood out.  He called Lt. Gov. Dewhurst's handling of Wendy Davis' filibuster "a failure of intel and execution," that "should have been taken care of during the General session."  Cahnman's Musings concurs without reservation.

As a State Senator for three terms in the 90's, Patterson has learned that the legislative process "is designed to kill legislation."  That's due to provisions in the Texas Constitution that were adopted after Reconstruction.  As a result, getting bills passed "requires skill and finesse."

One area of concern is that Patterson called Senate Finance Committee chairman Tommy Williams a fiscal conservative.  While that might have been true in the past, Williams certainly wasn't one during the 83rd General Session.  The Senate Finance Committee remains an area of concern.

Overall, however, Patterson's philosophy is "you should always expand liberty unless there's a reason not too", that's good enough for us.