About that Special Session: An Open Letter to Governor Perry

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."
Joshua 1:9

Dear Mr. Governor,

First things first, we apologize for the conduct of the Travis County District Attorney's office.  While you're far from perfect, you don't deserve this mess.  Since we had this situation thrust upon us, however, we have an opportunity you should consider:

NOW is the time to call that special session.

Abuse of the Public Integrity Unit has long been discussed.  Following Rosemary Lehmberg's disgraceful conduct, there was already an appetite to remove this power from the Travis County District Attorney.  Unfortunately, this malicious prosecution against you adds a new sense of urgency.  With equally frivolous charges in in the pipeline against Wallace Hall and Ken Paxton, time is of the essence.  Events of the past few days illustrate that the Travis County DA's partisan malice will continue to bear toxic fruit as long as that office holds this authority.

That's why you should call a special session to transfer "Public Integrity" authority from the Travis County DA to the Texas Attorney General.  Regardless of this case, it's silly that an official that is elected in one out of 254 counties should be able to disenfranchise millions of Texans when investigating officials elected statewide.  Obviously, with you and Ken Paxton in the Travis County DA's crosshairs, the left will kvetch.  So what?!?  Let them; then have Ken carry the bill in the Texas Senate!!!

During the current border crisis, you've received countless calls for a special session to address it.  Up to this point, this website hasn't supported a special session for border issues.  The new Republican consensus brought about by this attack against you changes that calculation.  The lame duck RINOs we worried about earlier won't dare get out of line now.  As long as the legislature is coming back to town, they should also address sustainable funding for border operations.

Transferring "public integrity" authority to the Texas Attorney General and establishing sustainable funding for border operations are worthwhile causes for new legislation.  It would address abuse of power at the County level and dereliction of duty at the Federal.  A proactive, problem-solving, approach would do a tremendous service to the 84th legislature and the new Governor.  It would also illustrate that the partisan actions by a rogue agency in Travis County cannot derail the business of the State of Texas.  You just have to issue the call.

The ball is in your court Mr. Governor.

Sincerely,
Adam Cahn
Austin, TX
August 18, 2014