Essay Assignment No. 4
GOVT 2306
Summer 2000
Milton J. Sweet
Texans are distrustful of big government and strong political leaders. They have been for over a hundred and twenty years, and are not likely to change in the near future. They purposefully designed the constitution and the office of governor to be weak. Why then would people seek the office of governor in Texas? Would it be possible for such a weak politician to be actively sought to run for the highest office in the land? The office of governor is not as weak as it was originally intended. In this paper I will discuss why this is true. I will discuss the powers of the governor, both formal and informal.
Perhaps the most significant formal power the governor has is that of appointment. The governor may have the opportunity to appoint as many as 4000 people during his term. This will be his way of leaving his mark on Texas even after he is gone from office. Many of the people the governor appoints to state boards have six-year terms. Since the governors’ term is four years, people that have the same mind set as he does will be in office for at least the beginning of the next administration. The governors’ executive appointments must be approved by a two-thirds majority of the legislature. If the governor wants to remove a person from office he must get a two-thirds majority approval for that also. Major positions the governor appoints are Texas judicial and US Senate offices vacated early, adjutant general (head of the Texas National Guard), and the Public Safety Commission (three positions). The veto is another formal power available for use for the governor, but is used rarely. Our governor has “line item veto” power. This is used mainly as a bargaining chip; i.e. “I won’t veto funding for your project, if you back me on my bill”.
Other formal powers of the governor have decreasing importance in the big picture. They are mobilization of the Texas National Guard, assumption of command of the Texas Rangers in times of need, and grants of clemency with approval of the Board of Pardons and Paroles.
Where the real power of the governor of Texas resides is, however, in his informal powers. Texas has always had a certain mystique as a rough and tumble, pick yourself up by your bootstraps, Marlboro Man type state. Most people in the USA are not aware that the governor of Texas is designed to be weak, not even most Texans are aware of it. They perceive the governor to be big and powerful and ready to take on the world. In this game perception is everything. To exude power, is to have power. The office of governor got a healthy serving of prestige when John Connally took a bullet along with JFK. Texans are almost reverent when George W. Bush tells the press he will not back down on the death penalty in Texas. Even our women are hard-boiled. Didn’t Ann Richards give George Bush Sr. quite the thrashing during the Democratic Convention in 1992?
Informal powers of governors vary from person to person. The ability to form powerful allegiances, work with the legislature, make moving speeches and rally the people behind you is a very individual talent. But even our worst is better than most states best. One of our most notorious governors, Jim Ferguson was forced from office for being a crook. Texans accepted that he was a crook, gave themselves a wink and a nudge, and elected his wife to fill his place. Don’t be disrespectful of our women though. You may find yourself standing next to Clayton Williams in the unemployment line.
With the power of the media, the mystique of the office, and the pride of the people, our weak governor has got quite a bit going for him. May be even enough to be asked to be president of the United States