Texas has a House speaker, what's next? | Texas: The Issue Is
AUSTIN, Texas - The first week of a new legislative session in Austin is complete, but it didn't come without its share of excitement and drama.
The election of Rep. Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) as House Speaker caused Republicans to fight among themselves and has left Democrats optimistic, but concerned about the future of their committee chairs.
The Texas: The Issue Is Trio was in Austin for the start of the session and sat down with representatives to talk about the future of both parties.
Rep. Chris Turner (D-Arlington)

Rep. Chris Turner
Steven Dial, FOX4: What are you most concerned about? You guys got Burrows in the Speaker chair, but this session won't be a cakewalk.
Turner: We are used to tough fights and this session will be no exception. What I am most concerned about is how we are going to adequately fund our schools. Our public schools are underfunded in Texas.
Greg Groogan, FOX26: State party leaders are calling Burrows' election as speaker a victory against extremism. Couldn't have happened without Democrat support. Do you agree with that characterization?
Turner: I'm glad Speaker Burrows is the speaker. It was a victory against the extremists in the Republican Party, Ken Paxton, some of the Republican Party of Texas, some of the members of the house who simply want to completely cut out Democrats from the legislative process altogether and really advance extreme, dangerous ideas that are encapsulated in the Republican Party of Texas platform into law. I think the Burrows victory is a victory against them.
Rudy Koski, FOX7: There's got to be some common ground for everyone. Is it water? Is it transportation?
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Turner: Historically, we have come together in the House around water issues and on transportation issues. Hopefully, we can do that again, but public education is the top priority. I hope there can be a bipartisan buy-in on giving our public schools the support they need.
Koski: That's going to be the fight because of school choice, ESA, whatever that my be. Can you support any type of universal plan?
Turner: The people who support vouchers, they're all over the place. What there should be a broad buy in on is supporting public schools.
Groogan: Rep. Ann Johnson has said states that have adopted vouchers are having buyers' remorse because of the cost. Is that a legitimate argument?
Turner: Rep. Johnson is exactly right. If you look at what is happening in Arizona and Florida, the people using vouchers predominately are already sending their kids to private school, so its not getting a lot of new people into private schools. There's major accountability concerns, there’s cost containment concerns, the programs are ballooning out of control in terms of cost and being a big budget driver.
Rep. Mano DeAyala (R-Houston)

Rep. Mano Deayala
Groogan: That was a contentious speaker fight. You are in a position to broker some peace. How do you do that?
DeAyala: Here is the good news, it's over. We have a really good speaker. The caucus has some healing to do. The caucus has had to do that for some time. People need to be authentic and genuine and have the right intentions to move forward for the state of Texas, for our districts.
Groogan: Can that happen if people like Attorney General Ken Paxton keep throwing gasoline on the fire?
DeAyala: You would think that makes it hard, but at the same time, that’s a unifying factor when you are taking arrows from everyone, it kind of brings everyone together. I hope we are not taking arrows anyone more from the Attorney General or anyone else.
Koski: What do you think is the low hanging fruit for Republicans to unify under, is it school choice?
DeAyala: : I think school choice will be a unifier, but I don't think you can name one thing. It's not one thing…there wasn’t a policy difference, it was more style and respect for the institution. People who want the institution to act a certain way…It wasn’t policy, it wasn’t ideology.
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Koski: If you listen to the GOP party leadership, it's RINO’s versus. Us, how do you heal that and get the party leadership to back off?
DeAyala: The Republican Party of Texas, that organization. Its unfortunate they say what they say. Its false and for me to say, Republicans, you really need to question what is coming out of the mouth of the leader of the party of Texas. No one wants to say that. I hope they change their ways.
Dial: Eliminating party chairs has been the red meat in the campaign for Speaker. Why is that so important to end?
DeAyala: The minority party has a voice, the majority party governs. So it's what does that voice look like? Every time I hear a story about a conservative policy was shutdown because of Democrat chairs, all I have to do is say name one and it gets quiet. I think that time is coming to an end but the minority party still has to have a voice and how that voice reflects and represents we will see this session.
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The Source: Information in this article comes from interviews with Reps. Mano Deayala and Chris Turner.