Standoff may crumble - Whitmire returns; Perry weighs 3rd special session (Chicken Run)

Standoff may crumble
Whitmire returns; Perry weighs 3rd special session
By RACHEL GRAVES and ARMANDO VILLAFRANCA
Sept. 2, 2003, 10:25PM

State Sen. John Whitmire came home to Houston late Tuesday, possibly ending the long holdout by Texas Democratic senators who fled the state to prevent a vote on congressional redistricting.

Whitmire, who revealed earlier Tuesday that he had sneaked home over the Labor Day weekend, returned to Albuquerque, N.M., to meet with his colleagues but did not even unpack his bags before catching a flight back to Houston Tuesday night.

He said he remains opposed to redistricting, but he would not commit to continuing the Senate boycott if Gov. Rick Perry calls a third special session. He said he is keeping his options open.

"Any additional time in Albuquerque's going to be counterproductive," Whitmire said as he arrived at Hobby Airport shortly after 9 p.m. "We need to discuss an exit plan."

He was met at the airport by U.S. Rep. Gene Green and state Rep. Garnet Coleman, both Houston Democrats. Coleman -- a leader of more than 50 Democratic representatives who went to Ardmore, Okla., to block redistricting in the regular legislative session last spring, expressed disappointment that Whitmire had returned to Texas.

"I thought it was important that he see someone who may not agree 100 percent with what he's doing," Coleman said "He's unilaterally made a decision that affects all of us. "

Eleven of the Senate's 12 Democratic members bolted the state July 28 to prevent a quorum in the Senate for the second special session, which ended Aug. 26.

But if the Legislature is called into a third session and even one of the runaway Democrats returns to the Capitol, the 31-member Senate will have a quorum of 21 and the Republican majority likely will have the votes to pass a congressional redistricting bill.

Redistricting was blocked in the first special session because of a traditional Senate procedure requiring a two-thirds vote to bring legislation to the floor. The Democrats left the Capitol on the eve of the second session, when Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who presides over the chamber, said he would not put the two-thirds procedure into effect in that session.

In Albuquerque Tuesday, Whitmire's colleagues insisted they will remain in New Mexico until Dewhurst pledges to restore the procedure or Perry abandons his push to redraw congressional district lines -- both unlikely scenarios at this point.

They said they were disappointed by Whitmire's decision to leave and cautioned that he will have to answer to his constituents in his next re-election bid.

"That decision is between him, his conscience and, of course, his constituents," said Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, of San Antonio, chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus. "Meanwhile, we intend to fight against this partisan greed until we are out of options."

Said Sen. Juan Hinojosa of McAllen, "I'm very disappointed in Senator Whitmire's decision. He gave us no notice; he just dropped us in the grease."

Although Whitmire would not say whether he'll go to Austin to restore the Senate quorum in a third special session, he said he expects that Perry will keep calling special sessions until the matter is resolved.

"We need to take the debate to the Senate floor," he said at the airport. Asked if that means he is prepared to lose the redistricting battle, he said, "We're going to fight."

Whitmire said he plans to spend the next few days meeting with constituents and talking with Republican and Democratic Senate colleagues.

Republicans are pushing a redistricting plan that would increase the number of GOP members in the Texas delegation to the U.S. House. Democrats now have a 17-15 majority in the delegation.

Kathy Walt, Perry's spokeswoman, said the governor will call a special session at the appropriate time.

Mark Minor, Dewhurst's spokesman, said the lieutenant governor does not intend to take any action. He added that Dewhurst cannot compel Whitmire to return to the Senate or issue a call for the other senators to return because the rules apply only when the Senate is in session.

"I have said from the beginning of the redistricting debate that the business of the Texas Senate should be done on the Senate floor, not in the courts and not in New Mexico," Dewhurst said in a prepared statement.

"I'm hopeful today's comments by Senator Whitmire, the dean of the Texas Senate, will result in a plan that leads our Senate colleagues back to Texas and back to work on a number of important issues," he said.

If the Legislature is called back into session, lawmakers within Texas who don't show up can be arrested and forced to the Capitol.

Whitmire said Tuesday night that he had assurances he was safe from arrest for a few days, but did not elaborate.

In Albuquerque, Whitmire met with eight of the remaining senators -- Rodney Ellis of Houston had not returned from New Orleans and Frank Madla of San Antonio was with his family -- in Van de Putte's hotel room for more than an hour Tuesday.

"The bottom line is that redistricting is real important but there are other equally important issues such as allowing the Senate to function as it always has, where people respect each other's opinions," Whitmire said before leaving. "That is not the current situation. It's my job and my responsibility as dean of the Senate to attempt to restore some civility to the Senate and that's why I think we need closure to this matter."

Whitmire said he stressed the need to have an exit plan that would lower the political rhetoric between Albuquerque and Austin and allow for a cooling-off period before another session is called.

He said the debate over redistricting has taken on the characteristics of a political campaign, with both camps conducting their own polls, running commercials and calling news conferences.

"It's just taken on the spirit of a mean campaign on both sides," Whitmire said. "What concerns me most is that once we return, what type of Senate will we return to?"

He said the issue eventually will be resolved in federal court. A three-judge panel is expected to issue a ruling as early as next week in a lawsuit filed on behalf of the Democratic senators, who contend that the redistricting effort violates the voting rights of ethnic minorities.

But a U.S. district judge who conducted a hearing on the case last week indicated he wasn't impressed with the Democrats' arguments. That judge, who was appointed to the bench by Democratic President Carter, is on the three-judge panel, and the other members are Republican appointees.

The Democratic senators also could hold out until around Sept. 30 when they believe it would be too late for new lines to be drawn in time for the next election cycle.

When Whitmire quietly returned to Houston last week, none of the senators knew he was in Texas. Some believed he was in Santa Fe, while others thought he was in Louisiana.

Whitmire said he saw no compelling reason to stay in Albuquerque over the holiday.

"I woke up at 3 o'clock Thursday morning, and at about 3:30 I said, `This is nuts, staying in Albuquerque over Labor Day when there's no session,' " he said.

He said his staff was keeping him abreast of developments in Austin and he had an exit plan for leaving Houston if Republicans had attempted to get a third session under way quickly and order the Senate sergeant-at-arms to bring him back to the Capitol by force while he was in Texas.

Whitmire said he arrived in Houston by 10 a.m. Thursday and slept in his Timbergrove home that night.

Graves reported from Houston, Villafranca from Albuquerque, and Polly Ross Hughes contributed from Austin.

The Dallas Morning News coverage this morning ...

Democrat's return could end standoff
Republicans might be able to force senator to redistricting session
02:45 AM CDT on Wednesday, September 3, 2003
By ROBERT T. GARRETT / The Dallas Morning News
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Senate's longest-serving member flew home from New Mexico on Tuesday, putting himself in a position where Republicans may force the Democrat to attend a special session aimed at bolstering GOP power in Congress.
"You got to know when to hold them and when to fold them," said Sen. John Whitmire of Houston, who was one of 11 Democrats who left Texas to prevent a quorum assembly of the Senate, preventing consideration of a Republican redistricting bill.
A return by just one senator to the Capitol would give the 31-person Senate enough members to conduct business if Gov. Rick Perry calls a third special session.
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, the Republican who presides over the Senate, hailed Mr. Whitmire's action as a possible breakthrough that could end the months-long impasse over redistricting .

Also Online

Texas Talkback: Should the Legislature proceed with redistricting?
|

Maps:
• Current Texas Congressional districts
• House map, passed 7/29
• Senate map, proposed 7/23

Special Session: Redistricting hearing schedule, summary, maps
(from the Texas Legislative Council)

More Politics

"The business of the Texas Senate should be done on the Senate floor, not in the courts and not in New Mexico," Mr. Dewhurst said. "I'm hopeful ... [this] will result in a plan that leads our Senate colleagues back to Texas and back to work on a number of important issues."
Mr. Whitmire predicted Republicans will obtain a quorum and pass a new map of congressional districts, and he urged fellow Democrats to continue their battle in federal court.
Mr. Whitmire said that the battle over redistricting is doing permanent damage to the Senate and that state leaders need to move on to more important issues such as school finance and tax reform.
Republican state leaders have been saying that since the Democrats first fled to New Mexico to shut down the Senate at the end of July
The 10 Democrats who had been holed up with Mr. Whitmire in Albuquerque said they're angry and disappointed with him but plan to keep up the fight by staying put for now.
"For the time being, yes, we are" staying in New Mexico, said Sen. Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio, the chairwoman of the "Texas Eleven Minus One," as members of the Senate Democratic Caucus quickly dubbed themselves.
Forced attendance?
Whether Mr. Whitmire would wind up in the Senate chambers if Mr. Perry calls another session is unclear. The power of legislative leaders to ask law enforcement agencies for help in rounding up runaway lawmakers has been challenged by the Democratic senators in federal court.
The first special session deadlocked because Republicans failed to meet the customary threshold of a two-thirds majority in order to bring a bill up on the Senate floor. When Mr. Dewhurst abandoned that tradition in the second session, 11 Democratic senators fled and prevented the Senate from doing business during the 30-day session, which ended last week.
On Tuesday, Mr. Perry did not give any indication about when he might summon lawmakers to return for another redistricting session.
"The governor would like to see his remaining colleagues return and get back to work as well," said Kathy Walt, Mr. Perry's spokeswoman. She said he would call another special session, but she did not say when.
Mr. Whitmire was cryptic as to his plans if another session is called, saying, "I will consider all options," including that he might hide in Texas. "There are steps you can take to make sure you're not surprised," he said. "My staff watches the Senate floor."
The Democrats in Albuquerque seized on such comments as meaning they haven't lost the struggle. Some predicted Mr. Whitmire would receive such an adverse reaction from his Houston constituents for appearing to cave in to the Republicans that he would continue to break the quorum, if not necessarily rejoin them.
"He didn't say he was going back on the Senate floor," said Sen. Mario Gallegos, D-Houston. "I didn't hear that."
Ms. Van De Putte said the 10 remaining Democrats would huddle further and talk with lawyers before announcing their next move. Their stay in Albuquerque could continue, she said.
Colleagues angry
But the strain among Senate Democrats was visible.
"He gave us no notice, and he sort of dropped us in the grease," Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa of McAllen, said of Mr. Whitmire's return home.
Ms. Van De Putte and Sen. Judith Zaffirini of Laredo expressed dismay, saying they learned of Mr. Whitmire's plans through the news media and that he had misled several colleagues about his whereabouts over Labor Day weekend, when he spent five days in Houston before flying back to New Mexico.
"I am disappointed to see him surrendering so easily," said Sen. Rodney Ellis of Houston. "All 11 of us have made true sacrifices to be here in Albuquerque. I have a newborn baby at home that doesn't even know what I look like. ... No personal sacrifice is so great as to outweigh the constitutional issues at stake."
Sen. Frank Madla, D-San Antonio, who has held out despite health problems, said Mr. Whitmire "should've ... looked us in the eye and said, 'I have to go back.' ... It's just very, very difficult to believe that John is walking away."
But Mr. Whitmire said he has been truthful with colleagues. He simply changed his mind about returning to Houston at 3 a.m. Thursday, he said. Mr. Perry's determination to win at all costs is evident and makes continued boycotts futile, Mr. Whitmire said.
"Ultimately, it will be decided in the courts, and I think we need to consider starting that process," he said. "The bottom line is we need an exit plan, and I have said this for weeks. I said it before we left Austin."
Mr. Whitmire said he remains a loyal Democrat.
"Just look at my voting record," he said. He said his closed-door discussions with his 10 colleagues were "pretty subdued."
"I didn't make this decision abruptly," he said.
Staff Writer Wayne Slater in Austin contributed to this report.
E-mail rtgarrett@dallasnews.com

Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/latestnews/stories/090303dntexredist.c58.html

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