Good morning, 

Earlier this morning Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen announced he would not be seeking re-election to the Texas House. He has not resigned the speakership, yet, but he will not be returning in 2021.

This a sad day for Texas. And this is a good day for Texas.

Dennis Bonnen could have behaved ethically from the start in his dealings with his fellow lawmakers, with me, and with the Texas public. He could have recanted his unethical offer privately when given the opportunity. He instead chose lies, deceit, dishonor, and – ultimately – ruin. He has gone from the third-ranking constitutional officer in Texas to a cautionary tale about the dangers of political hubris.

It is now up to the Texas House members to demonstrate they can be trusted to learn the appropriate lessons and to end the culture of cronyism and corruption that has been allowed to fester under the speakerships of Joe Straus and Dennis Bonnen.

Over the weekend, we saw two things happen simultaneously: Bonnen and his cadre were adamantly defending his ongoing speakership... and grassroots activists were lighting up legislators’ phone lines.

Make no mistake: Bonnen is giving up because his strongest supporters in the House were feeling the heat of electoral accountability.

Now the work of cleaning up the embarrassing stain Dennis Bonnen has left on the Texas House must begin. This represents an opportunity for Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to lead. If they care about Texas, they can call a special session for the Lone Star Agenda.

This is the legislative agenda of popular reforms that Dennis Bonnen bottled up; that the Texas House killed under his watch. As an added benefit, it would give House members the opportunity to replace Bonnen immediately with someone Texans can be proud to call the Speaker of the Texas House in 2020.

Texans deserve better than we have been getting. But the only way to get it is for citizens to make their voices heard: Loudly, clearly, and daily.

For Texas!
Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Tuesday, October 22, 2019
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