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Jun 10, 2009 7:03 pm US/Central
Kay Bailey Hutchison Questions Perry's Leadership
WASHINGTON (AP) ―
U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison said Wednesday she would be a hands-on governor and probably would have prevented a special legislative session.
Gov. Rick Perry, facing a re-election challenge from Hutchison in the 2010 Republican primary, has said he will call a special session to bring Texas lawmakers back to Austin to deal with unfinished business. That business includes passing laws to continue the operation of the state transportation and insurance departments.
Hutchison told The Dallas Morning News in Washington that if she, rather than Perry, had been governor, there would be no need now to call lawmakers back.
"I would hope not," she said. "Because I would be hands-on, working hard through the session and I would be working with the Legislature, which is what I think the governor should do."
Hutchison made the comments after meeting with President Barack Obama's nominee for NASA administrator, Gen. Charles Bolden.
Her comments provoked a sharp retort from Perry spokesman Mark Miner, who accused her of staying on the sidelines while the governor worked through the spring to balance the state budget and hold down spending and taxes.
"The senator was nowhere to be found, much like she has been for the last 16 years," Miner said. "It's easy to criticize when you're in Washington and have nothing constructive to offer. She chose not to take any position on any issue for the entire session."
Hutchison is expected to officially announce her candidacy this summer, though she's made it no secret that she's planning to run against Perry, the state's longest-serving governor who has never lost an election. She has repeatedly accused Perry of poor leadership.
The senator agreed that, given the issues left pending by lawmakers when they adjourned June 1, there is a need to call a special session to ensure the ongoing operation of the state Transportation Department, if nothing else.
But, she said, "a special session should be for issues that come up as emergencies. ... They ought to be able to, in a perfect world, finish the business of a regular session on time."
Hutchison spokesman Hans Klingler said a special session will cost Texas taxpayers more money to address fundamental issues that Perry "should have been on top of in the first place."
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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