The Collin County Observer

Veteran Plano lawmaker Brian McCall won't seek re-election

Saturday, November 14, 2009
By CHRISTY HOPPE / The Dallas Morning News


AUSTIN — Veteran Plano lawmaker Brian McCall, who was a leader of the move to depose Speaker Tom Craddick and restore a more bipartisan tenor to the Texas House, plans to announce Monday that he has decided not to seek re-election.

The surprise move comes less than one year after McCall, a Republican, obtained one of the most powerful positions in the House. As chairman of the Calendars Committee, McCall determined which bills were heard in the House and in what order, and he was credited with helping North Texas lawmakers advance the region’s priorities.

McCall, 51, said he is looking at other opportunities because it is time to try something new after 19 years in the House.

“When I took my first oath of office, Bill Clinton was the governor of Arkansas and George Bush had never run for state political office,” said McCall?, a businessman and investor.

He said when he first ran for the Legislature, he set a few simple goals, most of which he said he’s accomplished.

“The fifth one was to leave on a high note,” McCall said. “So few in politics know when to get off the stage.”

House Speaker Joe Straus praised McCall as a friend, leader and consensus builder.

“His career has been nothing short of outstanding,” said Straus, R-San Antonio. “He helped set the tone for effective governing in the House.”

In 1999, McCall was the author of a compromise tax bill that is credited with saving taxpayers $3.6 billion. The bill included the now-famous three-day sales tax holiday that precedes the start of school each fall.

The major tax cut helped launch Bush, then governor, into his campaign for president.

Before that, as a junior lawmaker, McCall was tapped by Gov. Ann Richards to carry a bill that would create a criminal penalty for stalking.

He said he recalled traveling the state to speak with sheriffs and police chiefs, and heard repeatedly that stalking is a crime that “happens in Hollywood, not in Texas.”

Regardless, he persisted in educating lawmakers about the prevalence of harassment and threats and succeeded in getting the state’s first anti-stalking bill passed.

McCall said that because he decided not to seek re-election, he is returning all the campaign contributions he raised — about $150,000 — since the legislative session ended in June.

Three years ago, McCall shocked many in his own party by announcing that he would challenge Craddick, a fellow Republican, to lead the House.

While Craddick, a staunch conservative, was revered by the right wing of the party, his strong-arm, take-no-prisoners style was resented by many members. They felt forced into unpopular votes and saw the Republican majority dwindling as a result.

McCall lost and suffered as a result; he had to struggle to pass legislation. But this year, McCall and other renegade Republicans joined with Democrats in elevating Straus into the speakership.

He said he is most proud during his tenure “that I helped restore the process of the House rules and empowered the members.”

read more at the Dallas Morning News....