Thank You For Your Support

I want to thank all of these organizations and all of our supporters, listed and not listed, for having confidence in my ability to serve the people of District 147 and of Texas (this list is current as of today; we apologize if we've omitted anyone by error).

I encourage you to take advantage of the last day of early vote (click here for a list of locations in Harris County). The polls are open until 7pm this evening. If you don't vote today, be sure to vote Tuesday March 4, from 7am-7pm. Let your voice be heard.

Endorsed by:

Houston Black American Democrats
Houston Tejano Democrats
Houston Area Stonewall Democrats
Houston Young Stonewall Democrats
Harris County Democrats
Area 5 Democrats
Houston GLBT Political Caucus
Harris County AFL-CIO and their member unions
Houston Federation of Teachers
Texas State Teachers Association
Texas State Employees Union
Sierra Club Political Committee of Texas
Texas Progressive Alliance
TexPAC
Houston Association of Realtors

Craddick's fate as speaker may be sealed by primary

For your information.

Craddick's fate as speaker may be sealed by primary
His tactical position to keep the job tied to 7 GOP, 6 Democrat contests

Feb. 23, 2008, 8:42PM

By GARY SCHARRER
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau

AUSTIN — House Speaker Tom Craddick's name appears on the Republican Party primary ballot in Midland just as it has for the past 40 years, but voters elsewhere will decide the outcome of his struggle to hang on to the speaker's powerful gavel.

Craddick narrowly survived two Republican-led challenges to his leadership of the Texas House last year.

Further erosion of his support means his bid for a fourth term as speaker hinges on the outcome of about a dozen legislative contests far from his home base.

"It's 50-50, roughly," said Craddick confidant and Capitol consultant Bill Miller. "I think it's going to be in play right through the fall election."

Kelly Fero, a Democratic campaign consultant, contends Craddick's fate largely will be cast by the election results in both the GOP and Democratic primaries.

"Craddick's future is all about March 4, and he's going to have to run the table," Fero said. "Every one of his allies is going to have to survive, and every one of the challengers is going to have to lose.

"And even then, his survival will depend on a few key allies having the political courage to stick with him."

Craddick, 64, first won his legislative election in 1968 and toiled in the trenches of the minority party until Republicans whipped Democrats in 2002 and sent 26 freshmen to the state House. Republicans rewarded him with the speakership.

The speaker appoints committee chairs, shapes committees and controls the legislative flow in the 150-member chamber.

The speaker also gets an office and an apartment in the Capitol.

Craddick's leadership has soured some of his allies, who unsuccessfully challenged his re-election as speaker last January before launching an open rebellion four months later.

Craddick survived an effort to oust him by asserting "absolute authority" and blocking a vote to remove him near the end of the legislative session.

A combination of GOP defections, retirements and key primary races imperil his re-election for speaker.

Craddick survived January 2007's challenge on an 80-68 vote.

He has since lost at least eight supporters — dropping his likely votes to about 72. It takes at least 76 votes to win the speaker's job.

Republicans have lost a net nine seats since Craddick took over and would lose control of the House if Democrats pick up five more in the November election.

Early speculation

The 2008 election cycle "is shaping up to be a good Democratic year, so it is clearly possible that the Democrats pick up the seats they need to take the House," said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University. "Even if they fall a couple of seats short, Craddick is toast."

"Only if Republicans expand their majority in the House and Speaker Craddick is credited with that success does he hold his speakership. The latter scenario seems unlikely," Jillson said.

Any speculation on Craddick's bid to retain power is premature, said Todd Smith, a GOP campaign consultant and former executive director of the House Republican caucus.

"People have been predicting the demise of Tom Craddick for a very, very long time," Smith said. "Anybody who discounts Tom Craddick and his ability to remain standing and in a strong position doesn't know Tom Craddick very well."

Craddick's reputation for heavy-handed tactics plays into campaign strategy for some candidates, such as state Rep. Pat Haggerty, R-El Paso, whose brochures and radio spots tie Craddick in a negative way to challenger Dee Margo.

But most GOP voters don't recognize Craddick's name. They care much more about lower property taxes, toll roads and border security than House speaker politics, Smith said.

Telling elections

Former Craddick ally and House Ways and Means Chairman Jim Keffer, R-Eastland, broke with Craddick last spring and is now running for speaker himself.

"The Republican members are extremely concerned," Keffer said. "I do feel that Craddick is a sinking ship."

He faults Craddick for creating an atmosphere of excessive partisanship.

"It's gotten into the ridiculous, and you just get tired of beating your head against the wall," Keffer said. "You can duck and say it doesn't matter or not do anything about it. You can quit, or you can stand up and say something about it, and that's what I decided to do."

Whether Craddick heads into the fall general election strengthened or weakened probably depends on at least seven GOP primary races and roughly six Democratic contests. Four so-called "Craddick Democrats" face fierce primary opposition because of their loyalty to the Republican speaker. Every election since Craddick was first elected speaker has seen the loss of some of his Democratic allies.

"It's almost certain (it will happen again)," Fero said. "You can argue about which and how many. Many feel that Kevin Bailey is the most vulnerable of the four."

Bailey, of Houston, plus Rep. Dawnna Dukes, D-Austin, Rep. Kino Flores, D-Palmview, and Rep. Aaron Pena, D-Edinburg, are the latest batch of Craddick allies facing fire from fellow Democrats in their home districts.

Campaign distraction

Being stigmatized as a "Craddick Democrat" in a primary complicates a campaign, said Colin Strother, a consultant for Dukes.

"It can serve as a distraction from a substantive discussion of the real issues," he said, adding Dukes will survive her challenge.

"Dawnna has been particularly resilient to that for a number of reasons," Strother said. "She still has an outstanding Democratic record and she's active in the district, working with community leaders. So it's harder for an opponent to boil down and make her all about one vote and trying to define her career with one vote for speaker."

Miller remains optimistic Craddick will hang on as speaker and emphasized that Craddick will "be a player" regardless of the outcome.

"There ain't no quit in Craddick," Miller said. "This guy is very determined. He's always working his angle, and he never really gets very up and he never really gets very down. He's always working, working, working, thinking about it, doing stuff: 'What can I do?' That's the way he's made."

Support Jessica Farrar

From children's healthcare to the environment, homeland security to women's health, Representative Jessica Farrar has been a tireless advocate for Texans in need in her thirteen years in the Texas House. She is the founder of the Women's Health Caucus and the House Environmental Caucus, and is vice-chair of the House Democratic Caucus.

Representative Farrar has an opponent in the Democratic primary (with Tom Craddick behind the scenes in her race), and she needs your support. Please click here to give online to support Representative Farrar in her race.

Early Voting, My Campaign and Tom Craddick

Early Voting Starts Tuesday

Early voting for the March primary begins tomorrow, February 19. Below are the hours when you can early vote, and you can click here for a map of early voting locations in Harris County.

February 19th - February 22nd 

        8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. 

February 23rd 

         7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. 

February 24th 

         1:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. 

February 25th - February 29th 

         7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. 

Help Me Make A Better Texas

I need your help to defeat an opponent in the March 4 Democratic Primary. I am preparing to have up to $200,000 spent on mailed attacks against me and must have the resources to respond rapidly. You can send a check to my campaign at P.O. Box 88140, Houston, TX 77288 or contribute online by clicking here.

Contact us for a yard sign

If you live in District 147 and would like a yard sign to show your support for my campaign and my continued efforts to make a better Texas, you can click here to request one by e-mail, or you can call my campaign office at 713-522-8634.

Craddick Forces Playing in Democratic Primaries

Below is an column from today's Houston Chronicle on the involvement of Republican Speaker Tom Craddick (and his surrogates like Ron Wilson) in Democratic primaries.

By Clay Robison

Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

AUSTIN — Consider the easy-come, easy-go plight of Republican Rep. Nathan Macias of Bulverde.

He may be in danger of losing his seat after only one unremarkable term in the Texas House, mainly because he has lost his political sugar daddy.

Two years ago, Macias was rolling in money on his way to an upset GOP primary victory over then-Rep. Carter Casteel of New Braunfels, one of the House's more competent members.

More than 90 percent of Macias' 2006 primary campaign funding came from San Antonio businessman James Leininger, the private-school voucher advocate, who was determined to unseat Casteel because she had dared vote against his cause. The attack ads were mean.

Before 2006 was over, Leininger had spent nearly $5 million on Macias and other legislative candidates, only to come up empty again on vouchers during the 2007 session. So far this year, he has closed his checkbook to legislative candidates.

Consequently, Macias, according to the most recent campaign reports, is lagging well behind Republican challenger Doug Miller, an insurance man and former New Braunfels mayor, in fundraising.

During the first three weeks of 2006, Macias raised $197,000, of which $182,000 came from Leininger. During the first three weeks of this year, he raised only about $8,900, leaving him with about $7,100 in his campaign account in late January. Miller had more than $75,000 in the bank then.

Speaker Tom Craddick or his surrogates may yet arrange for a large amount of cash to be plunked into Macias' campaign. Or Leininger may start writing checks again.

But without some late campaign help, Macias is nearing the end of his short legislative career, some political observers believe.

Adding to the lawmaker's woes, and independently of the Miller campaign, a pro-gambling committee has begun airing a TV commercial attacking Macias for "keeping his head in the sand" while the Legislature increased spending and allowed electric rates and college tuition to rise.

Coleman's opponent

In case anyone is wondering, former state Rep. Ron Wilson said he didn't make a $30,000 cash loan to LaRhonda Torry, who is challenging Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, in the Democratic primary.

Torry listed a $30,000 loan from Wilson on her recent campaign finance report, but Wilson said that represented the value of his legal services. He represented her in the successful fight to get her name on the ballot after the Harris County Democratic Party rejected her application.

Will the loan be repaid? "I hope so," he said.

Coleman still believes Wilson recruited Torry on behalf of Speaker Tom Craddick. Wilson still denies it. Although he is a Democrat, Wilson was part of Craddick's leadership team when he was in the House and signed on as a House parliamentarian last spring to help Craddick survive a late-session uprising.

Replacing Democrats

Coleman believes he has enough evidence to link Craddick to the Democratic primary challengers of at least six incumbent House members, including himself, who oppose Craddick's continued rule.

With the speakership on the line and few House districts likely to change partisan hands in November, Coleman said, Craddick's leadership "may rest in replacing good Democrats with new Craddick D's in the primary elections."

Besides what Coleman believes are Craddick's efforts to undermine his re-election, Coleman said the speaker and his allies are helping Democratic opponents of Democratic Reps. Juan Escobar of Kingsville, Rene Oliveira of Brownsville, Paul Moreno of El Paso and Jessica Farrar and Borris Miles of Houston.

Escobar's Democratic challenger, Tara Rios Ybarra of South Padre Island, has received more than $50,000 from Texans for Lawsuit Reform, which also is close to Craddick. Rios Ybarra and Oliveira's primary challenger also are using a consulting firm that has worked for other Craddick supporters in South Texas, Coleman said.

Former Rep. Al Edwards of Houston, a Democrat loyal to Craddick who is trying to reclaim the seat he lost to Miles two years ago, got $25,000 last month from home builder Bob Perry, a major Craddick supporter. Also in Houston, Farrar's Democratic challenger, Jose Medrano, is using a consultant previously hired by Ron Wilson and other Craddick allies, Coleman said.

Agreement on Obama

Coleman and Wilson may be enemies in legislative politics, but they both support Barack Obama's presidential bid.

Wilson jokes that Coleman's support is a "deathbed conversion." Coleman initially backed John Edwards and switched to Obama after Edwards quit the race.

Now that the presidential race has finally arrived in Texas, Wilson said he has offered to house Obama's young campaign staffers at his home in Austin.

Craddick playing in Democratic primaries

If you would like a little information about how Republican Speaker of the House Tom Craddick is playing (potentially illegally) in Democratic primaries, the two editorials below from the Austin American Statesman and Denton Record-Chronicle should be informative.

Bipartisanship, Craddick style
10:51 AM CST on Saturday, February 16, 2008

Don't ever accuse Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick of blind partisan politics. As presidential candidates speak rhetorically about "reaching across the aisle," Craddick, a Midland Republican, is already doing it.

Moreover, he's apparently putting his money where John McCain's mouth is by giving campaign contributions to friendly Democrats. This is highly unusual, and some people are saying it's illegal.

Craddick, you will remember, barely survived an insurrection in the House of Representatives last year. Democrats and Republicans alike were tired of his autocratic methods, and there was a concerted bipartisan effort to remove him as speaker, a move he subverted by making up his own rules and firing House parliamentarians until he found one that would agree with his interpretations.

Craddick could face another tough fight to keep the speakership when the Legislature convenes again, and he seems to have taken steps to shore up his defenses.

The most interesting step was to give $250,000 to Texas JOBS, a long-dormant political action committee, which straightaway began giving money to Democrats who had sided with Craddick in his fight to keep the speakership.

Texas JOBS had been dormant since the summer of 2006. Its treasury was as empty as a bull fiddle. On Jan. 26, it got a contribution of $250,000 from Tom Craddick's campaign fund. On Jan 11, Texas JOBS gave contributions of $50,000 each to state Rep. Kevin Bailey of Houston, state Rep. Aaron Pena of Edinburgh and state Rep. Kino Flores of Palmview. All those gentlemen are Democrats; all had supported Craddick in his fight to retain the speakership, and all had drawn Democratic primary opponents who were lambasting them over their support for Craddick.

This picture of Tom Craddick reaching "across the aisle" to help colleagues in another political party warms the cockles of our heart, but as much as we like hot cockles, there are a couple of things wrong with it, not the least of which is the possibility that it may be illegal.

It is illegal, you see, for anyone seeking the speaker's chair to use campaign funds in an effort to secure that position. Craddick apparently believes he avoided that pitfall by first giving his money to the moribund PAC, which then distributed it to the friendly Democrats.

There are other people — people with two eyes and half a brain, for instance — who see the scheme for what it is: a 24-hour money-laundering operation. Some of these people are asking the Travis County District Attorney's Office to investigate the affair as a criminal matter.

Unfortunately for Craddick, the Travis County District Attorney is Ronnie Earle, who seems to love nothing more than to investigate and indict shady politicians. Earle is a Democrat, but of the 17 public officials he's indicted since 1977, 11 have been fellow Democrats, so his is pretty much a bipartisan operation, too.

We are positively giddy at all this bipartisanship. We hope Earle keeps it alive by indicting not only Craddick, but also the Democratic weasels who accepted his scrubbed-up "contributions."
We would dearly love to see Tom Craddick "reach across the cell block."

Campaign donations in the wink of an eye
By The Editorial Board | Tuesday, February 12, 2008, 06:22 PM
Travis County prosecutors are right to examine whether House Speaker Tom Craddick tried to boost his return as leader of the Texas House by channeling tens of thousands of dollars to fellow lawmakers who have supported him over the years. If Craddick did that, he has violated state law that forbids a person, including a speaker, from making contributions "to aid or defeat a speaker candidate." The outcome of the probe might well determine whether moneyed interests can easily subvert the law by using a third party.

Craddick's attorney, Roy Minton of Austin, says that Craddick did not break state law nor try to influence his bid to be re-elected speaker. Craddick, Minton says, simply donated money to a political committee, which, without Craddick's direction, donated to three Democrats loyal to Craddick during the last session. That loyalty has cost those Democrats within their own party. Each has a contested primary race.

Craddick cannot afford to lose any potential votes from either party for his own speaker's race. The Midland Republican has held onto his thin margin of support - if that still exists - by abusing House rules. In the last session, he weathered a near mutiny led mostly by GOP House members.

Minton is asking the public to believe a bizarre coincidence and dismiss what seems the most logical explanation - that Craddick is using his war chest to keep his supporters in power so they in turn keep him in power.

In Tuesday's editions, American-Statesman writer Laylan Copelin reported that on Jan. 10, Craddick revitalized an almost dormant political committee, Texans for Jobs & Opportunity Build a Secure Future, with a $250,000 donation. The next day, Texans for Jobs & Opportunity donated $50,000 each to Democratic Reps. Aaron Peña of Edinburg, Kino Flores of Palmview and Kevin Bailey of Houston. Rep. Dawnna Dukes, D-Austin, wisely turned down a $50,000 contribution from the same PAC.

Minton said Craddick's donation to the political committee and the PAC's subsequent contributions to Democrats were unrelated . So reasonable people are being asked to believe that Craddick did not know where his money was going when he donated $250,000 from his campaign account to the political committee.

Peña, Flores and Bailey said they didn't solicit the money and were not familiar with the PAC that gave them their largest contributions. Peña said his $50,000 check just showed up in the mail one day. How nice. Peña said he isn't returning the money, either: "It's spent."

The matter has ended up before Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle because Texans for Public Justice filed a complaint accusing the PAC and Craddick of violating state law.

Austin attorney Buck Wood was as a lobbyist for Common Cause years ago when he helped draft the state law in question. He told the American-Statesman on Tuesday: "It was passed to prevent exactly what is happening - through either the lobby or the speaker amassing large campaign funds and using them to influence his election by giving out large sums."

The law won't be worth much if it turns out that Craddick or anyone else can so easily subvert it by using a third party to do his bidding.

President-Designate John Rudley

Many of you may have already heard that Dr. John Rudley as been selected as the sole finalist for the next president of Texas Southern University. I'm going to work very closely with President-Designate Rudley, just as I've worked with him as interim chancellor/president and vice president for administration and finance at the University of Houston. I believe he is a solid administrator and will do a good job; let's make sure we support his efforts.

Below are two Houston Chronicle articles about President-Designate Rudley. My goals are still, as they always have been, to protect the strength and independence of Texas Southern University.

New TSU President Rudley eager to start fixing troubled campus
Former point guard not accustomed to sitting on the bench and waiting

By MATTHEW TRESAUGUE
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

John Rudley is not inclined to wait — especially not now, not with a thick binder labeled "Texas Southern University" on his desk and a call list that includes an adviser to Gov. Rick Perry and several potential employees.

So what if state law requires a 21-day waiting period before Rudley takes over as the next president at TSU? He's already at work on his new job from the office suite he still occupies as vice president for administration and finance at the University of Houston.

"I can't wait 21 days," Rudley said recently, a few days after regents named the tough-minded, bottom-line administrator as the only finalist for the presidency at the state's largest historically black university.

What's the rush? The high stakes are one reason. His personality is another.

TSU is at risk of losing accreditation because of its poor financial picture. Enrollment is at a five-year low. The graduation rate ranks among the nation's lowest.

The man barreling forward on these fronts and others is a former point guard who led his team to the NCAA tournament. He likes to set a fast pace and stick to an agenda.

As Rudley again takes the point, he understands there is much to do to fix the proud but chronically troubled university. His choices, from overhauling accounting practices to perhaps restricting admissions for the first time, could shape the school for decades to come.

"Once in a while, you're presented with the opportunity to do great things," Rudley said when asked why he would want to step into a situation that few others would touch. "I will be of more value at TSU than at the University of Houston."

Rudley is no rainmaker, no showman. He does not possess the camera-ready charisma of his predecessor, Priscilla Slade, who crisscrossed the globe in the name of TSU for six years before the regents fired her amid a spending scandal.

Those who know Rudley, 60, describe him as tough, smart and direct. When the search committee asked about TSU's long-standing promise to accept anyone who applies, he said the policy should be reconsidered if it impedes the university's progress. The reply troubled some committee members.

But his record of success swayed regents, who unanimously picked Rudley. He is expected to take the reins Feb. 8 after a 26-year climb up the administrative ladder.

History with TSU

Rudley is the son of a factory worker and the second of nine children. They lived in public housing, and folks around his blue-collar hometown of Benton Harbor, Mich., talked about getting jobs at General Motors or Whirlpool after high school.
Instead, Rudley attended the University of Toledo, where he started as a sophomore on the 1967 Mid-American Conference champion team that is considered the best in the school's history.

"I had teammates who were bigger and faster," said 5-foot-9-inch Rudley, who averaged 11 points per game over three seasons. "My job was always about showing them how to win."

Rudley could have played professionally, said his coach, Bob Nichols, but he had his sights set beyond one or two years in the NBA. He studied accounting, got his bachelor's degree and went to work at the firm Coopers & Lybrand. He later earned a master's degree and doctorate at Tennessee State University.

After eight years at accounting firms, he took a job at TSU as an assistant to the vice president for fiscal affairs in 1981. He became the school's chief financial officer three years later and established an accounting system that led to clean audits for the first time in several years.

He left for a similar job at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 1987, then followed former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander to the U.S. Department of Education in 1991. Alexander wanted him to create an accounting arm for the department.

Rudley succeeded despite some internal friction, carving a 22-person division out of a big bureaucracy. In his office, Rudley keeps a framed organizational chart, a well-thumbed copy of the department's first financial statement and a thank-you note from Alexander, now a Republican senator. "That job took blood, sweat and tears out of me," Rudley said.

Inspires loyalty

After the Democrats seized the White House in 1992, Rudley returned to UT-Chattanooga and later became vice chancellor for business and finance for the Tennessee Board of Regents, the sixth-largest higher education system in the country.
When UH called in 2002, he jumped at the opportunity to return to a campus. At UH, he is known for balanced budgets and on-time construction projects. He played a key role in developing plans for an ambitious makeover of the University Park campus, a few blocks from TSU.

At Rudley's urging, the plan calls for the campus to meld with the surrounding Third Ward while reducing blight and attracting retailers. Near campus, Scott Street is largely a landscape of carry-out joints, sagging apartments and vacant lots, not the vibrant strip of bars, bookstores and theaters sprouting around many universities.

"Before Dr. Rudley, UH turned its back to the Third Ward," said David Irvin, special assistant to the president at UH.

Irvin said Rudley inspires loyalty by listening and making everyone feel a part of big decisions.

"It's a wonderfully liberating way of working," said Irvin, who expects several people to follow Rudley from UH to TSU.

Explaining his approach, Rudley said, "I won't throw myself on the sword. Everyone must do their part. I'll delegate, and if you don't do your job, then that's when you'll be replaced."

Several other opportunities

Rudley isn't a workaholic but often works through lunch. He sometimes sneaks out for a mid-afternoon run to untangle his thoughts and tries to go home by 5:30 p.m. It's about being focused and efficient, he says.

His skills prompted the UH System's governing board to ask him to serve as interim chancellor and president in June after Jay Gogue abruptly left for Auburn University. The job came on the condition that Rudley wouldn't be considered for the permanent post: Regents didn't want anyone to question the interim's motives.

Rudley accepted, hoping the additional line to his résumé would lead to a presidency somewhere.

Search firms approached about university presidencies in California, Indiana and North Carolina, but the TSU job appealed to him, in part, because he could stay in Houston. His wife, Docia, teaches law at TSU but plans to leave, possibly for UH, once he moves into the president's suite.

Rudley hasn't laid out an explicit agenda so far but has said his first priority will be to rectify the issues raised by the regional accrediting body that recently put TSU on probation.

Rudley also must ease the concerns of state lawmakers, who are withholding nearly $40 million in supplemental funding over the next two years until TSU provides an acceptable rehabilitation plan.

"The politics of the situation are going to be difficult for Dr. Rudley," said state Rep. Garnet Coleman, a Houston Democrat whose district includes the 9,500-student campus. "But I think he can deal with it."

Search for TSU chief all but over
Regents name UH's Rudley as their sole finalist


Jan. 12, 2008

By MATTHEW TRESAUGUE
 Staff
Texas Southern University all but ended a 19-month search for a new president Friday, turning to a familiar face and known problem solver to rehabilitate the proud but chronically troubled school.

Regents voted 9-0 to name John Rudley, the University of Houston's interim president, as the sole finalist for the top job at Texas' largest historically black university. State law requires the governing board to wait 21 days before finalizing the appointment.

Glenn Lewis, the board's chairman, said Rudley emerged as the leading candidate because of his extensive background in higher education finance, edging former state lawmaker Anthony Hall, the city of Houston's chief administrative officer.

Both candidates had ideas for turning around the 9,500-student university, Lewis said, but Rudley "showed us that he has the ability to implement his vision. I think his résumé speaks for itself."

TSU has been without a permanent president since the board fired Priscilla Slade amid a spending scandal in June 2006. A hung jury in October spared Slade from a conviction on charges related to her use of school money for personal expenses, but her former chief financial officer, Quintin Wiggins, received a 10-year prison sentence in May for his role in the scandal.

Rudley's selection comes as he is about to end a seven-month stint as UH's interim president. Renu Khator, previously the second in command at the University of South Florida, is scheduled to take the reins Tuesday, with Rudley returning to his role of vice president for administration and finance.

Rudley, 60, is known as a no-nonsense numbers cruncher who has built his career on balanced budgets and on-time construction projects. He played a key role in developing the plans for an ambitious makeover of the University Park campus, a few blocks from TSU.

He served as TSU's chief financial officer and internal auditor during the 1980s and then worked in administrative posts for the U.S. Department of Education and the Tennessee Board of Regents, the nation's sixth-largest higher-education system.

Challenges await

Rudley received his bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Toledo and master's and doctoral degrees from Tennessee State University.

His wife, Docia, is a professor at TSU's Thurgood Marshall School of Law.

"It is a singular honor to be selected as the next president of Texas Southern University, and it is one that I do not take lightly," Rudley said in a statement. "I am privileged to have the opportunity to return to this great institution."

The challenges facing Rudley include declining enrollment and low graduation rates. TSU's accrediting body, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, recently placed the university on probation, citing financial and managements issues that must be rectified within the next year.

TSU also is under intense scrutiny from state lawmakers, who are withholding nearly $40 million in supplemental funding over the next two years until the university provides an acceptable reorganization plan.

The proposed roadmap focuses mainly on management, recommending a series of tighter controls, including several continuous, scheduled reports and audits to the board. State lawmakers had raised doubts about implementation of the plan in the absence of a permanent president.

"We don't expect him to wave a magic wand," Lewis said of Rudley. "But we expect him to provide some direction and guidance."

Christopher LeBlanc, president of the TSU National Alumni Association, welcomed the selection.
"We've waited for this day," he said. "We're ready to move forward."

The university had suspended the search this year after Gov. Rick Perry decided to replace the entire nine-member governing board. The search resumed in September after Lewis added three regents to the advisory committee.

The committee, headed by Gerald Smith, chairman and chief executive officer of Houston investment firm Smith, Graham & Co., narrowed the field to Rudley and Hall last month.

Before the vote, James Douglas, a law professor and former president of TSU, endorsed Rudley, whom he called a personal friend.

"It's clear to me that we need someone who understands higher education and finance and has some experience at Texas Southern University," Douglas said. "This is a university that has a lot of potential. That's not to say that it won't be a challenge, but at the end of the day, there is potential for a lot of rewards."