State Rep. David Cook sought to give a campaign for speaker a badly-needed boost when he ended 2024 this week with a promise to appoint Texas House committees that are mirrors for the chamber's partisan complexion and diversity if he's elected speaker less than two weeks from now as the GOP caucus nominee.
The second-term lawmaker from Mansfield outlined his plans for reforming the House in a letter to current and incoming members that
declined to mention a pledge to strip Democrats of committee chairs as the centerpiece proposal for a leadership bid that appears destined to fail as a direct consequence of it.
With State Rep. Dustin Burrows of Lubbock claiming to have the votes to be elected as the new speaker on January 14, Cook's New Year's eve communique appeared tailored in part for Democrats who he began courting this month amid the realization that he couldn't win without them despite the punishment threat.
But Cook's vow to structure committees in ways that reflect the partisan percentages of both major parties may not work as a sales pitch for Democrats in light of the fact they would still come out on the losing end overall under such a plan.
According to an examination of the current standing panels in the Legislature's lower chamber, the Democrats would break even at best in terms of committee assignments under Cook's partisan fairness plan based on the number of members each contains now.
Democrats would gain one seat on the Calendars Committee, the County Affairs Committee, the Land & Resources Management Committee, the Local & Consent Calendars Committee and the Pensions, Investments and Financial Services Committee with the Cook plan.
But the Democrats would lose one seat on the Business & Industry Committee, the Corrections Committee, the Energy Resources Committee and the Transportation Committee if the panels in the House are reshaped to reflect their numbers that would entitle them to 41.3% of the positions on each.
While Democrats would pick up one committee post overall if Cook claimed the gavel and had his way without committee expansions or shrinking, the minority party members would forfeit the majorities they enjoy now on the Business & Industry Committee and the Corrections Committee. The Democrats would see the number of committee chairs they hold now fall from the current count of seven to zero if Cook prevails in the election less than two weeks from now.
Cook and his supporters have been hoping that a proposal for "in-session stipends" for the vice-chairs of House committees and their staffs would appeal to some Democrats as a consolation prize for their elimination from chairmanships for the first time in the chamber's history.
But Cook's attempts to lure Democrats into his camp has appeared to be a complete bust up to now - and the minority party's members could see the added vice-chairmanship perks more as an insult in a desperate attempt to buy them off.
Cook initially hoped to get elected as the speaker without the need for any Democratic votes. But the caucus nominee's pledge to reduce the Democrats' clout in the House substantially has appeared to effectively pave the way for a Burrows victory in the election on opening day of the regular session this month.
Cook may cause for optimism nonetheless from a social media post by a key supporter on New Year's eve.
"Get ready for fireworks as shocking revelations about Dustin Burrows come to light," GOP State Rep. J.M. Lozano of Kingsville said on Tuesday in a post on X. "Stay tuned—his true colors will be exposed. One thing’s certain: Dustin Burrows will never be Speaker of the Texas House. Accountability is on its way! God Bless Texas!"
But Lozano didn't say whether he would be taking bets on this prediction before the vote on the floor.
