Journal of the House of Representatives of the Regular Session of the Seventy-Ninth Legislature of the State of Texas, Volume 1 Page: 10
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79th LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION
Secretary Connor recognized the Honorable Beverly Woolley of Harris
County, who placed in nomination for speaker of the House of Representatives of
the Seventy-Ninth Legislature of the State of Texas the name of the Honorable
Tom Craddick of Midland County, speaking as follows:
Mr. Secretary, honored guests, and fellow members. It is always a special
honor when you are asked to say nice things about someone whom you consider
a close friend. Such an honor is mine today.
Nearly forty years ago, a 25-year-old freshman legislator named Tom
Craddick from Midland entered this room to cast his vote for the speaker of the
house. It did not occur to him that day that a Republican would ever be so
honored. After all, his own oath of office as a member of the Texas House was
shared by only seven other Republicans. Other than Tom, every single member of
the house of representatives who was there that day has departed this body.
Tom Craddick has persevered and endured, and his personal characteristics
from that day remain unchanged. He has an undying love for his lovely wife,
Nadine, and his children, Christi and Tommy, and his daughter-in-law, Laura. He
also has a deep commitment to his faith. Additionally, Tom's dream for a Texas
where we nurture education and create economic opportunity for all Texans
carries forward from that day.
In some respect, Tom's personal history in this chamber is a map of
roller-coaster rides. As most of you know, he has held and lost chairmanships on
numerous occasions. Certainly his experience became modem-day political
history when, two years ago, this body elected him as speaker of the house. His
rise to that office ended a 130-year drought for Republicans in the speaker's
position. And the Boston Red Sox think they had it tough!
I have great comfort in Tom Craddick as speaker. The best speakers always
understand the importance of small talk and grand gestures, operate from
strength, and know the importance of institutional knowledge. To that end, our
own body elects a speaker who we trust will work with the vast talents, enormous
creativity, and sometimes quirkiness of 149 individuals operating in a historic
setting under enormous pressure.
Our body is an intellectually aggressive, highly emotional, very opinionated
group of men and women. Thus described, it comes as no surprise our debates
occasionally become fierce and sometimes legendary. Last session, we
successfully met a $10 billion budget shortfall and did not increase taxes on
Texans. We also passed a long list of noteworthy achievements, many of which
are today considered national models. The committee appointments made by
Speaker Craddick better reflected equality among all our members more than any
other time in our history. Members were given the power to move legislation and
encouraged to shape our state's present and future. It is a testament to Tom
Craddick's vast knowledge, legislative experience, and even-keel approach to
leadership that the problems we experienced were reduced in scope and shorter in
duration than could have otherwise been expected.
The future will be what we make it. With Tom Craddick as speaker, each of
you can expect the opportunity to represent your district and persuade your
colleagues to join you on issues. It is a unique, wonderful time. With fairness,10
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Texas. Legislature. House of Representatives. Journal of the House of Representatives of the Regular Session of the Seventy-Ninth Legislature of the State of Texas, Volume 1, legislative document, 2005; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth97462/m1/14/?q=%222005-01-11%22&rotate=90: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.