Fact-checking the Democratic debate

Posted Monday, Feb. 08, 2010 Comments   (0)  Print Share Share Reprints

Topics: Farouk Shami

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By AMAN BATHEJA

abatheja@star-telegram.com

Here is a closer look at some of the statements and claims made by businessman Farouk Shami and former Houston Mayor Bill White in Monday night's debate between the 2010 Democratic gubernatorial candidates.

Education

Claim: White said Texas is ranked 49th among states in terms of percentage of adults who have a high school diploma.

True or false? True. According to the 2010 Texas Fact Book put out by the state's Legislative Budget Board, 79.1 percent of the Texas population were high school graduates in 2007, placing Texas 49th among the 50 states.

Voter ID

Claim: In explaining why he doesn't support requiring citizens to show photo identification before voting, Shami said, "When we go to vote, they ask us for driver's license and verify that you are a voter and a citizen in the state of Texas, so I support what we have right now."

True or false? False. Under current Texas law, voters can cast a ballot at their polling place just by bringing their voter registration card. Absent that, a driver's license is only one of a long list of forms of identification that will be accepted by election workers, including a current utility bill or bank statement.

Toxic air

Claim: Shami said Houston is the nation's third most toxic city.

True or false? True. A November study by Forbes magazine rated Houston the third most toxic major city in the country based on data provided by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Atlanta was rated the worst, followed by Detroit.

Electric rates

Claim: White said: "In 1999, utility rates in Texas were lower than the average in the rest of the nation. Now our residential utility rates are higher than they are in the rest of the nation, including neighboring states like Oklahoma or Louisiana."

True or false? Mostly true. Texas did pay electric prices below the national average in 1999, before lawmakers deregulated the state's electricity market. Rates have risen since then.

U.S. Energy Information Administration figures for August show that Texas' average residential electric rate was 12.43 cents per kilowatt-hour, higher than the national residential average of 12.05 cents and far higher than the averages for neighboring states.

Overall, the Texas residential rate in August ranked 34th among all states.

Star-Telegram researcher Cathy Belcher contributed to this report.

AMAN BATHEJA, 817-390-7695

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