UCLA researchers who decided to study U.S. female lawmakers found those with "stereotypically feminine facial features" are overwhelmingly Republican -- and the most feminine face belongs to Fort Worth's own Rep. Kay Granger.
"Female politicians with stereotypically feminine facial features are more likely to be Republican than Democrat, and the correlation increases the more conservative the lawmaker's voting record," said Colleen M. Carpinella, a UCLA graduate student in psychology who led the study."I suppose we could call it the ' Michele Bachmann effect,'" said Kerri Johnson, the study's senior author, an assistant professor of communication studies and psychology at UCLA.Granger scored highest, followed by Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash, and Bachmann.The researchers scanned the photos of U.S. House members in the FaceGen modeler to compare them to facial norms and got a score. Then they asked undergrads to guess the person's party -- and "their judgments were 98 percent more likely to be accurate for women with the highest rankings for femininity" -- which is a way of saying that there's a Republican look.There are 76 female House members -- 52 Democrats and 24 Republicans. Granger is the only female Republican House member from Texas.Tea Party group backs DemocratDemocrat Norm Lyons, a retired vice president of the Texas Rangers Baseball Club, has picked up an endorsement in his bid for Tarrant County Commissioner from The Boiling Point TEA Party political action committee.The Tea Party group is throwing its support behind Lyons partly because of spending approved by the current Tarrant County Commissioners Court, which includes Lyons' opponent, Precinct 3 Commissioner Gary Fickes, a Republican.The group's concerns include the amount commissioners are paid, as well as their car allowance, not to mention sums allocated for new subcourthouse buildings even as other causes faced funding cuts."We are asking Republicans who care about cutting waste and undisciplined spending to vote for a fiscal conservative Democrat who has true TEA Party Values," says a statement by Marie Howard, president of The Boiling Point TEA Party PAC.Reserve to the rescueReserve funds will take up the slack in the general fund from the Fort Worth City Council's vote to reject a water rate increase.The city's water and sewer fund pays a street rental fee into the general fund for use of rights of way. So when the council voted down a water rate increase for 2013, that left the general fund short an estimated $297,035.The city's reserve requirement is still at 10 percent, staff members said in a recent report."Consistent with our approach each year, staff will monitor revenues, scrutinize all spending, and begin early evaluating options to address the budget challenges" expected in fiscal 2014, the staff said. The city closed a gap in the fiscal 2013 budget largely with one-time savings and gains, which puts pressure on the 2014 budget.Well-spokenGranger's press guy, Matt Leffingwell, and U.S. Rep. John Carter's, R-Round Rock, spokesman, John Stone, have each been promoted to chief of staff.Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
