Political expert threatens to switch from observer to participant

Posted Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012 0 comments  Print Reprints
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By Maria Recio, Anna M. Tinsley and Scott Nishimura

Star-Telegram staff writers

During last week's final state Senate District 10 debate between Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, and state Rep. Mark Shelton, R-Fort Worth, moderator Allan Saxe -- an associate political science professor at the University of Texas at Arlington -- joked that he will run for that district, no matter who wins, in eight years.

"I will be close to 80 years of age," he deadpanned.

"Get ready, it's going to be the campaign of the century."

Local White House Intern

Marcelo Ostria of Flower Mound, a student at the University of North Texas, is getting a close-up view of Washington this fall, as one of 144 students in the prestigious White House intern program.

Future leaders

Former President George W. Bush knows how important it is to be able to effectively deliver a message.

That's why his institute -- along with St. Mark's School of Texas and the Dallas Urban Debate Alliance -- recently sponsored a weekend of economic debates for high school students.

"It's important for the next generation to understand the promise of free enterprise and economic freedom," Bush told those who participated in the inaugural Bush Institute Economic Debates in Dallas. "We believe that encouraging this kind of debate and dialogue will produce future leaders, and it just may be that a soul participating in this weekend will end up having the highest honor possible -- being the President of the greatest nation ever."

No welcome sign

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott stood down the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Not because he didn't want international election observers, he said, but because this year they had changed and had "an agenda" after aligning with groups that were critical of Texas' "voter integrity" laws such as Project Vote, a national group fighting voter ID laws.

"The OSCE is no longer observed as a neutral observer who is here to learn," Abbott told the Star-Telegram in an interview.

After threatening to take legal action, and having the State Department involved and a lot of international back and forth, the feisty attorney general got what he wanted: assurances that OSCE would abide by state law that keeps observers 100 feet from a polling place.

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