CORPUS CHRISTI — Two South Texas lawmakers — state Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, and state Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen — stood especially tall in the 82nd Legislature’s recently concluded regular session. Hunter, as chairman of the House Calendars Committee, lived up to the unofficial title of third most powerful person in the Legislature, after House Speaker Joe Straus and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst. Hunter loomed that large, not only because of the power of the position, but how he wielded it. There are ways to unleash the genie without causing resentment, but even the diplomatically gifted may find it easier to force a camel through a needle’s eye. The House Republican supermajority added another temptation toward heavy handedness. Hunter didn’t give in to it. “He understands that members should be treated fairly and with respect,” Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, told Rick Spruill of the Caller-Times. “There was no bum’s rush.”{read more}
