Land office candidate to focus on water

Gary Scharrer
Austin Bureau
El Paso Times
Sunday, September 23, 2001

Concerns about future water supplies for El Paso and other West Texas communities will be part of his campaign for Texas land commissioner, state Sen. David Bernsen, D-Beaumont, said last week while announcing his candidacy for the Democratic nomination in next year's election.

"I seek this position not to oppose any person or any party, but rather to propose new ideas and policies for a state I dearly love," Bernsen said.

Afterward, Bernsen, 51, said he plans to build a campaign organization in El Paso because his success depends on a strong turnout of Democrats and El Paso is a key area.

"Good water is going to be a major concern of West Texas. That's something that we need to look at, and I plan to be involved," Bernsen said. He did not offer any specific solutions for the region's water supply.

Bernsen is a former chairman of the Texas Department of Transportation Commission.

"I focused on things that had been neglected for too long. We worked hard to make border and South Texas infrastructure a priority," he said. "We developed a network of hurricane evacuation routes along the Texas Gulf Coast. And we created new funding formulas that gave rural Texas the voice it needed for the infrastructure problems that long needed to be addressed."

Bernsen headed the transportation commission in the early 1990s when Eliot Shapleigh was one of several prosecutors appointed by then-state District Judge Edward Marquez to investigate allegations that state officials and agencies had historically shortchanged El Paso.

Shapleigh and Bernsen became close allies in the Texas Senate. Bernsen credited Shapleigh on Tuesday for developing the Senate Democrats' "Kids First" agenda, which emphasized children's health and education.

"I believed in the Kids First agenda. That's why I supported increasing teacher pay, fully funding CHIP, simplifying Medicaid and expanding health care for public school employees," he said.

Bernsen said he will rely on Shapleigh for help in building his El Paso campaign organization.

"David Bernsen learned a lot about Texas as chairman of TxDOT," Shapleigh said. "He is deeply interested in our part of the state. He is a close friend and will make a great land commissioner."

Bernsen does not yet face any rivals for the Democratic nomination. Current Land Commissioner David Dewhurst will run for either the U.S. Senate or lieutenant governor.

Seeking the GOP nomination are former state Sen. Jerry Patterson and state Rep. Kenn George of Dallas.

The land commissioner runs the state's veterans programs and also oversees the state's public lands, collecting oil and gas royalties for the public school fund, which helps finance public education.

The state owns 87,932 acres in El Paso County, including 23,862 acres in the Franklin Mountains State Park.

Gary Scharrer may be reached at gscharrer@elpasotimes.com