Texas House Speaker Won't Seek Reelection Amid Scandal

AUSTIN, TX — Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen announced on Tuesday he won't seek reelection following his first term amid a growing scandal involving a surreptitious recording of him offering a political activist media credentials to the legislature in exchange for dirt on rivals.

"After much prayer, consultation, and thoughtful consideration with my family, it is clear that I can no longer seek reelection as State Representative of District 25, and subsequently, as Speaker of the House,” Bonnen said in a prepared statement released Tuesday, saying he won't run in 2020.

As the Texas Tribune reported, Bonnen's statement was accompanied by a list of 43 House Republicans — most comprising the House GOP Caucus — expressing a loss of support for Bonnen to continue in his role past his current first term. Friendswood lawmaker Greg Bonnen, the speaker's brother, was among those on the list, the Tribune noted in its report.

Bonnen became ensnared in a scandal emerging after staunch conservative activist Michael Quinn Sullivan of Empower Texas released secretly recorded audio he took during a June meeting with Bonnen. Sullivan had alleged Bonner and State Rep. Dustin Burrows, a Lubbock Republican, had urged Empower Texas to target 10 House Republicans in exchange for media access to the lower chamber during the 2021 legislative session, as multiple media outlets have reported.

The recording also captured Bonnen making disparaging remarks against numerous Democrats and expressed a desire to make the next legislative session the worst "...in the history of the Legislature for cities and counties," as the Tribune and others reported.

Related story: Texas State Rep. Dennis Bonnen Elected As House Speaker

Initially defiant in saying no illegality was reached via the conversation, Bonnen soon saw an erosion of confidence as details of the recording spread. Citing a subsequent Texas Rangers investigation that led to no criminal charges, Bonnen insisted in the scandal's wake the 150 member of the House "...can finally move on" in dismissing the gravity of what was said in the meeting.

But a growing number of those in his own party joined Democrats in calling on Bonnen to resign, the Tribune reported. The final blow came on Monday when five of the chamber's most influential Republicans announced they could no longer support Bonnen's continued role as speaker.

In reaction to Bonnen's announcement, Sullivan tweeted: "Sad day for Texas. A good day for Texas. Rep. Dennis Bonnen Bonnen could have behaved ethical. He could have recanted privately. He instead chose lies, deceit, dishonor, and ruin."

In a series of tweets following the unfolding scandal, Bonnen sought to clarify his views beyond what the recording might have suggested: "I have great respect & admiration for our city & county officials," he wrote in one of numerous tweets. "Understand why I said what I did. I am NOT anti local government, but I AM a pro-taxpayer conservative. It is the large, progressive, urban local governments that have been working against Texas taxpayers for years."

The stage is now set to find a new speaker, with an election scheduled in January 2021. Bonnen's imminent departure will leave the House speaker seat vacant for the first time in more than two decades, the Tribune reported.

A spectacular fall from grace after early peer nods

Bonnen's downfall represents a spectacular fall from grace following his election as speaker in a unanimous 147-0 vote this past January when he was lauded by fellow Republicans with superlatives in referencing his professional bona fides and personal character. Many in the GOP welcomed Bonnen's ascension after souring on predecessor Joe Straus, who sometimes broke party ranks in rejecting ideologically based legislation furthered by some of his party's members.

One memorable dissension by Straus involved an aggressive but ultimately doomed attempt to ban transgender people via legislation from using bathrooms labeled with the gender of their personal identification. The so-called bathroom bill was a pet cause of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

"Congratulations to newly elected Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen," Texas GOP Chairman James Dickey wrote on Twitter after Bonnen emerged as speaker. "We are proud that Republicans united to elect a qualified speaker."

Bonnen outlined his priorities upon assuming the powerful legislative post: "Today we celebrate the start of the 86th #txlege. Tomorrow we get to work on priorities including school finance & property tax reform. Thank you to my colleagues for their confidence in me. Onward!"

Yet Bonnen early on hinted at his penchant for the sort of unvarnished candor that would eventually lead to his undoing. As Texas House speaker, Bonnen vowed to keep the Texas Legislature from becoming "...caught up in things that don't lead to real results,"as the Texas Tribune reported at the time. He also pledged transparency, even if it manifested itself with jarring force: "I've never seen the point in sugar-coating things," he said, as quoted by the Tribune. "I am direct and I am a problem solver."

A political wunderkind from Angelton, Texas

Bonnen hails from the city of Angleton, the county seat of Brazoria County located amid the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area. He has served in the Texas House of Representatives for more than 20 years, representing the 25th House district that encompasses southern Brazoria County and the entirety of Matagorda County. First elected to the Legislature at the age of 24, Bonnen joined the House in 1997 and began his 12th term of office in January 2019.

Prior to becoming Speaker of the House, Bonnen served for the past three legislative sessions as Speaker Pro Tempore. In the 84th and 85th sessions, he served as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and in the 85th session as a member of the House Culture, Recreation & Tourism Committee. Speaker Bonnen has previously served as chairman of the Environmental Regulation Committee, Sunset Advisory Committee and the House Special Purpose Districts Committee, as vice chairman of the Joint Committee of Oversight of Higher Education Governance, Excellence and Transparency, and as a member of the Natural Resources Committee.

Bonnen was born and reared on the Gulf Coast, and resides with his wife, Kim, and their two sons in Lake Jackson, Texas.

>>> Read the full story at Texas Tribune