Texas Monthly's Ten Best, Ten Worst, Etc.

Texas Monthly has published its biennial list of the Ten Best and Ten Worst Legislators. This is always their follow-up to the legislative session.

The publication of the lists is always an event in itself. The lists are rolled out at a well-attended press conference held in the lobby of the Omni Hotel. (WHY? The magazine's offices are in that building.)

Above, Texas Monthly political writers Paul Burka and Patti Kilday Hart announce the list to the assembled media types. Burka is the one with the tie. Below, Elise Hu of Austin's KVUE (ABC Channel 11), T.J. Shroat of In The Pink Texas, Mike Rosen of Austin's KTBC (Fox Channel 7), and Ross Ramsey of Texas Weekly, listen as intently as possible as the press conference moves into its second half hour. I don't know who the other guy is.

For a day or two afterwards, reporters craft stories about the lists (some even saying whether they agree or not), and Capitol staffers and other political types pore over the story to unearth clues to who's up and who's down.

In the end, the Texas Monthly list is just that: a list. There's an interesting debate whether being on the Ten Best or the Ten Worst affects a politician's career.

With that caveat, here are the lists:

Ten Best: Rafael Anchia, Sen. John Carona, Byron Cook, Sen. Bob Deuell, Scott Hochberg, Lois Kolkhorst, Jerry Madden, Sen. Steve Ogden, Sylvester Turner, Sen. Tommy Williams.
Ten Worst: Lon Burnam, Warren Chisum, Speaker Tom Craddick, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, Sen. Troy Fraser, Charlie Howard, Sen. Eddie Lucio, Sen. Dan Patrick, Gov. Rick Perry, Debbie Riddle.
Honorable mention: Rob Eissler, Sen. Craig Eltife, Dan Gattis, Fred Hill, Sen. Juan Hinojosa, John Smithee, Burt Solomons, Mark Strama, Senfronia Thompson, Sen. John Whitmire, the Insurgents (Dunnam, Talton, et al.).
Dishonorable mention: Kino Flores, Pat Haggerty, Linda Harper-Brown, S.id Miller, Mike O'Day, Chente Quintanilla, Bill Zedler.
Furniture: Alma Allen, Roberto Alonzo, Wayne Christian, Sen. Craig Estes, Joe Farias, Jim Jackson, Sen. Mike Jackson, Nathan Macias, Armando Martinez.

UPDATE: If you want to hear Burka's and Hart's reasoning re their choices, KVUE has put up a video of most of the press conference here. Thanks to KVUE.