A new attitude

BYLINE: Star-Telegram

The day after a big election finds plenty of people wondering, "What happened?"

But for Texas to move forward with a legislative session that starts in two months, the better question is: "What now?"

The fact that about six in every 10 voters who participated in Tuesday's gubernatorial election cast ballots for someone other than the winner should slap the state's leaders with this cold reality: They need to think and act inclusively.

That won't happen, though, without a different attitude at the top.

If experience provides an accurate forecast, Perry can be expected to continue his pattern of six years: governing mainly by the script of the far right wing of the Republican Party of Texas.

Not that Perry hasn't put forth some admirable policies. He has focused on building a strong business environment that will attract new jobs to the state. The Texas Enterprise Fund isn't the Perry-operated slush fund that independent candidate Carole Keeton Strayhorn described throughout the campaign. It has stimulated economic growth, and Perry had every reason to tout more than 675,000 new jobs in three years.

And the Emerging Technology Fund has enabled the state's universities to move advancements in science and technology from concept to marketplace.

Critics groused about Perry's transportation initiatives during the campaign, though opponents offered no better solutions to the state's mounting mobility problems. Still, criticism of the Trans-Texas Corridor found enough traction that the governor will have to be some salesman with the Legislature and the public to salvage the project.

Perry has proved notably mediocre on education and immigration. He gives lip service to improving schools and boosting higher education funding but hasn't demonstrated vision on how to accomplish either, nor has he led or pushed the Legislature toward solid or encouraging solutions. The courts, not Perry, have driven changes.

His best move was enlisting John Sharp to help develop a business tax overhaul palatable to the Legislature and the business community.

Perry's push for enhanced border security hardly surprised observers, given the prominence of illegal immigration concerns in this election. A border-state GOP governor had to sound tough. But this complicated problem demands more than fences and law enforcement eyes on land and in the sky.

It would be reckless for a border-state governor to ignore the contributions of unskilled labor to the state's economic health. The need for restaurant, agricultural and construction workers along with other unskilled labor surpasses the availability of young Americans.

Texans deserve comprehensive solutions, from the state and the federal governments.

Then there are Perry's disasters. His health and human services programs constantly face crises, even after overhauls. He pushes to add coal-fired power plants despite their detrimental carbon dioxide emissions. And he seems determined to "fix" what he insists is a "broken" property tax appraisal system, most likely through low caps on appraisal increases.

During an October meeting with the Star-Telegram Editorial Board, Perry attempted to backpedal from his staunch support of appraisal tax caps, calling his earlier proclamations merely a "starting point" for reform discussions.

If Perry thinks property taxes need restricting, he should use his bully pulpit to encourage local governments to take up the issue and receive voter approval before increasing tax revenue beyond a certain point. This is not an issue that demands a top-down answer.

Perry's opponents didn't touch his Sunday comments about who's doomed to hell. Like every other American, Perry is entitled to his beliefs. And apparently playing on those beliefs helped rally his base. But a governor is expected to lead the entire state -- this marvelously multicultural, multifaith Texas.

In his Tuesday night acceptance speech, Perry promised to all (even those who didn't vote for him): "For the next four years, I will be your governor."

But can he deliver?

Perry said throughout the campaign that he would be happy with a single vote more than the No. 2 finisher. A 9 percentage-point margin over Democrat Chris Bell isn't exactly a stunning upset.

A lackluster showing was enough to win. But he will need to govern much better than that.