J . v ’ Novell
sday, November 8, 2000
NEWS
THE BATTALION
Page 5
iarly celebration
PATRIC SCHNIEDER/Thk Battalion
lid Be
a
r and Vincent Rosas celebrate while watching early returns
the Brazos County Democratic headquarters.
Gramm
r, R-Texas |
Railroad commissioners
:eturn to oversee oil, gas
Battai®'
ss, Texas,
esday.
nd
||aUSTIN (AP) —Texas Railroad
iommissioners Michael L.
lliams and Charles R. Matthews
fe returned to their jobs oversee-
jtg the state’s oil and gas industry
bsday.
.JWilliams trounced Libertarian
Ithony Garcia and Green Party
f juMateCharles Mauch, receiving
percent of the vote with 7,0 per
il t pf precincts reporting. He be-
mes thefirst black to be elected to
ion-judicial statewide office.
“I am obviously deeply hon-
:d,” Williams, 47, said Tuesday
;ht. “I owe an endrmous debt of
titude to the entire Bush family.”
Matthews defeated Libertarian
rolyon Fields and Green Party
ididate Gary Dugger with 78 per-
tofthe vote, with 70 percent of
cincts reporting.
The three-member Texas Rail
ed Commission of Texas is the
oldest regulatory agency in the
state and one of the oldest in the
country. It was established in 1891
to regulate the rail industry of the
1800s. Since that time, the com
mission has been given responsi
bility for overseeing the activities
of many different industries, pri
marily oil and gas.
Gov. George W. Bush appointed
Williams to Fill the unexpired term or
Republican Chairwoman Carole
Keeton Rylander, who was elected
state comptroller in 1998.
Williams served as special assis
tant to Attorney General Richard
Thornburgh at the U.S. Department
of Justice in 1989 and served as a
federal prosecutor in the 1980s. He
was appointed by President George
Bush as assistant secretary of educa
tion for civil rights at the U.S. De
partment of Education in the early
1990s.
Texans go
to polls in
numbers
DALLAS — Texans came out to
vote in large numbers Tuesday, some
braving the wind, rain and even
snow in the Panhandle.
Many turned out to support fa
vored son Gov. George W. Bush for
president, but others were firm in
their support for Vice President A1
Gore, the Democratic Party candi
date.
“There’s jobs now,” said Ronnie
Thomas, 44, after voting at an ele
mentary school in southwest Dallas.
“There’s a job for anyone who wants
to work.”
It was treacherous work for some
voters in the Panhandle region to get
to the polls. Residents there awoke to
at least 4 inches of snow and snow-
packed roads in some areas could af
fect voter turnout.
Statewide, however, turnout was
expected to be high. At 3 p.m. the
Secretary of State office had not re
ceived any reports that would change
initial predictions that about 7.5 mil
lion Texans — 61 percent of Texas’
12.3 million registered voters —
would cast ballots. In the 1992 pres
idential race, 6.2 million people, or
73 percent, voted.
The turnout prediction is based on
early voting totals from Oct. 23
through Friday, when at least 1.5 mil
lion of the state’s voters cast early
ballots.
Voters began lining up about 6:30
a.m. outside Lovers Lane United
Methodist Church in the Preston
Hollow section of North Dallas.
Some came with coffee and cellular
telephones in hand.
Not every Texan voted today in
person, however. Two Dallas Coun
ty voters cast their ballots via the In
ternet as part of a program adminis
tered by the Federal Voting
Assistance Program. Stationed with
the U.S. Air Force in Turkey, the
military couple were the first in
Texas to vote on the Web. Only three
other states — South Carolina,
Florida and Utah — had overseas
personnel participate in the pilot
project, which program managers
hope to expand to broader popula
tions of absentee voters.
It is almost certain that Bush, the
Texas governor since 1995 and the
Republican presidential nominee,
will take Texas’ 32 electoral votes.
ie
ner-
e-
H
:k Pen)'
)f Texas
Attention All Members of
NSCS
National Society of Collegiate Scholars
First General Meeting
will take place
Wednesday, November 8th at 5:30 PM
Scoates Hall Room 208
New and Old members welcome!
For More Information, Contact us at
nscs_tamu @ yahoo.com
i
ate'
ful
J.coffl
4W
Aggieland Ducks Unlimited
Fall 2000 Banquet
November 16, 2000
Brazos Center 7 pm
Aggie land Uucks Unlimited
ivww.geocities.com/tamu_jdu/index.html
Presale tickets available <«> Tri-
State Outfitters or Burdett and
Son Outfitters
Presale tickets $25/person or
$40/couple
$30/person or $50/coup!e at the
door
Ticket price includes Membership
to Ducks Unlimited ($12 for food
only)
For more info email
tamu_du@hotmaiLcom
The Brazos Center is located on
Briarcrest Va mile past Highway 6
he cmsicii
He's not a magician
But he CAN make
a violin sing!
Acclaimed on five continents for his
extraordinary virtuosity, profound artistry
and charismatic stage presence, you'll be
Captivated by violinist, Daniel Heifetz, and
the Classical Band. Combining his passion
for violin with his love for teaching, Heifetz
uses the stage (and even the aisles) as a
classroom for inspiring arts
patrons of all ages.
Friday, November 10, 2000
7:30 PM at Rudder Theatre
For more information,
call 845-1234
■ or visit opas.tamu.edu
2000-2001 Season Media Partners
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