Link between Election and Public Policy

The Governor of Texas' political policy centered on three primary areas: restricting immigrants from Mexico, ensuring that the death penalty is equally enforced, monitoring the federal government's powers, and strengthening k12 education. These are the main issues of Texas residents. Criminal aliens actively control the state's economy. In 2008, 925,000 illegal immigrants in Texas were working (Ike Brannon 5). In particular, agriculture, construction, engineering, recreation, and hospitality offer cheap labor to different sectors; thus, the locals have poor wage bargaining power. Most of the illegal immigrants often end up unemployed, and they mostly turn to crime. They pose a danger to the locals since they engage in armed robbery and shoplifting (Ike Brannon 6). There have been complaints about the death penalty sentence in Texas. In one case, a psychologist testified that the accused was likely to participate in violent crimes because he was African American; the accused got the death penalty because of this racist comment. To reduce the powers of the national government, the citizens favor a balanced budget rule which suggests that a state should spend money according to its income. The citizens feel that they contribute a lot of taxes yet some of it is used to develop other states that have a low income. The people think that other states are benefitting from their hard work. K12 learning program involves online classes and is suitable for individuals seeking flexible schedules; it is offered in public schools and funded by the state (Elliott 3). The citizens want the platform to be expanded so that it can accommodate more people because it has gained a lot of popularity its introduction in 2001 (Elliott 2).
The Governor of Texas possesses both informal and formal powers. The legal powers of a governor are those outlined in the constitution as well as the state laws. First, he vetoes and reinforces bills approved by the legislature. The right to veto means merely objecting to a particular proposal. This power is the most essential because it is useful in lawmaking. The governor of Texas can either cancel/ nullify a section of a bill or veto a whole bill. Second, he organizes meetings with the legislature for particular purposes such as emergencies. Third, he is the commander-in-chief of Texas military forces. All the police and armed forces that work for the state are under his control. Fourth, he accounts for all funds given to him/ her and coming up with a budget for the two following years (J. H. Thad Kousser 29-31). Fifth, he calls for elections in case of vacancies in elected offices in the state and hires top state employees whose positions are not elective. Sixth, he reports on the situation of the state at the start of every session in the Legislature. Seventh, he grants commutations and reprieves of pardons and punishments based on recommendations from the Board of Pardons and Paroles. A parole restores the civil rights (such as voting) and scrapes off the criminal records of specific individuals. Commutations often involve reduced penalties for convicted criminals. Finally, the governor is the link between the state and the federal government. The Governor of Texas outlines the concerns of the citizens of Texas to the Federal Government at its headquarters in Washington D.C. the governor also gets information about the activities of other states and how their interests affect Texas. The informal powers of the Governor of Texas arise from a combination of tradition, interpretation and the inherent abilities of the individual rather than the office. The informal resources include charisma, popularity, skill and a popular mandate. A Governor should be able to gain favor among his colleagues so that he can garner support when he wants to effect or challenge regulations (J. H. Thad Kousser 37).
The Governor of Texas can use both the formal and informal powers to pass the issues by the legislature. To control the illegal immigrants, the Governor can use his position as the head of the military in the state to provide more border patrol officers along the border to ensure that immigrants have the necessary documents required to enter the state. He/ she can also use his charisma on the heads of the various policing departments to station more officers at the border, so they do not feel that they are overworked. The governor can also improve the state of K-12 education by allocating more funds for the issue in the budget for the next two years. Popularity will be very useful so that there are no complaints from other departments that online education is getting too much funding. For the death penalty, the governor can ensure that a thorough background check is done on court witnesses and that judgments are based on evidence instead of racial profiling. A governor with a law background has a better understanding of the law enforcement, therefore, will execute this action more easily. The governor can also reduce the powers of the federal government over the state using his veto power. He can also garner support from other governors seeking the same independence, i.e., popular mandate.

Works Cited

Elliott, Janet. "Online Learning: Trends in K-12 education in Texas." House Research Organization (2014): 3.
Ike Brannon, Logan Albright. "Immigration's Impact on the Texas Economy." Texas Public Policy Foundation (2016): 5.
Thad Kousser, Justin H. Phillips. "The Power of Small Favors." The Powers of American Governors (2012): 37.
Thad Kousser, Justin H. Phillips. "Two Different Games that Governors Play." Powers of American Governors (2012): 29-31.