2010: Hutchison's In; Here's How She Said It

U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison is in the governor's race, if you were still on pins and needles about that.

Here's her statement, with promises of property tax reform, a leadership shake-up at the Texas Department of Transportation, and a list of other problems she'd like to address:

I am running for governor because I know that the real challenges facing our state cannot be fixed from Washington. And I believe now more than ever that we need a serious leader who will always put Texas first and fight everyday to improve the lives of all Texans by:
 
Fixing our transportation system.
 
Addressing the problem of illegal immigration with commonsense solutions that get results.
 
Making health care more affordable.
 
Improving education.
 
Protecting private property rights.
 
And addressing ethics reform to end the cronyism and mismanagement of our state government.
 
As governor, you can trust that I will work to keep taxes low, just as I have in my entire career. When I’m elected, one of my first actions will be to create a Taxpayers Bill of Rights to ensure that every Texan has an open, fair and simple way to dispute property appraisals.
 
As governor, I will work with Texas law enforcement agencies to get them the training they need so they have the authority to deport illegal aliens who are arrested for committing crimes.
 
As governor, you can trust that I will lead the effort to improve our education system to meet the needs of Texas in 2025 not 1995. A strong education system is key to our long-term economic viability and basic education should include community college trade training with a high school diploma. I believe in incentives to recruit and retain teachers, charter schools, magnet schools and accountability, to prepare our students for college.
 
As governor, you can trust that I will improve our transportation system. To start, I will reorganize the leadership of the Texas Department of Transportation. We will end the cronyism and mismanagement. Today, TXDOT is the most arrogant state agency in Texas history. It’s time we return to our tradition of free, quality highways and roads.
 
As governor, you can trust that I will officially kill the Trans-Texas Corridor once and for all.
 
As governor, you can trust that I will fight to protect private property rights. I will never allow the government to take your land, underpay you for it, ruin its value to you and give it to a foreign-owned company.
 
As governor, you can trust that I will protect our children. Decisions affecting you and your family should be made by you and not the governor. I will never mandate from Austin that sixth-graders should receive vaccinations without the consent of their parents. That’s not conservative. And it’s not the kind of policy a Republican should be pushing.
 
I will lead a Republican Party worthy of governing Texas. Texas is the greatest state in America, and I am running for governor to keep it that way. It is time for new leadership and a governor who wakes up every day and puts the best interest of Texas first.

Today I am officially putting my name on the ballot and asking Texans to allow me the opportunity to lead our state.