2010: Newspaper Endorsements: Globe-News for KBH and White

The Amarillo Globe-News has endorsed Kay Bailey Hutchison and Bill White in their respective gubernatorial primaries.

Hutchison vows to change the tone in Austin.

Hutchison vows to push for term limits for the governor's office. She pledges to do away with "cronyism" in Austin, which she says Perry has fostered during his two-plus terms as governor. Hutchison alleges the governor has taken revenge on university regents who have supported her campaign. Hutchison also pledges more sunshine on the appointment process.

She wants to reform the Texas Department of Transportation into more of a "bottom-up" organization; she also vows more transparency at TxDOT. Meanwhile, she blasts Perry's massive Trans-Texas Corridor highway plan, which would have taken many thousands of acres away from property owners.

It's time for new leadership in the governor's office.

White is a former Houston mayor who recently handed over the reins of the city only because he was term-limited out. By almost every observer's account, White left the city in good shape - even as it watched its population swell with refugees fleeing New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina's destruction.

Education has become White's signature issue in his run for governor. He points out accurately that Texas needs to do much better for its public school students. Texas, he says, ranks "dead last among all states in the number of adults with a high school diploma."

His record of building a successful law practice, his work as an Energy Department official, his success in the energy industry and his successful two terms as mayor of the nation's fourth-largest city commend him well for the office he seeks.