Spotlight - Rep. Ryan Guillen D-31

First elected in 2002 at age 24, Representative Ryan Guillen serves 10 counties in southern Texas that make up District 31, covering the vast space between the Valley and San Antonio, including Kenedy County, the 4th least populous county in America with about 400 people. By many metrics, he is the most diligent member of the Texas House, and it isn’t even close, authoring 67 bills per session on average. So when his website claims “no one works harder,” he’s got the numbers to back it up.

If there was a single person who best embodied non-partisan progress, it is perhaps Representative Guillen, and others, such as Rep. Lyle Larson (R-San Antonio), have noticed his prolific consistency.

More recently, he was hand-picked by Speaker of the House Dade Phelan to work on the conference committee for HB 1927, the constitutional carry bill. Appointing a long-time Democrat to a long-time GOP objective might seem odd or even foolish to some, but Guillen breaks with the majority of his party on the 2nd amendment, receiving an A+ score from the NRA.  

Given his considerable experience and his willingness to work across the aisle, it stands to reason that he will continue to play a large role in Phelan’s chamber, but—if one day Democrats somehow wrestle control of the House from the GOP—Guillen’s leadership role could diminish since he overlaps with many Republicans who would be reshuffled among the various committees. 

No matter the fog of the future, one beacon is bright and clear: Guillen will churn out more bills in a single session than some members create in their entire career.

TAIL END

An Australian publication attempted to make a guide to barbecue in America. It didn’t go well. TripAdvisor quickly screamed and shouted and hollered repeatedly that they were not affiliated with “chefspencil.”

Early Armadillo would also like to make a guide-to-things-we-know-nothing-about, so here it is for all you Aussies.