Audio By Carbonatix
When State Representative Dan Branch introduced his proposal to change the name of aseven-mile
stretch of Central to George W. Bush Expressway, we thought it might be one of those novelty bills that gets a couple of chuckles before dying a quiet death in committee. We hoped it was, at least. We couldn’t stomach the confusion of having two North Texas freeways named for George Bushes.
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But wouldn’t you know it, Branch’s bill just sailed through the state House. And this wasn’t just a Republican thing. Every single Democrat signed on save for Dallas’ Helen Giddings, who wasn’t there. The final vote was 147-0. That’s an unofficial tally, mind you, so it’s a hypothetical possibility that a couple of votes were recorded incorrectly. But not 147 of them.
(Update on May 9: A staffer from the office of Fort Worth Democrat Lon Burnam writes to inform us that the vote was not, in fact, unanimous. “He most definitely voted against the bill,” he writes. “The clerk says an updated, official version of the vote should be up tomorrow or early next week.”)
Dallas Democrat Eric Johnson made sure to remind his colleagues on the other side of the aisle just how cooperative his party was.
Leach, for the record, represents Plano.
The name change still has to through the Senate, then Governor Perry, but the House vote puts it well on its way to being law. So start updating your mental maps now. And remember: to get downtown from up north, just exit the Bush Turnpike, go south on Central to Bush Expressway. Take the Bush past the Bush Presidential Center and exit just before the Bush turns back into Central. Any questions?
(Note: The stretch of highway in Branch’s proposal has dropped from seven miles to about three since the bill was introduced. The revised bill has the George W. Bush Expressway running from Knox-Henderson to Northwest Highway.)
