Opinion

For Lt. governor Leticia Van de Putte can be trusted to focus on issues that matter to most Texans.

Leticia Van de Putte ( James Nielsen / Houston Chronicle ) Leticia Van de Putte ( James Nielsen / Houston Chronicle ) Photo: James Nielsen, Staff Photo: James Nielsen, Staff Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close For Lt. governor 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

The lieutenant governor traditionally has been the most powerful elected official in Texas - until, that is, Gov. Rick Perry used his longevity to consolidate power to the chief executive. Still, the lieutenant governor as president of the Texas Senate wields a great deal of power to set the state's agenda and to get the people's business done in the Texas Legislature. With a new governor coming into office for the first time in more than a dozen years, the lieutenant governor's office in 2015 will regain its power and influence.

The differences between the candidates this year could hardly be more stark. State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio, the Democratic candidate, is not only knowledgeable and experienced but also congenial and easy to work with. Her Republican opponent, state Sen. Dan Patrick of Houston, is divisive, disruptive and self-aggrandizing.

We urge a vote for Van de Putte. Texas voters, regardless of party, need to think long and hard about a potential demagogue becoming lieutenant governor.

Bill Hobby, the state's longest-serving lieutenant governor, has described the Texas Senate as "a legislative body rich in traditions of civility, courtesy and respect for one's colleagues." Hobby, the author of a book called "How Things Really Work: Lessons from a Life in Politics," was well aware during his 18 years in office that the people's work cannot get done without those qualities.

Patrick embodies the exact and dangerous opposite of the qualities Hobby mentioned. A former radio shock jock, Patrick has pursued a talk-radio agenda during his two terms in the Texas Senate. Like a heat-seeking missile, he homes in on those issues that are guaranteed to divide and disrupt.

Given the senator's inclination to be needlessly provocative and outrageous, it's little wonder that his Senate colleagues, including fellow Republicans, are deeply concerned about the prospect of Patrick wielding the gavel as lieutenant governor. Both Republican and Democratic senators have been quietly exploring ways to curb the powers of the office if Patrick is elected.

Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, who finished fourth in the March Republican primary for lieutenant governor, described his erstwhile opponent as an unsavory combination of Huey Long, Elmer Gantry and W. Lee "Pass the Biscuits Pappy" O'Daniel. Patterson said he would not vote for Patrick and told reporters that of the 31 members of the Senate, "very, very few of them have any trust in Sen. Patrick. Very few of them."

Patrick, 64, is a formidable politician. He's smart, he's articulate and he knows the issues, but those attributes make him all the more dangerous in a leadership position.

Van de Putte, a moderate Democrat of Mexican descent, is a mother, grandmother and small-businesswoman. She was elected to the Texas House in 1990 and the Senate in 1999. The exact opposite of Patrick, the 59-year-old lawmaker has earned the respect of her colleagues in the majority-Republican Senate. They know she'll work with them.

They also know she'll respect the system of checks and balances that has prevented the state Senate from becoming a mirror image of dysfunctional Washington. For example, she will respect the Senate's venerable two-thirds tradition of requiring 21 votes to bring legislation to the floor. The tradition - it's not a rule - is designed to respect the rights of members who belong to the minority party. Patrick has vowed to abolish it. Under his reign, Democrats will be expected to show up and shut up.

Van de Putte as lieutenant governor can be trusted to focus not on divisive social issues but on the issues that matter to the great majority of Texans: their children's education, transportation and infrastructure, among them. Chair of the Senate Committee on Veteran Affairs and Military Installations, she also spends a great deal of time on veterans' issues, as befits an elected official from San Antonio.

As a practicing pharmacist, she's conversant with health care issues and would seek to find a way for Texas to expand Medicaid, thus bringing billions of tax dollars back to the state and reducing the inexcusable number of uninsured. Patrick and his GOP cohorts are opposed to expansion.

For Van de Putte to have any chance at all in this flame-red state, many Republican voters will have to split their tickets. If their primary concern is the future of this state and not party loyalty, that's exactly what they'll do in their choice for lieutenant governor. Van de Putte, we believe, is best for Texas.