A Brief History of Texas' Most Powerful Political Office: Lt. Governor
When I moved to Austin in 2002, one of the first things I did to acclimate myself to Texas was visit the Bullock Texas State History Museum.
I remember standing on the second floor, staring at the statue of the man whose name was chiseled onto the side of the building. Then I started to read his history on the plaque at the base of the statue to see just how long he'd been Governor or U.S. Senator.
That's when I discovered Bob Bullock had only been Lieutenant Governor.
"Lieutenant Governor is basically the Vice President of the United States," University of Texas School of Law professor Hugh Brady says.
More at http://kut.org/post/brief-history-texas-most-powerful-political-office-lt-governor .
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I was aware of the power that the lieutenant governor holds since I worked for the state and was involved in the public employees association, but I also realize that most of that information isn't known by the public at large. The KUT article is one of the best pieces describing the inner workings of state government that I've read in awhile and kudos go the writers.
I still haven't gone to the Bullock museum since it wasn't completed until after I moved from Austin, but I need to put it on my "things to do" list the next time I have some time to spare. 