Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

Speaker-apparent Joe Straus, promising that the old rules won't apply in the Texas House of Representatives, may bend the political truism that a speaker's race is a winner-take-all proposition.

In an interview with the American-Statesman, Straus said Thursday that there would be a few surprises in his committee assignments, including that some of Speaker Tom Craddick's loyalists could be given positions of influence.

"This wasn't exactly a long and grueling campaign for me," Straus said. "There's no late train for me."

Straus is welcoming aboard Craddick's conservatives, even though the San Antonio Republican largely owes his quick victory to House Democrats and a handful of Republicans disenchanted with Craddick's tight-fisted rule.

Asked if some of Craddick's committee chairmen and chairwomen might end up in leadership positions, he said, "I'm completely open to that."

He promised no retribution and cited his short tenure in the House (he was elected in 2005) as a plus: "I don't have a lot of scores to settle."

Straus is promising to empower his committee leaders, let the members set the agenda and, most important for him, bring civility to the House floor.

Without criticizing Craddick, Straus said he wants to end the perception that certain members or issues didn't get a level playing field.

"If you've worked your bill, and you've worked through the system," Straus said, lawmakers will know "that the odds aren't stacked against you."

As for issues, he said, "Nothing's off the table."

But Straus, known as a fiscal conservative, said he wouldn't mind just focusing on finances: "It wouldn't offend me if we just did a good budget and set the priorities for the state. "

He added: "Beyond just taking care of the basic needs of the state, the members will have to tell me what they want to do."

Straus said the House agenda should bubble up from the members, through the committee process, and to the floor — not from the top-down.

"I'm not the type to push an agenda," Straus said. "I think the speaker — generically — shouldn't be the agenda-driver and become more the process-driver."

Straus' vision more resembles the pre-Craddick days when committee chairs held more sway. That makes committee assignments even more important.

Straus faces a balancing act between Democrats who provided the bulk of his support and the House members of his own party who are warily climbing aboard the Straus team.

"It's 76-74," he said of the slim GOP majority. "The math is what it is."

But he never said how he will split the spoils of victory. He said he's not even sure how many committees he'll have.

One criticism of Craddick was that he raised money and recruited opponents to run against House incumbents — whether Republican or Democrat — who opposed him.

Straus said he won't oppose the re-election of House incumbents in 2010. Pressed about whether that included Democratic members, he said, "I can't imagine getting involved in an incumbent Democrat's race."

Such a stance is against Straus' self-interest because he needs a Republican majority to keep the gavel beyond this session. His stance raises the prospect that in 2010, as both political parties are wrestling for control of the House, the speaker will stay on the sidelines.

As for term limits for speaker, Straus quipped, "I don't think that's going to be a problem for me."

Straus, 49, said he doesn't have a goal of being speaker for a decade — the record.

"I don't have any designs to serve in government for years and years. I haven't defined what that means yet," he said. "I think it's healthy for the speakership not to be in one person's grip for too long a time."