Now in his seventh – and apparently eternal – legislative session, over the years Rep. Naishtat has quietly and steadily become one of the most effective legislators in the state and a leader among those who focus their energies on support for health and human services. He was among those at the center of the fight not to balance the budget on the backs of those citizens least able to bear the burden. And when he was among the leadership of those who broke the House quorum and adjourned to Oklahoma rather than submit to the tyranny of the GOP majority, driven by national partisanship. Beyond the uproar of the political moment, Chronicle readers recognize District 49's Rep. Naishtat as a man of the people, for the people … and definitely among the "Best of Austin."
