March 6, 2006 23:12 - To the polls!
Commentary
By Bill Peterson
Once again, Hays County takes its political temperature tomorrow as the primary election decides the party nominations for the November elections. If the primaries never pose the choice between Republicans and Democrats, they often pose choices between conservatives and liberals.
Although Hays County registered voters run about 60-40 on the Republican side, the county's Republicans aren't especially conservative by Texas standards, so the county winds up, on the whole, with reasonable, moderate leadership and representation.
In recent races, Hays County supported liberal Ciro Rodriguez over the moderate Henry Cuellar in the 2004 Democratic primary for U.S. House District 28 and conservative Democrat Patrick Rose over conservative Republican Alan Askew in the 2004 state legislative District 45 race.
Hays County voters also are less conservative than Texas voters on other matters. In the 2004 presidential election, George Bush took 56 percent of the Hays County vote, compared with 61 percent throughout Texas. In last November's constitutional amendment vote, Hays County voters went 58 percent in favor of an amendment prohibiting gay marriage, compared with 76 percent across Texas.
Among Hays County's other elected leaders and representatives are Jeff Wentworth, a moderate Republican in the state senate, and County Judge Jim Powers, who isn't the kind of Republican likely to turn up at the state convention.
Hays County voters have yet to vote countywide for a hard-line conservative in a local election. But choices of that strain are to be made all over today's primary ballots. Three stand out.
In Hays County Pct. 2, which encompasses Buda and Kyle, two-term incumbent conservative Susie Carter faces a serious challenge from former Hays CISD Trustees Vice President Christie Pogue in the Republican primary. It's not strictly a countywide race, except the outcome could crucially affect the direction and composition of the Commissioners Court for the next four years. The winner faces former Commissioner Jeff Barton, a Democrat, in the general election.
The primary race for the GOP county judge nomination is an ideological skirmish between Powers and former county GOP chair Ernest Murry, who believes conservative Republican principles are the answer for everything. Murry is upset with Powers for not taking the party line in the 2001 precinct redistricting. The winner will face presumptive Democratic nominee Liz Sumter.
On the Democratic side for U.S. House District 28, a real potboiler is brewing between incumbent Cuellar, a bird's eye moderate (which makes him too conservative for Democratic blood) and former U.S. Rep. Rodriguez, who Cuellar unseated in 2004.
The Austin American-Statesman has endorsed Powers, Pogue and Rodriguez, in all three cases going with the candidate who leans furthest from the right. Form says the election will go that way, at least in the Hays County races. Recent history says Hays County Democrats are liberal and Hays County Republicans aren't all that conservative.
To reference this entry please copy the url in this link: (Permalink)
March 8, 2006 04:33 - It ain't over 'til ...
Commentary
By Bill Peterson
What do you know? It's Wednesday morning and we still don't know for sure who won the U.S. House District 28 Democratic primary between incumbent Henry Cuellar and challenger Ciro Rodriguez. Seems the voting machines in Webb County glitched on that race, but not the others, if you look at these vote totals.
It appeared Cuellar would win the election, thereby keeping his House seat, because the uncounted votes almost certainly favor him in such numbers to give him a majority. Don't be surprised if Rodriguez takes it to court. He sounded very much like he's prepared for it at a candidate forum in San Marcos last month.
The Hays County Pct. 2 Commissioners race between incumbent Republican Susie Carter and Democratic former Commissioner Jeff Barton will be a potboiler. You know the two incumbent Republicans on the court who are up for re-election will pull for Barton, if for no other reason than to be rid of Carter. If County Judge Jim Powers didn't face a challenger, he'd probably even give Barton money.
But Carter's a smart politician at the county level and she knows how to fight. Christie Pogue put up a pretty good fight trying to wrest the Republican nomination from Carter, but fell 38 votes short Tuesday.
And, somewhat ironically, Carter probably benefits because Powers, her nemesis, defeated Ernest Murry, her fellow-traveling conservative, in the Republican primary for county judge. Powers is a solid favorite against Democratic challenger Liz Sumter. Murry would not have been. So, voters who don't follow the court closely might pick Powers, then stick with the Republican down the ballot.
To reference this entry please copy the url in this link: (Permalink)
March 10, 2006 02:26 - Their money, your vote
Commentary
By Bill Peterson
The way teachers and other voters screamed during Tuesday's primary election, we're in for strange times when Gov. Rick Perry brings the legislature together for another pass at school finance reform this spring. So strange that they might accomplish something. Or else.
Pro-voucher Arlington Republican Kent Grusendorf probably will head up the House Public Education Committee again, but no one has to listen to him because he's a lame duck after the beating he took from challenger Diane Patrick.
Not even $126,000 from the Texas Opportunity PAC could save Grusendorf. The PAC coughed up $200,000 to help six legislative friends of House Speaker Tom Craddick who were challenged by education-backed candidates. The Dallas Morning News said the committee dispersed another $95,000 elsewhere, though the contributions couldn't be specified. Nor could the PAC's financial sources.
The contributions brought mixed results. Only three of the candidates so supported won their primaries, while two lost and another is headed for a run-off. Now, Craddick, Perry and the rest of the House are up for election as they take another whack at school finance. If they flop, they're gone.
Another interesting case popped up in and around Comal County, where New Braunfels Republican Carter Casteel lost in the House District 73 primary by 45 votes to challenger Nathan Macias. Same kind of story. Casteel opposed a school voucher bill supported by San Antonio millionaire Dr. James Leininger during the last session, so Leininger spent about $2.7 million to beat Casteel and four other Republicans who fought the legislation.
Needless to say, New Braunfels officials are furious that a millionaire from out of the district charged in and bought their election. Casteel is thinking about a recount.
Even with Leininger's opposition, though, three of the five legislators he targeted survived the primary. When the smoke clears, votes still count for more than money. Sadly, it came to five failed legislative sessions, including three special sessions, before the voters rose.
Anyway, we can be pretty confident the special session won't produce school vouchers. The voters are speaking against Craddick's cronies and results. Now the legislature not only is up against a court-imposed June 1 deadline for a finance plan, but divisions within the Republican Party have joined the recently ordinary split between parties to ensure that no faction can be too confident. If they're smart, they'll compromise. But if you've seen this House in action, you know that's a big "if" ...
Elections officials in Webb County finally tallied up the votes Wednesday to discover that incumbent U.S. Representative Henry Cuellar won the Democratic nomination with 53 percent of the vote in District 28. But however this vote went, it's another laugh on the quaint ideal of local elections.
The conservative Club for Growth shot $150,000 to Cuellar, the first Democrat the group has supported. Angry liberals from all over America retaliated with $136,000 over the Internet for challenger Ciro Rodriguez after The Washington Post published a photo of Cuellar playing kissy face with President Bush at the State of the Union address.
Filthy as the political game is, no part of it stinks quite like wealthy interests owning congresses and legislatures, collecting votes in jurisdictions where they don't live and buying elections that rightly belong to local voters. But Texas voters are so mad that they shouted down the better funded candidate in several legislative primaries. And we've got a real election before the end of the year.
To reference this entry please copy the url in this link: (Permalink)
